Can You Drive In Costa Rica With A U.S. Driver’s License?

Yes, you can drive in Costa Rica with a US driver’s license. There’s no doubt that Costa Rica is a small, beautiful Central American country famous for its mesmerizing beaches, lush rainforest, stunning landscape, scenic views, and exotic wildlife.

That is becoming a fast-growing tourist destination for foreigners worldwide, especially in the US. So, if you are a US citizen visiting Costa Rica as a tourist and planning to drive, your US driving license is valid for 90 days before it expires.

My husband and I have been constantly visiting Costa Rica for the past ten years, and each visit always feels like the first. So when we first came here, we did not have much information about how certain things, like driver’s licenses, work. 

However, we came with our US driver’s license and passport if we could stand a chance because we were aware of some of the privileges you enjoy as a US citizen in other parts of the world.

We went to rent a car that we would be touring the country in, and to our greatest surprise and honor, my US driver’s license was accepted, and my Costa Rican passport was stamped to indicate the number of days we had left to drive and stay in the country before our tourist visa expires.

That moment was unforgettable, and ever since, I have been driving with my US driver’s license in Costa Rica whenever I visit.

In this guide, I’ll be sharing with you some vital information on how you can use your US driver’s license as a tourist in Costa Rica.

Key Takeaways

Here are some key takeaways from this article if you don’t have all the time to read to the end:

• It is very possible to drive with your U.S. driver’s license in Costa Rica.
• You need some documents before you can rent a car in Costa Rica.
• It is important to understand traffic laws and always carry your documents when driving.
• For a safe and comfortable ride, avoid driving at night and lock your doors, too.
• Always ask the car rental company which gas their vehicle takes before setting out.

Validity Of a US Driver’s License

General Acceptance

The US driver’s license is generally accepted in Costa Rica for driving by tourists. 

If you are planning to drive during your visit, you can use your US driver’s license, which also gives you the liberty to rent a car in the country and explore its various terrains at your own pace. Which also means you can stay in the country for 90 days. 

Documentation Required

The freedom a rental car gives you to explore Costa Rica and experience its beauty on your own can not be explained.

However, before you hurry over to the next car rental website or office, it’s essential to understand the type of documents required to rent a car in Costa Rica.

Here are some of the requirements:

• You need a valid US driver’s license, which should be an original copy, not a photocopy.
• Your passport has a valid Costa Rican stamp that indicates how long you are staying in the country.
• A credit card that has between $500 and $5000 on it.
• You need to be 21–25 years old and older. However, this depends on the rental company.

Note that once your tourist visa expires, so does your right to drive with your US driver’s license in Costa Rica. So you will need to either leave the country and enter again or get a Costa Rican driver’s license.

And one more thing: always carry both your valid US driver’s license and passport along when you are driving in Costa Rica, especially outside of the Central Valley, where there are high chances that you will get stopped by the police and asked for these documents.

Now, when this happens, remember to relax and not act weird or tense because, most of the time, these police are looking for drugs and illegal contraband and would not search your car unless you started acting tense.

Insurance and Legal Requirements 

Mandatory Insurance

Renting a car in Costa Rica is one of the best ways to explore the country and save money compared to hiring private shuttles.

However, before you can get a car as a foreigner and drive in Costa Rica, you need to be aware of something called insurance, which is mandatory for all car renters.

Mandatory insurance is one of the policies of car rental companies that covers damages to the car you rent.

As someone who has traveled a lot to Costa Rica and used the car rental services from different car rental companies, here are some of the famous and best car rental companies in Costa Rica and their insurance policies:

Adobe

Adobe is the largest car rental company in Costa Rica, with over 15 offices nationwide, and offers the following insurance policies before renting a car:

Liability Protection: Liability protection is their mandatory insurance, and it costs $13–$25 a day, depending on the type of car you want to rent.

And with this insurance, you have coverage of $20,000 in third-party damages with a 20% deductible.

Car Protection: Car protection insurance covers damages to the rented car in cases of accidents, and in cases of total or partial theft of the rented car, it covers any financial losses.

Extended Protection: This optional insurance, which costs $17–$25 a day, supplements liability protection.

It covers the 20% deductible of the liability protection, leaving you with a zero(0) deductible. It also covers losses such as windows, vandalism, tow trucks, and damaged tyres.

Third-Party Waiver (TPW): It is optional, costs $10 a day, and is offended only in person by the Adobe agent when you collect the car. It is mainly for those who declined car protection insurance.

Security Deposit: A credit card is required at the time of rental for a deposit of $1000. 

Alamo

Alamo Car Rentals offers the following insurance policies:

Basic Coverage: This is Alamo’s mandatory insurance policy and combined insurance covering Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Third Party Insurance (TPI). 

Below is what the basic coverage entails:

• If there’s an accident or damage to the rented car, the client will be responsible for paying the deductible, which is $1000.
• If damages are done on third-party properties, the deductible is 20% of the total damages, and you are to pay a minimum of $250.
• If the car is stolen, the deductible is $2000.

Accident Protection: This insurance is optional and removes the payment of deductibles in case of an accident.

Theft Protection: This insurance covers the client from paying the deductible in theft situations. However, it is optional and does not cover personal belongings.

Full Protection: This insurance is the total of all the above protections.

Warranty Deposit: A credit card is required at the time of your rental for a deposit of $1000.

Vamos

Vamos is one of the best car rental companies in Costa Rica. Below are their insurance policies.

Third-Party Liability (TPL): mandatory insurance that protects renters against liabilities resulting from injuries sustained by bystanders and damages to third-party property in the event of an accident.

This insurance policy costs $11.95 per day and includes:

A $2000 deposit is placed on the renter’s credit card as a security deposit. 

Basic Collision Damage Waiver (CDW): This optional insurance restricts liability due to vehicle damage or theft and includes the mandatory TPL.

The insurance covers the following:

• A $750 security deposit fee is placed on the renter’s credit card.
• deductible of $975 for vehicle damages or theft.
• Third-party liability protection of $11.95 a day.

Full CDW: This is also optional insurance that sets the renter free from financial responsibilities resulting from accidents and theft.

It provides comprehensive coverage of both the basic CDW and third-party liability.

This insurance covers the following:

• $100 security deposit placed on the renter’s credit card.
• A zero deductible for theft, damages, and accidents.
• Full coverage for windows, windshields, tyres, and rims.
• A liability protection cost of $11.95 per day.

Rental Deposits: Because of the three instance policies and their varying deposits, your rental deposit will vary depending on your insurance option.

Generally, the legal age for renting a car in Costa Rica is 25 years and older. However, some car rental companies accept drivers older than 21 and charge an additional daily fee of $10 to $20.

For the security and rental deposits, your car will not be charged until you pick up, and it will be refunded if the car returns safely.

Traffic Laws and Regulations

Before driving around Costa Rica, it is essential to understand their traffic laws and regulations.

Below are the traffic laws and regulations that guide drivers in Costa Rica:

• Drive on the right and overtake on the left.
• Passing on the right is not allowed.
• Wearing seat belts is mandatory for all occupants of the vehicle.
• It is required to provide a child’s seat for children under 12.
• It is forbidden to drive under the influence of alcohol, and if caught, you will pay heavily.
• It is prohibited to use your mobile phone while driving.
• Yellow lines indicate areas where you are not allowed to pass.
• Driving on beaches is strictly prohibited everywhere, except when no other path connects two towns.
• The speed limit varies and is posted by the road. On highways, it is 120 km/h, and the minimum speed is 40 km/h unless otherwise indicated.
• On secondary roads, the speed limit is 60 km/h, unless otherwise indicated.
• In urban areas, the speed limit is 40 km/h, unless otherwise indicated.
• Around school zones and in front of hospitals and clinics, the speed limit is 25 km/h.

The road signs are similar to those used in the United States and Canada and are primarily written in Spanish words. So, learning Spanish is beneficial when visiting Costa Rica.

Below are some of the most frequent road signs you’ll encounter:

Alto-stop. It is also a red octagon.

Velocidad maxima: maximum speed. 

Ceda el Paso-yield. Is also a red-and-white triangle.

Puente Angosto is a narrow bridge.

Desvio– detour

Despacio –slow

Cruce de monos—monkey crossing (or some other animal; they will put a picture of it).

Una via—one way

Carretera en mal estado—road in bad condition

Puente en mal estado—bridge in bad condition

No escalation, no parking

Curvas peligrosas adelante: dangerous curves ahead

No hay paso—don’t enter

No virar en u—no U turns

Calle sin salida—dead end

Tarifa liviano: lightweight fare (you will see this at the toll booths)

One thing you should always remember is that Costa Rica uses the metric system, so speed is measured in kilometers, and at gas stations, fuel is measured in liters, unlike in the United States.

Practical Tips For US Drivers

Driving in Costa Rica is no play in the park and nothing like you have ever seen elsewhere. From the road networks to the aggressive drivers. So for you to be able to drive comfortably in Costa Rica, you need to practice defensive driving and stay alert at all times.

Here are some practical tips that will help you get started:

Road Conditions

First, Costa Rica is a beautiful country with stunning landscapes; however, with so much beauty come some challenges.

While driving in Costa Rica is fun and easy in major cities like San Jose with good road conditions and highways, navigating the rural areas of the country with winding dirt roads and mountain passes can be challenging. 

One of the first things you will notice when driving in Costa Rica is that the roads there are not always in the best condition. There are so many potholes, and some roads are barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other. And it is more challenging if you are not used to driving on unpaved roads.

You will also see a lot of animals, particularly chickens, roaming freely on the roads, especially in the rural areas of Costa Rica.This means that you need to be extra careful when driving, take it slow, and always be on the lookout for animals because you never know when one might hurry out onto the road.

Navigation

Driving through Costa Rica is a bit of a headache because there is no proper street numbering or address system.

So it is very possible to miss your way and drive on the wrong route, and if you are unlikely, like I was when I first came here, you might drive for five hours only to find out you are driving on the wrong route.

That is why GPS apps and devices are heavily used for navigating the roads in Costa Rica and function well, especially in major cities like San Jose or Liberia.

However, you may struggle to use a GPS system in remote towns in the country. Due to the dense rainforest, hills, and mountains, there is little to no cell service in these areas.

To travel comfortably to rural and remote areas, download offline maps like Google Maps or use good old paper maps, but make sure they are up-to-date.

And use GPS apps like Waze and Google Maps to navigate the city and get live traffic updates while driving.

One more thing: to easily drive through the highways, carry small bills and loose change with you to toll booths. To avoid delays, have cash ready! 

Safety Tips

Driving in Costa Rica is adventurous, no doubt, but there are some safety tips to follow to avoid trouble, avoid car damage or theft, and have a smooth ride.

Below are some safety tips that will guide you through driving in Costa Rica:

• Do not drive at night if you can help it. Not only is it dangerous because there are fewer streetlights, making it hard to see possible dangers, but the roads are also in bad condition.
• The gas stations are spread out, so I’d advise you to fill up before you drive long distances. Do not bother to compare prices because the government regulates them all.
• To be on the safe side, ask the car rental company what kind of gas the car uses. If it’s petrol or diesel,.
• Always lock your doors while driving in Costa Rica, and never leave valuables visible in your car.
• In Costa Rica, pedestrians don’t really have a right of way. Which means if you are polite and stop in the road to let someone cross, they may become confused, and the car behind will hit you unexpectedly, thereby resulting in an accident.

Benefits of Driving in Costa Rica

There are some benefits to driving in Costa Rica as opposed to hiring a private shuttle, taxi, or bus.

Below are some of the benefits:

Flexibility: Renting a car gives you the opportunity to create your own schedule and explore at your own pace without being tied to public transportation timetables.

Freedom: With you Driving in a vehicle, you can visit off-the-beaten-path destinations and make unexpected detours to any location of your choice. This cannot happen in a public bus or car.

Privacy: Nothing beats enjoying the privacy of your own space and convenience of the car that meets your preference while driving. It makes you drive leisurely and not miss out on the adventure that comes with it. 

Convenience: Most car rental companies, like Adobe, make picking up and returning vehicles easy. Whether you are at the airport or any popular tourist location, your vehicle can be sent to you. This starts your trip in the right direction.

Support and expertise: A good car rental company will never leave you stranded, especially as a first-timer; they will give you valuable advice, local travel tips, and support when needed that will enhance your travel experience.

Comparisons With Other Transportation Options

Car Rental	Shuttles	Buses	Tour Package
Renting a car in Costa Rica is an excellent way of exploring the city on your own terms and having all the privacy and convenience you need. However, you will have to deal with the navigation, car maintenance, and bad road conditions all by yourself.	Shuttles are great because they give you more privacy than buses and operate on shared and private services. And it also takes away the hassle of navigating the country all by yourself. However, it is quite expensive and operates on a fixed schedule.	Taking a bus is one of the most cost-effective means of transportation if you are touring Costa Rica.  However, you may not be comfortable due to how crowded the bus can be, the frequent stops for transfers of passengers, and the bus moving on its own schedule and not yours.	Guided tours are an excellent way to explore the country for the first time because it handle all your logistics, accommodations, meals, etc. However, it is more expensive than all the other means of transportation in Costa Rica

Pros and Cons of Renting a Car

From the above table, renting a car is the best option if you want to explore the country’s rich biodiversity at your own pace, navigate remote towns where public transportation may not reach, and travel with a family or in a group to cut costs on expensive shuttles and tours per person.

However, bear in mind that you will have to navigate the road all by yourself, which can be stressful and incur additional costs such as rental fees, fuel, insurance, etc.

Looking to embark on a road trip in Costa Rica? First, find out if a 4×4 vehicle is necessary for navigating the terrain.

Conclusion

Driving with a U.S. driver’s license is not possible and allows tourists access into the country for up to 90 days, but it also comes with other pecks, like being able to rent a car if you are looking to explore the country on your terms.

However, it is essential to consider the road conditions, weather conditions, traffic laws, and other car rental processes before attempting to do it.