Car Rental Agencies in Costa Rica

There are several really cheap car rental agencies in Costa Rica that you can use if you want to avoid the high prices that most of the major chains charge. Most of the big car rental agencies like Hertz, Avis, and Budget can charge upwards of sixty dollars a day for even the most basic of automobiles in Costa Rica. You can avoid this and save quite a bit of money if you just take some time to shop online or make some phone calls. One more tip before you start is to get a Skype account. Skype is an online phone service similar to Vonage (VOIP or Voice Over IP) and you use a USB headset that you attach to your computer. You can then make international calls for very little money or even for free if you call other Skype users in countries around the world. This service can be very valuable when calling around to car rental agencies in other countries.

When you arrive at San Jose airport in Costa Rica you will find the usual big car rental agencies that you find in the United States. These franchises are good and most people will choose them because of the familiarity and sense of security that the big names offer. If you dont care about saving twenty to thirty dollars per day or more, go ahead and get your vehicle with them. But if you are like most budget minded Americans these days, you will want to find cheaper car rental agencies when you get to Costa Rica.

One of the best that I personally have used is Solid Car Rental and they have offices in about seven Costa Rican cities that I can recall. They have the same fleet of slightly dinged Hyundais and Kias that all of the other car rental agencies offer plus some other higher end vehicles. Another tip: most travelers to Costa Rica will immediately think that they have to have a four wheel drive SUV in order to navigate but that is far from the truth. A regular small car like a Toyota Yaris or an Escort is fine and will serve you well, and at the same time save you lots of money on gas. Diesel is best for saving money at the pump, but a small car with a gas engine is also fine. Since most of the roads in Costa Rica have been upgraded over the past five years you will not need the high suspension and ground clearance or four wheel drive traction. Most of the roads are very smooth and in fact they have just opened an ultra modern toll road from San Jose to Jaco (Central Pacific) that cuts the time from 2.5 hours to 70 minutes.

If you want to save time and money, remember to look for smaller, local car rental agencies when traveling in Central American and Costa Rica in particular.