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Road Rules and Traffic Regulations in Costa Rica - Driving Nuances

1. Roads that connect various settlements of the country are maintained in a rather good condition. However, that does not mean that there are no cracks or holes on the road surface or that they are rare. For this reason, drivers are not recommended to make night car rides.
2. The roads of Costa Rica are not distinguished by numerous informative road signs, so foreign drivers will find it not easy to drive on local roads without a map. The information that can be found on road signs is usually written in Spanish.

Nuances of Car Rental in Costa Rica

To save on your rental, we advise to book your car in advance. You will save the most if you do this several weeks or even several months prior to your trip. Rental offices in Costa Rica usually raise rental prices over time, based on the number of cars left available for the accounting period.

When looking for an exotic car (cabriolet, minivan or limousine), we advise to check in the rental offices located at airports, as they usually provide much wider choice comparing to offices in urban areas.

Upon receipt of invoices, bills and documents for your car at the rental location, please compare the obtained data with your voucher. Quite often, employees of rental offices in Costa Rica try to add optional charges or services without informing customers.

It is very important to pick up your car at the rental office in Costa Rica in a correct way. Prior to leaving the office, carefully inspect the car for various defects, and ensure that all the discovered defects are mentioned in your rental documents. In case of a non-compliance found, place a demand for correction to the rental officer.
3. The maximum permitted speed on local roads is 80 km/h. Drivers should be very attentive and don’t speed up carelessly, following the established speed limit on the road. The so-called “speed bumps” are not widespread on the road, but the police enjoy making “ambushes” on popular roads and catching traffic violators quickly.
4. In case of a traffic violation, a police officer will give you a bill that can be paid at any bank. Foreign drivers should never argue with the police and do not even try to offer a bribe - in this case a mere fine may be followed by an even more severe punishment.
5. Travelers, who plan to go to remote areas of the country and visit beautiful local nature reserves, are recommended to choose a powerful car for that travel. The roads that are laid in beautiful areas rarely have the asphalt surface. As a rule, these are very narrow and winding dirt roads.
6. Wooden bridges are pretty common for the countryside. In most cases only one car can move on such bridges. Drivers should move on such bridges very carefully and slowly. In addition to the driving license got in the home country, you will also need to receive the international driver's permit. The presence of this document will help to resolve all problems with local police much quicker.
7. Roads, laid close to the capital or in its territory, usually have the heaviest traffic. Foreign guests will certainly notice a huge number of old cars and SUVs on the roads of the country – in true, it is possible to reach some settlements by an off-road vehicle only.
8. Local drivers are not distinguished by strict compliance with traffic regulations. Therefore, they often exceed the speed and even perform overtaking on the right, even though the local traffic regulations prohibit such a maneuver.
9. Drivers, who plan to make a ride in the territory of national parks, should be very attentive as the local fauna is a serious source of danger for them. Some animals are quite aggressive and big is size, so a collision with them will surely not be left unnoticed. When driving on narrow dirt roads, it is recommended not to exceed the speed of 50 km/h.
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