We are booking our rental 4X4 in Costa Rica and the rental companies seem to charge $8/day for a GPS. We are there for 4 weeks so this could really add up. Does anyone know the best solution for GPS in Costa Rica? Ideas?

Probably cheaper just to buy one there, then pass it along to the next lucky traveler

Get a sim card for your phone that has data and use google maps?

Agreed

If you go the SIM card route (we always do this when we're travelling in other countries & it's by far the least expensive way to go) ..... then download the free App "Waze" Its very easy to use & tried tested & true

It’s also very easy to travel using old fashioned maps. The highways are all labeled really well. And highways aren’t too hectic, easy to turnaround if you miss your turn off

An old-fashioned paper map -- never been let down by that!

You can download areas on google maps to use offline. A quick google should tell you how to on your specific device.

https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6291838...

Google

Beware your vehicle rental fee may change ... mandatory insurance there insane.
Ours was 1700$ USD for 2 weeks.
Off topic I know from the GPS!

You got screwed. It’s not all mandatory but many will try and tell you it is. Buyer beware!

Stu

This is true, they’ll try and force you into it. We rented through Alamo I believe, and they were very persistent. I called BS and insisted my credit card provided coverage. In the end they did call MasterCard and confirm the insurance coverage directly with them and then finally relented.

Google maps

Google maps have offline mode. Download the country before you leave.

Offline google maps

I agree... You can download maps in advance of your trip and on most devices you can use navigation without access to data... That being said Sim cards and data is pretty cheap but might not always have a good connection.

When you arrive at the airport, and before you leave the baggage claim area, look for a place than will sell you a SIM card. As per the above comment, download the WAZE app. It will give you real time traffic conditions as well as great maps. Make sure your phone is unlocked.

There was also another comment above about insurance for rental cars. Make sure your quote includes all the insurance, otherwise you might experience some sticker shock. There are some places that will allow you to use your c.c. insurance, but check first; both with your c.c. company and with the rental agency. If they allow it, you will probably need a printed copy of the insurance contract. Also, if they allow it, you will probably get tagged with a huge hold on your c.c. Again, check first and do your due diligence. Two companies that I recommend for rentals are Vamos (https://vamosrentacar.com/car-rental-insurance-explained/) and Best Deal (http://bestdealcarrentalcr.com/)

Yes. We were quoted about 900$ for our rental for 2 weeks (a bit more cause we needed 4x4 for 6 passengers) and no way were we allowed to leave wo extra insurance even though we had full insurance through AMA. We had to pay that extra 900$ or something add on.

We like Avis best, for price. They except a printed letter from your CC for partial insurance.
We have a nice Nissan SUB for 2200.00 for 7 weeks.

National is good also. Book through the .com or .ca website.
Never had a problem with insurance and never had any letter/etc. Bottom line do your research!

Waze

Everyone there uses Waze, and it is awesome!

We just bring our own Garmin GPS and download the country map before we go. Works great

Get a paper map and be on your way. You don’t need a GPS. Enjoy!

We used a paper map for both times we’ve been there. Roads are pretty well marked. I don’t think you need GPS. Plan your route a head of time when you have wifi access. Enjoy! We just got home last week!

live in the moment and take all the roads less traveled, have an adventure! Pura Vida!

Yes! You’ll find the best out of the way beaches and some spectacular views!

Stu where was that empty beach a mile deep?

Playa Coyote

We use the app “maps.me” and I like how you only have to download certain areas of a map rather than the map of the whole country.

We rented the gps and we should have just skipped it. Not worth the money.

Skip the car rental and use shuttles. Way cheaper. I traveled the whole country this way.

Have the Google maps app? Go to offline maps and download the area you will be in onto your phone. It will last for 30 days until it expires. When down there, ensure your device is in airplane mode....and off you go!

Just came back yesterday. Used maps.me
It works offline, but you need to download maps beforehand ( we did from Canada). Car rental will provide a paper map. It was okay too.
About insurance, we were also told it was mandatory, so the quote was $35 for vehicle for 8 days, but on site it was added $70/day for the insurance. I'm talking USD. We took the most expensive one, but it was all included, so no headache driving those roads.
Depends on what you are planning to do, you may be okay with a cheaper level. We had to drive gravel and crossed rivers ( by water, which was unexpected ). The Visa card vehicle coverage would be voided in this case. So, I was happy to have that 'all included' from the car rental.
Try not to drive at night. Again, depends on where you are, but roads are not divided and dark the further you get from bigger cities.
Also, off the topic, but remember, there is tax that has to be paid when leaving the country. You pay at the airport $29 per person. And talk to you phone provider about roaming package. WiFi is not available everywhere.
Have fun there and keep you eyes open. The wild life is everywhere!

Thank you for all your info. How did you find the condition of the roads since many were damaged by the hurricane? Also were there any accommodations that you really liked and would recommend?

Hi Carol! You can use your phone’s GPS without wifi. This is the only thing I used when I was in Costa Rica few years ago...works very well!

+1 for the Waze app.

Waze

... and for your driving pleasure, you can join and check out this facebook group in Costa Rica. https://www.facebook.com/accidentesde.costarica/...

Google maps...download the CR maps locally on your phone before you leave home. Turn Data off and GPS on...good to go.

Carol,
Somehow it doesn't let me 'reply' to your question on my first comment.
Anyhow, we flew in Liberia and stayed in Guanacaste province, which is Northern part of Costa Rica. Roads near Liberia are marked well. Highway 1 (2 lines, one each direction) was freshly paved, but lacked dividing lane and there was no lights or light reflectors further North from Liberia.So I do not recommend driving at night. Some of the side roads were paved as well, especially if going to a resort. We drove on a few gravel roads - quite sturdy, but kinda bumpy. Most of the roads on the map were in place. Some had few spots collapsed, but still enough room for 1.5 vehicle. I've heard of one near Nicaragua border that was gone completely, but all locals know about it. Passing can be tricky as some areas are wavy and narrow, so you may drive behind a big transport for a bit until the proper opportunity. Some signs were covered by trees.
But in general, driving there was fine.
Often you see road police. We were never stopped though. Not a 100% on this one, but I've heard the driver should have their license and passport (not a copy!) with them.
We never had to pay for parking on a street.
As to a place to visit, there are so many! It will be easier to figure out what you want to do once there. All resorts have tons of information.
Be ready to pay. For example, entrance to Guanacaste Provincial Park was US$15/person. It included hike only. Plus they asked a passport before selling the tickets. And before that we had to pay to enter the resort before the park - kinda road usage fee (they have a right to charge) of 700 colons/person. Then if wanted to do hot springs, another $20/person ( no passport
)
We used colons only to pay ( not USD), but both are excepted.
Also, just FYI, Scottia Bank is present in Costa Rica. There is a branch in Liberia on the way from the airport.
There, I think it's pretty much it. Enjoy your trip!

You could have your phone unlocked, its free now according to CRTC regulations and then buy a sim/data card for Costa Rico when there and use the gps on your phone

We just were there for two weeks. It’s great to have a 4x4 if you want to explore. We did not get gps just used Waze. It worked very well. Just make sure to load your maps while in wifi. Also the road maps worked fine.
If you have third party liability with your insurance company you will have to provide a letter from your insurance company stating that otherwise the rental car company will make you pay for it

Just to add to Pats comment about third party - definitely double check your policy. We have our motor vehicle insurance through the AMA and pay the rider for the extra coverage. The problem with that though is it didn't extend beyond the continental USA and Mexico. We just assumed that it did and the truth is that a lot of policies don't go past this. We were covered under credit card, but the rental car company wanted to preauthorize 10K on a card in addition to proof. I just wasn't comfortable with that so elected for the insurance - just coming to terms that it was going to be more expensive than planned but in our situation I perceived as the lesser of evils. You really have to be careful with rental car companies in CR. They have quite a reputation for this kind of stuff.

Is this new? We went 2x a few years ago and didn’t need a letter. We rented from National.

We rented from Enterprise out of LIR. We had confirmed with our insurance company that we were covered but had not asked for a letter. In some respects it was our own fault we had read about this online prior to going to CR. We have travelled a lot and have never run into a forced insurance before.

I don’t think they had the right to ask for a letter - did they?! Regardless, you could have probably just pulled up the policy on the internet - I know most banks have them available. Or maybe it’s gotten worse since we went. Costa Rica seems to be the place to go lately - glad we went before it blew up. Hopefully still some spots can find without too many people!

We spent four weeks there and all we had was a good map, never got lost