www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I was wondering has anyone rented a car to go on day trips and was it a big hassle

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The only hassle is that they add insurance charges that seem exhorbitant, and sometimes they dont want to accept your insurance coverage from american express or others.
When you return it they sometimes go over the car with a fine tooth comb.

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Having too much fun. 8)

+1

Suggest you use your cellphone to take closeup pix & video of the car BEFORE you take it, preferably with their salesrep visible in the pix.

mh

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mh

Don't try and argue about the insurance and just take the full coverage. That way you can play Days of Thunder on the beach and not worry about it. If you take just the basic coverage they will put a hold on your card for anywhere from 500.00 to 5,000.00 depending on the car, usually 2000.00 though. The fees will add about 40.00-45.00 per day for the car, luckily the rental is about $1.00-3.00 per day. The full coverage is about 6.00 more than the required coverage anyway so the extra $$ is nothing for the piece of mind. Alamo, National, Avis and Enterprise are all a decent way away from the airport but they do have a shuttle, If you have been into San Jose before they are over by the Firestone and EPA on the way into town. Budget, Thrifty, Ace, Vamos, Toyota, 2 Go, Solid and Economy are all over by the airport and also have shuttles. A little farther away are Fox, Hertz an Usave. You will need to pay for parking in downtown but I know La Amistad has a lot if you are staying there, as do a few other places.

I believe you can park for free if you are staying at the Sportsmens, Amistad or Castillo.

I rented a car once when I was looking at property in Atenas. It was kind of a pain in the ass. Pick up and drop off at SJO isn't real convenient.

For trips centered in San Jose, I never rent a car. All of the day trips I have taken have transportation included and are at a reasonable price. Unless the day trip(s) you are planning are kind of unique or involve multiple people, you probably won't save any money renting a car.

If you are driving in Costa Rica, I would advise against doing ANY drinking. Penalties are pretty steep. Also do not leave valuables in your car, even locked in the trunk. Rental cars are targets for break-ins.

As an earlier poster said, the rental car companies make their money either by charging you for high rate collision damage insurance or charge you exorbitant rates for supposed damage caused to their vehicles if you fail to take their coverage.

Unless you are staying on the main highways, driving in CR can be a challenge and don't count on google maps to get you where you want to go.

I personally wouldn't suggest it. I rented a car for a week on one of my visits thinking I would do as you are looking to do. As mentioned above you need to buy the insurance...when you add that it gets expensive. I ended up only using the care to to from and to the airport and quick trip or two to walmart. Was a total waist of time. I ended up doing the day trips with locals who drove.

If you do, Amistad as above provides free parking if you are staying there, Castillo or SL; you need to contact them before hand though and reserve it for the days you need it.

I'm going to Jaco for 5 days then San Jose for 5 days thought not have to pay for transportation to and from Jaco would help offset the cost and i wanted to take a day trip to Limon

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Just make sure you have your passport on you while driving along with your drivers license. I have no issues driving in Costa Rica but they do drive like shit. Personally, I hate being tied down and waiting for transportation. I do prefer driving at night when going any distance though, as there are less trucks on the road but you need to be careful of animals. I would be cautious about going to Limon as it is a huge Narco location. Download WAZE for your phone and use that for directions but you will need a phone that works in Costa Rica with a plan or get a Sim Card once you arrive, Kolbi seems to have better coverage in the outskirts from what I have found out. We have both Kolbi and Movistar and Kolbi has better coverage.

I rented a car and I will never do it again. It was no bargain (high insurance and gas prices) but that is not the reason. I am not used to driving in the conditions there. Tons of traffic, motorcycles and pedestrians everywhere, huge potholes, unmarked streets, and the WAZE was not always accurate. I go there to relax and it was a stressful experience to me. I would much rather pay a driver to deal with all that. If I lived there or was on a tight budget I would try to get used to it.

That is a very accurate interpretation of driving in CR. One of the more reasons to get full insurance coverage. Driving in CR is not for the faint of heart..... The movie Death Race comes to mind.....

Before waze about 15 years ago I rented car for first time. Was meeting friends at beach, so I was by myself. Booked a room at the Rey. Time was 5 pm on a Friday when I hit Paseo Colon. No addresses or street signs. I was in a new world! Not to mention people flooding crosswalks before light changed. OH MY! Took forever to get near the Rey. Think I drove around 8 Fing times before I got it right. Used to rent a car a lot because friend had condo in Hermosa and food and action was in Jaco. It isn't that bad. They do get you with the insurance. I enjoyed the aggressive driving. Beats the slow ones back home. Wear your seatbelt in front seat. OR YOU WILL PAY! It may have changed but most cops staked out side of road and would wave cars to stop. Gringo with no seatbelt is too enticing for them to pass up.

Also correct me if I am wrong. They have a lower level Dui threshold of .035 a ticket. This is before the serious one of .08 like in USA.

I owned a car here gor w years. Like any American from Florida would. Sold it and use Uber and buses. 10x better. Yes a car is convenient, but not crucial to navigating CR

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Having too much fun. 8)

Also remember that stop signs and even red lights are only RECOMMENDATIONS for ticos. If they even think that there isn't going to be any cross traffic they just fly on through the intersection, especially later in the evening. Always look both ways before proceeding through any intersection, even on a green light.

Sounds just like the hood in Milwaukee.