Taxis in Costa Rica are a common transportation option for locals and tourists. There almost 14,000 units in the country and you’ll see taxis almost everywhere you go in Costa Rica.
If you don’t want to take public transportation which at times can be slow and there aren’t routes to everywhere, a taxi can be a good option. It’s especially practical if you don’t need to go far, if it’s raining or if you’re feeling a little lazy to walk in the heat.
If you are visiting Costa Rica for the first time, here are our tips for taking taxis in Costa Rica from a local.
Always Take an Official Taxi
Official taxis in Costa Rica are red with the yellow triangle and light like the one shown below. You will immediately be able to tell the difference between a pirate and real taxi. Official taxis have newer cars, plates and the badge to signify they are official taxis. More on that below.
Official taxis will have a plate on the side of their door signifying which province they can operate in. Taxis cannot operate across province lines so for example, a San Jose licensed taxi cannot operate in Guanacaste.
If you are in San Jose, you will see something like TSJ001 (TSJ stands for Taxi San Jose and the numbers tells you the taxi number), in Heredia you will see plates TH, in Limon TL, etc.
Orange Taxis
When you land in the San Jose airport, you might see orange taxis, instead of red. These group of taxis are exclusive for the airport. They charge more than the RED ones but they are just right there outside the arrivals door. Both San Jose and Liberia Airports now have an official taxi stand which is right outside the exit. Go there to call an official taxi.
Security Tip: If you are in San Jose and the taxi has a Puntarenas plate, do not take it. Official taxis in Costa Rica can only pick up passengers within their own province.
If you don’t need to, don’t take a pirate taxi
I am Costa Rican and I always try to avoid non-official taxis. Wherever you go in Costa Rica you can find a line of cabs next to the bus stations, parks, restaurants and they will come to you saying, “taxi, need a taxi?” These are drivers who are not official taxis and they do not have the taxi medallion license to offer these services. They are just simply normal people with their own personal cars.
The popular way to call them are “Taxis Piratas” which mean pirate cab drivers. The main reasons why I don’t use them are that they can charge whatever they want, they don’t have the same insurance as the legal ones and they aren’t as safe. Many times they have a super old car in bad shape without insurance so it’s a risk if you take one of those.
Unfortunately, there are some destinations where only pirate taxis exist. These are places outside the city in more remote areas such as Tamarindo and Montezuma. If you have to take a taxi and the pirate drivers are your only option, then negotiate a price beforehand, do not go alone especially if you are female and take a photo of their license plate and get their name just in case anything happens.
Turn the meter on
Like in any part of the world, some cab drivers will try to take advantage of tourists or people that they normally don’t work with by charging more or denying to use the meter. According to Costa Rican law, every cab driver must use the meter (Costa Rica name for the meter is”MARIA”). If you find a cab driver that doesn’t want to use it even if you ask, you can get their plate number and report the cab driver to the government. They have to turn it on by law (more on taxi scams below).
As for rates, the rates are regulated by the government. Rates change depending on the area (rural or city) and the automobile capacity.
Tip: Another way to get a rough estimate of how much your taxi would be is to check the fare estimate on the Uber website. Whatever they charge, add a bit more for Costa Rican taxis.
Ask a Local Before
If you have the opportunity, ask a local before you take a taxi. Ask them about prices and transportation options because Costa Rica has a good public transportation system that might take you for less money where you want to go.
Like any public transportation however, it might take longer and you might have to walk a little bit. Don’t know Spanish? Learn some important Spanish phrases here!
Most of the Costa Ricans will help you and you will have a good experience, but always keep your eyes open and use common sense. Avoid these 10 mistakes when traveling in Costa Rica and read our Costa Rica safety tips to stay safe.
More Tips for Taxis in Costa Rica
- Costa Rican drivers take great care of their car as cars, so please don’t slam the door when you close it. Do it softly and your driver will be happy.
- For solo female travelers, it’s better if you sit in the backseat.
- Always have change with you and small bills in local currency. We do not recommend to pay in USD because 99.99% of the time, the driver will tell you he does not have change and will use an incorrect exchange rate.
- Costa Rica does not really have addresses so drivers will not know where you are going if your address is Calle 2, Segunda Ave 10. Find a hotel or business close by and use that as your destination.
- It is not absolutely mandatory to tip your driver but you may if you want to (10% is standard and we recommend to give local currency). Read more about tipping in Costa Rica here.
Scams to Watch Out For
Unfortunately there are some taxi drivers that will try to scam tourists. Look out for these.
- The driver tells you that your hotel is not in business anymore and will try to reroute you to a hotel they get commission for and try to charge you a lot more for the extra driving.
- If you’re taking a taxi to the bus station, the driver may say your bus already left, the route doesn’t exist, bus station moved, etc. Do NOT believe them. Tell them to take you to the station and verify the information directly at the station.
- Don’t take up their offer to go to a “cheaper/better” restaurant/souvenir store/business/whatever. Continue straight to your destination.
- Get a prepaid Costa Rica SIM card so you have Internet on your phone and open the route on Google Maps or Waze so you can make sure he’s not taking you in the long way around.
Read more about common tourist scams in Costa Rica.
Uber
Uber in Costa Rica is honestly so much better than taxis. Don’t get me wrong, taxis are necessary but like anyone else, we hate the constant taxi badgering when we leave the airport or are walking down the street. Not to mention, Uber is much better for pricing because you can see how much it will be in the app and unlike a taxi driver, it is very difficult for them to try to charge you a higher or ridiculous price.
We always use Uber when we’re in San Jose even if we have a car because it’s cheap, pricing is automatically in the app and we don’t have to drive. Read our tips for using Uber in Costa Rica.
Another app for ride share is Didi which is growing in San Jose.
Daniel says
Hi,
I booked for a 2 night stay in Mango Valley in Alajuela Province. I am not sure if I want to rent a car since it’s a short stay. I won’t have enough time to visit the coast so maybe taxi is a cheaper option. I searched some fare it’s about 20,000 colones about US$40 is that correct? And will I be able to call for taxi ahead of time when I leave from the hotel to the airport SJO?
If I do want to rent a car to go to pacific coast do you think it’s not enough time for 2 nights?
Sammi says
Hi Daniel, it depends which part of the coast you’re going to. I don’t know how much a taxi is but you can ask your hotel to call you a taxi to get to the airport and your hotel should be able to provide shuttle options too. For renting a car, 2 days is kind of short but you can do a lot more with a car in that area. You can drive to the beach, the closest one is about 45 minutes away, visit national parks like Poas Volcano, take a coffee tour, lots of things to do in that area. You can book tours but it will be more expensive overall to do that and with the car, you can explore a lot more. You can rent a small compact car which is the cheapest option (~$40 a day) and you won’t need a big car if you’re going from Grecia to the coast.
Sammi says
Hi Braydon! The easiest way to get to all those destinations is either shuttle or driving. There are buses to all those destinations but you will have to switch buses a lot and it’ll be really long (Liberia to Fortuna takes 3 buses, Samara to Tamarindo takes 2, Fortuna to Samara takes 4 buses). If you don’t want to worry about driving, you can book a shuttle to all those places. A shuttle isn’t cheap but you can book a shared shuttle and it’s a little cheaper than private. It’s nice since you don’t need to worry about driving or getting lost.
If you don’t mind driving, renting a car is the best option. The route from Liberia to Fortuna is gorgeous so you have a lot more flexibility with a car – stop when you want to have lunch, take pics, buy souvenirs, etc. Also those routes are not hard to get to as you go on main roads (except Samara but there are tons of signs to Samara). They are kind of long though, Liberia to Fortuna is around 3 hours, Fortuna to Samara is around 4.5 hours and then Samara to Tamarindo is a couple of hours. It’s not too bad for driving times though. If you rent a car, you won’t need a SUV for those routes, you can rent a sedan as those routes are all paved, on main roads and the roads around the destinations are not that bad.
For more renting a car tips, check out this post: Costa Rica car rental tips and we also have a car rental discount where you can get a free 2nd driver and cell phone and 33% off gps: Costa Rica car rental discount
Braydon says
Hello, I no there are many comments already but I am looking for your opinion
My girlfriend and I are coming down early March. Fly into Liberia, we then plan to travel to LA Fortuna for few nights. Then samara. Then tamarindo. We are debating if it is worth renting a car (is car okay or would we need suv).. or if we should take other transportation? Any feedback helps!
Chelbi says
Thank you for sharing! All of You!
I’m truly inspired to see so many women going alone to CR! I, too, am looking into traveling there alone, hopefully a friend will be able to join me a week later! Maybe two friends!
Anyway, I am looking to relocate to CR and honestly am relying on tons of research, and much of the helpful info has come from ordinary people like yourselves! Therefore, ANY advice is appreciated!
I have an 8 year old son that will be moving along with me as well as my father who is excited about relocating as well!
I have NO idea yet which will be the best place to begin my search, but I’m considering using Airbnb to switch things up and network….I love what’s available on their site! And wherever I choose, I need air conditioning and to be somewhat close to a hospital….though near a beach is…..making me smile right now.~
#XO
yeison says
Hello Chelbi,
If you like the beach and want to have a smooth transition with other expats living around you or in the same situation, Playas del Coco is a good option there are private and public hospitals around the area and some good schools where you kid will be around students from all different countries that moved here. We have plenty of articles about playas del coco and a city guide if you would like to read more about it.
Good luck in this new adventure of your life and we wish you the best 🙂 Costa Rica always welcome everyone it doesn’t matter the color of the skin, religion or country you are coming from if you are nice every one will be nice with you too.
Sammi says
Hi Yvette, I have no idea the cost of a taxi to your hotel, but I would actually use Uber instead. It’s much cheaper than a taxi and you can call Ubers pretty much any time in San Jose. We wrote a post with tips on using Uber in San Jose here: Uber Costa Rica
If you go the Uber website, you can do a fare estimate to see about how much it’ll be.
Yvette says
Thanks Sammi. I won’t have access to data when I arrive in San Jose (does the airport have free wifi?). I will look into Uber.
Sammi says
The arrivals doesn’t have Wi-Fi so you will have to go upstairs to departures which has free Wi-Fi. There are stairs or an escalator you can take.
Yvette says
Hello,
I’m a single female and I’m coming to San Jose arriving around 11pm in the night on February 11th. If I stick to the advise above and take a red taxi, would I be safe travelling alone to my hotel? I’m joining a tour and the tour company is charge $70 for the hotel transfer which I thought was high? What is the approximate cost in a taxi to get to Hotel Le Bergerac, San Jose. Thanks in advance.
Yvette
Mala says
I’ll be traveling to SJO end of January. Is Uber pick up and drop off limited to ONLY the SJO area? If I were to take an Uber from the airport, will they take me to La Fortuna? Or can I only be dropped of in the San Jose area?
What private transport company can you recommend that won’t charge $160 one way!
Sammi says
Uber is only in San Jose, you may be able to hire the driver to take you to La Fortuna but since it’s like 3.5 hours away, it’s still going to be expensive and around $160-200 (the driver has to go allll the way back to San Jose) You can take the bus, there is a direct bus from San jose to Fortuna that’s about $8, otherwise shuttle or taking a local flight is an option too. Since Fortuna is quite far away, all private shuttles are expensive, especially for only one traveler. $160 one way is actually cheaper than many quotes I’ve been given.
Sammi says
There are several different options. The cheapest is by bus (you can read our tips for taking the bus in CR here: Public transportation in Costa Rica and includes a schedule) which would be your best option if you guys are on a budget. Or if you’d like to do something more fun, we work with a white water rafting company that does white water rafting trips where you can get picked up in San Jose and dropped off in La Fortuna. That’s pretty awesome because instead of spending your day on the bus or driving, you get to go white water rafting and your transportation is all taken care of. We offer some awesome promos for it you can check out here (Rio Pacuare white water rafting discount)
And then from Fortuna to Monteverde, you can take the bus from Tilaran to Monteverde. Or you can go the fun route, and take a water taxi across Lake Arenal and then a 4×4 to your place in Monteverde.
From Monteverde to San Jose, there is a bus every day at 6:30 AM and 2:30 PM.
You can also consider renting a car (tips for renting a car here: (Costa Rica car rental tips). The views on that route are very beautiful and you can stop at any of the small towns to take pictures or buy souvenirs along the way. It’s also a lot more flexible when you rent a car.
ooo says
Awesome. Thank you so much 🙂
Sammi says
You’re welcome!
ooo says
A friend and I will be visiting Costa Rica for the first time next Spring. We are flying into San Jose, and will be heading over to La Fortuna upon landing. After spending a few days in La Fortuna, we will head over to Monteverde. I was wondering if anyone has any knowldegde they’d like to share as far as what our best options are for traveling between cities:
1. San Jose (airport) to La Fortuna
2. La Fortuna to Monteverde
3. Monteverde to San Jose
Thank you!
Sammi says
There’s a bus from San Jose to Sarchi leaving from Abonos Agro Transportes in San Jose at 12:15, 5:30, 6:05. You can read more about the bus here: Public transportation in Costa Rica . There is an itinerary you can download and an app you can use.