www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I see car rentals are cheap as shit at the moment. What is the deposit the rentals charge there? i have a mastercard... Help a brother with some info wouldya'

Insurance will be a shocker. If you do not take their coverage depending on the value of the car they will put a hold on funds on your card to cover either the higher deductable or the some other random number. They will not accept the insurance that Orbitz sells with its rentals but if something happens I am sure they would re-imburse you. The last time I rented a car for 23 days from an agency my 400.00 rental turned into almost 900.00 and they put a 350.00 hold on my credit card. I now rent from a local pirata for a 25.00 a day for a 4 door older compact car but it runs, is safe and I do not have to worry about it being stolen.

Yes, the rental rates are cheap. Or so they seem. I got a Terios "SUV" for $13/day in August. But another $22/day was added for mandatory SLI (supplemental liability insurance). There is also an optional CDW (collision damage waiver) but many credit cards cover this, so you can check with your card and just waive it. It runs about $5-10/day.

Also, know that even if you get minimum insurance, you will still be liable for 20% of the cost of the damage or if you are sued. Most agencies have a total protection coverage where you pay an extra $5-10/day to become fully 100% protected with no deductibles and no liability.

Also, if you rent at SJO airport (even though the agencies are all off the airport near the Fiesta Casino), there's a 10% tax on top of all that. If you rent downtown or anywhere else, no taxes.

Bottom line: The costs can quickly add up and that $13 rental become a $50 rental.

I rent whenever I have something to do besides staying in centro. Besides Mona Lisa, no other hotel offers free parking that I know of. Overnight parking runs $10-15, and you can't leave it in the streets because it may get broken into, stolen, ticketed, or towed.

My advice: DON'T RENT IF YOU ARE ONLY GOING TO BE IN CENTRO THE WHOLE TIME. TAXIS ARE DIRT CHEAP AND NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT PARKING, SCRATCHES, AND FLAT TIRES.

Yes, right now rental cars are cheap! Always ask for the final quote, often the insurance is more expensive then the rental rate!

Print out the email confirmation from the car rental agency with the final rate.


Yes, I agree 100%! And you don't have to worry about drinking and driving! Take a taxi if you plan to party!

I think Hotel Aranjuez offers free parking, not 100% sure. This was their website: http://www.hotelaranjuez.com , seems to be offline.


Yes, most of the rental companies charge the additional 10%. I got my car from http://www.yourtravelmap.com/costarica/cars/ and I didn't have to pay any additional charges. The deposit was $500.- for a Daihatsu Bego.

I think my hold was $900 or 1,000. That's ridiculous. But I love the freedom of renting, and the aggressive driving style makes me feel like home.

And nobody from this site should ever want to stay at Aranjuez. The place is 100% against the hobby. I used to stay at the apartments a lot but not for mongering. The hotel is a bunch of tree huggers and you have to walk by the reception desk so no way in hell you would get a chica into the hotel. The apartments are a little easier but you will be asked to leave once they find out.

HDR has free parking for guests...so does the Sleep inn, though they have the dreaded $25 chica fee. Dunn inn has free parking around the corner, on Calle 3.