Costa Rica w. Teen w/o Car
Hello BPN! -- I'm thinking about a July trip (8-12 days?) to Costa Rica with my older teen, but I hate driving on unknown narrow, rough roads (and my kiddo can't drive well enough yet). Can we do 3 different locations without a rental car? This will be our first trip to CR, so hoping to hit the highlights -- day/night hiking and ziplining (La Fortuna/Monte Verde?); and rafting (2/3 rapids) or flat water kayaking (bioluminescent kayak tour?); and to see animals in their natural habitat (monkeys, sloths, frogs). Not essential, but a plus to add a beach somewhere for relaxing, boogie boarding, snorkeling and/or beginner surfing for a couple of days. Ideally, we would take shuttles (or a taxi? private driver/car?) from location to location. Day tours with a small group, especially with other older teens, are good too, since it'll just be the two of us. There are a couple of tree house lodgings that look fun - one in La Fortuna, one in Monte Verde. Would appreciate any advice about putting this trip together - both where to go and logistics. (Archived advice is older and mostly geared towards younger kids.) Thanks much!
Parent Replies
I visited Costa Rica 5 years ago and got a rental car (I think a compact SUV) except for when we were in San Jose. There were a lot of places we went that wouldn't have been accessible by public transportation (e.g Montezuma), and even getting between the larger cities seems difficult. Driving was not that bad - there are some newer roads that were very easy, and there wasn't so much traffic once we got out of the city. Definitely some narrow and rough ones - watch out for roads that look like bridges on Google maps but are actually just shallow streams that cross the road - but I would say it's worth the hassle.
I concur with your take. I visited Costa Rica in 2018 and we rented a car, to determine afterward we would not do that again. The roads were poorly marked, we got lost, and worst of all got pulled over by a fake (?) traffic cop in a speeding scam and ripped off for an "on the spot fine". I would love to visit CR again but absolutely would do an organized tour. Check out Discovery Corps, among others. Also July might not be the right time of year, temp-wise... many micro climates in CR so you'll need to decide if it's right for you.
Driving in Costa Rica is not nearly as hard as it might seem. You can avoid San Jose altogether by flying into Liberia, and renting a car there (I recommend Poas Renta Car). Then all the country “highways” are just two lane roads and when you get off, you either turn right or left. The roads are much improved and mostly paved, but I always get a 4WD and I spring for the extra insurance too. That said, hiring a driver is very easy and safe. It won’t be cheap, but rental cars aren’t either. I’m sure the hotels can help you with that, or point you in the right direction if you call them in advance. Ticos (Costa Ricans) are super friendly and helpful. As for tours, when I have taken my younger teen, I just used viator and that was fine for finding local tour operators - fun for both of us. The hotels can hook you up with all of that too.
I lived in CR in the 90s. It was very different then, but I’ve taken my son back a few times. Very easy traveling and always fantastic. You will have a great time, whether you plan it in advance or wing it. Feel free to ask the admin for my email if you want to chat offline.
PS: there is a 2 week school break in July. You may want to google that and avoid those dates. The beaches will be crowded with people from San Jose, the mountains less so.
Take this info with a grain of salt, especially because we rented a car the last time we were there -- in 2022 with an 11 and 13 year old. BUT, when I was there 20 years ago, we did it without a car. We took the bus from San Jose to Monteverde. Then we hired a driver (maybe it was a couple of taxis, I'm not sure, it was a group of friends) to take us from Monteverde to Tamarindo (on the pacific coast). It was great because the driver pointed out wildlife and stopped at one point so we could see a sloth (an animal we didn't see on our most recent trip). Then we took a van back to San Jose -- it was all tourists, so not a colectivo, but not a private van. Obviously this was a long time ago, but I can't imagine you couldn't do the same these days. I would poke around the TripAdvisor forums as there is often exactly this kind of info there.
Having said all this, almost all our driving in Costa Rica did not involve narrow rough roads. We flew in and out of Liberia which is recommended, unless you are going far south, because it's so much smaller than San Jose and there is not much to see in SJ anyway. The road from there to Samara toward the bottom of the Nicoya peninsula was fine. We then drove up to Arenal area. We did hit a snag when we followed Google maps directions to turn off the main highway for a "shortcut" that took us on more and more narrow roads until we got to a locked gate! If we had stayed on the main highway it would have been fine. (This is also in the point of the trip when we realized we left our passports in the safe at the hotel in Samara so we had to drive two hours back to retrieve them and didn't arrive to Arenal until nighttime... I wouldn't advise that.) We stayed at the Arenal Observatory Lodge which is inside the park, has amazing views, and tons of trails from there. I'm pretty sure they have a shuttle that can pick you up in La Fortuna and bring you up there. On our way from Liberia to Samara, we also stopped at a rancho near the rio Tempisque and Palo Verde nat'l park. Amazing wildlife viewing there as well! I haven't been to Manuel Antonio or Corcovado, but I've heard great things about both. Would love to see them the next time we go. Good luck with your planning and have fun! Costa Rica is such a great country to visit.