Transportation

San Jose Buses

Having had the opportunity to travel to many countries in Central and South America, I’ve seen that not all countries have a good transportation system.  Lots of these countries have buses with no seats, weird smells, and many of the buses themselves look like they’re from the 70s!  Costa Rica’s public transportation is different than its surrounding countries.  Lots of these buses, especially buses commonly used to commute to and from San Jose to Cartago, are quite nice.  In the 11 years I’ve been living in Costa Rica, they have upgraded the buses once or twice. Prices for the most part are not expensive – it all depends on where you’d like to travel.  I was on a bus recently going to Samara, Guanacaste from San Jose, which is about a five-hour trip with little to no traffic, and the cost of that was only $8.80.  Small trips from town to town or town to city can cost from $.85 to $1.50.

Uber Vs Taxi

Ubers are a very popular way to from to point A to point B if you’re in a rush.  Most taxis – if they see you’re a foreigner – will go the long way in order to rack up the bill.  Ubers, on the other hand, are cheaper, and you know you won’t get ripped off.  Compared to the States the prices are extremely cheap for the amount of miles they cover.  It all comes down to the time of day when you need an Uber, but I highly recommend this option if you don’t want to use the bus or if you don’t have a car.

Costa Rican Taxi

Official taxis are red cars that have a yellow light on the top and a yellow triangle on the side door.  Compared to U.S taxis, these aren’t as expensive, but you don’t want to get caught in traffic in them.  I’d only recommend using them if you don’t have Uber, if you are lost, or if you need to get somewhere fast.  As stated above, lots of these official taxis will ride you around the long way to get you to point B, not all of them, but if you have the chance to take an Uber instead – DO IT!