Anyone ever driven through Costa Rica? We're planning a summer trip and making several stops starting in San Jose, making our way to the volcano, then to Jaco Beach and eventually back to San Jose. Are the road conditions really bad. The websites we've seen state that a 50 mile drive takes about 4 hours. Is that accurate? how safe is Costa Rica and do you guys have any other tips for traveling through there? Thanks.
I have driven from San Jose to Quepos. Once outside of San Jose the road was non-paved, with pot holes about the size of the small rental car I had. It took about double the time it would have on a typical US road. Not sure about other destinations, but that was my experience.
It depends on where you are going. San Jose to Arenal is fine. The roads near Quepos aren't that great. The Osa Peninsula is worse. But the main difference btw the US and Costa Rica is that the roads there are not highways and have lots of turns and turnoffs. You have to pay attention to the signs.
I used to drive around Costa Rica, but not in the last 8 years. The roads were bad back then, but we got around OK - you just had to be careful and, if possible, avoid driving at night. Conditions could be better now, because a lot more tourist money has poured into the country since the good ol' days. We always rented a 4WD vehicle BTW. The places you are visiting are not among the difficult places to access (e.g., Monteverde cloud forest), but you can still be surprised. For example, driving near Arenal at night we came to a section of the highway that had washed down the side of the mountain. Our lane was gone, but the opposing lane was still intact so we could get through. The washout wasn't marked at all, however. Another evening we were tooling down the highway near the San Jose airport and a big delivery truck was parked ON THE HIGHWAY with no lights on. I almost stuck our rental into its rear. That was scary. The good news is that by driving you can partake of the many little roadside thatched hut restaurant/bars around the country. The food and brews are always delicious!
Watch for power poles that are literally sticking out of the street. Here's what I remember about the roads in CR... paved... not paved... paved... not paved... paved... not paved... paved... not paved...
Yeah we flew everywhere the last time I went. I can't remember the name of the airport but it is within a few miles of SJO. We flew to the Osa Peninsula and then flew straight from there to Quepos. The planes, I don't think seated more than 4 people. I wonder if the flights are still cheap, considering the increase in fuel prices.
I have driven that country a few times. The country roads can be a challenge but it is worth the effort. Very pretty. The most nerve racking thing is driving inside san jose. As one might expect, people drive like freaks.
I flew into San Jose and drove to Quepos. It was a beautiful drive. The bridges were a little scary as they looked temporary and were just metal scaffolding so you could look straight down through them. Oh yeah, sometimes you'd come around a corner on a mountain and the road had fallen off the side and there'd a be a little cone to mark it if you were lucky. I rented a crappy Jeep and had no trouble with the terrain. Driving in San Jose was chaotic but things moved pretty slowly (lots of gridlock) and it wasn't TOO bad but certainly not relaxing. Approaching toll booths at 50mph with people standing between the lanes with stuff for sale was a little unnerving though. I had a blast down there. Here are my pics and there was a bar called Byblos which had a 2005 Texas national championship banner hanging along with some other Texas stuff: rayfes.com/pic-top.php?picset=07costarica Rayfes
Thanks for all the good tips. We changed our plans slightly. Instead of ending up at Jaco, we're going down to Quepos. Anyone have any good tips for bars, restuarants, etc. I'll be with the wife and kid so it has to be "clean" enough for them. Thanks.
