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This couldn't be more different than the trip I made to CR back in 2019. Picked up a car from the airport (Hertz or Enterprise IIRC), drove around the whole tim

This couldn't be more different than the trip I made to CR back in 2019. Picked up a car from the airport (Hertz or Enterprise IIRC), drove around the whole time and MOST of the roads were well paved for driving, even without a 4x4. Stopped at random shacks on the street and picked up plates of the day which were all delicious, and servers who were overtly courteous. Only place we saw traffic was in central San Jose. We did the tourist track of Arenal/Alajuela/Poas and then also spent a few days on the "road less traveled" but at no point did I really feel unsafe. Sure, it's not always 8-lane highways, but roads are more than decent and considering the immense natural beauty and wildlife, it felt wrong to even expect highways to be there. I happily tell folks that Costa Rica was one of my favorite countries to visit (and make sure you keep sipping on Fresca and their incredible coffee while you are there!). To each his own I guess. Edit: Another Pro tip we used: Used Waze instead of GMaps. It's incredibly popular in CR [1] and we felt it had much better directions compared to Google Maps across the country, especially wrt smaller bylanes. [1]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2014/10/27/why-waze-is-so-incredibly-popular-in-costa-rica/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2014/10/2...

throwawaaarrgh 4y ago
I went with my family as a child. I remember it being night, and pouring rain. We got to a road that was completely washed out with like a mini river running through it and a huge gap. A random guy had two boards over the gap and was helping guide people's cars over the two boards, cars dangling over the rushing water in pitch black. I've been back as an adult (and I'm visiting next week!) and it's an amazing place with beautiful people. But you do have to adapt to it a little, unlike so many other tourist destinations where you never have to. Not a bad thing.
jononomo 4y ago
The "plates of the day" are just rice and beans, with maybe some plantains, fish or chicken, and lettuce on the side. Costa Rican food is a joke. The variations come down to whether you want the beans on the left side of the rice or on the right side of the rice.
- PTcartelsLOL 4y ago
  Almost like Brazilian food

throwawaaarrgh 4y ago

I went with my family as a child. I remember it being night, and pouring rain. We got to a road that was completely washed out with like a mini river running through it and a huge gap. A random guy had two boards over the gap and was helping guide people's cars over the two boards, cars dangling over the rushing water in pitch black. I've been back as an adult (and I'm visiting next week!) and it's an amazing place with beautiful people. But you do have to adapt to it a little, unlike so many other tourist destinations where you never have to. Not a bad thing.

jononomo 4y ago

The "plates of the day" are just rice and beans, with maybe some plantains, fish or chicken, and lettuce on the side. Costa Rican food is a joke. The variations come down to whether you want the beans on the left side of the rice or on the right side of the rice.

PTcartelsLOL 4y ago
Almost like Brazilian food