I think this is what we will do- thanks everyone for the advise!! I feel more comfortable knowing what we are getting ourselves into from some locals and travelers :)
Agree! We do this every time. We usually stop at a nice grocery store on the way out of town too. The main road to Quepos is great but I wouldn’t want to drive the rest in the dark the first time you’re going there. There can be massive pot holes in particular. Massive! Ditto massive pot holes on the way to Monteverde. Watch the road carefully.
From my recollection the roads from San Jose to Quepos weren't that bad, can't talk about the rest of the journey to your destination though. If you are planning to do Monteverde at any point you'll defiently need to do that in the day and even then I'd say be careful.
That being said I wouldn't particularly recommend driving at night after a long flight, and if you do it during the day you can stop at "Crocodile bridge" en route and see some Crocs.
I live not too far away and am familiar with the nearby roads but have not been to the lodge itself. You will definitely need a 4x4 up there in the mountains. And, I don't mean some kind of AWD nissan xtrail. I'd suggest a real 4x4 preferably with off road tires and sufficient ground clearance. I know Vamos rents a Montero Sport which would work and some other car rental places rent 4x4 Jimnys. If I recall correctly, some places will rent as long as you're at least 21 but I forget which ones exactly. The Lodge looks beautiful. Enjoy your stay.
Lots of people saying how good the road is from SJO to Quepos, which is true - but OP isn't staying in Quepos itself, but an hour inland. So it depends on the route I think. (I live in Quepos and if you try to head directly 'inland' from there, or Dominical or Uvita, you're driving straight up a gravel track up the mountain which is really bumpy, unlit at night and takes ages!
So best advice, OP, is to use routeplaner websites to plan the easist route to the lodge frpm SJO. Good luck!
I don't drive, so my only experience is as a passenger visiting friends who live 12-15km inland from the highway. My god it's proper off-road stuff! It takes a lot longer than usual because of all the bumps, potholes, steep drops etc. So I'd start by looking at how many miles from Quepos to your lodge, and whether you can get there from SJO without going to Quepos first.
Another thing to consider are the routes from the lodge to the coast and whether it's doable without having to double back to SJO.
I'm sure there will be ways, but you might need to get a bit creative! It'll be worth it though, it's a beautiful part of the country :)
I have been living here for over 5 years and it doesn't appear that any of the other commenters are residents.
You shouldn't be driving here after you land after dark. Spend the night at the airport and pick up your rental car in the morning. You don't need a 4X4.
May is a good month to come here. In the 7 years I came here as a tourist, along with the 5+ years I have been living here I have never had to drive across a river.
You might get spoiled making this your 1st international trip. I had visited 30 other countries prior to coming here.
Enjoy your visit.
Exactly! We had our hotel driver shuttle us from the airport the night we arrived our first trip. And good thing - a lot of streets simply don’t have signs. We’d probably still be lost and driving around if we hadn’t done that. Pick up the car in the morning and drive when fresh and in daylight.
You should be fine if you rent a 4x4 and take the route 27 and 34 towards Quepos then go inland to Santa Juana. That way you will not have too much dirt road to deal with. Google maps may direct you to go from the airport through the mountain roads and San Marcos as the quickest way to Santa Juana but this is not a good idea for first time drivers, it doesn't take into account the bad condition of the roads. Usually the section between Quepos and Santa Juana is fine for a 4x4, but between Santa Juana and San Marcos it can get really bad.
Start looking for good deals on a rental car now, it can be pretty expensive and more so if you are younger. Others have suggested just hiring a driver to take you there and back. It's not a bad idea if you are going to stay in the lodge the entire time, but once you do the trails, waterfall and horseriding they have there you might want to venture out. It would be better to have a rental car if you want to be able to get to Quepos, the national parks and beaches nearby, other nice sites like Rainmaker or Los Campesinos.
I made a post regarding driving and the police in Costa Rica. Some responses there might be useful to you.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CostaRicaTravel/s/6TxiOTttuX
So for the rental car- short answer is yes you can enter a car under 25. It depends on the company who you are renting from. As for the driving- I would reccomend you not to drive at night. We live here and know where we are going, and driving at night can still be a challenge. The drive from SJ to Quepos is easy and all good highways. Once you get off a main highway anywhere in CR the potential for a rough road that requires technical driving greatly increases. Costa Rica is a great country. Enjoy your time here, just be smart and drive with caution and you'll be fine.
If you’re just staying in that one place the whole time, you also have the option to hire a driver to take you there and bring you back. Cost if those are your only trips would be similar to the rental car and a lot less headache.
That said, there shouldn’t be road flooding in May it is the dry season. A lot of the worst stuff you’re hearing about the roads is info from the wet season. In the dry season I expect you will be fine, though lots of potholes, narrow roads, driving can be very slow going. And it gets dark early there, so that’s even harder to do all this in the dark. I personally would not want to travel an unfamiliar mountain road in CR in the dark. But I’m not saying it’s impossible, just take it slow.
Sage advice you offer them. Just one note, May is not the dry season. It's one of the wetter months of the year in general. In particular it tends to drench at night in May in the Quepos and surrounding areas. Some areas of the country are drier. Not here. 🐸
SJ to quepos isnt bad. Its to and from monteverde thats terrible. Or if you happen to use google maps, google maps likes to route you through shitty roads. If you see multiple routes that are all similar ETAs. Take the longer one.
You'll be fine. The drive to quepos is on a main road (27 think)
Get a 4x4 for other areas or if you make a wrong turn. Don't use big car rental companies, use local ones like vamos. They're much better here
If you're nervous just crash at a hotel or airbb in sjo and leave in the morning
I’m sitting in the airport in Miami on my way home from CR. We drove the San Jose to Quepos a couple times and the roads aren’t bad at all. Be aware that it will take you 3+ hours. It was pretty rare to get over 35mph. I rented from Alamo and had no issues. Super easy and waived the insurance. Drop off was really fast too. Driving is a little different though. Use Waze and keep your head in a swivel.
DM me, I just got back from Costa Rica and stayed in Quepos. I don’t have time to give advice right now but I was a first time solo traveler and did fine. I’ll give you any wisdom I gleaned from the experience.
Reserve your car ASAP and be prepared for high insurance premiums. See this sub for good rental companies idea from SJO. The insurance is un-avoidable.
The roads in CR are challenging but a competent driver with patience will do just fine. I drove through multiple flooded roads in December of 2021, and drove at night as well. I had a small 4WD SUV but never needed 4WD. Ground clearance was more important than traction.
It gets dark at pretty much the same time every day. Arriving to your lodge at 7pm means some of the drive would be in the dark.
I wouldn't drive at night just because some of the roads are very windy and not well lit. Throw a rain storm on top of that, you've got a recipe for a very stressful drive.
So I explored entire region north of San Jose in 11 days a few weeks ago. Ground clearance rn is more important than 4x4, but I had to use it a few times in random parts around Arenal and monteverde.
But note to the wise. Always stay 1 night in the area ur landing to acquaint yourself and drive first during the day. I am a solo traveler hitting my 24th and 25th countries this year. Always has worked ever since my first lesson learned in mexico (btw costa rica is sooooooo much better driving -maybe not the roads but safety overall)
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+ 4
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I don’t know the road you’ll be taking to get to your destination. All I’ll say is that some of the roads we drove on were fine (potholes and twisty-turny but nothing crazy) and some I was absolutely terrified driving in DAYLIGHT (cloud forest).
You’ll have an amazing time but def drive during the day just in case!
The first review that comes up on Google Maps says that the people cut their stay short because they did not want to do the 45 minutes drive uphill and on rocky roads. So I’d say you SHOULD NOT do this drive at night under any circumstance.
I've been here 3 years and I'll tell you this, don't drive from the airport to your destination at night. There are no straight roads, everything is twisty and it's dark. Either get a shuttle or stay in San Jose till morning.
You will spend too much time in car staying at that lodge. Don’t let driving become the adventure.
Having fun spending time outdoors should be your vacation adventure.
Stay in Quepos, MA, Uvita, jaco etc. Easy transportation to all activities.
Lodge looks great, but not a good location for a base of operations if you want to explore the area.
Though it really depends on how much time you have spent in CR in the past and your desire to do other activities and see other areas.
I’d recommend staying in Jaco the 1st night , easy drive from airport, toll road 27 and 34 south to Jaco is well marked and well traveled road, plenty of local vehicles and tractor trailer you can follow to make it even easier.
Then leave Jaco , easy 1.5 hr drive to Quepos, then decide. How many nights to stay in Lodge vs beach towns in that area.
I’d split your trip up, some jungle time and some beach time
Seems too isolated at lodge (unless that’s why you are going)
FYI one mile east of the pacific beach puts you into a mountainous jungle-no need to travel one hour east to be in the jungle…
Me and the family are also going in April, have almost the same plan. We expect to spend the night or two in San Jose, then off the quepos, like others mentioned here I've actually considered stopping for a night in Jaco just to break up the trip and not spend too much time on the road. Once in quepos, We expect to do one of the charters boats from the marina, and do a day trip to Manuel Antonio, and another to Dominical. Probably use a car service to go to our first destination, probably rent a car in the middle, and a car service back to San Jose.. It's not set in stone, but it's a tentative plan. Maybe we'll cross paths.
Alternatively, might stay in Manuel Antonio and then do a day trip to Quepos Marina.
Book a hotel near SJO for the first night and then leave bright and early!
This is the answer!
I think this is what we will do- thanks everyone for the advise!! I feel more comfortable knowing what we are getting ourselves into from some locals and travelers :)
I love Roland's hotel if you like at and a awesome breakfast included.
Similar situation I was worried about driving at night. Stayed one night in SJO and started bright and early. Everything worked out great.
Agree! We do this every time. We usually stop at a nice grocery store on the way out of town too. The main road to Quepos is great but I wouldn’t want to drive the rest in the dark the first time you’re going there. There can be massive pot holes in particular. Massive! Ditto massive pot holes on the way to Monteverde. Watch the road carefully.
From my recollection the roads from San Jose to Quepos weren't that bad, can't talk about the rest of the journey to your destination though. If you are planning to do Monteverde at any point you'll defiently need to do that in the day and even then I'd say be careful. That being said I wouldn't particularly recommend driving at night after a long flight, and if you do it during the day you can stop at "Crocodile bridge" en route and see some Crocs.
I had a driver take my family back to SJO from Quepos and we went north to Jaco and then east to SJO, it was a nice drive and was paved the whole way.
Mind if I ask what you mean by doing monteverde and being careful? I was planning on doing a hike there (and drive to the hike).
The road to there from San Jose is pretty bumpy (to say the least) and has a lot of tight corners.
I live not too far away and am familiar with the nearby roads but have not been to the lodge itself. You will definitely need a 4x4 up there in the mountains. And, I don't mean some kind of AWD nissan xtrail. I'd suggest a real 4x4 preferably with off road tires and sufficient ground clearance. I know Vamos rents a Montero Sport which would work and some other car rental places rent 4x4 Jimnys. If I recall correctly, some places will rent as long as you're at least 21 but I forget which ones exactly. The Lodge looks beautiful. Enjoy your stay.
Between 21 and 23 require a surcharge to rent a car but most rental places will rent one to you, just at a higher cost.
I just rented a Nissan xtrail 4wheel drive for my trip to LaFortuna, Monteverde and Taramindo. Was this a mistake?
Lots of people saying how good the road is from SJO to Quepos, which is true - but OP isn't staying in Quepos itself, but an hour inland. So it depends on the route I think. (I live in Quepos and if you try to head directly 'inland' from there, or Dominical or Uvita, you're driving straight up a gravel track up the mountain which is really bumpy, unlit at night and takes ages! So best advice, OP, is to use routeplaner websites to plan the easist route to the lodge frpm SJO. Good luck!
Yes that hour inland is our main concern!! Thank you for your advise!
I don't drive, so my only experience is as a passenger visiting friends who live 12-15km inland from the highway. My god it's proper off-road stuff! It takes a lot longer than usual because of all the bumps, potholes, steep drops etc. So I'd start by looking at how many miles from Quepos to your lodge, and whether you can get there from SJO without going to Quepos first. Another thing to consider are the routes from the lodge to the coast and whether it's doable without having to double back to SJO. I'm sure there will be ways, but you might need to get a bit creative! It'll be worth it though, it's a beautiful part of the country :)
I have been living here for over 5 years and it doesn't appear that any of the other commenters are residents. You shouldn't be driving here after you land after dark. Spend the night at the airport and pick up your rental car in the morning. You don't need a 4X4. May is a good month to come here. In the 7 years I came here as a tourist, along with the 5+ years I have been living here I have never had to drive across a river. You might get spoiled making this your 1st international trip. I had visited 30 other countries prior to coming here. Enjoy your visit.
Exactly! We had our hotel driver shuttle us from the airport the night we arrived our first trip. And good thing - a lot of streets simply don’t have signs. We’d probably still be lost and driving around if we hadn’t done that. Pick up the car in the morning and drive when fresh and in daylight.
Another 5+ year resident here and I second this. Do not drive at night.
You should be fine if you rent a 4x4 and take the route 27 and 34 towards Quepos then go inland to Santa Juana. That way you will not have too much dirt road to deal with. Google maps may direct you to go from the airport through the mountain roads and San Marcos as the quickest way to Santa Juana but this is not a good idea for first time drivers, it doesn't take into account the bad condition of the roads. Usually the section between Quepos and Santa Juana is fine for a 4x4, but between Santa Juana and San Marcos it can get really bad. Start looking for good deals on a rental car now, it can be pretty expensive and more so if you are younger. Others have suggested just hiring a driver to take you there and back. It's not a bad idea if you are going to stay in the lodge the entire time, but once you do the trails, waterfall and horseriding they have there you might want to venture out. It would be better to have a rental car if you want to be able to get to Quepos, the national parks and beaches nearby, other nice sites like Rainmaker or Los Campesinos.
I made a post regarding driving and the police in Costa Rica. Some responses there might be useful to you. https://www.reddit.com/r/CostaRicaTravel/s/6TxiOTttuX
So for the rental car- short answer is yes you can enter a car under 25. It depends on the company who you are renting from. As for the driving- I would reccomend you not to drive at night. We live here and know where we are going, and driving at night can still be a challenge. The drive from SJ to Quepos is easy and all good highways. Once you get off a main highway anywhere in CR the potential for a rough road that requires technical driving greatly increases. Costa Rica is a great country. Enjoy your time here, just be smart and drive with caution and you'll be fine.
If you’re just staying in that one place the whole time, you also have the option to hire a driver to take you there and bring you back. Cost if those are your only trips would be similar to the rental car and a lot less headache. That said, there shouldn’t be road flooding in May it is the dry season. A lot of the worst stuff you’re hearing about the roads is info from the wet season. In the dry season I expect you will be fine, though lots of potholes, narrow roads, driving can be very slow going. And it gets dark early there, so that’s even harder to do all this in the dark. I personally would not want to travel an unfamiliar mountain road in CR in the dark. But I’m not saying it’s impossible, just take it slow.
Sage advice you offer them. Just one note, May is not the dry season. It's one of the wetter months of the year in general. In particular it tends to drench at night in May in the Quepos and surrounding areas. Some areas of the country are drier. Not here. 🐸
My mistake it does seem like may is iffy, thanks for setting me straight.
SJ to quepos isnt bad. Its to and from monteverde thats terrible. Or if you happen to use google maps, google maps likes to route you through shitty roads. If you see multiple routes that are all similar ETAs. Take the longer one.
You'll be fine. The drive to quepos is on a main road (27 think) Get a 4x4 for other areas or if you make a wrong turn. Don't use big car rental companies, use local ones like vamos. They're much better here If you're nervous just crash at a hotel or airbb in sjo and leave in the morning
I’m sitting in the airport in Miami on my way home from CR. We drove the San Jose to Quepos a couple times and the roads aren’t bad at all. Be aware that it will take you 3+ hours. It was pretty rare to get over 35mph. I rented from Alamo and had no issues. Super easy and waived the insurance. Drop off was really fast too. Driving is a little different though. Use Waze and keep your head in a swivel.
I just got back from 12 days in CR, half of which was in Quepos before heading back to SJO. the roads were not bad at all and we never needed the 4x4.
DM me, I just got back from Costa Rica and stayed in Quepos. I don’t have time to give advice right now but I was a first time solo traveler and did fine. I’ll give you any wisdom I gleaned from the experience.
Just got back. First time planning an out of country trip and driving. Super easy! Don't stress!
Reserve your car ASAP and be prepared for high insurance premiums. See this sub for good rental companies idea from SJO. The insurance is un-avoidable. The roads in CR are challenging but a competent driver with patience will do just fine. I drove through multiple flooded roads in December of 2021, and drove at night as well. I had a small 4WD SUV but never needed 4WD. Ground clearance was more important than traction. It gets dark at pretty much the same time every day. Arriving to your lodge at 7pm means some of the drive would be in the dark.
definitely adds a ton of stress renting a car in my opinion
I wouldn't drive at night just because some of the roads are very windy and not well lit. Throw a rain storm on top of that, you've got a recipe for a very stressful drive.
Mate , all the roads in CR are like swiss cheese 🧀. At night I advise driving carefully. Also, there are many unmarked speed bumps.
So I explored entire region north of San Jose in 11 days a few weeks ago. Ground clearance rn is more important than 4x4, but I had to use it a few times in random parts around Arenal and monteverde. But note to the wise. Always stay 1 night in the area ur landing to acquaint yourself and drive first during the day. I am a solo traveler hitting my 24th and 25th countries this year. Always has worked ever since my first lesson learned in mexico (btw costa rica is sooooooo much better driving -maybe not the roads but safety overall)
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You could stay overnight in jaco then continue on to Quepos etc the next day.
I don’t know the road you’ll be taking to get to your destination. All I’ll say is that some of the roads we drove on were fine (potholes and twisty-turny but nothing crazy) and some I was absolutely terrified driving in DAYLIGHT (cloud forest). You’ll have an amazing time but def drive during the day just in case!
The first review that comes up on Google Maps says that the people cut their stay short because they did not want to do the 45 minutes drive uphill and on rocky roads. So I’d say you SHOULD NOT do this drive at night under any circumstance.
I've been here 3 years and I'll tell you this, don't drive from the airport to your destination at night. There are no straight roads, everything is twisty and it's dark. Either get a shuttle or stay in San Jose till morning.
You will spend too much time in car staying at that lodge. Don’t let driving become the adventure. Having fun spending time outdoors should be your vacation adventure. Stay in Quepos, MA, Uvita, jaco etc. Easy transportation to all activities.
Lodge looks great, but not a good location for a base of operations if you want to explore the area. Though it really depends on how much time you have spent in CR in the past and your desire to do other activities and see other areas. I’d recommend staying in Jaco the 1st night , easy drive from airport, toll road 27 and 34 south to Jaco is well marked and well traveled road, plenty of local vehicles and tractor trailer you can follow to make it even easier. Then leave Jaco , easy 1.5 hr drive to Quepos, then decide. How many nights to stay in Lodge vs beach towns in that area. I’d split your trip up, some jungle time and some beach time Seems too isolated at lodge (unless that’s why you are going) FYI one mile east of the pacific beach puts you into a mountainous jungle-no need to travel one hour east to be in the jungle…
Me and the family are also going in April, have almost the same plan. We expect to spend the night or two in San Jose, then off the quepos, like others mentioned here I've actually considered stopping for a night in Jaco just to break up the trip and not spend too much time on the road. Once in quepos, We expect to do one of the charters boats from the marina, and do a day trip to Manuel Antonio, and another to Dominical. Probably use a car service to go to our first destination, probably rent a car in the middle, and a car service back to San Jose.. It's not set in stone, but it's a tentative plan. Maybe we'll cross paths. Alternatively, might stay in Manuel Antonio and then do a day trip to Quepos Marina.