A couple of questions for experienced Costa Rica travelers:
1) About how long would it take to drive from Dominical on the Pacific coast to Cahuita on the Caribbean coast? The best that I've been able to figure is 8-9 hours (give or take a few...).
2) Is it possible to take a rental car from Costa Rica into Panama? My guess is that the red tape and insurance issues would probably be prohibitive. Anybody tried this?
Thanks for any help you can offer!
Andy
kytraveler
1
spin
I'd say that the drive from Dominical to Cahuita is more like 11 hours, barring mishaps or wrong turns.
I do not believe you can take a rental out of the country. It is a PITA just taking my own car over the border. Enjoy
2
anonymous
Hi Andy
It will be my first visit to CR next year and I have seen some car rentals that will allow you to take the vehicle to Panama, trouble is I can't remember which ones but not many. I seem to think that the extra cost was around $350.
Trish
3
dkt2u
It is not worth the extra money or hassle if you can even find a company that will let you do it. Best bet is to take the bus or Nature Air into Panama and then rent a new vehicle in Panama. The road between Dominical and Quepos is still horrible. Probably two hours at least. Then Quepos to Cahuita is minimum 8 hours. 3 to 4 to get to the Central Valley and then another 4+ to Cahuita.
4
scoot
One of the companies that will allow you to drive into Panama is called "Renta4x4incostarica". They only rent small 4x4s and as stated above, the cost is over $300 for the extra insurance etc. It isn't necessary to drive through Quepos to get to the carribean from Dominical. It's much faster if you take the route via San Isidro del general , but would still be a very long day, especially in a small bone rattling 4x4.
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