Costa Rica Travel Posts

Driving in Costa Rica – Worst Three Drives

By George Ellard ⋅ March 3, 2009 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

My fiance is Costa Rican, and one of the things that bothers her most is having to hear all of my foreign friends visit the country and pick it apart, which is what we tend to do when we travel. Everyone says they love Costa Rica, but they also can’t wait to share all of the little things that bothered them during their trip. Such things as the long lines at the banks, pot holes, and the overall driving conditions in Costa Rica are what come up most.

So are the conditions as bad as everyone says? I would say that depends very much on where end up having to drive to and from. I have broken down some of the worst driving experiences for you to try to avoid.

The Central Valley – San Jose
Without a doubt, driving in the Central Valley is the worst driving experience in all of Costa Rica. One and a half million people live in the Central Valley, and there is not one road sign to be seen. Since Costa Rica has decided against naming their streets, you basically have to drive around a maze looking for landmarks and stopping every 5 minutes to ask for directions. I have been driving here for four years, and still have not come close to knowing how to get where. Another awful aspect about driving in the valley is the lack of overall respect for the rules of the road by other drivers. It is an ultra competitive driving community that is trying to get out of the common traffic jams.

Driving to Monteverde
Although there are four different roads that will take you to Monteverde, there are no good choices. Easily the worst road of the country, this 30kms drive will take you at least two and a half hours to complete. I strongly suggest taking the Jeep-Boat-Jeep transfer from Arenal in order to get here. If you are to drive to Monteverde I would only do it during the summer months from January until April.

Manuel Antonio to Dominical
Looking at the map they seem so close to each other. Millions of people have traveled to Manuel Antonio and Dominical, as both are some of the most popular tourist attractions in Costa Rica. They are both located on the Pacific Coast and are practically neighbors. But what separates them is an awful two hour drive that should be a quick 30 minute drive. What makes this worse, is that the road is paved, but the massive size of the potholes makes it impossible to go faster than 20kms an hour. There are worse roads, but this is probably the one that frustrates me the most.