Rental car in Puntarenas

[lostlobo]

Wife and I will be on the April 15, 2012 Panama Canal cruise with HAL out of Miami. We like to do our own thing at some ports of call. Does anyone know of a rental car company that is actually in Puntarenas? I contacted National and they wanted an extra $75 EACH WAY to bring their car from Jaco! Thats on top of the rental fees -- sounded kind of steep to me. We want to go to either Manual Antonio NP or Monteverde for the day, still undecided. Any suggestions?

[swedish weave]

Wife and I will be on the April 15, 2012 Panama Canal cruise with HAL out of Miami. We like to do our own thing at some ports of call. Does anyone know of a rental car company that is actually in Puntarenas? I contacted National and they wanted an extra $75 EACH WAY to bring their car from Jaco! Thats on top of the rental fees -- sounded kind of steep to me. We want to go to either Manual Antonio NP or Monteverde for the day, still undecided. Any suggestions?

 

I have never rented a car there, but it seems that a local taxi would be a better choice. They will give you a pretty good rate for the day.

[Appygirl]

Lostlobo, Jaco is about an hour, hour and a half drive from Puntarenas which is probably why they have such steep rental charges, kind of inconvenient to get a car out there and then the driver has to hang around town all day waiting for you to return the car so s/he can drive it back. Puntarenas is a sleepy little fishing village way out in the boonies. It comes to life when cruise ships are in town!

 

I would recommend hiring a taxi. There are taxis and tour guides waiting at the end of the dock hoping to find passengers. I'm sure any of them will be happy to drive you where you want to go for much less than what it will cost you to rent that car! We booked a tour with Okey Dokey and were very happy with it at $89 per person and it was 6 or 7 hours. So keep $100 in mind as a base cost when negotiating a tour.

[lostlobo]

Thanks for the information Appygirl and swedish weave. I guess I will give up the rental car idea. I did find a tour operator who was willing to do a private tour for $90 pp. Sound like a reasonable price. I hear the NP is really special.

[pilotdane]

I second the suggestion to just hire a taxi for the day. In Costa Rica getting a rental car is a bit more formal and time consuming than in the US not to mention considerably more expensive.

 

Which park are you considering?

[lostlobo]

We were hoping to go to Manuel Antonio, but looks like it might be too much of a trip. Now we are considering the Coffee plantations and Sarchi. Leaving tomorrow morning. Can't waite to visit CR. Thanks for your imput.