Driving in Costa Rica: Useful Tips And Info

As you should know by now (as an avid reader of our blog): we love road trips. Naturally, we knew that we would definitely be driving in Costa Rica when we booked our flights.

We read several blogposts with tips on how to behave on Costa Rican roads and checked the main problems we might encounter.

Here's a blogpost that combines all those tips with our personal experience.

As we visited Costa Rica in October, which is rainy season, we obviously chose the worst  time for driving in Costa Rica. If you choose a drier period, you might have a bit less problems.

Here is our compilation of tips for driving in Costa Rica! Plus a very valuable personal story that might help you staying out of trouble! Hint: it's related to mugging...

First of all: should I drive in Costa Rica?

Good question! I can assure you right away that Costa Rica is the safest country in the whole of Central America. 

That doesn't mean you can't get in trouble - read on to find out what happened to us during that trip!

But if  you're wondering whether driving in Costa Rica is safe in general: yes, it is. As long as you keep certain rules in mind, you should be fine.

Don't have time to read this now? Then pin it for later!

What you should know before renting a car

Where to rent and what to watch out for

Before starting our adventure, we did our research and looked at the several car rental companies in Costa Rica.

We booked a car with Sixt, one of the more trustable (crossing fingers they won't charge anything later that they're not supposed to) rental car companies, at the international airport of San José.

One thing to bear in mind when booking your car: even though the price might be pretty sweet online, third party liability insurance in mandatory in Costa Rica but generally not included in the quote you initially get from the rental company.

Okay, but which car should I get?

Depending of what destinations you plan on visiting: a 4x4 is a must. 

We were so glad we had a Suzuki Jimmy when we had to detour because of a road block by protesters. We would definitely have gotten stuck because of the muddy roads.

General rules and information

Here's what you'll need to know before driving in Costa Rica:

If you're travelling to Costa Rica during this year's (2020) lovely pandemic, they have a restriction on who is allowed to travel when, depending on the last figure on the licence plate.

But this rule doesn't apply to rental cars, they can circulate whenever they want.

How to navigate the country

Having GPS is crucial

You will definitely want to have a GPS.

You can either get one from your rental company or you can buy a prepaid SIM card that also includes internet data. In this case, you should use the Waze-app which is very popular in Costa Rica and therefore works really well.

But you can also use Google Maps' offline maps for the areas you are going to visit: just download them on your phone and use them like the online map. The only downside is that it won't give you updated traffic info. 

Getting directions is hard

There are generally no street names or house numbers (except for San José)!

 If you ask for directions, people will most likely tell you that it's "behind the bakery [insert name] on the corner to the right side, about 100 m after the house with yellow windows".

No kidding.

Road conditions

City vs countryside

Driving in Costa Rica's main cities

The road conditions in and around Costa Rica's main cities are rather good: nicely paved roads with bright lines on them.

But here's where the Costa Rican driving style kicks in and can be annoying - read on to find out more!

On the countryside and outside of the main attractions

Depending on the season, add to that: muddy roads; sometimes little rivers forming on the streets.

In rural areas, there's often just one lane and you'll have to get very close to the edge to let each other pass. No sidewalks, no pavement. 

General driving behaviour of Costa Ricans

Use of the emergency lights and blinkers

Like we do in Belgium (apparently they do this less in Austria as Sebi was surprised that I always do this), Costa Ricans say "thank you" for example when you let them yield by flashing the emergency lights shortly. So don't be surprised when that happens.

On the other hand, in Belgium we use our RIGHT blinker to indicate that the car behind should pass us.

Here in Costa Rica, they use the LEFT one. It's every confusing cause to me that indicates that THEY are going to pass someone... 

Respecting the rules

Double striped roads are a no-go for passing - you'll see that Costa Ricans do it all the time but it's actually against the law.

Don't speed!

Speed limit on highways is 90kmh. They like to tailgate when they feel you're too slow. But don't let it speed you up. It's just what they do but that doesn't mean you should adapt.

Driving under the influence and using your mobile while driving is also against the law.

So is not wearing a seatbelt.

Pay attention to these behaviours

Stopping in the middle of the road with emergency lights is pretty common amongst Costa Ricans.

For central Europeans (in Italy, they drive a bit like this): it's more like "go whenever you can". Lots of drivers don't blink when they yield so always pay attention.

Traffic lights and the rule of right of way don't apply everywhere in Costa Rica. At least that's the impression we got as well-behaved central Europeans 😉

If you have to make a sudden stop, for example to let a pedestrian cross the road, use your warning lights so that the driver behind you is aware of the situation.

A few things to know when driving in Costa Rica

Toll roads

Some main roads in Costa Rica are toll roads so make sure you always carry cash.

The toll booths are called "peaje". 

Gas stations

Gas stations are never self-service. So make sure to always have a few colones as a tip.

Also fill up at every occasion you can. Distances between towns can be bigger than you think and gas station are scarce outside of them.

Dangers on the road and how to react

Driving at night

Generally, people recommend not to drive at night. But the thing with Costa Rica is: it gets dark at 6pm (no matter the season)!

So if you plan on heading out to get dinner, bear this in mind. We never drove long distances in the dark as we didn't feel comfortable.

Not because of criminality (like in Mexico where you absolutely NEVER should drive in the dark) but because of the lack of visibility, the insanely numerous potholes, animals, people crossing with no proper lighting.

Don't do it when it rains. In Costa Rica, when it rains, it POURS, which can be very dangerous.

Accidents

If you happen to be in an accident: call your rental company first (very important for you insurance) and 911.

Don't let strangers help you. They might mean well but you never know what their intentions really are.

Police checks

If you get pulled over by the police, do what they ask, don't get mad and stay polite. 

If you don't speak Spanish, we know from research that they have English speaking lines they can use.

In general police in Costa Rica is trustable but there have been cases of corrupt police officers trying to scam you. 

Potholes, obstacles and speed bumps

Potholes! So many! And big ones! And deep ones!

But add to this: children, people crossing without looking (there are not many side- or crosswalks), lots and lots of animals - you are driving in a very rich country in terms of flora and fauna!

As soon as you come near a school: speed bumps! And they can be very nasty if you don't see them in time. And they are not always signalled.

Robbery and carjacking

Keep close to your car

When in one of the major cities, especially in San José, always keep close to your car when in a quiet area with no other people. 

If you're waiting for someone, say from your accommodation, do so in your car with windows shut and doors locked.

Mugging can happen, "express kidnapping" as well. That's when they take you from ATM to ATM to clean out your account.

But there's also carjacking cases reported - rental cars as well.

Looking for the right address

The day before leaving Costa Rica, we arrived on our car in a guarded street in the outskirts of San José.

It was the third time we would sleep in the capital and so far, everything went well.

Because the directions of our AirBnB weren't clear on which house to look for and we didn't have internet to check it on Google Street View, I just had asked the guard (!) in his little box to show us the right house.

Letting our guard down...

While we were walking down the street to the house he pointed to, he drove off with his bike to make his round in the neighbourhood.

We almost reached it when a white car with tainted windows stopped on the street right next to us.

The tainted windows should have given it away... But we were waiting for the lady renting out the AirBnB as she told us to be there at a certain hour.

So we were both persuaded that this car was her and that she would soon step out to ask if we were here guests (like we experienced many times before).

And then there was a gun

Instead, both doors on our side suddenly flew open (after moments of hesitation) and two guys with scarfs of their faces started yelling at us.

The guy in the back was half-way out of the car and yelled something about "phone" (the phone I was still holding from having asked the guard to show us where to go).

I gave it to him as the guy in the front was actually pointing a gun at us and yelling as well. First time ever I got a gun pointed at me. It marks you.

As soon as they saw the guard coming back with his bike from the other side, they left it at that and drove off in a hurry.

I was also carrying my purse and I think they would have gone for this as well if the guard hadn't come back.

The "bright" side of this event

Of course I was shocked and sad that my phone was gone.

But on the bright side: it was an iphone which means I could activate the "erase my phone" function from Apple. 

As soon as the muggers connected the phone to the internet - which was the next morning - all my data got erased and the activation lock put on the phone.

So as long as I keep my phone in my Apple-account, they won't be able to unlock and sell it. Ha! At least that thought made me happy!

It also showed them a message on the screen saying they should think about their actions and that Karma's a lovely bitch.

Anyway, this to say that if we had stayed inside the car, this wouldn't have happened. And looking for accommodations with guarded parking lots really isn't a luxury but quite necessary in the city.

In conclusion

Driving by yourself in Costa Rica is really safe compared to other countries in Central America.

Despite what happened on our last day, we would do it again. We adapted rather quickly to these behaviours we don't usually have in Europe.

And the fact that we rented a 4x4 even made the muddiest roads possible. 

Just bear these tips in mind and you should be absolutely fine!

We hope you found this useful and if so, feel free to comment, pin and share it for your next adventure in Costa Rica!

As ever,

xx

Cyn

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