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| *Travel Tips>>>Costa Rica Travel Tips |
How to rent a car in Costa Rica? Help, please? |
Travel Info Do you need an international drivers license if going from the USA? How much is insurance over there per day for the car? Is it safe? Thanks Travel Tips Every drivers licence is valid in any other country for 3 months. If you are planning to stay more than 3 months, you should get an international drivers licence. Basic insurance of any car is MANDATORY and costs between $12 and $25 depending on the type of car you rent. Full coverage is optional and the additional cost per day is about $11 (depending on the rent a car company, it may vary between $10 and $12 but not more). So when renting a car you have to add the price per day AND the basic insurance to avoid any surprises. Renting a car for one week should give you a discount (normally you pay 6 days instead of 7) but this applies ONLY for daily rental. Insurance will still be charge 7 days. Please consider the following things when renting a car: - Minimum age to rent a car is 21 years - 路Client has to hold a valid drivers license. Foreign licenses are valid for three months after arrival, therefore always carry your passport with you when driving. - 路Seat belt is mandatory - 路You need an international credit card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club) with a minimum credit of US$1000. This deposit is left as a guarantee. Cash is not accepted. - 路Basic insurance is mandatory in Costa Rica, additional insurance can be acquired as well - 路Rates include free kilometers - 路Additional drivers, child seat and racks have extra costs - 路Cars can be picked up or left almost everywhere in the country. The car rental company will charge a drop off fee. - 路In case of a breakdown, never attempt to repair the car yourself or take it to a repair shop without authorization. Car rental companies have a 24-hour emergency service and should be called immediately. - 路The rented vehicle will be given to you with a full tank. You should return it the same way or the car rental company will make an additional charge to the credit card. The gas charged there will be much more expensive than at the gas station. - 路Fines cannot be charged by the police on the spot. It has to be paid at the nearest municipal office (alcald铆a). If you do not pay there, the car rental company will make the charge to your credit card. About safety: Renting a car in a foreign country can sometimes be quite an adventure and a challenge for some people, but almost half of Costa Rica鈥檚 visitors prefer to rent a car. It is very easy to find out why. Even though many roads are still unpaved and Costa Ricans have a somehow 鈥減articular鈥?way of driving, the advantages easily outweigh the disadvantages. The country is small and a rental car brings so much flexibility compared with buses or fixed transfers. You will find different types of vehicles for rent, such as four wheel drives, automobiles, vans, limousines, and more. Most vehicles have air conditioning. Manual gears are the norm, but automatic gears can be obtained as well . If you are likely to be going off the main paved roads, or are driving during the rainy season when potholes are at their worst, seriously consider a 4WD vehicle. The smallest, such as the Daihatsu Terios, are not much more expensive than 2WD vehicles. Most companies will bring you the car to your hotel in San Jos茅 free of charge. If you return it in San Jos茅 there will be no charge as well. Only if pick up and drop off is at different locations, they will charge you between $30 an $100 depending on the place. If you need any additional advice I recommend to contact a local travel agency that will give you good tips, good road maps if needed, description of the routes, driving times, best roads to take, etc. Try this one: www.tropicalpass.com They will help you with all the info you need. Source(s): www.tropicalpass.com Other Travel Tips yes you do need an international drivers license. atleast we did, but we're from canada..... i do believe that you probably still will need one in order to drive. insurance..... dont really know... im allmost positve that it is not expensive. costa rica is very reasonable in pricing. its pretty cheap. beautiful place. avis and budget and all those are there... but it is slim pickings, the rental shop is prob 15-20min drive from san jose airport. its not onsite... so you have to take airport transportation, that you have to pay for if i remember correctly. When you get your car, the car rental guy will check everrrry single corner of that car to examine the condition. IF YOU SEE SOMETHING WRONG before you get in and drive away . MAKE sure you point this out. it could be the simplest thing like a button hanging loosely off the dash , or a vent on the a/c because he will MOST definately charge you for it when you bring the car back even if you didnt do it . as mentioned before its slim pickins and they are deisel car so noisy! sometimes things dont work, and the clutch might not be the greatest. but i mean its safe and all....just not driving bling bling style. in regards to being safe..........? um...... yeah sort of, lol. they drive incredibly fast and its unbelievable how they do it, because you will see for yourself. the roads are very twitsy turny up the mountain and down the mountain. there is most certainly not a lot of guard rail... lol and you aRE UP HIIIIIIIIIIGH in the rainforest when youre up there. just be careful, especially at night, i was more apprehensive at night than day... i mean it is pretty crazy. you just have to be aware, dont be gawking at the monkeys or the vista when youre going around the corner.... mo-peds are crazy!! and is the country safe? yeah...its pretty safe.... if you are a woman with light hair especially, just becareful.. be smart anyways which ever genre you are.. haha hope you enjoy it! it is an amazing country!! watch out for the viper snakes! and the scorpians!! been there done that Try "Link to Tourism" http://www.islandsguide.co.uk/costarica.... You do not need an international drivers license from the U.S., I have rented through Alamo, Hertz, National, Budget and Solido. You can get a good idea of rates and taxes from websites. There is a hefty required insurance. BE SURE to go over your car with a fine tooth comb with an agent when you pick up your car and note every ding you can see. Costs depend on the kind of car rented. |
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