dam
Nep status
Reged: 08/25/03
Posts: 681
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Is it worth it to rent a car on a solo mission to CR?
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Japanese Seizure Robots
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Surfchaser
Billy Hamilton status
Reged: 04/16/02
Posts: 1537
Loc: Calistralia
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I'd rent a car regardless. I just like being mobile. Especially if your first destination is crowded or crappy.
- SC
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Everything can be found at sea, according to the spirit of your quest.
- J. Conrad
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gene_can_sing
Billy Hamilton status
Reged: 05/23/05
Posts: 1369
Loc: United States
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I was on a solo mission and did Not rent a car in CR and was able to get by pretty well. Pavones No need for a car as you are right at the break. Tamarindo, you kind of need one to get to the good breaks like Grande (walkable but far) and Negra. Ollies and Witches = boat ride. I did rent a car for one day and hit several spots. If you are on a budget, you should plan which breaks to surf and travel there by bus or taxi, then stay for a few days. That's what I did anyways and it worked out well and is way cheaper.
Car rentals are F@&#ing expensive. $60 a day for a crappy 4x4 (and you do need a 4x4) and gas is very expensive and gas stations are hard to find because the CR government has strong restrictions on where they can have gas stations to protect the environment.
Unless you have lots of money, car rentals are a huge headache in the 3rd world, especially since cars are easy to damage in 3rd world countries -- crazy roads and obsticals, crazy drivers, theft, etc... and then you are held liable for crazy amounts of money.
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dam
Nep status
Reged: 08/25/03
Posts: 681
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Well I'll be there in Oct or Nov so I was thinking Nicoya and Guanacaste. I know the roads are bad but I don't think buses are an option for some areas. I know some rent a car places I sketchy but I heared Toyota was pretty good.
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Japanese Seizure Robots
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Tiny Universe
Phil Edwards status
Reged: 12/12/03
Posts: 6825
Loc: Carlsbad, CA
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http://www.carrental-toyota-costarica.com/
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dbcobb84
Grom
Reged: 06/27/05
Posts: 29
Loc: Charleston, SC
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if you're flying into san jose europcar is pretty good. I recently used them and they arranged for our pickup and dropoff at the airport. Even had a guy there waiting for us when our flight came in. And so far, haven't seen any bogus credit card charges showing up on their behalf, which i've heard can be a problem from some rental car companies. Also if you definately know you wanna get a car, I'd advise going through some kind of travel company as they often have previously established relations with different car companies so you're a little less likely to get screwed. they will also take care of setting everything up for you. I recommend tico travel.
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Yuppie_Scum
Grom
Reged: 09/04/05
Posts: 1
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I'd really recommend ditching the car idea. The roads suck and it takes forever to get between two points. You'll lose a full day getting from San Jose to the coast in Guanacaste. I flew Sansa Air and it rocked. It's only $60 each way so for the price of a daily car rental you can fly somewhere new that day.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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lot of off the beat places to surf.
car is good to have.
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FLsurfer30
Grom
Reged: 05/22/05
Posts: 74
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Definitely rent a car. It takes 4 hours to drive from San Jose to Tamarindo, 2 hours max from san jose to Jaco/Hermosa. A car is a must to check out all the breaks. the roads suck near tamarindo and going to negra, avellanes, grande, etc... but you don't want to be limited to surfing the break behind your hotel.
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Clayster
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 10/26/05
Posts: 2314
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Quote:
I'd really recommend ditching the car idea. The roads suck and it takes forever to get between two points. You'll lose a full day getting from San Jose to the coast in Guanacaste. I flew Sansa Air and it rocked. It's only $60 each way so for the price of a daily car rental you can fly somewhere new that day.
True, but Sansa has issues. I've flown them twenty times, at least, and fifty percent of my flights have been cancelled. Once it starts raining in costa, expect cancellations. I no longer fly them, although I loved them when the flights click. Too many problems on the return, when you are counting on them to get you to San Jose to catch your flight home. Driving in Costa can either be really bad, or ok, depending on where you go. I go where I can drive anymore.
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lbc1980
Grom
Reged: 01/22/10
Posts: 34
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Thank you for bringing this up. Can anyone comment on renting a car in Liberia and driving to Nosara? I will be there for a week with family in June and not sure what to do. Most days we'll be hanging out in Nosara, but we'll want a car sometimes. Better to just hire local transport for day trips? Or rent a car for a day in Nosara?
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rlh1919
Nep status
Reged: 03/30/05
Posts: 653
Loc: Cygnus X-1
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The car rental places there have recently gone up on their deductible or hold they put on your credit card for a mid size vehicle, I think it is $1,300.
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rlh1919
Nep status
Reged: 03/30/05
Posts: 653
Loc: Cygnus X-1
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Last time I went to Nosara I just rented a car to drove from Liberia. Bit of a long drive, I think around almost three hours if I remember. I liked having a vehicle while there so I could get out and see the countryside, go to different spots like Marabella and further north. I don't remember seeing car rental places there in Nosara but maybe they do now.
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kirkm
Grom
Reged: 08/20/05
Posts: 60
Loc: US
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lbc1980,
Rent the car from National in Liberia and drive to Nosara. You can drop it off at National in Nosara upon arrival. While in Nosara, rent a couple quads for quick day trips, runs to supermarket, local exploring, etc. You can then rent a car to drive back to Liberia when it comes time to leave. OR -- hire a taxi in Liberia to drive you to Nosara (prob $200 by now - not sure) when you arrive you can either do the quad thing or rent a car for your entire stay.
Have fun! June is a great month down there.
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rowjimmytour
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 02/06/09
Posts: 2459
Loc: GOLETATHEGOODLAND
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Over Xmas I rented a four door Yaris to go to PV from SJ and ended up w/ a brand new Yaris from Almo. We left SJ and it started to rain softly and the closer we got to Limon the harder the rain. As a matter a fact the same week they had major flooding they were just recovering from. Any hoot a normal 4 1/2 hour drive turned in a 8 1/2 ride from hell w/ a traffic accident on the way that stopped us for 2 hours. When we finally got to Limon the the road was more and more washed out w/ one point the water reached the hood of cars on the side of the road. I kept on going and at one point water entered our Yaris and covered our floor mats w/ a 3" of water. We finally made PV about 9:30PM that night and I went straight to dinner and Imperial w/ a whiskey chaser  After two days the car still was wet due to major humidity and not much sun so we found a local car cleaner by word from my wives brother and had him remove the seats and all to clean and get out all the water. Man when I lived in PV in 92'-95' you could never find this kind of service. any how we turned in the car on New Years and they did not charge one extra penny  Even though the back seat foot area was still damp but did not smell funky 
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Gotta find a woman be good to me
Won't hide my liquor try to serve me tea
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