Travelogue from Costa Rica: My experiences of a self-drive holiday in Costa Rica

In January 2022, Christina, our Latin America expert, visited Costa Rica – and it was her first time travelling around the beautiful country by car.

If I get the choice of being the driver or a passenger in a car, I generally choose the passenger seat.

So when I was asked if I would drive myself around Costa Rica, I’ll admit that I had to have a little think about it before I said YES!

My day job involves working on the maintenance of our tours in Latin America. I work closely with our partners at the destinations, visit the hotels we use in our itineraries and check that the quality is top notch on the tours and excursions we include in our tours.

This tour to Costa Rica was also a business trip, and there were so many places I needed to visit that it was simply not possible to do it without a car.

On realising this, the first questions that popped into my head were:

Is it hard to drive around in Costa Rica? Will I be able to find my way? What condition are the roads in? And the car? And last but not least: Is it safe to drive in Costa Rica?

I was very pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to drive around the country, and I’d really like to share some of my thoughts and experiences with you.

The practicalities

I had my car dropped off at our partner’s office in San José. A representative from National car rental came out, and we calmly checked the car over and reviewed the rental agreement, which I signed.

And the car was really nice – almost new.

The hire cars are replaced when they’ve driven approx. 25,000 km, so they’re never more than 3 years old when you rent them. I was shown how the GPS worked, how I turned 4WD on and off and all the essentials like how to turn the lights on, open the fuel cap and what fuel to fill up the car with.

The car always comes with GPS or a mobile phone with Wi-Fi and the WAZE app installed, which you can use to find your way. I used WAZE throughout the trip, and it was an indispensable friend.

I felt confident with the car but still had a few butterflies in my stomach as I pulled out of the yard.

How my self-drive trip went

Although San José, where my self-drive started, is Costa Rica’s largest city and capital, I actually didn’t find the traffic particularly chaotic. I headed out at 10 am when the worst of the rush hour was over, and it was easy to get out of city.

People generally drove nicely and not especially fast.

In Costa Rica, you drive on the right side of the road. The quality of the roads fluctuates, and there are potholes in the roads in some places. Sometimes big potholes too! There are constant roadworks to improve the roads, but with tropical rain showers, the roads are not always in top shape.

When you drive off the main roads, you’ll also find yourself driving on gravel roads. I didn’t need my 4WD on the trip, but I can imagine it’s good to have, especially if travelling during Costa Rica’s rainy season (May to November).

I was a little apprehensive about the mountain roads around Monteverde and Manuel Antonio, but the winding, mountainous roads actually became my favourites. The scenery is magnificent, and you cannot help but reduce your speed here. I stopped several times en route because a family of coatis was crossing the road or howler monkeys were sitting in the treetops by the roadside. It was amazing to experience the wildlife at such close quarters.

I’m SO glad I chose to rent a car in Costa Rica, and I’m already making plans for when I can visit this beautiful country again – with the whole family next time.

Christina, TourCompass