Costa Rica Car Rental?

Question

can anyone tell me the best place to rent a van large enought for 8 passengers

flying into San Jose' and want to tour the country at our leisure

also is a US driver's license valid & do you have to purchasse a lot of insurance ?

thanks

Answer 1

I don't know if it will be more cost effective to rent or go with shuttles.

8 people would require a transport van which are usually owned by the transport companies and are not for rent with Budget or Alamo or other "car rental" companies.

GPS is a nice feature to have if you are planning to go off the beaten path, but it is not necessary. Also, a 4X4 is HIGHLY recommended as a lot of roads are not paved and there are a lot of highlands to cross just to get out of San Jose valley.

Here is a link to look up shuttle services and car rentals. You can call this company and they will call the service provider to make sure you have appropriate pick-up/ drop-off locations and reservations.

http://www.anywherecostarica.com/

Look for transport in the column on the right.

Answer 2

Alamo has minivans and their rate is approx 562.00 per week with unlimited mileage. You will need a valid US drivers license, min age 21 yrs, and you can add as much insurance as you want, but they do require PLI or SLI which is mandatory insurance.  Budget is another rental in San Jose, but they tend to tack alot on after quoting you the initial rate.

http://costarica.rentalcargroup.com/san%...

I went w/Alamo when I was in Costa Rica and there are some pretty rugged roads.  Monteverde ( my favorite spot of Costa Rica),if you plan on going there just be careful. The roads are very narrow and quite dangerous. Alot of unpaved roads.

You may already have hotels booked, but if not below are some nice/inexpensive properties:

Hotel Belmar in Monteverde is really nice:

http://www.crica.com/hotels/belmar.html

Outside Liberia is a 112 yr old rustic hotel and this site offers good packages for horseback riding, closest lodge to the thermal spring spas.

http://www.guachipelin.com/index.html

Arenal Volcano hotel is a nice quiet hotel:

http://www.costaricatours.net/accommodat...

Enjoy!

Answer 3

Go to http://www.thingbot.com/ do a search on "costa rica car rentals" it will give some great leads and deals.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

you can rent a car or van just out side the air port (there are people outside who will help you with this)

its less expensive than if you rent from inside the airport.

Answer 5

Rent from Alamo or Eurocar or any number of car rental places. Just get the best price.

And yes, insurance is expensive down there.