Driving in Costa Rica

The best advice we can offer is to leave your frame of driving reference behind and be willing to accept what you get, maybe even learn to enjoy it! Local driving customs may annoy and frustrate you but that is a choice we make. The flip side is to view local driving as a charming Costa Rica experience with a much lower probability of being pulled over by the man!

Rolling violations are very rare. Most violations are generated from random stops or radar with the MOPT (Ministry of Public Works and Transport) officers standing by, donned in white starched shirts with inappropriate smiles on their faces!

Maybe I shouldn’t be sharing this but one time we were headed to Liberia and I got nailed by a guy with a radar gun. My 80+ year old mom and wife were in the car and by the time I realized that he wanted me to pull over I was past him. I’ll let your imagination finish the story… Not my finest move but certainly memorable!

Anyway, back to you. When you come please realize that we are visitors here, if a Costa Rican wants to pull over on a two lane highway to talk to a friend we just need to understand and drive accordingly. No sense getting bothered by it but the important lesson is to keep your eyes on the road at all times because most of us are not programed for these new driving events.

Patience is the key, we have many truck and agricultural vehicles traveling at slow speed and it’s natural to want to pass but be careful, trees create shaded areas and it is sometimes very difficult to truly see what’s coming.

A family of three on a motor scooter is a common sight. This is pretty scary to witness but when you grow up getting around like this, it’s what you do! Please watch out for two wheelers of all sorts!

Going off road is a thrill, especially during the rainy season. If you are coming between June and December, renting a four wheel drive vehicle is the way to go. It is so much fun crossing rivers and exploring. The best way to discover Costa Rica is to get lost, turn around and try again, there is something beautiful awaiting you around every bend.

Mainly do not expect that your way of driving should be the standard of excellence. This is Costa Rica, excellent driving is defined by not hurting anyone yourself included and your rental car too!

Pura Vida!

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We had so much fun at Buena Vista. Thanks for arranging that with Memo.
I also want to say many thanks for all that you have done. We have enjoyed Costa Rica and I have found you so helpful with everything and a pleasure to deal with that it was a very stress free vacation. When I do come back here hopefully you will still be doing what what you do.
Our last couple of days will be spent enjoying the sunshine and eating at great restaurants. Sincerely,

Tara, Kevin and Roy., Costa Rica

While my computer is still running here, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for your help during our stay.
When we first came to your office, we were in dire straights and in desperate need of assistance. Andrea was extremely compassionate, spoke with candor, and had a "can do attitude" that was of immense help.
In addition, Andrea has put us in contact with Steve, with whom we are working, preparing to view a little property that might be just what we are looking for at this particular time.
In addition, having gotten to know Andrea personally as well as professionally has been our great pleasure. I wanted to let you know what a tremendous asset she is to your company. She is a great treasure -- a one in a million.

Tina Parker, Costa Rica

We are- UNHAPPILY- home safe. Would much rather be back in Tamarindo. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING you did to make our stay a joy ! We look very much forward to seeing you on our next trip to Costa Rica. PURA VIDA !

Steve Perry, Costa Rica

Laurel and Tony,
The both of you were fantastic with us throughout the property search and purchase process. As we had mentioned, two other attempts to find thorough, attentive, responsive agents to work with in Tamarindo were failures. I expect that we are more work to deal with than many others as we asked a lot of thorough and analytical questions and expected responses to all of them. You two never failed to deliver. The organization and execution of our condo shopping trip in January was excellent and the fact that you two devoted 2 full days to us, around our schedule, to get this deal done was key to our success. The selection of properties that Laurel planned out, including a few places above and below our target zone helped us to refine our interests. We truly appreciated your interest in our success. This could easily have been very stressful for us, and yet, it wasn’t. Thank you very much.
As a side note, when we walked into the Coldwell Banker office randomly with no appointment in November had we not found your office staff patient and accommodating from the start we would have simply walked on to the next agency. Your staff deserves special mention for getting us interested in the agency to begin with.
We will give you some advance notice before we make our first trip down so that we can plan to get together for lunch or dinner. We are tentatively planning on somewhere in the last 2 weeks of May, as soon as our son gets out of school for the summer.

Dan Batliner, Costa Rica

Driving in Costa Rica