Hello all,
My wife and I just booked our first "fact finding mission" to Costa Rica. Three weeks in January of 2011. Needless to say we are growing very excited. We have been researching the "Expat life" for almost twelve months and it is time to get a feel for Costa Rica.
We're going to need a rental car for two weeks as we explore the southern coastal region. We will pick up a car in either San Jose or Alajuela. I've found on the internet a 4x4 rental outfit in San Jose with very appealing rates. Too good to be true is my first concern? I'm a skeptic at the best of times, dealing in foreign countries just heightens that trait. Is it "safer" to rent from one of the more common North American franchises?
I look forward to any advice offered.
Thanking you all in advance, gracias!
First visit is booked, car rental advice.
Welcome to Expat.com, olcanuck! 
We did the same thing last November and have since bought property in Costa Rica. The first trip we rented from Vamos 4x4. As we always arrive in San Jose in the late evening and depart in the early morning we wanted to find a hotel and car rental in the near vicinity. Since the first trip we now stay at the Holiday Inn Express which is a 2-3 minute ride from the airport via a complimentary shuttle. We have rented from Thrifty and National car rentals. Both are located in the same building less than a block from the hotel and have good operating hours (also negates the airport tax on a car rental right at the airport). We will be back again in January also.
Cheers .... Terry
Sounds like we're at the same level in our adventure with CR. My wife and I are also heading down to San Jose in January for our first discovery tour. To start, we'll be attending the ARCR seminar on Jan 26-27. From there, we'll rent a vehicle and travel around for 4 days. It's a short visit but prior obligations require us to come back to Montreal.
We're just starting to put our itinerary together to determine which areas we want to visit. So far, we have decided on the following areas:
San Ramon, Santa Ana , Grecia, Puriscal (to visit the Altos projects and our new friends Terry and Vivian above!), Lake Arenal and then the Pacific Coastal area Jaco, Esterillos, etc.
We'll be doing the same car rental investigations soon.
Richard
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