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The minimal Spanish thing isn’t a big deal, but I’d definitely recommend renting an SUV over a sedan as the roads can be treacherous (narrow, unpaved, foggy, rainy). Locals use the roads as pedestrian routes, so you have to be mindful of that as well.
Definitely get an suv. I cheaped out and got a small car and I literally could not get around. At one point I had to take like a 2 hour detour to get around ONE flooded stretch of the road. The bigger cars just went straight through it but mine was too low and would not have made it. After that I returned it and upgraded.
Going for 10 days - thanksgiving. renting a car, can share my experience on 5th.
I did it fairly recently (pre-Covid) with no issue. I don’t speak Spanish and didn’t have trouble with road signs. The roads suck in some parts (extremely bumpy and unpaved), but it’s doable. For rental cars, it’s important to ensure your credit card provides the required insurance, otherwise they will charge you a lot — like it may double or triple the total cost of the rental. Worth doing some research beforehand to ensure you have what you need.
As others have said, roads aren’t bad and neither is the language. Prob wouldn’t hurt to brush up on some basic phrases though. They’ve built some new roads in the past 10 years, so ppl who went there before that prob have some interesting driving stories.
Rent an SUV with a GPS. It’s also easier to have exact colons for tolls. They accept the dollar, but don’t post the exchange rates on the booths lol.
I totally agree about the insurance, rental insurance in Costa Rica is no joke and is required.
As someone who has been lost on a Costa Rican mountain for 8 hours, rent a GPS and an SUV. Our phones didn’t work on the mountain. It has been about 5 years since I went, but they were doing construction and a lot of the road signs were unclear/some places have the same name. If you’re only going to the beach it may be easier, but the jungle will have less reliable service
I downloaded the offline maps for my trip from Google Maps and had no issue using my phone for GPS in parts with no service.
I just went in July and drove from San Jose to the pacific coast- about 3 hours each way. The first night was actually during a torrential downpour in the middle of the night. It turned out to be fine because the roads were great and pretty clear. As someone said earlier, you will need colones for tolls. Depending on where you’re staying and what you’re planning on doing, you may need a 4WD/AWD. I didn’t need it but had one just in case.
Was there in February and we rented a car for 10 days. Super easy! We used Waze to navigate
I realize this is a different country, but I rented a car in Mexico to drive 4 hrs round trip from Cancun to Chichen Itza and it wasn’t bad at all. We used google maps and it gave us all the info we needed
Been to CR twice and drove both times. Super easy! Roads are pretty decent.
I would recommend that you download Waze. You will get shafted on insurance unfortunately. Roads are pretty good, driving up in the mountains can get treacherous at times but it’s a paradise.
The rental car process was the worst part of the trip. Even though I had the required letter from my credit card company and could avoid one of the many types of fees required, the car company still found a way to tack on many additional charges. I suggest researching and going with a positive-reviewed local rental car company rather than a global chain.