Hello Costa Rica Car Renters
I'm currently planning my trip to CR which Im hoping to include renting a car to drive along the carribbean coast, in which case i was planning to rent from Limon.
Does anyone have good recommendations on car rentals that can be arranged (pick up and drop off) from Limon? I have loooked up the car rentals in this section but they are predominantly based from San Jose. Also if any would had any advice on driving along this coast I'm all ears.
Thanks for the help
gilliankilroy
1
ticotim
First off, you do not want to be in Limon. Take my word for it....its not a safe place for a tourist.
Second, there are Rental agencies in Limon.
Third, I did hear a rental agency was opening in Pt Viejo, not sure, email a INN/Lodge.
Fourth, you dont need a car on this coast, Busses are straight forward and easy to use, and frequent.
Fifth, most people in Pt Viejo rent a bike, moped, hitch, bus, or taxi, walk.
If you want wheels, you need to drive from San Jose, bets to have rental agency meet you near the Caribe Bus terminal like the Holiday Inn Auroula, then your right there at Rt 32 to Limon. Figure 4 hours to Pt Viejo, 3 hours to Cahuita, give or take...
3
vbelecky
I drove through Limon a couple of years ago....nasty place...I would not linger there...I attempted to drive down the coast but because of a hurricane a major bridge was washed out...hense I had to go cross country following a bus. Thank goodness for a 4 wheel drive...you will need it there. I ended up going over banada train bridges,through fast running steams, up large rocky mounds etc. It waw a great adventure but one I would prefer npt to do again. As Tim said there are alot of buses...take them... driving is quite an adventure on the east coast.
4
onelastbraincell
Costa Rica is a small country so it isn't a big deal to drive from one coast to the other. We drove with two children and it was an easy place to drive. I would recommend that you rent a 4wd as there are many good places to see that are not on paved roads.
We rented from a firm called Tricolour and had no problems. I have heard that the rental agencies run a bit of a scam where they "find" problems with the car after you have left and then bill your credit card. That did not happen to us - it was hassle free. Some have said that it is better to rent through a hotel as the rental operator is then less likely to stiff you.
Just about everywhere we went, we felt safe (but weren't being stupid about it). Limon was the exception. It was a good place to get out of and really has nothing that would draw you there. The rest of the coast is great and accomodation is inexpensive. Puerto Viejo is a party town for young people and seems more like a "spring break" town than somewhere you would go to experience Costa Rica or Costa Ricans (Ticos). We stayed in Quahita (sp?) which was a nice Costa Rican place with a few good restaurants. With a car, you can get to anywhere on the coast south of Limon (no reason to be there anyway) from there. We had a place that was cheap and had a pool next to it. Poison dart frogs and tree frogs were in the gardens, Oropendollo birds wake you in the morning and firefly like bugs signal to each other from the tree which you can watch from the comfort of the pool that none of the other visitors seemed to take advantage of.
5
scorpio_guy33
I spent about 3 hours in Limon back in November, in the middle of the day, and had no problems whatsoever. It's not as scary as some make it out to be, but maybe at night it's a different story. But the day I was there the streets were full of people shopping and visiting, a large cruise ship sat in the harbor, lots of cruise ship passengers were walking around town in groups... blah blah blah...
at the Limon bus station, the ticket seller tried to cheat me out of some money. So count your change before walking away. That was my only problem in Limon.
But if you want to rent a car, you should really just rent it in San Jose where everyone else rents their rental car.
6
colinsito
Oh my god. Limon is not that bad. We are there every 2 weeks. Have always felt safer there then San Jose. No, it's not really a tourist destination and I suspect much of the impressions of Limon are formed as the population is predominantly black. Many Ticos are very racist when it comes to blacks and Nicarauguans (in my experience).
There must be car rentals there. If you have a hotel, I am sure they would arrange one.
Yes, there is now a POAS rent a car in Hone Creek. Just 5 kilometers before PV.
It is spelled Cauhita and pronounced Cow-eee-tah
One last point... There has never been a hurricane on record on Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.
So, let's all cool it on CNN and Fox news and get out a bit. The world is not really that bad of a place.
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