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My family is visiting Costa Rica over spring break. We are staying at the Hyatt Andaz Papagayo on points, and we plan to relax at the resort as well as go on 1-2 excursions outside of the resort.
Last week, I figured it was time to solidify plans for our stay. I planned to reserve an airport transfer (about $100 round-trip) and book our excursions. Easy, peasy.
Until the resort sent me a list of the partner excursions. Most of them are at least $150-$200 or more per person. Multiply that by my family of five, and we’re talking about $1000 for my family to leave the resort for an activity. Ouch!
Next, I started looking at outside tour companies. While the cost was lower, it would still be pretty pricey.
So, I decided to look into renting a car. My family normally doesn’t like to rent cars on vacation if we don’t have to, particularly in international destinations. But, since we survived the car rental process in New Zealand, maybe Costa Rica wouldn’t be so bad.
Benefits of Car Rental in Costa Rica
The biggest benefit to renting a car is saving money. We can drive to a waterfall and pay $7 per person to get in instead of paying over $100 per person for a van tour to the same waterfall.
With a rental car, we won’t feel “stuck” at the resort. If we get tired of the resort restaurants, we can drive to a nearby town for something different.
Drawbacks to a Car Rental in Costa Rica
To me, rental cars on vacation add another layer of stress. Stopping to get a rental car can add another hour or more to the time we arrive at the resort. It’s just not as pampering as hopping into a pre-paid shuttle with a driver.
That aside, Costa Rica has complicated insurance requirements and deposits for rental cars. You can read about it here. The bottom line is that everyone must pay for base liability insurance regardless of the coverage you have on your credit card. In addition, the amount of coverage you choose determines the amount of deposit you must make. I looked at the fine print on a few rental car agreements, and some of the deposits are up to $5000.
It doesn’t help that I’ve been reading some horror stories from fellow travelers about their experiences renting cars in Costa Rica. I’ve read accounts of travelers not getting their full deposits back due to scratches that were already on the car, rental prices that have doubled due to this mandatory liability insurance and other surprise charges.
Our Decision…for Now
Believe it or not, despite all the negative stuff I read about renting a car in Costa Rica, we decided to do it. Because in addition to all the bad stuff, there are a lot of travelers who have great experiences renting a car in Costa Rica.
Based on reviews on travel forums, we made a reservation with Vamos Rent-A-Car. The thing that convinced me is that this company displays all the insurance fees and deposits online when you reserve the car so that there are no surprises. You can easily choose the required insurance and then select that you’ll use your credit card or travel insurance for the additional insurance. The site tells you exactly what your deposit will be. No surprises.
I hope we don’t regret this decision!
Have you ever struggled with the decision to rent a car or not? How does your decision change if you’re traveling internationally?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
We’ve been to CR about 10 times over the past 6 years and always rented a car.
We had good success with Enterprise, but the last few times we’ve used Sixt. They are a global company and we’ve used them in Greece, Italy, Netherlands, France, Spain, and even Denver.
I’ve found them to be a no-hassle no-deception type company, particularly like the Liberia location. We always just use our Sapphire card to cover the insurance. (Which on another note, I’ve had accident claims in France and in the Netherlands and they paid the damages without question.)
BTW, the Liberia airport has a new lounge that is outstanding.
@David I’ve seen Sixt pop up on my searches, but I’ve been scared away by some of the bad reviews. Glad to hear you’ve had some good experiences with them.
My family’s trip to Costa Rica (in maybe 2013 or 2014) is what convinced me to never again rent a car on vacation. For two reasons:
1. The cost — I believe there was an extra $400 or $500 fee on top of the agreed rental cost. We figured that we would have been better off paying for a driver.
2. The hassle — Driving in Costa Rica was very stressful for us (coming from the U.S.). I remember, for example, that pedestrians jaywalked across a busy four-lane highway that we were driving on. Also, one time we turned the wrong way on a one-way road and nearly collided with a bus (the driver had great reflexes, so it all worked out).
Renting a car did enable us to drive all over the country during our one-week trip. If we had been relying on a driver, we probably would not have gone to quite as many places. On balance, though, if I had a do-over, I would not rent a car in Costa Rica.
For what it’s worth –
@Devin Thank you for sharing your perspective. I’m torn!
We went to Papagayo last summer and as someone else said, I couldn’t imagine being there without a car. So many cool things to do and also to get away from the resort to eat. We also used Adobe and I had no issues whatsoever. They even through in a local phone for emergencies and a cooler.
@Jody Thanks for sharing your experience! I just found a restaurant on the beach about 45 minutes away that we hope to visit.
Honestly, just got back and Don’t rent a car. Do a one day tour at Rincón de la vieja and stay at the resort the rest of the time. I booked with the Expedia coupon 50 off activities over Xmas.
@Nathan Awesome that you got 50% off!
We are going to Andaz Costa Rica for Spring Break this year too! We decided to rent a car also because we heard that Andaz was very pricey to eat there and wanted some cheaper options. We reserved a car from National Car rental because I had a free night and they had the cheapest price, but now I’m a little scared about getting nickel and dimed for stuff when we get there, so I may have to check out Vamos too. I’m curious as to what excursions do you guys plan on doing? We have 2 boys ages 5 and 11, and I’m trying to get some ideas and recommendations on things to do also .
@Diana Maybe we’ll run into you at the resort! As far as excursions, my boys want to go surfing. They have surfed in Hawaii and Florida and loved it. We’re also thinking about zip lining–there is a zip line place about 10 minutes away from the hotel as well as a few that are 45-50 minutes away (count me out for zip lining though). We’ll probably drive to Llanas de Cortez Waterfall (about an hour away). Aside from those things, we may just hang at the resort beaches and pools. Many of the attractions are 2+ hours away, and we really don’t want to spend all that much time in the car.
We rented from Vamos this past summer. It wasn’t stressful at all. They looked the car over with a fine tooth comb when picking it up, walking around the car with me, noting any imperfections in their documents. They did the same when we returned it, but even more so. I thought for sure they might find some reason to tack on a fee, but I was wrong. You can also rent a cell phone from them. It was only like $5/day with unlimited data and calling within the country; it’s quite the deal.
Also, the stories about driving being absolutely crazy in Costa Rica is completely overblown. Yes, drivers are more aggressive. Yes, roads are windy, and narrow. Streets are poorly marked. But if you’re using Waze (don’t use anything else) it’s more than manageable. Just use common sense, stick to the main roads, and you’ll be fine. It’s different from driving here in the U.S., but it’s not the hell on wheels that some claim.
You’ll be very happy with Vamos. I would rent from them again without hesitation.
@Projectx Thanks for sharing your experience with Vamos! We’ll be sure to use Waza.
We rented a car last year in Liberia when we were staying at the same resort. I guess we’d do it again, but it certainly came with some stress. I can’t remember the name of the company we used, but in the future I would only rent from a large established American company. When we first saw our car, it was unlike any vehicle I’ve ever seen in my life. For some unimaginable reason, it had square shapes of metal that were missing from the bumper area. The agent kept telling me that it had nothing to do with the car’s safety, but it was so bizarre, and I dreaded returning a car like that, I refused the vehicle and was eventually given another car. I did my best to document any minor defects. Then we happened to find out that if we returned the car a bit dirty, there would be a huge fee for that, I forgot what, but way over $100. We struggled mightily to find a place to wash it before we returned it. The car was inspected very thoroughly, the man even got up to inspect the roof. The roads can be absolutely terrible and the signage is bad, too.
@Kate Thank you for sharing your honest experience. I’ve read other reviews that are similar to yours. I really don’t want any unnecessary stress on this trip. Hmmmm…what to do?
I used Adobe when I went to Costa Rica. I paid with my Amex Platinum and used their insurance. I had Amex send me a copy of the insurance agreement just in case I had any problems.
I think you are making the right choice renting a car. I couldn’t imagine staying at the Andaz without one. You’ll have more and cheaper food options. And it’s just nice to get away from the resort. I flew into San Jose and drove there and it was fine.
@Kim Glad to hear you had a good experience.
We used Adobe on our last trip to CR a few months ago and they were surprisingly good to deal with. Check in/check out takes seemingly forever, but they’re all like that.
Oh, and for the folks talking about how rental car agencies go over the car for any little scratch in CR, let me tell you: Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador are WORSE! Literally making a map of every blemish on the car when you take it, then another when you return. This is a Latin American thing, and it’s why you should just take the maximum insurance (something that I never condone at home).
@stogieguy7 Yikes!
Used Adobe Car Rental – very upfront with all their charges. I’m a huge car rental skeptic (as they make all their money upselling insurance etc), and the people at Adobe were the most transparent and genuine I’ve met in a few years. Checking the car back in was painless as well
@khati I’m glad you had a good experience!
I’ve been to CR twice and rented cars both times. First time 3 years ago went with a U.S. company and paid way to much felt taken advantage of with surprise fees/insurance. Last year my family and I rented from vamos and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. Flew into SJO and they picked us up, took us to the office a couple blocks away and 15 minutes later we were on our way. Never tried to sell us anything. Offered us maps, coolers, child seats. They did ask to see the paperwork for the insurance I was going to use, if I remember correctly. I used the insurance from my reserve card.
We actually stayed at the andaz and it is a long drive from SJO but worth it. It was beautiful. we had a large suite with our own pool. Nicest room I’ve ever stayed in.
Do expect delays but the roads theirselves aren’t as bad as people say unless your really getting off the beaten path. We had multi hour delays both to and from the hotel due to accidents (not involving us) and almost missed our flight home.
@Leon Thank you for sharing your experience. Sounds like we need to leave early when we drive back to the airport.
We (will I) made the decision to drive in CR when we adopted our kids. We were apparently the first non-Tico family who worked with the agency who decided to do this. It was so much nicer, though, being free to go when and where we pleased.
The mandatory insurance requirements are for sure frustrating, but they are mandatory. This is for liability. If using a card with primary collision insurance, know that the company will likely take the assessed amount of the damage off your card and then let you work it out with the issuer later.
I’ve never had a place scrutinize cars so much as Costa Rica when we returned ours. I did a one-way “test” rental with Budget on our second day since we needed a car for a day, but wouldn’t for the next 3 or 4. The lady looked every inch up and down. Document, document, document. And then send to someone to timestamp the photos/conversation. We weren’t charged for anything, as I didn’t put a scratch on the cars.
I think our hold/deposit for a gutless SUV for 30 days was like $2,000. Luckily, my card had more than enough credit limit to handle it. I think we also paid like $957 for a month (~$32 per day) including the liability insurance and roadside (which we ended up using and it saved us like $300). Given that trips within San Jose were like $40-80 for the van service, and excursions were $250-300 per day, just to get to the coast, it was well worth it.
I loved driving in CR, even in San Jose. It’s a thrill. Don’t pack your itinerary and give yourself buffer time to get where you need to go. This is necessary to reduce the stress of driving winding mountain roads and navigating traffic. We drove all the way on back roads from San Jose to Cahuita on the Caribbean coast. It was a long trip, but so beautiful.
Oh, and get a manual. When you’re kids kill the battery by leaving the interior light on, they still start by rolling them down a hill. 😉
Hope you enjoy the trip!!
@Ian I forgot you were in Costa Rica for a good while. It sounds like an adventure! I can’t drive a manual transmission, but my husband can (although it’s been years…he says he still remembers). We actually rented a manual car in the countryside of France on our honeymoon. It was different than what he was used to, and we got stuck once and lost later. We can laugh about it now, but at the time we thought we’d never get home.
OK, I know the country like the back of my hand as my wife is a Tica. Been there (literally) hundreds of times. And always drove myself. That said, it’s NOT for the faint of heart. First off, the roads are terrible and the conditions inconsistent. Traffic around San Jose is awful and there are limitations on vehicular access inside the circumvalacion (beltway) around that city.
There is now signage to popular resort areas, but this too is inconsistent and maybe 5 of the 8 turns that you have to make will be marked. If you’re flying into Liberia, it’s a little easier; but if you’re flying into SJO then going to Papagayo, be prepared for a 5-6 hour ride. However long you think it takes to cover 80 km, double it.
And the last thing: be prepared to witness horrid driving. Signalling is almost unheard of and there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of driver training. No matter what, get the insurance! All of it. If you can’t drive a standard transmission, check to see if you’re car has an automatic (it’s becoming more common than it used to be). Oh, and be prepared to pay tolls if you’re flying in to SJO. You might have to pay them if you arrive in Liberia (depending on where you go), but you’ll get hit with them for sure from SJO.
That’s about it. Oh, and though Google maps can help somewhat, data coverage (while good) is inconsistent in the wilder areas – so have a backup. Good luck!
@stogieguy7 Thank yo for your honest opinions. I appreciate the info!
Used Vamos twice in CR for car rental without incident.
@Loyd That’s great to hear!