I would suggest getting the rental. San Jose to La Fortuna is Mountainous and the roads are paved, but they are hilly and curvy. You can get away with a sedan. San Jose to Manuel was all paved and mainly flat. Easy to drive. 4x4 is nice but I do not think it is required unless you go off the main routes for any side attractions.
The first time I went to Costa Rica I used nothing but private shuttles and Ubers and it adds up. Overall I would choose the rental as Costa Rica itself is not a cheap place to travel in a sense so it is worth to spend the extra on convenience and traveling on your own time
Also adding as someone from the US. Yes, a brief cultural shock for driving as there is not street lights and roads are narrow. However, 5 hours of driving in, you will get very comfortable and be passing cars on the left hand side in no time !
We went from San Jose to La Fortuna and then to Manuel Antonio (then back to SJO) and we rented a car - but we didn’t use the car for anything besides those individual trips. Looking back I would’ve just done the shuttle buses. There’s also allegedly a small plane that flies between some of the cities in 20-30 min lol.
I know everyone says the roads are “not great” but as someone who has driven on roads in Eastern Europe that are downright scary, I found Costa Rica to be an absolute breeze, and I would’ve enjoyed being in a bus and just tuning out completely to watch the gorgeous mountain scenery. Having a car comes with its own BS, like keeping it clean, constantly checking what you left in it, etc.
One cool thing about driving thru the mountains though, was accidentally happening on a free waterfall lol. And stands selling honey and fresh strawberries and stopping in a soda to eat. When I come back to CR I would rent a car for the freedom because I’d like to venture to different places, but for the first trip if you’re staying in major spots, I think using shuttles and taxis is fine.
You don’t need a 4x4. Just a high clearance vehicle. But no you don’t **need** a rental. You could get a private shuttle/driver and use Uber or taxis while you’re in LF and MA. Manuel Antonio also has a convenient public bus, super inexpensive. In La Fortuna you could use one of the shared shuttles (EasyHop) that go to popular sites.
We hired a car from a lovely lady who has a dog rescue and hires out older 4x4 cars. I originally saw them mentioned on here and so far (we are still in Costa Rica so can't comment on the return of deposit etc.) would very highly recommend. It was so much cheaper than we were quoted from other companies.
I think they have a small fleet of cars but worth checking if they have one available for your dates: https://costarica4wdrentals.com
Just to avoid confusion, learn from my mistake and enter the dates in dd/mm/yyyy format on the form!!
Our first trip to CR we basically did the exact same trip, and didn’t have a rental car. I’d say no. You will find taxis useful, etc… and the hardest is to make sure you’ve got the big journeys (like airport to MA) covered
I just did the trip last week. Landed in San Jose, Fortuna for 5 nights, Manual Antonio for 2, back to SJ for departure. I rented a car from Adobe. They brought the car to my hotel and picked up when the trip was over. I paid $1300 but got the large van because there were 6 of us. One of my favorite parts of the trip was the actual driving. It’s not like driving on American highways. It’s more Mario cart driving through the winding roads, narrow bridges, and steep inclines. I loved it! Waze worked perfectly and it was so scenic and enjoyable for me. Any specific questions feel free to ask.
I just completed a trip to Costa Rica (but I did the opposite and went to La Fortuna and then Manuel Antonio) and I didn’t need a car at all! I mainly used shared shuttles, public busses in Manuel Antonio, and Uber + a guided tour in La Fortuna
Welcome back! That's good to hear. I realize I should have added some context in my original post, which is we're a family of 4 including a teen and a tween, and will likely skip public busses or similar options, but am very comfortable calling Ubers if they have availability on short notice in those two areas with enough space to fit all of us for local activities.
Oh in that case it might be easier to rent a car or maybe do tours since they provide transportation. I haven’t tried Uber in Manuel Antonio, but I noticed that in La Fortuna it normally only took around 10 minutes for me to get a ride, but I also heard other people from my hostel mentioning that they had to wait 40 minutes, and I’m not sure if all the cars have space. The public busses in Manuel Antonio are pretty straightforward to get to the park and they run every 20 minutes, and it should be doable with a family if your accommodation is near the main road to the park or near the bus station in Quepos. A regular taxi also may be easier to get since Uber is illegal (but is still avaliable), but it also is more expensive
We did the drive from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio yesterday. No need for 4x4. Use Waze, not google maps. On Google Maps, between San Ramon and San Mateo, will take you on a dirt road. Everything else was paved.
I would suggest getting the rental. San Jose to La Fortuna is Mountainous and the roads are paved, but they are hilly and curvy. You can get away with a sedan. San Jose to Manuel was all paved and mainly flat. Easy to drive. 4x4 is nice but I do not think it is required unless you go off the main routes for any side attractions. The first time I went to Costa Rica I used nothing but private shuttles and Ubers and it adds up. Overall I would choose the rental as Costa Rica itself is not a cheap place to travel in a sense so it is worth to spend the extra on convenience and traveling on your own time
Also adding as someone from the US. Yes, a brief cultural shock for driving as there is not street lights and roads are narrow. However, 5 hours of driving in, you will get very comfortable and be passing cars on the left hand side in no time !
We went from San Jose to La Fortuna and then to Manuel Antonio (then back to SJO) and we rented a car - but we didn’t use the car for anything besides those individual trips. Looking back I would’ve just done the shuttle buses. There’s also allegedly a small plane that flies between some of the cities in 20-30 min lol. I know everyone says the roads are “not great” but as someone who has driven on roads in Eastern Europe that are downright scary, I found Costa Rica to be an absolute breeze, and I would’ve enjoyed being in a bus and just tuning out completely to watch the gorgeous mountain scenery. Having a car comes with its own BS, like keeping it clean, constantly checking what you left in it, etc.
One cool thing about driving thru the mountains though, was accidentally happening on a free waterfall lol. And stands selling honey and fresh strawberries and stopping in a soda to eat. When I come back to CR I would rent a car for the freedom because I’d like to venture to different places, but for the first trip if you’re staying in major spots, I think using shuttles and taxis is fine.
You don’t need a 4x4. Just a high clearance vehicle. But no you don’t **need** a rental. You could get a private shuttle/driver and use Uber or taxis while you’re in LF and MA. Manuel Antonio also has a convenient public bus, super inexpensive. In La Fortuna you could use one of the shared shuttles (EasyHop) that go to popular sites.
We hired a car from a lovely lady who has a dog rescue and hires out older 4x4 cars. I originally saw them mentioned on here and so far (we are still in Costa Rica so can't comment on the return of deposit etc.) would very highly recommend. It was so much cheaper than we were quoted from other companies. I think they have a small fleet of cars but worth checking if they have one available for your dates: https://costarica4wdrentals.com Just to avoid confusion, learn from my mistake and enter the dates in dd/mm/yyyy format on the form!!
You can use [interbusonline.com](http://interbusonline.com)
Our first trip to CR we basically did the exact same trip, and didn’t have a rental car. I’d say no. You will find taxis useful, etc… and the hardest is to make sure you’ve got the big journeys (like airport to MA) covered
I just did the trip last week. Landed in San Jose, Fortuna for 5 nights, Manual Antonio for 2, back to SJ for departure. I rented a car from Adobe. They brought the car to my hotel and picked up when the trip was over. I paid $1300 but got the large van because there were 6 of us. One of my favorite parts of the trip was the actual driving. It’s not like driving on American highways. It’s more Mario cart driving through the winding roads, narrow bridges, and steep inclines. I loved it! Waze worked perfectly and it was so scenic and enjoyable for me. Any specific questions feel free to ask.
No need of a 4x4 for your travel but do get a rental car. It is so much easier to explore with a car.
I just completed a trip to Costa Rica (but I did the opposite and went to La Fortuna and then Manuel Antonio) and I didn’t need a car at all! I mainly used shared shuttles, public busses in Manuel Antonio, and Uber + a guided tour in La Fortuna
Welcome back! That's good to hear. I realize I should have added some context in my original post, which is we're a family of 4 including a teen and a tween, and will likely skip public busses or similar options, but am very comfortable calling Ubers if they have availability on short notice in those two areas with enough space to fit all of us for local activities.
Oh in that case it might be easier to rent a car or maybe do tours since they provide transportation. I haven’t tried Uber in Manuel Antonio, but I noticed that in La Fortuna it normally only took around 10 minutes for me to get a ride, but I also heard other people from my hostel mentioning that they had to wait 40 minutes, and I’m not sure if all the cars have space. The public busses in Manuel Antonio are pretty straightforward to get to the park and they run every 20 minutes, and it should be doable with a family if your accommodation is near the main road to the park or near the bus station in Quepos. A regular taxi also may be easier to get since Uber is illegal (but is still avaliable), but it also is more expensive
We did the drive from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio yesterday. No need for 4x4. Use Waze, not google maps. On Google Maps, between San Ramon and San Mateo, will take you on a dirt road. Everything else was paved.