www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Hey guys me and my friends are newbies flying into CR on Sept. 16th. We have reservations at a hotel in Jaco and our flight lands in San Jose at 7:45pm so I figure if there are no delays we should be out of the Airport and customs by 8:30pm. I did some research and saw that Interbus shuttles stop running at 3:55pm. So what would be the fastest and if possible cheapest way we can get to Jaco at that time (8:30pm)? Any advice is much appreciated!

Came in to san jose yesterday ...my flight landed at 12:15 , l instructed my wing who got in a hour earlier to grab his bag go out the main area ( where all the taxis are) then cross the street and head upstairs and wait for me , first taxi I tried took the offer of $50 us and off we went ....took a little over a hour to get to jaco

$50 is Chili's limit for chicas and the taxistas.

That's a great fare to Jaco amigo, nice job.

Orange, I paid the dreaded 100 last night .....wtf was I thinking

but did he allow you to mix drinks in the back seat?
thats a great deal considering most guys pay 25-30 for a ride to SL
btw was that 12 at night?
wonder if that might be more difficult to pull off as late as he's coming in

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im way deep into nothing special
riding the crest of a wave breaking just west of hollywood

So thats 12:15AM and not PM right? And $50 is a great price bro! Maybe since it was so late at night they took a cheaper price. Can anyone tell me what the normal going rate for a cab is?

I got in at 12:15 in the afternoon, was at the taxi drop off area about 1:15.....getting that taxi to jaco for $50 isnt that difficult, ,,,, might take a few ....as they roll up to you while you are on the sidewalk .....just say $50 to jaco....they will either take it or keep moving...

Cool.. Thanks for the advice buddy. Ill take a $50 bill just incase they try to pull the old "I dont have change" trick as they do in many countries. Also any tips on what kind of attire I should have on to not look too touristy? Dont want to stick out like a sore thumb lol. I hope the weather is good in Mid september.

jaco is beach town, anything is fine, just about everybody is in shorts.
In SJ, grown men wear pants, thats just how it is.
Unless you are latino you won't be blending in to much.

The usual rate quoted to Jaco from the aeropuerto from a taxi is around $100.
If you have a group to split the cost get in touch with Pura Vida Transport on site here to get a comfy van, insider info and cold beers for your drive down.
And One Lucky Dog offers the same service.

Enjoy your trip.

Just dont understand why anyone would pay $100+ from the airport when you can clearly see that is not the case,,,,, takes no skill in what I did to achieve getting that price.....

Now the real trick is the price getting us back to san jose today....wing is a late sleeper....even though I hit the hay less than3 hours ago .....I am up and ready to go.....just the way I am .....actually sucks that I cant sleep past 7am here......
For me.....the early morning bus isnt bad since it will be a cool temperature ride....but once you get past 10am .....you will wish you were in a taxi.....getting him going before 8am will be close to impossible

You could wear an Enrique Iglesias mask and every single local will make you for a tourist the moment they see you. There's no hiding or disguising the fact that you're a gringo. There's nothing wrong with being a tourist, you won't be the only one. And that doesn't mean that you should allow anybody to take advantage of you in any way. You're informed, you know the deal, you know prices, and you know what you want to pay, so do it.

I guarantee that after you were done with her, you thought to yourself how you could have gotten 2 really good $50 chicas for the same amount.

Chilimike is a vet and taking a cab might be his thing but I disagree strongly. First, any cab that will do the airport to Jaco run for $50 is not going to be a real cab on a meter. On the meter, Jaco would be closer to $150 or $200. That means a pirate taxi with no license and probably no company to answer to.

Pirate cabs can be dangerous, especially at night as they have no one to answer to short of the police. In my opinion, a new guy coming in to the airport at night with all his stuff (money, CCs, passport) and jumping in with a cab driver with no meter, no company and no license is asking for trouble. Do a search on the number of people robbed by taxi drivers in Costa Rica.

Most of the guys at the airport charge $100 which is the same as I charge and there is 0% chance I am going to rip you off. That extra $50 you spend is nothing compared to the problems you will have if a taxi driver decides to dump you off on the side of the highway halfway to Jaco and steals all your stuff leaving you with no passport, no money, no possessions and no phone in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country.

Edited to add these links to good articles on taxi problems in Costa Rica:
http://www.costaricantimes.com/english- ... port/20876
http://www.qcostarica.com/2013/02/10/tw ... -san-jose/
http://costarica-information.com/travel ... tion/taxis
http://matadornetwork.com/trips/5-shitt ... osta-rica/

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The only thing that matters is happiness in all it forms...

I once caught a bus from Coca Cola to Jaco and it only cost a few dollars, but I would never do it again. The bus stopped in every small town where the locals would come on and try to sell you stuff.

On the way back I decided to take a taxi and had an interesting experience. I found a taxi in Jaco and he agreed to take us to the El Presidente for $50. We get to San Jose and he stops at the airport. He says that he can't go into San Jose and we will have to hire another taxi to take us in.

I tell him that wasn't the deal and refuse to pay him the $50. He then talks to another taxi driver and the new driver says he will take us to the El Presidente. I confirm with the new taxi driver (twice) that he will not be receiving any money from me, which he agrees to. I pay the original driver his $50 and he gives some cash to new taxi driver.

Anyone want to guess what happened when we got to the El Presidente? The new cab driver wanted $15 for the trip. I simply got out of the cab and went into the hotel. As a Gringo you can never let your guard down.

Devo

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The most dangerous adversaries are the ones that come with a smile instead of a sword

Puravida- I would tend to agree with you for the most part. Chili wasn't too descriptive of the type of cab he hopped into, he can clarify. I don't know who would make the run from the airport to Jaco and back for $50. That's a losing business proposition however, if he was a Jaco based cab finding a backhaul it would make sense. $50 instead of deadhead home.