Getting Around in Costa Rica

The answer is yes and no. Let's start with driving in San Jose. San Jose is the capitol of the country and by far its largest city. The entire metropolitan area (or GAM) consists of not just San Jose, but also Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago. Half the population of the entire country lives in this area. As you can imagine driving in San Jose is far different than what you might be used to. The city is a web of unmarked one way streets. Traffic signals are in Spanish (duh!). There are traffic lights, but they are not in sync and change very rapidly. Running red lights is a sport here in San Jose (everybody does it). It is virtually impossible to give someone directions because none of the streets are marked and often you have to go around your elbow to get to your $%^#@! because of all the one way streets. Do I sound like I am complaining? Listen, the truth is I love my city, San Jose. The weather is perfect, there are more restaurants and great places to go dancing and have a good time than you can count and so many beautiful ladies everywhere, BUT the one complaint I do have is the traffic. During rush hours I sometimes want to end it all right there. It drives me crazy. And if there has been an accident here is how it works in Costa Rica. The cars cannot be moved one inch until the guy from INS (the national insurance company) shows up to assess damage. These guys drive mopeds and it usually takes them about two hours to show up at the scene. Meanwhile the cars just sit there holding up traffic to infinity (and beyond). Yes I am complaining. Now that I have had my rant about San Jose's traffic, let's switch gears to the more "tranquil" country driving.

Mountain roads. Here is where you can experience some of Costa Rica's most breathtaking scenery. Generally these roads are paved (of course there are exceptions). One of the most incredible is the road that goes from San Jose to San Isidro and crosses Cerro de la Muerte. This is one of Costa Rica's highest peaks at an elevation of 3,491 meters (over 11,000 feet). The road goes right over the top and if it is clear you can see forever. Often, however, you are shrouded in dense fog and this road can be quite dangerous as it is also a major truck route. The road leads on after San Isidro (which by the way is a charming little town) to Dominical on the Pacific Coast. The road from Dominical down the Southern Pacific Coast is one of the best in the country. There are many other spectacular mountains roads. These roads can be very narrow with many hairpin turns so you really have to keep your whits about you, which is hard considering all the incredible scenery that your passengers will be oohing and aaahing about. Rule number one is to always keep your wheels in the road because Costa Rica roads generally have no shoulders and if you run off the road more than likely you either go over a cliff (worse) or bottom out to your axles (better). And if you hit a fog bank don't panic, just try to keep your eyes on where the edge of the road is so you don't run off it and over a cliff (remember stay in the road!).

Coastal Roads. These roads can often be pot hole infested and many are not even paved. Guanacaste roads are famously bad despite the tremendous development that is going on there. During the green season, when we get afternoon showers almost every day, these roads are much worse. The municipalities are in charge with maintaining them and during the green season (May to November) it is a losing battle so they pretty much just let them go. While driving down one of these infamously bad roads, like the road from Quepos to Dominical (remember you can also get there via San Isidro on a much better road), you just have to keep reminding yourself that you are in paradise. If it gets too bad you can stop at one of the multitude of little bars that seem to pop up about every five kilometers. One thing we will never run out of in Costa Rica is Imperial and the bars that serve it.

A few pointers about driving the roads. First the conversion from kilometers to miles is very easy, just multiply by .60 and you are close enough (that's right Scarlet, 100 kilometers is about 60 miles). Bridges are almost always one lane and one side or the other (have never figured out if there is any rhyme or reason as to which side gets the yield) must yield to the other side. The yield sign is an inverted triangle with the words Ceda. Also, when driving through a small town be on the lookout for unpainted and unmarked speed bumps. And always be on the lookout for pot holes that can flatten a tire in a heartbeat. If you do have trouble on the road, like needing a tire plugged, almost every little town will have a mechanic (called a Taller) and you can generally stop and get your problem fixed for next to nothing. One of the worst roads in the country is the dirt road that leads to Monteverde, a little mountain town about 8,000 feet up. The locals have historically kept this road horrible either to discourage tourism (that hasn't worked because it is one of the most visited locations in the country for tourists) or to add to the mystique and adventure of going to Monteverde (when you arrive you can buy a t-shirt that reads, "I survived the road to Monteverde."). Anyway, once I drove there and when I arrived I noticed the strong smell of gasoline. Upon arriving at the hotel I took a look under the car and noticed gas pouring out from a hole where a rock had punctured the tank. The hotel made me park about a mile away so as not to blow the place up. The next day I was able to get the tank permanently repaired for about 15,000 colones (about $30). And I have had no problems to this day with that repair job.

All that said, our current president (Oscar Arias) is trying to put his campaign rhetoric into action by fixing the roads around the country. There is more roadwork going on now than I have ever seen. They are even working on the road from Quepos to Dominical, which once paved will make property values in that area skyrocket since this in my opinion is our most beautiful stretch of coastline, but a bit remote considering that this road is only 40 kilometers long, but during the green season can take up to 2.5 hours to traverse. The roads in Guanacaste are getting major improvements as well. I just hope the roads never get too good. After all this is Costa Rica and we are proud of our crappy roads. Happy driving!

Driving yourself is always an option. Costa Rica has numerous rental car agencies that offer very good service. Cars can either be picked up at the agency office near the airport (agencies offer shuttle service from the airport to their offices) or the rental agency can deliver the car to your hotel at any of the major tourist locations in the country. In addition to the rental rate, the agency will charge or "freeze" an amount against your credit card as a deposit in case of damages to the vehicle. That amount is generally around $1,000 for most cars and at most agencies. This is often a shock to folks, so make sure your card has ample credit availability to handle the deposit. When you return the car, the deposit will be released, but it may take a few days for the credit to return to your card. Now is it a good idea to drive yourself in Costa Rica? Well read closely what was said in the preceding section about the roads. If you are not used to driving in Costa Rica, and most tourist aren't (or else they wouldn't be "tourists" now would they?) it can be quite hairy. Driving in San Jose can be extremely difficult and dangerous for the uninitiated. Driving on some of Costa Rica's backroads can also be difficult and dangerous. And you will get lost. If you know a little Spanish, that is not such a bad thing, but if you don't you're really lost. It always pays to ask at least three successive people for the directions. If you get the same answer at least twice, you can be confident that you have valid directions. However, more often than not, you won't. And if you don't know any Spanish, you won't know the difference anyway. So here's our pofessional suggestion. Use one of the other transportation options discussed below to get from Point A to Point B. Now if you're going to hang around Point B for some time (a few days for instance), then maybe you would want to rent a car so you will have wheels while you're there. But then turn the car in (again, that can be done at the hotel upon checkout) and then take a transportation service to Point C. This is less dangerous, less frustrating and less stressful. For the adventurous traveler that just wants to get lost in the Costa Rican wilderness, by all means, have at it. But for the rest of you out there, let someone else do the driving.

Probably the most popular and widely used means of getting transported from Point A to Point B is the so-called "tourist bus." There are numerous services in the country, but the two most widely used are Grey Line and Interbus. Both have similar routes and similar costs. At Package Costa Rica, we use both services. They both are very efficient and generally offer good service. Don't expect the drivers of this type of service to be "bilingual tour guides." They are bus drivers and no more. For bilingually guided transportation you have to go with the private transfer option (discussed below). The "tourist buses" are really vans or micro-buses of the 15, 20 or 30 passenger variety. They are air-conditioned and comfortable. However, this mode of transportation will not get you from Point A to Point B the quickest. The way it works is that this service runs on a schedule. Most pickups are in the morning or early afternoon. The company will attempt to fill the bus with other tourists staying in the same area and traveling to the same destination. So you have to wait your turn to be picked up and then you have to wait your turn to be dropped off. For long transfers the driver will generally make one or two stops to allow passengers to use the bathroom and buy refreshments. A typical cost per passenger for going, say, from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio is around $40. This is the most economical way to go (with the exception of public transportation), but certainly not the most comfortable or convenient.

If you don't mind spending a little more money you can go with private transportation. I am not talking about a taxi (those are discussed below). I am talking about using one of the many transportation services throughout the country and contracting them to transfer you and your loved ones privately. Most of the time, these services do offer bilingual drivers. This type of service runs on only one schedule, yours. You get picked up when you want, which makes it much more convenient than the scheduled tourist buses discussed above. My company, Package Costa Rica, offers our customers the option of private transportation on our packages, and most other agencies like us do the same. We try to make these transfers "special" for our customers by showing them things of interest along the way. However, if the customer is only interested in getting from Point A to Point B as fast as possible, while staying grounded, we can accommodate that too. That is what "private transfer" means. That is, the transportation is catered to your desires and objectives. The cost is considerably more than for the tourist van, however. For the same transfer mentioned above, from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio, you are going to pay about $250 for the transfer (not per person), compared with $40 per person for the tourist van. So depending on the amount of people in your party (for instance 6 or more) it could become more economical even to go with a private transfer.

Taxis are very prevalent in Costa Rica, almost everywhere. In San Jose sometimes it seems that 1 of every 5 cars is a taxi. The official taxis are red with a yellow triangle on the door. The airport taxis are orange. Taking taxis is a fairly cheap way to get around town. They are not generally the way to go for longer trips, although some people use them for that too. Here are a few tips on using taxis in Costa Rica. First, always go with the official ones (the red ones described above). There are many "piratas," or illegal taxis, but using those generally just isn't safe. The only exception to that rule I would say is if the hotel you are staying in recommends the driver. Before you get into the taxi make sure he has a meter and it is turned on. A typical ploy that taxis use on unsuspecting gringos is to turn the meter off and charge whatever the taxista deems appropriate. Ask the driver to turn the meter on, or turn the ride down. Also, taxis that hang out around hotels are notorious for overcharging. Sometimes it actually makes sense to walk a few blocks away from the hotel (if you are in San Jose) and flag one down. You never need to tip a taxi. And a cardinal rule in Costa Rica....do not slam the door of a cab. That will get you shot!

Flying domestically from place to place in Costa Rica is fairly easy. The two main domestic airlines are Sansa and Nature Air. Both of these airlines offer flights to almost all the major tourist destinations of the country. A few differences about the two. First, Sansa's office and all flights are from the Juan Santamaría Airport in Alajuela. That is the same airport that you would likely fly into upon your arrival to Costa Rica. Nature Air, on the other hand, flies out of the Tobias Bolaños Airport located in Pavas. So it can be a little more convenient to fly with Sansa. That is especially true if you are flying into San Jose and want to catch a domestic flight to some location upon your arrival. Getting from the Juan Santamaría Airport to the Tobias Bolaños Airport will take you some time (maybe up to an hour if you factor in arranging a taxi, traffic, etc.). Another thing is the baggage restrictions. If you are arriving to Costa Rica with a lot of bags you are going to have trouble. These domestic airlines limit you to a one checked bag per person and there are pretty tight weight and size limits (around 30 lbs.). Nature Air is a little less restrictive than Sansa in this regard. The Sansa planes are single engine, whereas Nature Air's are twin engine props. That matters to some who feel more comfortable with more than one chance of crashing due to engine failure. Another interesting thing to note, for those of you who are environmentally minded, is that Nature Air prides itself as being 100% "carbon neutral." They accomplish that by, among other things, offsetting their carbon emissions by supporting a reforestation program. Flying is the way to go if you are a light packer and want to get to your destination as fast as possible. For instance, the flight from San Jose to Manuel Antonio is less than a half hour. The drive is three to four hours! But in flying you miss the incredible scenery and the up close and personal view of the country that you get by driving. Your choice!