www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Can I drive with Canadian driver license?
Is International Driving Permit is recommended or mandatory?

Planning to rent a 4x4 from http://www.renta4x4incostarica.com for a day or two.

You can drive with your Canadian license as long as you are within your 90 day tourist visa limit.
If you drive after the expiration of your visa you need a CR license. There is no requirement for an International Permit and I am not sure it would be recognized as legal.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Thanks for the info Irish Drifter.

To my understanding there is nothing legal about the so-called international driver license. They are sold by private companies and simply translate your existing driver license into the language of the country which you intend to visit.

Have heard that also but since I do not know the facts about international drivers license let it pass. Maybe someone on the board can give us the facts about that.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Due to my work in travel agency business, I can attest to the fact that the International Drivers Permit is both legitimate and often required in many countries. By international treaty via the UN in 1949, most countries agreed to the use of the IDP to authorize drivers in good standing in member countries to drive in their own countries.

While many PD's in member countries do not require to see it, and will just accept a US license as good enough, that is not always the case and will vary from officer to officer. And in more and more countries, rental car agencies are requiring them in order to get a rental car.

Can you drive in Costa Rica without one and just use your own DL and hope for the best? Sure. Are you taking the risk that the officer that pulls you over reads no English and cannot understand your foreign license? Sure. Are you taking the risk that the officer that pulls you over will be a hardass and decide to ticket you or worse due to you not having an authorized translation of your license? Absolutely. I think it's better safe than sorry in this regard and would recommend getting one. I know that the CAA, California Auto Association, sells the IDP, so you may want to check them out.

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

In line with Brother K-Paxian's comments--that IDP, legally valid or not but en Espanol, seems to be a good backstop to your state's/province's valid DL. Just a thought...BTW how expensive are they and valid for how long? Expires when your legal DL does? Not trying to throw stuff in the game here...

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

I have lived here for 7 years and visited often for 11 years before that and have never heard of any transito officer giving anyone a ticket, demanding a payment or in anyway hassling a person with a valid U.S. state drivers license. No one has written on any of the many discussion groups dealing with CR that either the police or any rent-a-car company has not accepted a valid U.S. drivers license.

Bottom line is you do not need an international drivers permit to drive in CR

A number of CRT members have rented a car in Costa Rica. It would be interesting if they would post if they have ever been asked to produce an international driving permit to rent a car.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

They are $15 here in the US and you need to bring 2 passport photos. They are good for one year and you get to decide the start date put on the front cover. So if you're getting one today, for example, and you are not going abroad until May 1st, you can put May 1st on the cover and it will be good from 5/1/10-4/30/11

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

I'll chime in here.

Irish Drifter is correct with his above quote. For years, I drove around CR in rental cars and have been pulled over more than my fair share of times by CR's finest. Some of the time, they'd write me a ticket. Some of the time, I'd give them a "donation" and be on my way. But I have NEVER been asked for an International Driver's License. My Florida D.L. was fine. Same thing with renting a car. Your license from your home State is all you need to rent a car in CR.

In 2006, I spent an afternoon at the MOPT building in SJO and got my CR driver's license. It's no big deal. It takes 3 or 4 hours, and you're done. Your 1st (CR) license is good for 2 years. When you renew, it's good for 5 years. I'm not saying that it's necessary to get your CR driver's license, but if you decide to do it - it's generally painless. Hope this helps.

MG

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

I thought I knew the U.S. uniform vehicle code laws fairly well but this issue of an International Driver Permit wasn’t in that book of knowledge.

Follow up: The International Driver Permit (IDP) is not a driver license and if used alone does not permit a person operate a motor vehicle. It is a multilingual translation of one’s current valid driver license but it is not a license to drive.

The IDP is a little smaller than a passport and has the licensee's photograph and physical descriptors (height, weight – which is always false and misleading, eye color, hair color, D.O.B.).

If the IDP is presented to a law enforcement officer there must have a current valid driver’s license presented along with the IDP. The state issued (or territory issued) drivers license is the license, the IDP is the permit that says the US complies with international uniformity of traffic laws, like the 1949 Treaty K-Paxian wrote about. Example of uniformity include the red colored octagon sign which means stop, red tail and brake lights, etc.

In California, in the early days of automobiles, each county made up their own rules of the road. In Los Angeles County, tail/brake lights were red; you will never guess what color they were in Orange County.

The Southern California Automobile Club a part of American Automobile Association (AAA) was a leader in calling for uniformity nationwide, Canada-wide and worldwide. I sound like a bad advertisement for AAA.

In the United States, only AAA and the National Automobile Association’s AATA are authorized by the US Department of State to issue an international drivers permit. According to the AAA website Costa Rica was not a party to the 1949 convention.

My experience in getting a Costa Rica driver license was an exercise in waiting. Not unlike the military – hurry up and wait.

It seemed to me the only thing they really wanted was revenue. I had to take a physical which was cursory at best. If you can stand unassisted for five seconds – just long enough to give the doctor 10000 colones – you pass!

They accepted my US drivers license as proof of driving skills. I am surprised they didn’t issue my CR license with my CDL number on it.

Source: http://www.aaa.com/vacation/idpapplc.html and a AAA legal specialist.

My take: If Brother DiegoC says it, you can rely on it. End of story.

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

I second what DiegoC said. It is not absolutely necessary in many cases, but I think better safe than sorry.

_________________
Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

Perhaps I missd it but in reading the two posts DiegoC made on this topic I fail to see where he recommended getting an IDP as a precautionary measure. Perhaps you could enlighten me.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Never been asked for it. Honestly, I didn't know it even existed until I read this thread.