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A Rental Car in Costa Rica!
Foreign visitors aged 18 or older with a valid driver's license can drive a rental car in Costa Rica for 90 days. Many Costa Rica rental car companies require that you be older. Proof of entry to the country is required for a police officer to accept a foreign license, so always carry your passport when you drive. Minimum insurance from the state controlled insurance monopoly is required by law in order to drive a rental car in Costa Rica, regardless of what other insurance you may carry. Make sure that you have proof of insurance with you when you travel to Costa Rica. Double check when you are getting a quote from a rental car company to make sure their quote includes all local taxes and the cost of mandatory insurance! We also suggest you get your Costa Rica rental car quotes directly from the rent a car company and not from a 3rd party. Communicate directly through the rent a car's web site, via their e-mail address or their "800" telephone number! When you are quoted a rate by the rent a car company, make sure and ask them if that is for a manual transmission or for an automatic? The cheapest rates are generally for the cars with a manual transmission. Decide before you begin contacting the rental car companies in Costa Rica whether or not you need a GPS system. The ones you get at a local rent a car agency are preloaded with maps of Costa Rica. You may consider bringing your own GPS system but you will have to purchase the local maps to load into it. You may be able to save on the expense of a rental car if you go with a local Costa Rica rental car agency. They often times will rent older cars but their rates are less expensive than the international rental car companies. Their cars will sometimes come with a cell phone included. If you rent a car through one of the international rental car companies make sure you make your reservations in the States. If anything happens you can more easily resolve any issues through their main office in the US. When you pick up your rental car in Costa Rica make sure you do a thorough inspection of the vehicle for visible signs of scratches or dings. Make sure any damage is noted on the paperwork before you leave the agency! If you are charged for damage to the vehicle that wasn't your fault, we suggest you go ahead and pay the repair bill with your credit card. You can take up the matter with your credit card company once you return home. Any disputes over damage to your rental car may take hours to resolve locally. You could easily miss your flight home and have to stay over an extra day! If your credit card company has an upgraded auto insurance program you may want to pay the extra fee to be covered while you are traveling in Costa Rica. Some credit card auto insurance programs provide primary coverage. You may even want to send your Costa Rica rental car company a copy of the policy. They may wave some of their fees as a result. We hope you have found this information on renting a car in Costa Rica helpful. Enjoy your vacation in Costa Rica and remember to drive safely at all times! Costa Rica DrivingTips!
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