Costa Rica - How scary are the roads, really?

[Anonymous]

Flew into Liberia, rented a 4 WDR SUV and drove all over Guanacaste and Arenal. No problems whatsoever. Even drove through a gigantic puddle during a torrential downpour on our first night there - lived to tell the tale! I will say that the PanAmerican highway is nothing more than a two-lane country road in that part. We did get stopped by the police and I spoke to them in Spanish and they let us go...they have a reputation for charging the gringos a "fine".

[Anonymous]

We got pulled over by police twice and wasn't speeding.

Each time we got gas, they tried to cheat us.

But I would definitely go back and drive again. Just be prepared.

[Anonymous]

Scary no. Fun yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well the zika virus is thriving in Costa Rica so that's an even better reason not to visit.

Who cares if you are not trying to get pregnant.

[Anonymous]

Roads did not faze me. Never a thought until you mentioned it.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if I'm adventurous enough to brave the roads there. The jungle, beach, volcano all seem great, but maybe I'm too much of a resorty type person to handle the logistics of getting to those places.

[Anonymous]

Our hotels arranged a van to take us there and between hotels. The drivers were very nice and not at all aggressive in their driving. We could have tolerated a little more aggressiveness as it took forever and it seems we were goin very slowly.
I think rainy season or not makes a huge difference. We were there in dry season and the roads were just curvy, somewhat narrow mountain roads like you'd see anywhere. And the traffic was awful, but it was Christmas week.

[Anonymous]

Not scary but it you're at all prone to motion sickness, take Dramamine with you. I gave it to my son on every ride and he still got a little sick from Arenal to San Jose airport. I took it myself and was fine. We had a driver so I really enjoyed the scenery.

[Anonymous]

We got lost several times (very poor signs) and hardly used our rental car. Roads were very bumpy. Paid a lot for the rental car and wish we had just used shuttles.

[Anonymous]

If you know how to drive manual, there are many more of those than automatic. I also recommend an SUV if you're going off the main roads.
I found the driving outside the city to be a bit difficult, but manageable with some patience. For example, without a traffic signal it took some patience / quick moving to cut into traffic on the main roads.
Having a car was great - we drove up to the cloud forest, which was really neat.

[Anonymous]

If you get an all-wheel/4-wheel drive SUV you'll be fine. I've driven through a lot of the country - most roads are FINE.

Some more remote areas (like Osa peninsula) definitely have potholes or are rocky but manageable. If you're worried, try to ask ahead of time what to prepare for.

If you drive up to Monteverde it's windy, steep, and with cliffs but personally I'd rather be driving than put my life in the hands of a taxi driver.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We hated driving in Costa Rica. Narrow roads, behind diesel trucks spewing fumes for miles upon end in front of you.

Totally agree plus the zika...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We hated driving in Costa Rica. Narrow roads, behind diesel trucks spewing fumes for miles upon end in front of you.

+1 And it wasted a lot of our precious vacation time.