Costa Rica on your own

Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna by Car: What to See, Hot Springs and the Road to Monteverde

An almost perfect cone rising above plantations and pastures: Arenal is Costa Rica's most famous image, and La Fortuna, the small town at its feet, an unmissable stop on any road trip through the country. About three hours' drive from San José, the region packs in a national park laid over the 1968 lava flows, a spectacular waterfall, hot springs heated by the volcano and the country's largest lake. It's also the starting point of one of Costa Rica's most debated driving legs: the road to Monteverde, which loops around the lake before finishing on gravel. Here's how to plan the stop, and what genuinely deserves your time.

• Leave La Fortuna early: Route 142 is winding and the final gravel sections are far easier in daylight.
• Fill the tank before leaving La Fortuna or Tilarán: fuel stations thin out afterwards.
• In the rainy season, favour a 4x4 or high-clearance SUV and check track conditions the day before with your accommodation in Santa Elena.
• Never trust the GPS blindly: follow the main route via Tilarán rather than a suggested «shortcut».
• Plan a stop around Nuevo Arenal: the lake viewpoints are worth pulling over for.

Money in Costa Rica: colón, dollar and cards for a road trip

Costa Rica has an almost split relationship with money: the official currency, the colón costaricense, is what changes hands at sodas and remote petrol stations, while car rental companies, lodges and most tour operators quote their prices in US dollars. For a self-drive road trip, that dual-currency setup raises a very practical question: should you arrive with dollars in your pocket, withdraw colones at the ATM, and where does a bank card actually get you through on the backroads of Guanacaste or the Osa Peninsula?

• Always decline the dynamic currency conversion (DCC) the ATM offers and explicitly choose to withdraw in colones.
• Withdraw comfortable amounts (200-300 USD equivalent) rather than making several small withdrawals hit by flat fees.
• Keep a reserve of small-denomination colones for sodas, isolated stations and beach car parks, where cards don't work.
• Check the credit card planned for the rental deposit: sufficient limit, and ideally a second card in reserve.
• Pay in dollars for whatever is billed in dollars (rental, accommodation, excursions) to avoid needless exchange losses.

Police Checks and Fines in Costa Rica: Tránsito, Speed and Drink-Driving in a Rental Car

On the road from Arenal to Monteverde, or right out of Liberia airport, running into a Policía de Tránsito checkpoint ("reten") is part of the scenery on a Costa Rica road trip. Patrols, easy to spot in their white-and-grey pickups, check speed as much as the paperwork of foreign drivers — and the country has a well-earned reputation for coming down hard on drink-driving. Unlike some destinations where a roadside fine gets quietly negotiated, paying a Costa Rican officer in cash is a corruption offence, not a shortcut. Here are the current speed limits, the real cost of a fine, how it gets settled with a rental car, and the automated speed camera project due to change things by late 2026.

Tolls in Costa Rica: The Ruta 27 to the Pacific Coast in a Rental Car

Costa Rica has a well-earned reputation for an almost entirely toll-free road network: no toll booth stands between you and Arenal, Monteverde or the Osa Peninsula. There is one exception most rental-car travellers run into within their first few days, often without expecting it: the Ruta 27, the highway linking San José to the Pacific beaches — Jacó, Manuel Antonio, Quepos — and still, as of 2026, the country's busiest toll road. Here is what to know about 2026 rates, the other, quieter toll roads, and how to pay without an unpleasant surprise on your rental credit card.

Travel Insurance for Costa Rica: Private Hospitals, Drowning and Evacuation — What to Cover Before a Road Trip

A Costa Rica road trip is planned around volcanoes, beaches and cloud forest, a rented 4x4 for the gravel stretches, and a budget worked out line by line — yet the "travel insurance" line is often the one ticked fastest, without a close look. It deserves better: Costa Rica isn't a dangerous country, but it's one where the public hospital system doesn't treat foreign visitors on the same terms as a resident, where a night in a private clinic bills at North American rates, and where the leading cause of death among foreign travelers is neither the road nor the wildlife, but swimming. Real costs, what Costa Rica's healthcare system covers (and doesn't), what the research on tourist drownings actually shows: here's what to check before you get behind the wheel.

• Compare at least two policies on the medical expenses cap (≥ €100,000) and international evacuation on an actual-cost basis.
• Check that whitewater rafting, diving, surfing and off-road driving are explicitly covered, not just "not excluded."
• Don't rely on CAJA or a home health card: without local affiliation, public coverage stops at emergency stabilization.
• Look for safety flags and ask about rip currents before every swim, especially on unpatrolled Pacific beaches.
• Avoid driving after dark on secondary roads: potholes, no lighting and stray animals are the main hazards.
• Keep the 24/7 assistance number (on paper and as a photo on your phone) in the glovebox, next to your driving licence.

When to Visit Costa Rica? Dry Season, Green Season and the Caribbean Exception

Costa Rica fits in a pocket handkerchief — 500 km from the Pacific to the Caribbean — yet stacks up microclimates that make 'when should I go?' subtler than it looks. The December-to-April dry season, the classic answer, really only holds for the Pacific side and the Central Valley: the Caribbean coast follows an almost opposite calendar, and the green season has arguments the brochures forget. Here is the real calendar, region by region, with its very concrete consequences for driving.