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1 Visiting Costa Rica
2 Entering Costa Rica with a Car or Motorbike
3 Driving in Costa Rica
4 Gas and Diesel price in Costa Rica
5 Safety and Security Considerations
6 Camping in Costa Rica
7 Navigation
8 Special Overland Travel interests
9 Vehicle Maintenance
10 Buy or sell a car or motorbike in Costa Rica
11 References
12 Helpful External links

Visiting Costa Rica

With easy borders, amazing beaches and wildlife and plenty of ex-pats, Costa Rica is a favorite for all travelers.

Entering Costa Rica with a Car or Motorbike

Correct as of: June 2013

Required Paperwork

Passport of registered owner (original and 1 copy).
Drivers license of registered owner (original and 1 copy).
Vehicle registration (original and 1 copy).
Vehicle insurance (original and 1 copy). (see below)

Process at border

(To check if you need a travel Visa for Costa Rica, application instructions and fees see: Costa Rica Visa online application at VisaHQ.com)

As you drive over the border you will pass through fumigation (free) and be given a receipt.
The owner of the vehicle gains entry at immigration (migración), including a stamp in their Passport. A copy of this new stamp is required.
Insurance for the vehicle must be purchased. (see below)
The owner must show the new Passport stamp (including a copy), Drivers license, the original Vehicle registration, vehicle insurance and the fumigation reciept to customs (aduana).
The owner is issued a temporary import permit for the vehicle.

NOTE: You may encounter locals offering to help you with paperwork to get across the border. See Border Crossing Helpers for advice.

Cost of entry

Free.

Permitted length of stay

90 days.

Not possible to extend the stay of the vehicle, and also be aware that you wont be allowed back in the country with the vehicle until the vehicle has been outside the country for 90 days, so going out for a day is out of the question. Maybe is possible to store the vehicle on a bonded storage (almacen fiscal) to put the permit on hold, once out of storage the permit resumes with as many days as you had left. See Storage for further details

Storing a vehicle and temporarily leaving the country

You can leave your vehicle in a bonded storage in Costa Rica to freeze the temporary importation papers, you can do it for as long as you want. Prices range from $3.00 USD to $8.00 USD per day depending on facilities and if it is indoor parking or outdoor. By mindfull that during rainy season you might want to leave it indoors, during the dry season a tarp is recomended to keep some of the sun out. Once you drive the vehicle into a bonded storage facility they freeze the permit for you, once you want to pick it up you have to go to customs first (there is an office by the airport but it is not inside the airport), get the permit reactivated (you will need proof of identity and to have a valid insurance) once the permit is active again you can go and pick up the vehicle.

There is an excellent writeup, along with Spanish translations for some important terminology on this site: http://headsouth.travellerspoint.com/19/ Followup article about steps to pick up are here: http://headsouth.travellerspoint.com/24/

Another good writeup, with GPS coordinates to specific places to park and optain the correct paperwork: http://30forthirty.org/2013/04/07/long-term-costa-rica-parking/

Exiting with a vehicle

The registered owner is stamped out of Costa Rica at immigration.
The registered owner presents the temporary import paper to customs, where it is cancelled.
VERY IMPORTANT, If you are planing to get back into Costa Rica make a photocopy of the termporary importation paper and get it stamped by the official, if you dont do that they will hassle you when reentering

Driving in Costa Rica

Insurance requirements

Insurance is mandatory in Costa Rica and you will be forced to buy it at the border before you are allowed to enter. There are always agents at the border to buy from.

Cost of insurance

$35.00 USD for 3 months for a 4x4.

Where to purchase insurance

Right at the border. The customs guys will tell you exactly where to go.

Driving license

Technically an International Driving Permit is required.
In reality, showing a license from anywhere in the world seems to be good enough.

Driving side of road

Right.
Right hand drive vehicles are permitted without problem.

Mandatory items in vehicle

None.

Roads

General Road quality

Roads in Costa Rica are generally of good quality, except in some of the smaller towns where the pavement is cracked and broken. Lesser roads are gravel and vary greatly from very good, to extremely rutted and dusty to mud pits. Any gravel road on either coast will be horrendous in the rainy season.

Road signs

Road signs are mostly common and clear.

Toll Roads

Hwy 27 is a toll road, goes from Orotina to Limon.
Free option is Hwy 1 but it takes twice as much time and probably will spend the booth money on gas.

Bribery in Costa Rica

Police bribery is not common in Costa Rica, but it certainly does happen.
See the bribery tips page for advice.

Checkpoints

Police checkpoints are not common in Costa Rica, though you may encounter them. You'll be asked to show your Passport, Vehicle registration, drivers license, vehicle insurance and the temporary import permit you were issued at the border. For the most part, Police will not bother foreigners too much.

Traveling with pets

As with all borders in Central America, be ready for bribery if you have a pet.
According to travelers in 2012, you need: ^[1]

A Health Certificate for the animal in Spanish (updated at least every four months)
A vaccination record (the European Pet Passport works well)

You might not be asked for either one, but you should have them ready.

Gas and Diesel price in Costa Rica

Last updated: June 2012

Currency and unit to display:

Gasoline Grade	Price
Regular	??
Super (90)	??
Premium (95)	$5.66 USD per Gallon (US)
Ultra (97)	??
Normal Diesel	$0.99 USD per Liter^[2]
Diesel (low sulfur)	??

Gas and Diesel Availability / Frequency

Gasoline shortages in Costa Rica are not a problem.
Typically gas stations are not more than 100 - 200km apart.

Gas and Diesel Quality

Accepted to be good quality.
Sulfur content of diesel is unknown.

Safety and Security Considerations

Driving at night

Driving at night is not considered a huge problem in Costa Rica, though it's not recommended due to safety concerns and road hazards that can not be seen in the dark.

Vehicle parking

Parking vehicles on the street in smaller towns during the day is typically OK. Find a secure parking lot in big cities and at night. Do not leave personal belongings in the car to avoid theft. Secure parking will be around $20.00 USD per night.

Special driving considerations

None.

Security advisories and information

Camping in Costa Rica

Camping is popular in Costa Rica, both with backpackers and locals. Virtually all beachside towns have multiple sites to choose from for around $3.00 USD to $5.00 USD per person, per night.
Being far away from major roads is preferable for wild camping.

Camping guide books

No specific book exists, though the usual backpacker guide books mention a campground in virtually every town and city.

Drinking water

Tap water in most of Costa Rica is safe to drink. Every corner store sells 1 and 2 liter bottles, and 20 liter bottles can be bought at most large grocery stores if you don't feel safe drinking tap water. In very remote towns or small islands it is recommended to ask the locals if tap water is safe to drink.

Navigation

Paper maps

Purchase maps before arriving in Costa Rica. Reise Know-How Maps are highly recommended, they are updated yearly. Order directly from the German website to ensure you have the latest version. ^[3]

GPS Maps of Costa Rica

Open Street Map: Appears to have good coverage.^[4]
Garmin: Apparently no map of Costa Rica.
TomTom: No map of Costa Rica. ^[5]
Cenrut: Free Open Source GPS map of Central America. Coverage is occasionally better than OSM. ^[6]

GPS co-ordinates for camping, propane, gas, repairs, etc. in Costa Rica

Camping Sites: CostaRica - Detailed list of campsites and propane filling with description, directions and GPS co-ordinates. Some at hotels (lists facilities and price), some roadside and free.
Central America Camping Locations - List of campsites, with basic directions and GPS co-ordinates. Mostly free sites.
Camping Log 1: Central America - List of campsites, shopping, fuel, propane and border crossings with excellent descriptions and GPS co-ordinates.
White Acorn camping log page - GPS co-ordinates and excellent description of campsites]
Costa Rica Campgrounds and Hotels - Life Remotely - List of campgrounds and hostels with photos, GPS co-ordinates, descriptions and amenities from 2012]