appleguru

Unfortunately there isn’t much really close by... pretty much everything is at least 45mins away by car. The town/beach at the pier doesn’t have a whole lot to look at.

Renting a car isn’t possible either (since they don’t stamp your passport when you get off the boat).

We negotiated with some of the drivers at the end of the pier and got a private van for about $135 total for our party of 6 people ($115+$20 for a translator/tour guide).

We checked out some monkeys, crocodiles, and birds on the side of the road in various places.

Carara National Park is supposed to be great for walking/hiking, though we had an elderly person with us, so skipped this.

Had a great lunch at a local spot in Jaco (Rustico’s; fish was amazing). There is supposed to be good surfing south of Jaco too.

We are on our way to check out a coffee plantation now, and then headed back to the boat.

We really wanted to rent a car/do our own thing, but we had fun today!

Appreantly it is impossible to rent a car in Costa Rica when you arrive on a cruise ship...

We tried to rent from adobe rent a car; placed a reservation online.

They came and picked us up from the pier and drove us to their office at the double tree, about 15minutes away.

Despite having my passport, drivers license, credit card, and IDP, they would NOT rent me a car because I did not have an entry stamp on my passport.

They drove us to the customs office to try and get one, but we could not without getting disembarked from our ship (meaning we would not be able to get back on when we departed at 6p).

Costa Rican law says tourists can drive on international driver’s licenses for up to 90 days form their entry into the country. The rental car companies have implemented a practical (but idiotic) policy of requiring an entry stamp to rent you a car (so thy can verify your date of entry). Why a cruise card/itinerary with the other documents isn’t sufficient enough is beyond me...

I asked both the customs agents and the local police about this, and they said driving and renting a car was no problem with our documentation/as transit passengers (legally), but that every company has its own policies...

Adobe was very friendly and TBH went above and beyond trying to make it happen, but at the end of the day they wouldn’t budge from their policy of requiring an entry stamp.

Has anyone else visiting Costa Rica on a cruise ship had any luck renting a car here?