www.CostaRicaTicas.com

so me and a friend will be driving from Jaco to Tamarindo - I know it seems like a long awful drive - but we dont know how else to schedule our trip

does anyone have any advice on the drive - how to get there - how long it is etc...any general advice would really come in handy

Thanks everyone!!!

First, don't drive at night. Second, Don't drive at night.

Oh, and no matter how tempted you are, DO NOT DRIVE AT NIGHT.

Many of the bridges have no sides, it's very easy to go over the edge, trees can be down in the roads, and if you get a flat tire or other break down after dark you won't find anyone to service it, and no gas stations will be open.

Beyond that, get a good map. If you're at the HDR, go down 7th street and there's a book store called 7th Street Books, they sell a lot of english stuff, and they have a number of good maps.

Don't rely on GPS. Make sure to keep an eye out for signs, you can drive for 30 miles and the signs will still say 90km to your destination. So don't rely on them for distance, just for directions. And they can be almost hidden so be careful.

Cross at the new Bridge of Nicoya. That's a good solid road. Don't drive around the gulf, you'll just waste time and possibly hit an impassable road.

I drove from Liberia to San Jose and all around the Guanacaste and it was not that bad, my only advice is to hit the road at the crack of dawn to get out of the Central Valley and avoid all the traffic otherwise use common sense and you should not have any problems.