Transportation in Costa Rica
“The Point. - Rent a car in Costa Rica, it’s a great way to explore the country at your own pace and if you plan ahead it can be affordable. ”
A few people have reached out to me asking for more information about the province of Guanacaste after our amazing trip to the JW Marriott Guanacaste in Costa Rica. I have pulled together this post, on transportation in Costa Rica, and my next post will discuss some the places we ate and things we did in the Tamarindo region. Overall, Costa Rica is a really easy country to get around but this post will help you save time planning your trip around Costa Rica. While the infrastructure isn’t amazing, the main roads are safe and drivers are, for the most part, respectful of the rules.
Renting a car let us hit our quota of 2 coconuts a day!
Getting Around
Based on my understanding of the infrastructure in Costa Rica, we decided to rent a car for our trip. The main roads are quite good but the roads near hotels and “off the beaten path” can even make Montreal roads look good.
When renting a car in Costa Rica, the government requires mandatory car insurance, in addition to prices that you see on the internet which will add between $10-20US a day to your rental car total price displayed online. This third party liability insurance is not covered by any Canadian credit card and is non-negotiable - you cannot get out of this. Like in many places around the world, rental companies will also try to sell you Collision Damage Waiver insurance (usually for $30+ a day!) The good news is that you can decline other insurance If you use a major credit card, like an Amex or a World Elite Mastercard, this will be covered, which can easily cover the value of your annual fee.
At the Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia we rented with Avis and the process was quite straightforward. They picked us up from the airport and took us to the rental agency just off site. To use your credit card insurance they require a note from your credit card insurer. Their website states:
Prior to your trip you must contact your bank and request written proof of your credit card protection plan, where its validity in Costa Rica is clearly stated. Such letter must be presented at the Avis counter at the time of the rental and we reserve the right of accept or not such protection.
I reached out to American Express insurance, on my Amex Platinum card, a few days before leaving and they sent the letter to me confirming my coverage. For further information, Avis explains all their insurance charges on this page. After accepting the required liability insurance, our experience with Avis at the Liberia Airport was relatively painless and the SUV that we rented was an affordable $215USD for the 6 days that we were there
Letter from my American Express Platinum
The Departure Tax
There was one snag that we came across in Costa Rica. On departure, Costa Rica requires everyone to pay a departure tax of $29USD. Some airlines include this fee in your ticket, whereas some others make you pay this prior to checkin. Unfortunately, our flight with WestJet did not include the fee. If, like us, you are required to pay the fee, you will not be able to check in online and you will be required to pay this fee at the airport prior to checkin. To note - some people have pointed out that the fee is charged as a cash advance on some credit cards, so it’s best to pay with US cash - there are ATM’s at the very end of the terminal building, near the check-in kiosks.
An example of the Departure Tax included (“Transportation Sales Tax”) on an Air Canada Booking
The following airlines include the Costa Rica departure tax in the flight ticket:
Air Canada
United
American
The following airlines do not include the Costa Rica departure tax in the flight ticket:
Sunwing
Have any questions? Don’t hesitate to comment or reach out to me via email or social media!
