TO RENT A CAR OR NOT TO RENT A CAR? - THAT IS THE QUESTION!

If you've been to Costa Rica, one of the comments you've probably made to friends and family back home is OMG! The roads in Costa Rica are just horrible!"

As you probably realized, driving and maintaining vehicles in Costa Rica is a huge challenge! Our highway infrastructure is difficult to maintain due to the treacherous, windy mountain roads, uncountable rivers requiring the construction of expensive bridges, landslides, pot holes and much more! 

I think Robert Isenberg described it the best in his story called Biking from Sea to Shining Sea: "...if you've spent only a few hours in Costa Rica, you know that mountains, rivers, volcanoes and rain forest will always stand between you and your destination. Every road curves, and most roads curve epileptically. The landscape is corrugated and confusing, and even Ticos get lost in its natural labyrinths. The highway pavement is often pocked and potholed, and no amount of roadwork can make up for the rainy season. Shoulders barely exist. Bike paths are rare. Drivers are aggressive, not "crazy" as expats would have you believe but definitely cavalier.

We are always complaining the Costa Rican government isn't doing enough to maintain our infrastructure, but the reality is it can't be easy and is incredibly expensive to do so! Costa Rica gets quite a lot of funding from other countries (especially China) for highway and other construction projects which also raises some political concerns.

So... To Rent a Car or Not to Rent a Car? - That is the Question!

Our solution for tourists for the Transportation Dilema? Let Desafio do the driving! We have a nice fleet of modern vehicles that circulate all over the country and we pride ourselves in our friendly, safe drivers. Plus we offer FREE WiFi on board!



We created our Adventure Connections to help clients save money and save time by doing an adventure on the way from place to place. We like to say "Let the Journey be the Adventure!"

And we are constantly upgrading our vans - as a side note, it is a costly endeavor to operate transportation in Costa Rica considering import taxes make our vehicle purchases on average 30% more-expensive than vehicles in North America and mandatory end-of-the-year licensing fees, insurance and permits are big expenses, not to forget our fuel prices are higher than in North America. 

Our clients have told us that booking private transfers or shared-ride shuttles and Adventure Connections are better options than driving on your own in Costa Rica. We have heard stories from clients who were driving on their own and got lost and were stranded some remote place and missed out on doing their planned activities. 

If you book your transportation with Desafio, you don't have to worry about a thing! We will also throw in some great discounts for our favorite hotels in the places you want to visit if you book your transport with us.

But, if you really want to brave the roads and rent a car, we can help you choose a good rent a car agency. We urge you to download the WAZE application - this little marvel of an electronic map will take the headaches out of navigating in Costa Rica! We can also give you some pointers on what to visit and where to eat along the way.

And one last thing... Are you an air travel enthusiast? There are a few options for domestic flights, as well. We like to work with CarmonAir for chartered flights all over Costa Rica. Nothing like getting some cool aerial shots of the rainforests, volcanoes and mesmerizing coastline of Costa Rica!



Either way you go, you're bound to have exciting adventures along the way in Costa Rica!

Happy travels!

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