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My wife and I are scheduled to arrive in costa rica in march. I plan to rent a car and am wondering if it is safe to travel on the high ways from san jose to guanacaste, costa rica? Or just site seeing in are own vehicle.
Generally, car travel is safe, but you should be vigilant in Costa Rica as you are in the U.S. Try not to leave anything of value in your car especially if it is in sight. When you are getting gas, stay with your vehicle and keep the doors locked.
If you have car trouble, including a flat tire, be very wary of strangers who stop and offer to help. You may be better off to drive to a safe area on a flat than to stop by the roadside to change it. Some criminals have been known to puncture a tire and then follow you ’til it goes flat. Watch what’s going on around you.
All that said, we’ve driven thousands of kilometers around San Jose and beyond and never had a problem.
May I suggest you rent a cell phone (check this site for a contact on this and some car rental places & hotels also provide this service)while you’re there…It can really help if you do get into any kind of trouble. I have been traveling from one end of CR to the other for decades and have never had any trouble with people on the road. The people that stopped to help whenever I was in trouble were doing just that. Unfortunately, there have been some recent schemes which take advantage of tourists, but it sure seems as though they are the exception and not the norm. I would also suggest that you have a contact person that you keep in touch while on your journey. When on Costa Rican highways, even when traveling alone, I worry more about people ‘rayando’ passing you or driving on the wrong side of the road to pass someone else which has been known to cause quite a few accidents.
In spite of CR looking like paradise, you just need to use your common sense and know that there are always those looking to take advantage of those that seem like easy prey anywhere in the world. Enjoy your trip…
It took several days to adjust to Tico driving but both my husband and I did. We had a wonderful time exploring the Central Valley area. Whereas the drivers are a little crazy, there is reason to be driving down the middle of the road. The road surface could be a little rough at times. The drivers always got on their own side of the road when it was necessary. Watch out for the motorcycle riders all the time, but really at night when they like to ride without their headlights on. The only close call we had was while following a truck with cement blocks on the way to Arenal, and he lost the load on a curve just ahead of us. All was well but the road was tied up for a bit. The only problem with the trip was that it only lasted a month…next year I will be visiting for 2 months. By the way we do appreciate the road in Maryland much more now than we did prior to our trip.
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