There is a couple of tricks I can share with you from what I have learned living in Costa Rica and helping friends and family rent vehicles that will save you money on car rentals in Costa Rica.1. Do not rent from the airport as there is an extra fee/tax applied to airport rentals. This is highly common in many places around the world and here is certainly no different however many consumers do not realize that they are paying dearly for the privilege of just walking up to that counter. The alternative is to reserve ahead of time with an agency that is off of the airport hence their costs are lower and so will yours be. Normally they will come pick you up at the airport for a short drive of 1-5 kilometers from the arrivals gate. Even if you had to take a taxi you would indeed save MUCH MORE than your fare.
2. Be cautious of many of the travel booking sites as I have seen rates on them that are much higher (25%+) than what you can get on the streets around San Jose. Now I am not talking about vehicles with one wheel in the grave but equally good quality units to national brands that are no more than 3 years old. In fact it is the law here for tax preferred rentals to keep them in the fleet for three years which is very different mode of operation in comparison to Canada and USA. Another catch I have seen is customers complaining about what happens when you have too many cooks in the kitchen. Meaning you book with a foreign agent who then passes it off to another company who may then pass it off to the final rental agency. This is just asking for unnecessary screw ups I would much rather talk to the front end of the horse than what often becomes the back end. In addition these foreign agents often know squat about Costa Rica and its curves hence you end up with the blind leading the blind.
3. Do you really need that car the first day or not? Many flights come in after 2 pm so why not save yourself a days rental and have your car delivered to your hotel room the next morning when you are fresh and ready to head off on your adventure. There is many hotels both big and small that are not far from the Airport and offer easy exit from city traffic.
Unless you’re a veteran traveler to Costa Rica you should never leave late in the day and fumble around in dark that catches you at 5:30. Just no upside to that. A little planning with a LOCAL not to be confused with a LOCO agent will go along way in saving you money and providing a higher level of service. Also a local agent can be your advocate should there be any problems as the agencies they deal with are regular customers not someone they may never see again hence the situation often carries an entirely different attitude with it. Better yet it costs you nothing for the extra service.
HAPPY AND SAFE TOURING!!
Suenos de Amigos S.A.
