Costa Rica Mountain Rental

Well the wife and I have not to travel to Costa Rica by vehicle this year, time was too short and so were the funds, perhaps next year we will make the journey in our 03 jeep liberty. That said, anyone finding our blog please feel free to post your comments and just perhaps you may discover others who are planning to make the trip as well.

One of the first issues you need to address before heading south, is making sure your truck is ready for the drive to Costa Rica.

You should be concerned with the mechanical soundness of your truck. No matter where you trip begins, Canada or the United States, you will be driving a fair distance, so you will want to ensure that your car is in good mechanical working order.  Do not let little things slip off your radar like windshield wipers, fuses, cracks in your windshield etc.

For those whom are not mechanically inclined, your better off to take it to a trust worthy certified mechanic for a thorough inspection.  Even if you are mechanically inclined this may be a good idea, just for some added peace of mind.  Depending on your SUV and the condition it is in, you may also want to do this well before you intend to leave.  You do not want an outrageous repair bill to catch you off guard, or even worse have a mechanic tell you that your SUV just won’t make the trip.  Then you are faced with a whole other challenge of buying one that will.  If money isn’t a problem, purchasing new will not be either.  But for the rest of us, having to purchase another van isn’t something we can do on a whim.  So be sure to have your truck inspected well in advance of of the date you intend to leave your departure date.

Whatever you are driving, do ensure you have very good tires.  In Mexico and Central America you will be travelling on roads which can and will not be to the standards you are used to in North America.  So you may want to ensure that you are travelling in a truck appropriate to those roads.  Although most vehicles are fine, consider a a 4×4, it isn’t a bad idea.  You need to remember a few things when travelling through those Countries.  First off, when it rains, it can be a substantial down pour.  It may not last long but it can come down like a wall of water.  Secondly, the pot holes can resemble miniature canyons.  There is one near our home in Costa Rica which has been named the Toyota Killer.  You will not be wanting to drive a little car down those roads, you may just lose it in a pot hole.

A small to mid sized sports utility vehicle is a preferred choice.  You want to be comfortable and ensure that you will be able to traverse whatever the road brings.  The ability to throw it into four wheel drive without getting out of your vehicle is a god send as well.  With the extra room an sports utility car provides you can also through more things in the back. Items will be easily accessible in comparison with having to get out and root through the trunk of a car.  A sports utility SUV works well if you are taking your pets with you.  It gives them that little extra room to stretch out or even move around, if you don’t have it packed to the roof with belongings.

No matter what, be sure your truck is ready for the drive to Costa Rica, and that you have one that is appropriate for the road and weather conditions you will more than likely encounter.

The wife and I are planning to drive our 2003 Jeep Liberty to Costa Rica after Christmas 2009. We bought a home in Costa Rica in 2007 and since have spent roughly $6000 USD on rental vehicles during our stays in Costa Rica, well it is time to put an end to that. We have looked into the import fees and it will cost us $6000 USD to import our vehicle into Costa Rica and leave it there.

During one of our planning discussions the idea of this blog came up, we thought there has to be a lot of people planning the same trip, and what is the best way to get in contact with them to see if it may be possible to travel together? Then we thought heck if we can get enough exposure with this blog perhaps it can be used as a resource for years to come for people planning to do the same trip.

So I logged onto our Godaddy account and installed WordPress so we can host this blog along with our Costa Rica home rental site

Regards
Glenn & Carmen