The Best way to travel in Costa Rica

There are many different ways to navigate through the country Starting with Driving yourself, hirings someone to drive you, taking public transportation or even flying domestic. If you have enouph money you could theoretically be choppered everywhere.

Do not mistake the small size of Costa Rica, the roads are curvy and traffic can be bad adding a lot to your drive times. Costa Rica is relatively easy to navigate although you may get lost without a GPS. Directions are typically given using landmarks. For example, drive 100 meters north and take a left at the yellow house on the corner. Most rental car companies will also give you the option of renting a GPS, this can definitely come in handy. Although if you have internet access on your phone while here, google maps and Waze work just as good.

The freedom of having your own car is awesome. However, there are some important things that you must take into consideration if you feel confident enough to drive here. Costa Rica may advertise a laid back atmosphere but all of this goes away once locals get behind the wheel. You will notice that laws are broken frequently, some persons drive like a demon and some will drive like its Sunday. So you will see all kinds of new things when driving here. And that is just the drivers, you will also have to deal with curvy mountain rodes, potholes galore, and traffic jams that can last for hours. All in all, though Driving a Rental Vehicle will definitely free your vacation up a lot.

Hiring a shuttle is probably one of the best transportation options. This is especially true if you do not want the stresses of daily driving. There are many different companies that offer either a private shuttle or a group shuttle that can be much cheaper.  This is especially affordable if you are traveling with a group. A lot of times you can get a driver that is also a great tour guide they will be knowledgeable about the area and make the trip a little more fun.

Shared shuttles are a cost-effective way to get from one place to another. This is a perfect option for getting to and from the airport if you are staying in one location on your trip here.

Public transportation is a totally different animal here. You may be used to buses and taxis back home but getting to know it here is like rocket science. using the Taxis is fairly easy as long as you have a simple grasp of Spanish and know where you are going. We recommend only to use the red taxis or yellow airport Taxis, as you can also use the pirate taxis but it is highly not recommended. Another option is Uber, in the central valley they are all over the place and have just recently started coming to the coastal cities.

Now as for buses this is where you almost need to rocket science. There are posted bus schedules but can be confusing and drivers do not always follow them. Also the simple fact of how many buses there are in this little country there is almost it seems as many buses as people. City buses can be very packed and smelly, depending on the time you get it. The long-distance buses are much nicer and are a good way to get around if you are a solo traveler. If you are up for adventure a ride on the train might open your eyes a bit, at the moment the train is not new and relatively unsafe but you can beet the price of 1 dollar admission.

So now that you know how to travel through Costa Rica the only decision you have to make is where you are going to go.