www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I used to always rent a car but their bull shit addons and mandatory insurance crap got too irritating. I own a SUV now, so I do not have to go through the irritation. If you rent a car get the complete insurance as it is not much more expensive. The piece of mind knowing you can recreate the Day's of Thunder scene with the rental cars is worth it. Get the smallest car you can get away with (think economy and maneuverability). If you rent a car online your price will be like 3-4 dollars a day but your insurance will tack on about 40.00 a day. Just so you know most cars are manual transmissions. Automatics are a lot easier to deal with though, as you have a ton of hills especially in town. You also have a lot of stop and go traffic during rush hours with people riding your ass. You are going to be kind of secluded in Tamarindo and if you want to get anywhere outside of town you are going to have to pay a taxi or shuttle. There are a lot of great beaches in the area so in my opinion having a car is a must. Do not leave things visible in your car and make sure you carry your passport and drivers license with you when driving, a copy will not do if you get stopped.

Thanks again for the tip on the car rentals. This is great help and yes I was advised to rent a car in Tamarindo. I didn't realize about the manual transmission or the actual passport. I thought a copy was sufficient. But yeah I will try not to leave things visible in the car. Thanks bro. I am on my way tomorrow morning at 3:30am to the airport.

Pardon my not contributing to the main Tamarindo subject.. but damn yeah, on car rental insurance, it's good to get the more pricey levels. One time I had a 2014 focus, and had it parked at my apt. When I got in to back it up, didn't realize the front fender had just slipped over a large bolt in the cement header.. so when I backed it out.. the entire front fender ripped off the front of the car. It was just epic. In the rental office, when it was my turn, I pointed the employee outside to the car, and he was bug-eyed. It was great being covered.

Another time, rented a white van to relocate to another apt.. and the destination apt had a low roof in their underground parking lot.. and I scraped the living fock out of the top, even tearing metal.. but was covered - no paperwrk.. just a stupid grin on my face when I dropped it off.

For the record, people drive like shit in Costa Rica so take your time. The roads have potholes the likes you have probably never seen in the US and a lot of the roads will be dirt by the beaches so pay attention to the sand, be careful with standing water from rain if there is any as that can hide a deep pocket that might swallow your car (semi kidding on that one) The one good thing is the price of gas is set by the government so you do not need to look for options on price no matter if you are in downtown San Jose or out in the boonies the pump price will be the same. All the stations pump your gas for you. If you want a specific amount tell them ??? Mil ("quince mil regular" 15,000) or if you want the tank full tell them lleno (yay-no) de regular. That is assuming you are not driving a diesel. Have fun and let your hair down. If you like to fish there is a guy just west of Nogui's on the beach that will take you out for a reasonable amount. Make sure you take sunscreen with you as it is expensive as Phuck in CR, bug spray won't hurt either as those phucking mosquitos live under tables and bite the shit out of your feet and legs.