 Costa Rica / Panama Trip |
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| Is travelling by car through costa rica and panama safe/advisable? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Garseea Sean Post Count: 3 Msg: #1 87 weeks ago, April 11th 2008 | Hey Everyone, | I'm going to be doing a 10-11 day trip in may to costa rica and (potentially) panama with a buddy of mine. Anyway, I wanted to know if it makes sense, is safe, or advisable (etc) to rent a car in, for example, san jose to use for travel around Costa Rica and Panama. We're thinking about hitting the arenal volcano area (and surrounding national forrest) and tamarindo area in costa rica and then bocas del toro and perhaps a quick day at the panama canal. What does everyone think about that in terms of driving it? Does it make more sense just to fly to bocas del toro and/or panama city to see the canal? does it make sense to even visit those places? I guess my two main questions are (1) what's the story with driving around in a rental car and (2) what are the ideal spots to hit including and/or other than what I have mentioned? Thanks, in advance, for the help! S Garseea Sean Post Count: 3 Msg: #2 87 weeks ago, April 11th 2008 | Also, as a secondary question... does it make sense to even try and do both countries (granted that its just a glimpse of panama) in 10 days, or is it best to just hit costa rica for 10 days? help! |  Mell Mell Post Count: 14550 Msg: #3 87 weeks ago, April 11th 2008 | Hello Sean :) | Take a look at the paragraph titled Avoid Driving in the first link and look at the contents of the second link and then make up your own mind about if driving is advisable. From www.comebackalive.com From www.comebackalive.com Mel [Edited: 10:05 - Mell ] Garseea Sean Post Count: 3 Msg: #4 87 weeks ago, April 11th 2008 | That said, are there any good websites to find the best bus routes and companies to use? | Mell Mell Post Count: 14550 Msg: #5 87 weeks ago, April 11th 2008 | When I was in Central and South America I just went to the main public bus stations in each town. Buses go frequently and have a good variety of routes. | I never even had to prebook a ticket. I just showed up and bought a ticket for the next bus going where I wanted to go and did not have to wait long. Do you have a copy of the Lonely Planet book for the countries you want to go to? At the end of each chapter about towns and cities there will be information about getting to and from that town/city. Mel deleted_62499 deleted_62499 Post Count: 10 Msg: #6 84 weeks ago, May 4th 2008 | Travel by bus is just fine in Dominican Republic as well - we traveled the whole country with locals and that was a great experience. Highly recommend all-inclusive<snip> hotel Hamaka [/url] near Santo Domingo. You can quite often find great discounts for that and other hotels in Caribbean on <snip> | [Edited: 13:43 - Mell - Promotional posting is against the forum rules. ]  Oceans Oceans Unlimited Dive Instructors Post Count: 34 Msg: #7 83 weeks ago, May 13th 2008 | Hi Sean, | Travelling in a rental car in Costa Rica IS getting more dangerous, unfortunelty there are groups that are preying on tourists, normally somebody appearing helpful is actually going to steal all you belongings. It is a sad situation as you dont know if somebody genuinely wants to help, and most Costa Rican are VERY Friendly and helpful. I have heard of quite a few incidents in the past couple of months, but most people rent cars without trouble, it is up to you! There are good shuttle services in Costa Rica, like Greyline or Interbus, which is more expensive that the public bus, but will say you a lot of time as they have direct routes, plus toilet stops etc. If you want to do Pananma and COsta Rica in 10 days, keep it small, try Bocas del Toro and the Southern Costa Rica Carribean Coast and possibly tortugero. Hope this helps Katharine Schwidy David Schwietz Post Count: 5 Msg: #8 83 weeks ago, May 14th 2008 | Sean, | Take that www.combackalive.com stuff with a grain of salt. I think that the website is trying to be a little too badass. Its basically geared towards invoking fear, nothing else. I checked out the rest of it and it says that Brazil is just as safe as the U.S. and that Venezuela is in fact safer than the U.S. Does that make sense to you? If you are going to rent a car, stay away from the big cities. You should be fine if you stick to the Panamerican highway. I know many people who have done the same thing you are doing on motorcycles by themselves! I'd say enjoy the ride. Good luck! Dave Number of Users: 5 | Number of Posts: 8 | ||||||||||||||||
