While getting ready for our current journey to Costa Rica, a standard theme emerged from the varied journey documentaries, weblog posts, and guidebooks we watched and browse—driving within the land of Pura Vida is a little more difficult than the U.S.
Traffic in Atenas
Car Rentals and Trip Preparation
To start, when you have a sound drivers license you don’t want to use for a world license. Plan to buy extra, complete, insurance coverage with the rental automobile firm that covers the automobile and drivers within the occasion of an accident (we bought journey insurance coverage with our flights and nonetheless opted for the secondary protection with the rental automobile firm). We strongly suggest renting a automobile with 4-wheel drive and GPS navigation in case you are not planning to have worldwide cellular phone protection. By default, most rental vehicles in Costa Rica (and different elements of the world) are handbook transmission. If you aren’t snug driving a stick, pay an up-charge for automated transmission. You’ll see why in a bit.
Toll Stop
Before you go, obtain the Waze crowdsource driving path app and familiarize your self with the interface. Units of distance and pace are in kilometers and kilometers per hour, a setting that defaulted to miles and miles per hour on my telephone (you might wish to change that setting; for us it wasn’t a giant deal as we had been largely utilizing Waze for instructions and it appeared just like the pace restrict was not noticed outdoors of metropolis limits). Instead of getting into a avenue handle into Waze, enter the title of the lodge, restaurant, or attraction (we learn avenue indicators and home numbers weren’t widespread outdoors of San Jose and this held true).
Worth packing (or buying forward of time) is a telephone mount for a cupholder or vent, charging cable, and a USB charger that matches right into a cigarette lighter (though our rental automobile had a USB hub we found solely after buying the cigarette lighter choice at an area comfort retailer). If you want a clear windshield for things like clear line of web site, you might wish to put money into wipes or carry an previous rag. A large parrot, I assume, pooped over the passenger facet entrance window someplace within the rainforest and I loved a number of hours of obstructed imaginative and prescient. Gas stations are few and much between if you happen to do wish to cease and clear your windshield.
One Lane Bridge
Before You Drive
Waze gave us completely different choices for instructions, sluggish and quick and indicated when the quick route was on a toll highway. If you’re leaving instantly from the airport, purchase one thing small on the reward store or comfort retailer earlier than you embark in your journey as you’ll want small payments or cash to maneuver with the circulate of site visitors. On the interstate, the right-hand lane is the bus lane; busses cease and trigger the circulate of site visitors to come back to a whole cease. I’m not completely positive how pedestrians arrive on the bus cease, however remember this occurs abruptly and infrequently.
Parking Lot Attendant
You received’t want to fret about driving on the other facet of the highway or shifting along with your left hand and customarily the identical site visitors guidelines with a number of exceptions. We arrived at evening had been glad we had learn this extraordinarily useful weblog submit beforehand as we encountered a single-lane bridge on the way in which to our first lodge and knew to yield to oncoming site visitors (whoever arrives on the bridge first has the right-of-way).
Being Tailgated on the Pan-American Highway
Safety Concerns
Another key distinction between the U.S. and Costa Rica is that automobiles don’t yield to pedestrians or bicycles (we didn’t journey with youngsters, however stressing crossing at designated crosswalks and site visitors gentle crossings appears notably essential for households). Oftentimes the one solution to cross a avenue was to attend for a break in site visitors, which appeared extra terrifying than thrilling.
Landslide and Road Closure
Landslide Detour
In the occasion of a site visitors accident, vehicles don’t transfer out of the highway to permit automobiles to move (police doc the scene and direct site visitors if attainable). When parking, search for yellow paint on the facet of the highway. Do not park anyplace with yellow paint or different indicators (like taxi or lodge unloading zones). One article we learn mentioned your license plate could possibly be eliminated within the occasion of a parking violation (navigating that scenario with the rental automobile firm sounds depressing).
Taxi Parking and Yellow No-Parking Zones
On the topic of terrifying and thrilling, observe that bikes and mopeds are extraordinarily widespread on metropolis roads and on the freeway. Often, these automobiles move on the middle lane (between you and oncoming site visitors) and on the precise facet of your automobile. If site visitors slows, count on to be handed on either side with out warning. Busses and tour busses are additionally widespread and journey at amazingly quick speeds within the nation and metropolis (particularly within the metropolis; maintain a detailed eye in your toddlers).
Paid Parking Lot
Many articles we learn suggested us to not depart any unattended valuables within the automobile and to park in secured parking if that was an choice. We paid a parking attendant a small tip for watching our automobile whereas we visited a preferred vacationer cease and ate lunch. He communicated his expectation forward of time and was blissful to gather the price both earlier than or after our cease. In normal, we felt very secure in Costa Rica however after having my purse stolen earlier this yr in a small city in Oregon, I couldn’t fathom the stress of shedding my passport and prescription glasses out of the country. In San Jose, our lodge parking was gated after 6pm and the attendant and his household lived within the residence above the lot (permitting 24-hour entry to our automobile ought to we want it).
Erosion on the Pan-American Highway
If you don’t really feel snug driving at evening, don’t drive at evening in mountainous terrain in Costa Rica. On each rural (dust) roads and on the Pan-American freeway, we skilled detours attributable to landslides, harmful highway erosion, and located ourselves wedged between semi-trucks with no secure breaking distance. Passing lanes finish with out signage and guardrails will not be widespread in any respect. We made the error of touring down a treacherous highway with blind switchbacks earlier than the sundown with no mobile reception and white knuckled the complete journey again up the mountain in full darkness.
Electric Vehicles in Costa Rica
One actually constructive takeaway from our driving journey in Costa Rica was the prevalence of electrical automobile charging stations within the metropolis and nation (at our most distant lodge the charging station was affixed to a tree). Look for the lovely blue charging station indicators (EVs aren’t as widespread because the U.S. however we did discover a handful on our weeklong journey).
Electric Vehicle Charging
In normal, I’m glad we reserved a rental automobile and had an adventurous highway journey in Costa Rica. Definitely do extra analysis and determine if this route is the perfect for you and your loved ones. Look for extra journey tips about what to do and the place to go to and keep in Costa Rica quickly!
Happy Trails!