Mytanfeet is happy to share our partnership with a Costa Rican car rental agency, Adobe Rent a Car to offer our readers an exclusive Costa Rica car rental discount and extra benefits.
We have been partners with Adobe Rent a Car since early 2014, helping thousands of Mytanfeet readers save money and have an amazing time exploring Costa Rica by car.
What To Know About Our Car Rental Discount
1. If you don’t see the car you want, please email us at web @ Mytanfeet . com for us to check inventory. Please include your rental dates, rental times, type of car and pick up and return locations.
2. The widget does not allow reservations for less than 24 hours. Please email us to check last minute availability.
3. The discount is automatically included in the widget below, is off the car rental rate and minimum 10%*. No promo code require to get our car rental discount. Prices are in USD.
4. If you are looking to rent for more than one month, please write in the a note in the reservation comment section your long term rental dates so that we can get you the best monthly rate.
Below you will see all the freebies and extra benefits you get for booking through Mytanfeet.
*Rates and blackout dates set by Adobe. Discount may fluctuate as it depends on availability but the minimum is always at least 10% off the car rental rate. *We receive a small commission for every booking.
Please Use the Widget Below to Reserve Your Car With Our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount (No promo code required)
If the widget asks you for a corporate login or the discount is not automatically included, please click here to fill out the widget.****NO promo code required, our discount is automatically included using ONLY the widget below****
We Have More Exclusive Benefits for You!
- Additional two FREE drivers
- 0% deductible from the Liability Protection Insurance (up to $20,000 – normally 20%)
- $500 deposit for rentals that include Liability and Car Protection insurance or Liability, Car Protection and Extended insurance* For all rentals that decline Car Protection insurance, your deposit will be $750 USD regardless if you purchase Extended insurance or not.**
- $750 USD deposit instead of the original $1000 USD deposit for all rentals that decline Car Protection Insurance (CDW)**
- Road assistance on all rentals (normally only included in Extended Total Protection insurance)
- Free SIM card with 1000 CRC credit for the duration of your booking
- Free child booster seats, as many as needed
- 33% off a day on GPS rental
- Included shuttle pick up & drop off to the airport from their office and vice versa
- Complimentary car delivery and pick up at nearby hotels between the hours of 830 AM to 430 PM
- Free surf racks (on cars that can have surf racks)
- Free small or medium cooler if available
- Free backseat dog covers. Adobe is pet friendly.
- If you rent a portable WIFI for more than 10 days, the service will be for FREE after the 10th day (You pay only for the first 10 days. The Wifi is not free).
The free drivers, road assistance, deposit benefit and 0% deductible on Liability Insurance up to $20,000 USD are automatically included in every Mytanfeet reservation. Please write in the comment section if you want the SIM card, cooler (if available), child seats, dog seat cover or surf racks. Infant seats <1 years are not available.
**Deposit benefits apply only to those using a credit card. Debit card users will have a $1000 USD deposit, no exceptions. Surf racks are available for the Hyundai Tucson, Hyundai Venue, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Misubishi ASX, Mitsubishi Montero Sport and Mitsubishi L200.*
Every reader will also receive personal attention and customer service from the Mytanfeet team. We guarantee to answer your questions and comments within 24 hours of the initial reservation.
IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ FIRST ABOUT OUR COSTA RICA CAR RENTAL DISCOUNT!
- Our Costa Rica car rental discount is for the car rental rate, not insurance. No promo code needed. Discount is automatically in the widget.
- If renting the Wi-Fi for more than 10 days, the rate shows up as normal. Adobe has to manually adjust the rate when reservation is confirmed.
- If you need to make a reservation in less than 24 hours, the widget will not let you. You need to call Adobe directly. Tell them you are a Mytanfeet reader to get the discount. Their toll free number is 1 855 861 1250 or local number is 2542 4800.
- Requirements for renting a car with Adobe: must be at least 23 years old, must bring original valid passport and original valid driver’s license (no photocopies, temporary licenses or paper copies) and must have been driving legally for at least 2 years. The cardholder must be present in order to collect the car.
How to Use the Widget: Step by Step
- Select your pick up location.
- Next, enter your car rental start date and the time. If you are flying into the airport and want your car when you land, choose the time your flight arrives.
- Select your drop off location and time.
- Click Go and it will open a new window. You will see a list of cars available, prices and a description. Click on the car you want to go to the reservation booking form. To know you are getting the Mytanfeet rate, under FARE, it will say MY TAN FEET.
- For pick up, if you want the car when you land at the airport, please select Airport and enter your flight information. If you want your car delivered to your hotel, please select “Specify Location” and enter the name of your hotel.
- To complete the booking, enter the main driver’s (contract holder) information.
- In the comment section, please include if you’d like any of the Mytanfeet benefits such as SIM card, cooler, surf racks, baby/booster seats or the WiFi deal. If you would like Adobe to pick up your car from your hotel for your return, please include that in the comments (hotel name and time of pick up).
- Click Quote if you want ONLY a quote. Click Reserve if you want to make the reservation. Quotes are not confirmed reservations and are held for 10 days. Reservation is a confirmed booking.
- You will receive an email confirmation from Adobe.
Costa Rica Car Rental Discount FAQ
Why should we book our Costa Rica rental car rental through Mytanfeet? You’re a blog!
Yes, Mytanfeet is a blog. But we’re also travelers just like you. We’re always scoping out the best deals and through our blog, we have the opportunity to give back to our awesome readers.
Trust us, we’re not convincing you to book with us just so we can get commission. We’re happy to give our honest opinions and recommendations as real travelers. From day 1, our goal for Mytanfeet has always been to provide the best tips and the most helpful advice. This Costa Rica car rental discount is one way for us to do that.
And when it comes to first hand experience, we have it. Yeison is a Costa Rican who has worked in the tourism industry for over 20 years. I’m from the US and have lived in Costa Rica for over 10 years. We have been partners with Adobe since 2014 and have helped thousands of our readers rent a car in Costa Rica easily and affordably.
Planning a vacation is not easy to do, let alone renting a car in a foreign country! We want to help make your trip planning easier and for everyone to have an amazing time in Costa Rica!
Tell us about Adobe Rent a Car – why should I rent with them versus an international company?
We personally love giving our business to local companies. Adobe Rent a Car is a 100% Costa Rican car rental company that has been operating for over 25 years. They are the second largest car rental company in Costa Rica and offers all-inclusive pricing which means all insurances, taxes and fees are included in the final price.
With Adobe, you won’t have ANY surprises when you pick up your car. (This is one of the biggest complaints about renting a car in Costa Rica from tourists and one of the common “scams”).
Does Adobe have any extra or “hidden” fees that’s not on my reservation?
Nope! This is one of the main reasons we partnered with Adobe. What you see on your reservation or quote is exactly what you pay. NO hidden fees, no last minute extra things you have to pay.
What is the Costa Rican mandatory car insurance?
Costa Rica has a mandatory car rental insurance which is called the Liability Protection. It has coverage up to $20,000 USD in 3rd party damages with a 20% deductible (Mytanfeet readers get 0% deductible) along with coverage of 3rd parties not in the car (i.e pedestrian) up to $100,000 USD with 0 deductible.
In addition, Adobe Rent a Car has another insurance called Car Protection which is for damages of the rented car in an accident, collision or roll over. In case of total or partial theft of the rented car, the Car Protection also covers any financial losses due to the theft. This can be declined with a letter from your credit card company stating they will cover these damages.
The full insurance (Extended Protection) covers $4,000,000 USD third parties damage, and it has $0 deductible in collision, roll over, and theft. It covers vandalism, windows, damaged tires (FLAT TIRES NOT INCLUDED), road assistance 24/7 and tow truck. This insurance is optional.
Their other insurance, the TPW, is offered ONLY in person by the Adobe agent and only to clients who decline the Car Protection Insurance. The TPW insurance is optional. It increases your third party (Liability) coverage to $4 million USD from $20,000 USD. The Liability deductible goes down to $0 USD from 20%. This insurance costs $9.99 USD a day.
Read exactly how Adobe Rent a car insurance works in this post.
Can I decline car rental insurance in Costa Rica?
Yes, you can decline their Car Protection insurance. To do that, untick the Car Protection box when making the reservation. You will need to bring a printed letter from your credit card company stating they will cover the damages. This letter needs to have the credit card company name and the last four digits of your credit card number.
Please make sure to carefully read over exactly what your credit card company will cover, including but not limited to number of passengers, length of car rental period and type of car. For example, credit card companies do not cover vehicles with 8 or more passengers so the insurance cannot be declined when renting a vehicle such as the Hyundai H1 as that has over 8 seats. Or some credit card companies may not cover trucks.
****Please note since October 1, 2021, VISA will not offer this credit card car rental insurance benefit to its Gold and Platinum card members.****
What is included in the countrywide road assistance?
All Mytanfeet reservations have countrywide road assistance included. This road assistance is normally only included in the Extended Total Protection insurance. It includes assistance in situations such as battery replacements (if you leave lights on), if you lock keys inside the car and towing as well as 24/7-365 days access to their emergency line.
Flat tires are NOT included in roadside assistance but Adobe provides all the tools to change a tire.
How much is the security deposit for my car rental reservation?
Adobe does require a deposit which will be held for the length of the reservation. It will be released when the reservation is over. Their normal deposit is $1000 USD and we have the following benefit for Mytanfeet readers.
$500 deposit for rentals that include Liability and Car Protection insurance or Liability, Car Protection and Extended insurance. *For all rentals that decline Car Protection insurance, your deposit will be $750 USD*
$750 USD deposit instead of the original $1000 USD deposit for all rentals that decline Car Protection Insurance (CDW).
Please make sure your credit card limit is sufficient for the deposit and the amount of the reservation.
This deposit benefit is for those using a credit card ONLY. If you use a debit card, the deposit is $1000 USD, no exceptions. No deposit benefit for those using a debit card.
Does Adobe have a shuttle to and from the airport?
Yes! Adobe offers a meet and greet with a FREE shuttle that will be waiting for you at San Jose International Airport and Guanacaste Airport to take you to their off-site office (~10 minute drive). There you will complete paperwork and collect the car. Just look for the Adobe agent outside the airport exit terminal wearing a blue shirt, holding a sign with their logo on it.
Then for drop off, you will drop off the car at their office and they will shuttle you to the airport. Please make sure to arrive at the Adobe office with plenty of time to arrive at the airport at least 2-3 hours before your flight.
For early morning flights, both airport offices receive cars starting at 5 AM but you must write a note in the comment section the time you need to return the car so Adobe is aware.
Can Adobe deliver/pick up the car at my hotel?
Mytanfeet readers get free delivery and pick up to hotels near their office. Please write in the comments your hotel name and pick up/delivery time. Hours of this service are normally 830 AM to 430 PM and it is first come, first serve so you must write a note to make arrangements with Adobe.
How do I know my rental is confirmed?
You will receive a confirmation email after you book your car. If you don’t receive the email in 24 hours, you can email us and we’ll make sure you receive it. Make sure to check your spam/junk folder in case you don’t see it in your inbox.
When does Adobe take payment for my car rental?
Your credit card will NOT be charged until you pick up the car and sign the paperwork. However, Adobe Rent a Car does need your credit card details to confirm your reservation. You can enter it online once you’ve made a reservation or over the phone. They will also contact you a few days before your booking date to get this information. Cardholders MUST be present to pay for the rental.
This information backs up the reservation.
Can I use a debit card to pay for my reservation and use as the security deposit?
Yes but there are some conditions to using a debit card. The Adobe agent will explain to you all the conditions to using a debit card. Then you will need to sign the agreement acknowledging the conditions of using a debit card.
Some conditions are that your deposit will take longer to return (up to 45 days) since it is classified as a real charge. Another is that you will NOT receive any of our deposit benefits. The deposit is $1000 USD for using a debit card, no exceptions. Furthermore, the Car Protection Insurance cannot be declined when paying with a debit card.
Adobe Rent a Car does not accept Apple Cards.
How do I know I’m *really* getting a Costa Rica car rental discount?
Hey I totally get it! I’d want to check too if it was me. You can go to the Adobe Rent a Car Costa Rica website and compare the prices. Remember, some prices may not reflect the discount during blackout dates. Also remember the Costa Rica car rental discount is at least 10% off the car rental rate. But I assure you that the deal is real and you get all our extra benefits.
Make sure that under “FARE” it says MY TAN FEET and that means our discount is included in the price. If not, that is the price without our discount.
**All prices are set by Adobe**
What if I need to change, cancel or request something specific for my reservation?
In the confirmation email, you can modify your reservation (link is near the bottom). The Adobe Rent a Car cancellation policy is if cancelled in more than 72 hours, there is no penalty fee. If you cancel in less than 72 hours before arrival or don’t pick up the car (this is called a “no show”), the penalty is the equivalent to one day of rent.
Add any requests in the comment section.
I don’t know if I need to or should rent a car. Do you have any tips?
We have a ton of tips for renting a car in Costa Rica tips, you can read all of them here: renting a car in Costa Rica.
I heard the roads in Costa Rica are bad. Do I need a 4×4 in Costa Rica?
It depends on where you’re going and when you are visiting. The main roads, highways and the city roads are paved but there are many places where it is not. Read our Costa Rica road conditions post to see what the roads are like for popular destinations and routes to see if you need a 4×4.
I’m worried about driving. Do you have any tips and do I need a GPS in Costa Rica?
We sure do! Our blog has an in-depth driving in Costa Rica guide for an authentic insight and tips.
We normally recommend a GPS, whether you rent a GPS device or use your phone with Google Maps or Waze.
How can I thank you?
No need to thank us. We’re just happy to know that we helped. And also very excited for them to go and explore Costa Rica! The only thing we ask is that you share our blog with your friends or anyone you think would find it useful.
Jackie says
Am I the only one unable to see the “go” button or is this no longer valid?
Sammi says
Hi Jackie, can you try another browser or clear your cookies? It should be working, if not, please Contact us and we’ll be happy to help
Carleen says
Thank you so much for your blogs and YouTube videos and for this rental car discount and assistance! So glad I used your link for the car. I will be sure to use it for any future trips.
I’ve booked three trips to Costa Rica now, and before each trip I’ve always found the information you provide on your website very valuable! Much appreciated!!
Sammi says
Hi Carleen we are so happy to hear that and it is our pleasure to assist you! Thank you for coming back to Costa Rica and for reading Mytanfeet
Tricia says
Thank you for all of the good information.
I need to rent a 4×4 vehicle in San Jose area and then drop it near the Paquera Ferry Terminal. (We head to Isla Chiquita from there.) Is that possible? What is the closest place to that where I could possibly drop a car and then take a taxi over to their water taxi (Punta Cuchillos)?
Sammi says
Hello Tricia we have sent you an email (please check spam if you don’t see it)
Nicole says
I have a Signature Rewards Visa through RBC bank. Will Adobe accept the rental car insurance from there so that I can decline the Car Protection?
Sammi says
Hi Nicole, your Visa Signature Card will be perfectly fine to decline the local car protection (CDW) and it is not necessary to show any type of coverage proof as Adobe is aware of your credit card coverage program.
David says
Just have to say – You guys (and gals) are the BEST!!!! Most awesome communication and I feel so relieved to know nothing will be a surprise with our car rental and all we have to do is enjoy Costa Rica!!!!!
Sammi says
Hi David, thank you for the kind words, we are glad to assist you and we hope you have a great trip starting tomorrow
Adam Moore says
Funny thing . . . when I use your website the cost is $80 more than if I go and use Adobe’s website (for the same car, dates, etc.).
Sammi says
Hi Adam, we sent you an email but if you open multiple tabs in the same browser and are clicking around the Adobe direct website, sometimes the rate will default back to the direct rate instead of the Mytanfeet rate in the widget.
Ashley says
Hello! I was wondering if you knew the answer to this, but I have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card that offers primary auto rental insurance, do you know if this is sufficient so I can waive the Car Protection?
Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Ashley, that specific card can be used to waive Adobe’s Car Protection insurance.
Kristin says
We just wanted to thank you for helping to make our trip so amazing! Before our journey even started, we found your site super helpful for packing, things to do and of course the vehicle rental! We are just beginning to learn Spanish, so we really appreciated you dealing with the car rental agency, especially when we decided to extend our rental by one day. You are very responsive, and you took any stress that could have happened out of our vacation. Thank you so much for the great deal and excellent service with our vehicle rental.
Our next trip to Costa Rica we’ll definitely be in touch!
Sammi says
Hi Kristin, it was our pleasure to help you! We’re glad you had an amazing trip 🙂
Andrea Jenkins says
Hi,
Just a quick note to say how pleased we were with our rental from Adobe and related information from “mytanfeet.” Our rental car was delivered to our hotel and the agent was friendly, professional and knowledgeable. The car was in good condition and we did not have any problems. We delivered the car to airport location and were quickly checked out and shuttled to the airport. All agents were very friendly and professional. Also, I dropped my cell phone in the shuttle and the driver quickly ran after me to return it as we were entering the airport… whew!
Thank you too to everyone at “mytanfeet” for answering our questions about activities, driving and sites during our stay. The blog is very helpful and it was nice to have someone to reach out to for quick advice.
Puravida!
Annie
Sammi says
Hi Andrea, thank you for your feedback and nice comments, we were glad to assist and also glad you had a great experience with Adobe. We hope you had a good time in Costa Rica
Vladimir, Montreal says
Hi Sammi,
I made my reservation of the car using the widget. At the end of the process it looked like it was frozen and I pressed the button twice.
As result I got two confirmation with two different confirmation numbers.
How can I correct it safely? I am afraid that simple cancellation may result in complete cancellation of “both” orders.
Could you help me please or at least advise the proper sequence of actions?
Sammi says
Hi Vladimir, sure we will be happy to help you, in fact we sent you an email about an hour ago and we will send you another one to help you with your duplicate reservations
Frank M says
Hi there,
We have an Amex Airpoints Platinum Card and are wondering whether we will still need Car Protection cover? When we make the booking are we charged immediately or are we charged on arrival at Adobe’s office? We are looking at 7 days car rental in April, most likely a 4×4 going to La Fortuna, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio. Is a 4×4 required/recommended?
Sammi says
Hi Frank, if you have an AMEX PLatinum you can use that to decline Car Protection, Adobe is aware of that credit card’s coverage. Adobe will charge you upon arrival when you collect the car and sign the paperwork. Depending on where you plan to go and your hotels, a high clearance car is the best option really, a 4wd is not absolutely necessary if you’re staying at hotels on main / paved roads.
JoAnn Roberts says
Just returned from 10 days in La Fortuna and Guanacaste and rented a car through Mytanfeet with ADOBE and had a very good experience. Service was so convenient, Adobe dropped off our car at our hotel near SJO airport and we continued on to LaFortuna. We heard a sound from the wheel well and called Adobe on a Sunday and they answered the call right away and took a look when we got to our hotel while we were having lunch. Service was excellent, whatever the issue was, it was gone. I felt very confident that if there were any problems along our journey they would be right there to help. I also knew that Mytanfeet would help with any issues as well. With so many things to think about when planning a trip to Costa Rica, this was one that I didn’t have to worry about. We traveled on to Rio Celeste, Guanacaste in to the Calubra Bay and costal areas and back again to SJO. Big shout out to Jef and Luis at Mytanfeet for all the help with changes in my reservations. Thank you to everyone for all the excellent articles and advice.
Sammi says
Hi JoAnn, thank you for your feedback and review, the Mytanfeet team was very happy to assist you and we are happy to hear the rental with Adobe went smoothly. We hope you had a good time in Costa Rica.
Jie Li says
Thanks for all the details! I tried booking a suv between April 13- 19 using the widget, but didn’t see 10% discount on car rental rate. is there anything I missed to get the discount? I did see “MY TAN FEET 9” on the “Fare” field.
Sammi says
Hi Jie, we sent you an email back to your reservation confirmation (please check spam if you don’t see it)
Amanda Ferris says
Hello! We really appreciate the blog and the advice on rental cars! We are looking to book adobe and had a quick question about insurance. If I decline insurance coverage because I have some through my credit card, can we add it later it we decide we need it? (We still don’t have a letter from our credit card so am not 100% sure what it will cover). Alternatively, if we select insurance, can we then have it removed if our credit card insurance is better? Thanks so much!
Sammi says
Hello Amanda, we have emailed you with more information (please check your spam folder if you don’t see it in your inbox)
Claire says
Hi, my flight will be arriving at SJO at 11:30pm. We will be staying at a nearby hotel for the night before making our way to La Fortuna. Would you recommend renting a car when we get in or taking a shuttle to the hotel then back to the airport the next morning to pick up the rental car? As we will be staying somewhere close to the airport, would Adobe consider picking us up at the hotel if it makes more sense to rent in the morning? What do you suggest?
Sammi says
If you would like the car when you land, we can arrange with Adobe to station an agent at the airport to meet you even though it’s late night. If you want the car the next morning, you can go directly to the airport office to get your car as they open at 5 AM. If you want Adobe to deliver your car to your hotel, the earliest they can deliver is 830 AM.
It depends on when you want to leave for Fortuna the day after you land. If you want to leave first thing in the morning before 830-9 AM, then you can go directly to their airport office or you can get the car when you land at 1130 PM.
Rodney says
Thanks for the reference to Adobe. You hear so many horror stories about car rental agencies and it was nice to have one that is upfront on the charges. I brought a letter from my credit card company communicating that I was covered for accident insurance, and I only had to pay for the government mandated liability coverage. No pressure and no hassle.
tash says
Hi there 🙂
We are in the process of booking a car for 10 days in April and was just wondering, in our quote with the widget it does not mention anything regarding roadside assistance. Is this normal? I did make sure the My Tan feet was mentioned under Fare just wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything we needed to tick off to have this option included.
Thanks so much!
Sammi says
Hi Tash, road side assistance is one of our Mytanfeet benefits. All Mytanfeet reservations have countrywide road assistance included. This road assistance is normally only included in the Extended Total Protection insurance. It includes assistance in situations such as battery replacements (if you leave lights on), if you lock keys inside the car and towing as well as 24/7-365 days access to their emergency line.
Flat tires are NOT included in roadside assistance but Adobe provides all the tools to change a tire.
Patrick says
Hi,
we want to rent a car (4×4) from the 14th of march until the 28th of march but where not able to reserve/book it through the website/widget. Can you guys please assist us?
Kind regards
Sammi says
Hi Patrick, we will be happy to assist you – our team will be sending you an email shortly before the end of the business day today.
S I says
Just got back from my trip and if anyone is reading this, i totally recommend using Adobe rent a car through Mytanfeet. The communication and care that we received was outstanding not just from Mytanfeet but also from the Adobe car rental people as well. First of all the quote we recieved is exactly what we ended up paying, no surprises, no sneaky fees nothing at all.
The perks we received for using mytan feet were also excellent. The extra free drivers, the cooler, the sim card and of course the pick up and drop off at the airport hotel all made for excellent perks which we enjoyed far more than i initially thought we would and probably were worth at least an additional 200 dollars.
The best part was the clear communication around what we were going to pay. Everything is explained clearly, i knew exactly what deposit i was going to have to put down and why. Also Adobe did not try any funny stuff, when i told them i was paying with my AMEX platinum they didn’t even want the insurance certificate from Amex ( i took it just in case) like some other companies demand before letting you waive the Collision damage insurance.
Finally the car itself was in excellent condition and well maintained. Ran perfectly and at no point did i feel unsafe in the vehicle because of any maintenance issues.
Troy says
Hello
Requested a quote and the promo code spot is empty. Would a quote be changed with the code or just a reservation?
Thanks
Sammi says
Hi, promo code is not required. The widget on this booking page automatically includes the discount
Brice says
Insurance question: My personal card will cover up to $50K in CLD. We have a verification letter from AMEX. We are planning to decline the Adobe Car Protection. We’ve heard that car prices in Costa Rica are much higher than US. So we are wondering if $50K coverage is sufficient for a Chevy Trailblazer? For comparison purposes, do you know how much coverage the Adobe protection offers?
Sammi says
Hi Brice, we sent you an email with more information
Sam says
Hi Sammi,
I am happy to find “mytanfeet.com” for the information I need for my Costa Rica trip. I made a rental car reservation through the widget and a few question I have.
– As you mentioned in the important description about rental car, I want the SIM card, cooler, surf racks if possible. Should I send a separate email to you or Adobe?
– I made a reservation and a confirmation email was sent to me. How do I enter the credit card detail online (reached the website by clicking on the banner at the bottom of the confirmation email) to confirm my reservation? My trip is in Jun, when should I get this done by?
Thanks so much for your help
Sammi says
Hi Sam, we sent you an email with more information to your confirmation
Holly says
We have just finished a month long tour using Adobe car hire from San Jose. We hired a normal car (not 4×4) and went from SJO to Puerto Viejo to La Fortuna then Samara, Manuel Antonio and Uvita. The car handled the roads fine even the unpaved ones at times. We followed tan feet offer and got a good deal compared to travellers we spoke to along the way. Yes car hire in Costa Rica isn’t cheap but we were so happy to have a car and go where we wanted. We had the WiFi device option instead of GPS which gave us WiFi wherever we went including outside the car and used Waze map app throughout which was perfect. Thanks Tan Feet for all your help.
Dave G. says
Jefry and Luis were wonderful in helping me through the car rental process! They provided simple-to-understand instructions/explanations and worked their magic with Adobe to reserve the vehicle I needed, for the days I needed, with “extras” no other rental agency could provide. Their response time was excellent and both were friendly and easy to work with. Mytanfeet will be my go-to source in the future!
Suzanne Amos says
Hi there. Love your site, very helpful. I feel silly asking this but I am still confused as to all the insurances…when I used the widget to get a quote, it had the Car Protection insurance pre-selected. So is that the best one? If I select the enhanced – do I have to buy BOTH or does each higher level include the benefits of the levels below it? There was only one vehicle available so I don’t want to wait…Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi, so Car Protection is preselected by default but it can be declined if you have car rental insurance through your credit card. If you don’t, then you will have to get Car Protection. Liability is mandatory and Extended is 100% optional.
Tanay says
Hey, when i check the prices using the widget, it shows me an amount in $.
I live in Canada, but im not sure if the prices are listed in USD or CAD. Any ideas on whether this is in CAD based on my location or if i need to convert from USD to CAD?
Thanks!
Sammi says
HI Tanay, all prices are in USD. CAD is not accepted in Costa Rica
Shannon says
Hi! And thank you so much for such a great website and blogs! It’s all so helpful and inspiring!
Can you tell me if Adobe has a 3 day minimum for a car rental? I thought last time we stayed in Flamingo we were told that it would be a three day minimum for a car rental. But on Adobe’s website it sounds like you can rent for even just a day (we were needing two days or 48 hours). Does it make a difference if they are delivering and picking up the car to the condo we are staying at?
Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Shannon we have sent you an email with more information
Frank says
Hello,
I just recently booked a reservation through your widget but I do not believe the 10% discount was applied, even though the selected fare says “MY TAN FEET 3”. Also, are you able to modify the reservations without needing to reselect a vehicle? There does not seem to be a way to do so through Adobe’s website? Please let me know as soon as you can!
Sammi says
Hi Frank, we sent you an email regarding your case
Morgan says
We went through Mytanfeet to rent a car with Adobe and our experience was awesome. Luis was super responsive via email and they booked the car for us. We were able to explore Costa Rica (San José, La Fortuna, Monteverde, and Tamarindo) for nine days for a little over $1,000. Adobe was super helpful and there were no “extra surprise” costs when we arrived, which we read on many other blogs about renting a car in Costa Rica. We showed up and they gave us basically a brand new vehicle, with only 600 km on it, it was awesome! The workers were very kind and we used Mytanfeet blog for all our travel questions—things to see, where to eat, what to expect. Absolutely would recommend!
Sammi says
Hello Morgan, thank you for your feedback and review! We are glad to help you and happy to hear you had a good experience with Adobe and in Costa Rica. We hope you had a wonderful trip 🙂
Lucia says
Hello, I’m trying to book with your discount code and the 10% does not apply to me. The car rental costs me 400 dollars and I get a discount of 20
Sammi says
Hi Lucia, we are happy to assist you – we just sent you an email to gather more details.
Mr Rajan David says
Yeison and Sammi, thanks for this informative blog.
We plan to go to Costa Rica in March 2023 for 2 weeks. We plan to hire a car and drive to Osa Peninsula and then back to Monteverde stopping in between. We will be using Waze, also 3 adult children will be with us. I presume I can use my phone as a hotspot, instead of hiring a WiFi router?
After reading your blog I am going to book the car via your link with Adobecar. I have a couple of queries.
Do they provide Claro (you mentioned that’s the best for the areas we’ll be covering) prepaid SIM?
On the website for return drop-off, I could only check 05:00 the earliest on the website, I presume that’s when the office opens. The advice is that we should be at the airport @ 02:30 for check-in. Will Adobecar arrange dropping off the car and getting us to the airport for 02:30hrs (our flight dep 05:30hrs?
Sammi says
Hello, we sent you an email last week with more information, please check your spam folder if you don’t see it in your inbox
Kelli says
Hello! Your blog is amazing! We are planning a trip to Costa Rica in February and your blog has been extremely helpful!
I just booked a rental car with Adobe using your widget. I have a couple questions about it though.
1. I declined the insurance and plan to get a letter from my credit card company. I’m just wondering if for some reason I can’t get a letter will I be able to add the insurance when I pick the car up?
2. When I was choosing options I chose to get the GPS but that was the only extra. When I clicked reserve the price went up by almost $100 and when I looked at the email confirmation it said I added the wifi. Is there a way for me to remove that? I did not click that option and do not want it.
Thank you!!
Sammi says
Hi Kelli, I see we’ve already been communicating with you regarding your reservation, if you have further questions please email them to us, thank you
Steve Busalacchi says
This is a well-run enterprise! The team made the process easy, and the communication was first rate. Emails are answered quickly. Thanks for the excellent service.
Sammi says
Thank you for the feedback Steve and we’re glad you had a good experience!
Pamela Anderson says
Hello
You have a wonderful website and I look at it regularly.
We are planning on returning to Costa Rica in February and I was pricing car rentals. I am confused though as I look on Expedia and I can get a car from Fox for 17 days for $461 Cdn plus insurance but on Adobe it is $1289 U.S. for the same period. We have the CDW on our credit card. I understand Adobe has a few extra’s like a second driver which will save money but that is a large difference.
Any thoughts?
Thank you
Regards,
Pam
Sammi says
Hi Pam, some third party companies do not put all taxes, fees and insurance in their fate so you need to ask for the final total with the deposit and mandatory insurances included for the exact rate. Adobe is all-inclusive so they include all taxes, fees and mandatory insurances in their rate and you can decline CDW with your credit card with Adobe.
Jeff says
This blog was very informative! Based on your blog and videos, we reserved our car with 4WD for December 2022. If we asked for the SIM card, will there be enough data for a week’s worth of use on our phone GPS or should we rent a GPS or WIFI to be sure?
Sammi says
Hi Jeff, the SIM card comes preloaded with 1000 CRC of credit which is approximately 30 minutes of local talk times. Then you will need to reload the credit on your own after it runs out, 1000 CRC is not much when it comes to data and data will consume the credit very quickly so we recommend to get a GPS or Wi-Fi device instead. We also recommend to download your Google Maps offline to use in case you somewhere without service.
Finola says
Hello! I am about to leave for a Costa Rica trip I booked through Gate1 Travel Site, and there is an Adobe Rent a Car included, but we never knew we had to use Visa/Mastercard/American Express until a couple days ago. I signed up for a new Visa credit card that day, but it’s in the mail so we still don’t have it for the trip?!! You mentioned that we could use a debit card if we had to?
Since the car rental is booked through the site, we will only have to pay for the insurance/deposit once we’re getting the car on Monday so will the Visa Debit card work in that case?
Also, I have access to the new credit card in Apple Pay on my phone already but not the actual card with all the info, so do you know if they accept Tap to pay with your phone, because I would be able to use the new Visa card that way?
I hope any of this makes sense, and your help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You so much for your help
yeison says
Hello Finola,
Thank you for your comments.
All travel agencies that works with Adobe rent a car have different rates and policies deposit amounts and even payments methods so in order to provide you with the best answer in a few minutes I will email Adobe rent a car customer service and I will ask them to answer (I will copy you in the email).
If you have any other questions about Costa Rica tours or activities please let us know.
Dario says
Hi guys.
Your blog was very extremely helpful not only for renting a car with Adobe (excellent service – no issues at all with Adobe) but also for all the information about Costa Rica in general and the various destinations. I’ll recommend it to whoever asks for information.
A few updates (dated August 2022) for renting a car with Adobe:
1 – The deposit they asked us was reduced to 500$ instead of 750$;
2 – Even though the deposit can only be given by using a CREDIT CARD (Mastercard circuit), the actual payment of the rental was possibile using DEBIT CARD (Matercard circuit too). Adobe website says that debit cards are not accepted at all, but at the moment this is not true.
Cheers.
Dario
yeison says
Hello Dario,
Thank you for the nice comments about Mytanfeet and the information, we actually have the information in our FAQ section.
Please let us know if we can assist you in the future and thank you again for using Mytanfeet services.
Shelley says
MyTanFeet + Adobe were such pleasure to work with / book a rental through! I cannot recommend them enough! Extremely responsive and kind! Luis and Cristina made sure all detail were ironed before we got our confirmation from Adobe. Once in Costa Rica (arrived in Liberia), Adobe was an easy pick up from the airport and we were out the door within 25 min after signing paperwork- without any hassle or haggling prices! We travelled with two young kids and they were so kind to the kids and very accommodating. The car seats were included on the rental price. I had shopped around and had many quotes and Adobe’s final number was so much lower than all other competitors and our own CDW was accepted.
Again, I cannot recommend booking through MyTanFeet enough! Save time and money and have surprisingly great rental car experience!!
Sammi says
Hi Shelley, thank you for your comment and feedback. We’re very glad to hear you had a good experience, it was a pleasure to help you and thank you for reading Mytanfeet!
Jim says
Hi Guys!
I will be renting a Hyundai Gran i10 from Adobe but through my travel agent, it is part of my package. I am going to assume I will still have to pay the deposit and daily insurance. I will also want to add my wife as a second driver. Apparently I won’t get any specific info from my travel agent until about 2 weeks before departure. Can I still get any discount through MY TAN FEET? Do I just mention it when filling out all the paperwork upon pick up?
By the way, you guys are awesome as is your website!!
yeison says
Hello Jim,
Thank you for your comment and I hope you are doing well.
Unfortunately our benefits are for people that booked the car using our car rental widget or via email with our team, all travel agencies have different negotiations with car rental companies and if you rented a car with a different agent/company and then you mention us the day you pick up the car the agent will not be able to give you our benefits because in their system it will show your agent’s name or agency.
However if you need any other information about places to visit or anything we can help please do not hesitate to contact us.
Discountler says
I did it! Thank you very much for sharing the discount.
Jamie says
Hi I’m looking at staying in Arenal la fortuna. I can’t find this when I try and select a pick up destination for a car rental?
Sammi says
Hello Jamie, they don’t have any office in Fortuna downtown but they have one in Ciudad Quesada (1 hr away) and can deliver your car to your hotel in Fortuna for free, you will just need to write a note in the comment section and select the Ciudad Quesada office for pick up and return.
Jeremy Perry says
You all are absolutely wonderful! You were so responsive and always had answers to my questions. Thank you SO much for doing what you do and always being there to help no matter how small the question. I recommend you 100 times out of 100!
Sammi says
Hi Jeremy, thank you for your comment and feedback. It was our pleasure to help you, we hope you and your fiancee had a wonderful time in Costa Rica 🙂
Eric says
If I’m planning on renting the WiFi hotspot from Adobe and I have a newer model smartphone, do I need to rent the GPS as well? We will be driving from Liberia -> Arenal, then to Playa Flamingo, and back to Liberia at the end of the trip. I want to be sure I have reliable navigation during the trip.
Sammi says
No,you can use your phone as GPS, you can use Waze or Google Maps and I recommend to download the Google Maps offline of the places you’re going so you can still use the navigation even if you’re in a place without good service.
Steph Hoistad says
Hi – I’m going through the booking process, clicked reserve, and it just asked if I want to book another reservation without asking for credit card info for that car.
Sammi says
Hi Steph, that is correct, payment is not taken until you collect the car and complete paperwork
Astrid says
The widget doesn’t seem to load, is there an issue currently?
Sammi says
Hi Astrid, it should be working, please use another browser or clear your cookies, let us know if it works
Rosaly Tremblay says
Hey there! I recently turned 18 and I have had my license since October 2021. Can we rent a car with Adobe?
Thank you 🙂
Sammi says
No, their minimum age to rent a car is 23 and they don’t offer the option to pay an extra fee for underage drivers. Most car rental companies have a minimum age of 21-23, so unfortunately you cannot rent a car or drive with adobe Rent a Car, but if someone else in your group is older than 23, they can rent the car and drive.
derek mancini says
Hi, I tried 2 different phones, my laptop and cleared caches in all of them. Widget still does not work
Sammi says
You may have adblocker on but it should be working – we will send you an email to create a reservation for you manually, please be on the lookout for it today from Mytanfeet.
Kathy says
I have the same question that Reema had. I am also confused about the insurance, if I decide to get the extended protection is that over and above the Car protection or can I just get the extended protection and that would absolve me of the car protection insurance? I did read the insurance page, but still confused.
Sammi says
The Extended Protection only works if you have the Car Protection, so in order to have a full coverage with $0 deductible you will need to select the liability, car and extended protection.
1) The PLI (Public Liability Insurance) is mandatory in Costa Rica and it covers third party damages, injuries, and death. Normally it is a partial cover with a deductible in other Car Rentals even with Adobe regular clients, however, for the Mytanfeet readers, there is no deductible. It means all the third party damages are covered up to $ 20.000 USD. (It doesn’t cover your rented car damages).
2) Basic Car Protection (CDW) partially covers your rented card damages with a $ 1000 USD deductible, which means you are responsible for your rented car damages, theft and roll over from $ 0 up to $ 1000 USD as a top. This can be declined using car rental insurance through a credit card.
3) The Extended Protection Plan from Adobe will upgrade your Liability (PLI) coverage from $ 20,000 USD up to $ 4 million and also it will remove the $ 1000 USD deductible from the CDW, it means with the Extended Plan + Liability + CDW you will have now $ 0 deductible for Liability and $ 0 deductible for your car damages, thief and rollover. This insurance is optional.
Reema says
Hi!
Confused about the insurance, if I decide to get the extended protection is that over and above the Car protection or can I just get the extended protection and that would absolve me of the car protection insurance?
Thank you for your help! This blog is awesome!
Sammi says
Hi Reema, we sent you an email regarding the insurance, please also check this post: https://mytanfeet.com/driving-in-costa-rica/adobe-rent-a-car-insurance/
Gavin says
The CDW part on Visa Credit cards from October 2021 isn’t clear to me.
I have a Chase Saphire and Capital one venture X – Both premium Visa credit cards, I understand coverage should be included for these?
Sammi says
Yes, if your credit card ofers car rental insurance and you’re not Gold or Platinum card members, you should be able to use it ( we also sent you an email with some more details)
Heather Storm says
Hi samantha! I was wanting to know what would be the closest place to pick up a car rental through adobe if we will be in the Arenal area? We are doing a vacation package that ends in Arenal but would like to stay a couple extra days and drive to the tamarindo area from there.
Sammi says
Hi Heather, in the drop down menu, you will need to select Ciudad Quesada which is the closest office but Adobe will deliver your car to La Fortuna without charge, they just need the hotel name and time of delivery/pick up(hours are normally 830 AM to 4 PM)
Sammi says
Please check the widget if it asks you for a log in (or try with a different browser)
Andrea says
When I try to reserve through your website it asks me for a user name and password. How do I get around that?
Tina Puentes says
Hi,
I need to book an SUV (for 7) automatic or manual for June 1 to June 11, 2022 at SJO. The widget is not working. Can you please help? Also, how does the US car insurance work in Costa Rica? is it better to go ahead and purchase the insurance offered as opposed to relying in the US insurance?
Sammi says
Hi Tina, we sent you an email yesterday with more information
Larry Sy says
Hi, I’ll be flying in from Puerto Jimenez to SJO but the arrival will be at the domestic terminal (Sansa).
Will there be an Adobe agent or counter at the domestic terminal for rental car pickups?
Thanks.
Sammi says
Yes, please enter your flight information that you will be flying domestic with Sansa and an Adobe agent will meet you at domestic terminals
Jerrika White says
Hello! I’m wondering if getting a driver license in a new state will effect the rental process at all. I have a new driver’s license number and no driving history attached to it, but I have been driving legally for 12 years now. I just thought of it, because I tried to sign up for a delivery service using my new driver’s license and they rejected it and asked for my previous license to reflect my driving record. The one I have now is only a couple weeks old. I have a scanned copy of my old license on my phone, but since you said that copies aren’t allowed, I didn’t think that would be an option. I *might* be able to find an expired hard copy of my old license, but if it’s expired, I didn’t know if they could use it. The DMV took my old license that was not expired when I got my new one.
Thank you for your help!
Sammi says
Hi Jerrika, there is no effect if you get a new license – as long as your US drivers license (or your home country driver license) is not expired and you bring the original (no temporary copies, no paper copies, no photo copies) – it must be the original. Car rental companies here require the original license in order to rent a car. A scanned copy will not be accepted.
Chris Petersen says
Hi,
I would like to reserve a car from March 19th to March 27th 2022 but your widget appears to be broken. Could you please email me?
Thanks!
Chris
Sammi says
Hello Chris, we will email you shortly
Tracy Foreman says
Can you please email me the widget, too? We are arriving this week and I need a car!
Sammi says
Hi Tracy, the widget is on the booking page 🙂
Ben says
Thanks so much for all the details. When I tried booking it says that there are no cars available Jun 7th (SJO) to Jun 16th (LIR). Any way you can instead provide a promo code which I can use directly on their website?
Sammi says
Hello Ben, we will email you shortly to help you make a reservation
Susan Wright says
Is it possible there are no cars available in February. I’m flexible on dates, manual, even locations pickup. Although I wanted to fly into Liberia. I would like to use Adobe again.
Sammi says
Hi Susan, we sent you an email last week regarding availability
MannyP says
Trying to book a car in Flamingo/Tamarindo, but return at SJO Airport. Widget not letting me do. Is this possible?
Sammi says
Hi Manny, yes it should you have to use the drop down for first the pick up, but when you go to select the new location for return, your dates and times will revert so you’ll have to input it again
Tu says
Hey thank you so much for the blog. It’s so helpful. I was trying to use the car rental, I’m leaving US on the 1/25 and I cannot find a car. Is this common?
Sammi says
Hello, we sent you an email a few days ago regarding availability
Roxy says
My Tan Feet team is absolutely amazing! I had lots of last minute changes, including having to fly home for medical reasons a day after I started a 10 day rental. The deal they put together for me was hundreds cheaper than any other place I found. They were able to arrange for the car to be delivered to me up the mountain at the EcoLodge where I stayed, and then for me to drop it off in San Jose at a very reasonable price. They were always incredibly responsive to any request, accommodating last minute shifts with good humor and tons of support. I have been sharing their site with everyone who asks me about Costa Rica since this kind of exceptional service makes international travel so much easier. Thanks so much for all your help, Cristina and Luis!
Sammi says
Thank you for your feedback Roxy, we are glad to be of assistance 🙂
Karlyn Vande Vegte says
Hi! Thanks so much for the info.
If we are driving from San Jose -> Grecia -> La Fortuna -> big loop around Lake Arenal to Monteverde -> Jaco -> Manuel Antonio -> back to San Jose, do you think we will need a 4×4 or could we get by with a smaller car?
Sammi says
Depending on where you’re staying in Monteverde and what time of year you’re visiting as normally a high clearance car with a stronger engine if you’re going to be a full car is recommended due to the mountain roads.
Mac says
If your total of renting is more than the $1000 deposit do they charge you just the deposit or do they run the total through? Or are you getting charged twice, deposit, and total cost of the rental?
Sammi says
Adobe takes payment when clients collect the car so at that time they will take payment and the deposit. The deposit is returned after the contract closes.
Melissa says
Do we need a 4×4 if we are driving from Liberia airport to La Fortuna and then back to Playa Conchal? Thank you for all the info!
Sammi says
Nope! Unless your hotels actually require a 4wd
Armindo says
Hi
We are a family of 6 and need a big car.
Can you help us with a specific type.
Thanks
Sammi says
Hello, can you please send us an email via our contact form with your rental information: https://mytanfeet.com/contact-us/ thank you
AnnaLena says
Hi Guys! Your site is very informative! I am going to be in Nosara on Nov 22 and would like to rent a car there to drive to Ostinal Beach, then Tamarindo, maybe do a tour from there, and finally drive to Liberia airport to fly home. I heard that there is no bridge to Ostinal Beach from Nosara and I would have to cross a river!! Should I rent a 4×4? Is the rest of the way fine to drive without a 4×4? Is there a different route to drive to Ostinal from Nosara? Thanks!
Sammi says
For Ostional and Nosara, you do need a 4wd/4×4.
Derek says
Would you please send me an email regarding renting a mini van?…It’s not an available option on the Adobe website?
Sammi says
Hi Derek, we will be emailing you soon, please note we will be asking you for your rental dates and information in order to check availability
Matthew says
I’m traveling with my wife to a rental accessible via a jungle road with some steep sections to it. Our trip is Nov 27 – Dec 4. Looking at the results from the Adobe widget, I don’t see any availability for automatic 4WD vehicles for those dates. If Adobe doesn’t have any in stock, what would you recommend as second choice? 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Matthew, we will be emailing you soon with more information
Stefan Max says
Hello Sammi,
I’m currently volunteering in Costa Rica for Raleigh International, and I would like to rent a 4×4 from December 9th to 26th (pickup somewhere in San Jose). Unfortunately, Adobe does not seem to have availability during that time.
Is there any chance that you could help me? I’d like to support the local companies. 🙂
Thank you!
Stefan
Sammi says
Hello Stefan, we will be sending an email you shortly with more information.
Stefan says
Awesome, thank you!
Fabiola Oseguera says
Hi! Ive been researching with other car rentals and they said that 4×4 are not needed anymore as the roads are better now? Like going to Monteverde… ? Any insight?
Sammi says
Hi Fabiola, you could do a 4×2 or a car with high clearance, and then I would also reach out to your host to see if they require a 4×4 or if a 4×2 high clearance SUV is OK.
Fara says
Good Afternoon,
We are coming to costa rica (LIR area) on December 25th leaving January 05. We are having a hard time finding a rental car company that has availabilities. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Sammi says
Hello Fara, we will be sending an email to you shortly regarding availability
John B says
We’ll be in Tamarindo the 1st week of December. Will getting the Wifi router at Adobe allow us to use the maps on our phones if/when we’re traveling? Is getting the GPS from Adobe needed?
Sammi says
The Wifi Hot SPot will allow you to connect up to 5 devices on it and you’ll be able to use smart phone connected to Wi-Fi like normal so your apps will work. If you get the hotspot and use GoogleMaps/Waze, then a GPS would not be needed
Sandy O says
Hello Sammi,
Is it possible to arrange an Adobe car rental at Playas del Coco or Hermosa or would we have to go back to the airport to get a vehicle?
Thank you
Sammi says
hi Sandy, we have sent an email to you with more information as our partner Adobe does offer free car delivery/pick up from hotels in Coco and Playa hermosa.
Cate says
WOW! What great customer service from MyTanFeet! I am about to Leave for Costa Rica MyTanFeet has been so helpful in the car rental process. I look forward to a smooth process. There was some confusion on my reservation.. then I needed to make changes and MyTanFeet were there to make sure it was all setup, there to answer questions and fix any reservation details. I am really appreciative.
Thank you Luis!
Here I go!
Sammi says
Hi Cate, thank you so much for your kind words, we hope you have a great time in Costa Rica
Susan Forrester says
Any suggestions for renting a car for 5 people? Adobe only has cars for 4. Thanks!
Sammi says
Hello Susan, we just sent you an email in order to check for availability
Elise Black says
Our flight leaving San Jose international airport is at 6:30 AM. Would we be able to drop off our Adobe rental car that morning (4AM’ish) and get a shuttle to the airport at that time???
Sammi says
Hi Elise, the Adobe office starts receiving cars around 445 AM so what we can do is arrange with Adobe that you can leave your car in the airport parking lot at 4 AM, just put a note in the comment section the time of your flight and that you’d like to arrange leaving the car in the airport parking lot.
James says
Your widget for the Adobe Car rental is broken.
Can you pls fix it?
Sammi says
Hi James, it should be working. Can you try with a new browser or clear your cookies, if it still doesn’t work please email us at web @ mytanfeet . com
Kara K says
Hi! Any idea when/if Adobe will reopen their Fortuna location?
Sammi says
Hi Kara, unfortunately not soon, but if you require picking up/returning in La Fortuna, please select the Ciudad Quesada office and we’ll arrange the pick up/delivery in La Fortuna.
Shay says
Hello!
Thank you for all the information MTF.
One issue I have with booking the car, when i go through the widget, it shows me the lists of cars available. However, I am confused as to which cars are 4×4, automatic etc. The images of the car will have an icon that state 4×2 but the underlying description will stated 4wd. Also, is a 4×2 sufficient for travel to La Fortuna, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Shay
Sammi says
Hi Shay, next to the picture of the car it’ll say 4×2 or 4×4 or 4wd, and then MT is manual transmission, AT is automatic transmission
Andy Krebs says
Just rented through the Widget for October.. will the sim card and cooler be available?
Sammi says
Hello Andy, you need to write a note in the comment section that you would like them. Can you please write us an email to web@ mytanfeet . com with your reservation number so we can check, thanks.
Bryan McNamara says
We would like to see your ebooks. I have booked our car for our honeymoon in December. thanks for your help!
Sammi says
Hi Bryan, please write a note in the comment section of the reservation booking to get the eboeks and we’ll send it via email.
Sarah M Willis says
I just made a reservation through your widget and got an excellent deal-Thank You!! We are traveling in October. Could we take advantage of the free cooler?
Also, I was wondering if you have any information on traveling in Guanacaste province during rainy season. I was there 10 years ago in July, but not sure what to expect in October.
Sammi says
Hi Sarah, I just sent you an email from Mytanfeet (in case you don’t see it, please check your spam or junk folder.) Thank you.
Jennifer Wenur says
Thank you so much for this post. I have a question though- if I place the security deposit on my cc, can I pay with my debit card at the end of the trip? I’m coming to Costa Rica next month, and I don’t have the highest credit limit. Crossing fingers it’s possible!
Sammi says
Hi Jennifer, your two cards in this case must be the same brand. For example, CC is Visa, Debit is Visa. They can’t mix cards like CC is Visa, Debit is Mastercard.
Layla says
Thank you for your blog! We just recently discovered it and it has been helpful so far. Unfortunately we regret not following your recommendation for car rental. We booked Payless through Southwest Airlines at Liberia airport and to say we were ripped off was a complete understatement. Our car choice was not honored at all (despite showing evidence) and we had to pay 5x more the quoted amount to get the right sized car for our family. On top of that, our credit card was charged $3000 deposit for damages. This was not how we wanted to start our first trip to Costa Rica and leaves such a sour feeling know we were ripped off. We felt stuck and with a toddler with us, we just wanted to get out of there so we ended up paying and keeping the reservation for 3 weeks.
Is there anything you recommend we could do to mend the situation? I know we may be out of luck, but I figured I would ask the experts while alerting fellow readers to stay far away from Payless. Thank you so much in advance!
Sammi says
Hi Layla, I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t have a good car rental experience. We don’t work with Payless so I’m sorry but there is nothing we can do and unfortunately what Payless did is a normal practice in Costa Rica (charging high deposit but not disclosing it initially, not honoring the car category) which is why we partnered with Adobe because they’re an all-inclusive pricing company that is completely transparent so that clients know exactly what they’re paying and all the charges. If you had used your credit card insurance and Payless charged you for damages, then you need to ask Payless for the paperwork ASAP so you can start the claim with your credit card company.
We hope it works out.
yeison says
Hello Joel,
We have some options that will work out very well, can you please email us the dates you need to rent the car
Joel says
At the end of our trip we have a 6:00am flight back to the USA, so we need to be at SJO airport by 3 or 4am. If we rent a car with Adobe, where do we drop the car off, and does Adobe provide a shuttle to the airport at any time?
Camila Del Rio Sanchez says
Good afternoon!
Thank you for having such an informative website.
I am very concerned because I don’t have a credit card so I would need to use my debit card for the deposit. I read on your post that this is allowed, but I checked on the Adobe Rental website and they said that debit cards and cash are not allowed for the security deposit.
Could you please confirm that I would be able to use my debit card? I don’t have any other options, and I would need to use public transportation, which I read may be very time consuming.
Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Camila, you can use a debit card with Adobe but there are conditions since debit cards are considered as a “cash transaction” by banks. You can leave a comment in the reservation that you’d like to use your deposit. When you pick up the car, the Adobe agent will explain to you the conditions of using a debit card and you will have to sign a form saying you understand them. As a “cash transaction”, it can take up to 3 weeks for your deposit to be returned back to your account after you return the car (this is the bank policy).
Camila Lorie says
Thank you so much for your prompt response!
Andy says
Howdy!
Just stumbled across this post and am impressed by all the information here!
Quick question: my flight arrives into LIR at 10:15, is there a late pickup option?
Thanks so much,
-Andy
Sammi says
Hi Andy, yes so if you land late at the airport and would like your car when you land, Adobe will have an agent stationed at the airport to pick you up and take you to their office to get the car. When you make the reservation, just write a note in the comments what time you land and your flight information, and that you’d like the car so Adobe knows to station an agent for you.
Kristen Hamid says
Hi Alex,
Does the rental price include airport taxes? I know this is a hit or miss depending where you pick up but if I were to pick up at the airport will they charge me extra for airport and other taxes??
Cheers,
Kristen
Sammi says
Hi Kristen, yes the price is all-inclusive including taxes and fees. The airport pick up meet and greet with Adobe is free.
Olivia says
How much data is included with the WiFi Hotspot for $11.30 per day (price listed by Adobe when using your widget)? It doesn’t really say on your blog or the Adobe website.
Sammi says
Hi Olivia, it is unlimited data
Tyler D says
Hi. I used the advice from your blog a few years ago and had an excellent experience with Adobe. I am returning this summer with my family in August. I am curious if the rates for cars fluctuate like airline ticket prices. Would I have the same rate on a car whether I reserved now or closer to August?
Melissa R. says
Hi! It says that an extra driver is included if we book through the widget. Do we have to mention that in the booking or is that automatic?
Thanks!
Melissa
Sammi says
Hi Melissa! All extra drivers are automatically included so it’s not necessary to mention it but when you get the car and fill out the paperwork, just let the agent know and make sure all extra drivers are present with a valid original driver’s license, valid passport and they must be at least 23 years old and have been driving legally for 2 years.
David Burdan says
Hi There.
I have a Chase Sapphire Preferred CC which is one of the more popular cards for Car collision insurance. I have a copy of the benefits which details the coverage. Do I still need a letter from Chase stating they will cover this with Adobe?
Thanks
Sammi says
Hello David, yes, Adobe requires the letter (must have credit card holder’s name, last 4 digits of CC and letterhead of the company) as it has to be written out to the contract holder the company will cover them.
Alex Johnson says
Hi David.
I have the same CC, did you find the required information when you logged into your Chase account?
Thanks!
Alex
Sammi says
hi Alex, you need to call Chase and ask them to email you the letter
Marisa says
Hello! I am unable to use the widget. Could you send to my email? Thanks 🙂
Sammi says
Hello Marisa, we sent you an email a few days ago.
Michael S. says
Hello,
I recently applied for a quote for a reservation lasting over a month with additional requests mentioned for items such as baby seats. You mentioned that we should ask for a long term discount in the in the comments section of the quote but since the quote is generate automatically by the computer this made my comments null. Do I need to reach out to Adobe over the phone or e-mail to verify my requests and ask for the long-term rental discount?
Thank you so much for your help!
-Michael
Sammi says
Hello Michael, we have already responded back to your email!
Andrew says
Unable to use widget. Can you send to my email
Sammi says
Hi Andrew! We have sent you an email
Jennifer V. says
Hi! Do you recommend getting the extended insurance coverage if we already have collision coverage through a credit card?
Sammi says
Hi Jennifer, that is completely up to you as Extended is optional but remember that Extended Insurance covers different things than the Car Protection which is the one you can use with your credit card. Car Protection covers your rented vehicle. Extended insurance is like an extension of the Liability. You can read more about the insurances here: Adobe Rent a Car insurance.
Serene says
Hi! I am looking into renting a car from Adobe in Costa Rica for next month. My flight home leaves from San Jose Airport at 7:27 am, so I would need to be at the airport by 5:27 am (2 hours before). If Adobe’s airport office starts accepting rental car returns at 4:45 am, would that be enough time for me to return the car and get a shuttle to the airport? Just not sure what to expect and don’t want to commit if I can’t make the timing work!
Thanks!
Serene
Sammi says
Hi Serene! Yes, that should be enough time, the airport is only a 5 minute drive from Adobe’s office and the return is usually quick and as soon as the car is returned they’ll take you to the airport. When you make the reservation, just write a note in the comment section regarding your early flight and that you need to return the car at 5 AM to the office and we’ll make sure Adobe notes that.
Adobe’s Car Protection insurance can only be declined using car rental insurance through a credit card so if you have one that offers it like Chase Sapphire, AMEX or Citi, that is accepted.
Catherine Elizabeth says
Hi!
My boyfriend and I are coming to Costa Rica for just over two weeks and would like to rent a car. Unfortunately, both of us do not have credit cards. How can we tackle this problem, do you have any suggestions? I am coming with a large suitcase and I feel that I would struggle on public transport and in addition we would love to explore as we please. Please help x
Sammi says
Hi Catherine, do either of you have a debit card? Our partner Adobe does accept debit cards so you can use your debit for the deposit and payment. When you make the reservation, just write in the comment section you’d like to use a debit card and we’ll send you all the details you need to know.
Jen says
What is the promo code for renting a car through Adobe?
Sammi says
Hello Jen, there is no promo code, but you can use the widget on this page that automatically includes the discount.
Ankit says
Hi Peggy & Alex, if I’m booking through chase sapphire preferred card, do I still have to provide written proof of coverage?
Sammi says
Hello Ankit, you can use the car rental insurance provided by Chase, but you will just need to request a written letter from Chase with your details stating they will cover the insurance and then send it to Adobe to decline the Car Protection Insurance. Adobe has to have the letter in order to remove the car protection.
Karol Grzegorek says
Have the same issue. Coupé you send me info? 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Karol, we sent you an email just now!
Renee Martin says
I’m having trouble finding the link to the widget, am I missing it? I saw other people with the same issue, I’d love for an email with the link if possible!
Sammi says
Hello Renee, the widget is on this page right next to the picture with the Adobe logo and car, but we’ll send you an email today just in case.
Samar says
Hi, I’m unable to access the rental widget to get the tanfeet discount . Is there a discount code I need to add?
Also it’s not giving an option to uncheck the car insurance , for which I have excellent coverage with my credit card and will make sure to have a letter with me about it.
Please advise
Sammi says
Hello Samar! We just sent you an email.
Sarah S says
Hi I cannot find how to access the widget to reserve.. can I get directed to it via email? Thank you. I’m using a MacBook on safari by the way, don’t know if it had something to do with that not coming up.
Sammi says
Hello Sarah, we will be sending you an email shortly!
Kira says
Hi there, thank you so much for all this wonderful information ! We are looking at renting a car for about 8 weeks, how can we see deals for more long term rentals? Also do you know if Visa cover the extra insurance policy that you mention? Best, Kira
Sammi says
Hi Kira! We sent you an email, I think your friend or family member Tash also left us a comment as well.
Ryan Brazzell says
Hi Sammi – Moving to Costa Rica for a few months upcoming. Thank you so much for this resource. I’m also looking to rent a car for about 8 weeks. How can we see those deals? And does Visa cover the “mandatory” insurance or just one of the insurance options which can be purchased from the rental agency? Thanks again!!
Sammi says
Hi Ryan, we just sent you an email!
greg casey says
hi guys having trouble finding the form
and would love to book through adobe
thanks
greg
Sammi says
Hello Greg, we just sent you an email!
Jonessa & Grady says
Hi there! Thanks so much for providing this extremely helpful information. We are currently planning a week-long trip to CR this April and would like to rent a car. When I fill out the form provided the next page is prompting me for a login. Are you able to assist? Thanks in advance, and Happy New Year!
Sammi says
Hello, can you please try another browser? We also sent you an email in case.
Brian says
I’m having issues using the widget. Says I need corporate login
Sammi says
Can you try another browser? We also sent you an email.
Mireia Gomez Fernandez says
Hi there,
We are coming to costa rica in 20 days and we are looking to rent a car for 6 weeks and maybe more. As you mentioned above, we may get better rates if we rent the car for more than a month, how could we do that?
Also, do we get a free SIM card included in the renting that we can charge later on somewhere for internet data so we can use GPS on our phones? also does that sim card fit into iPhones (as they have small sim cards) or we need to get a phone too?
Thank you very much for all the good advice and information, 🙂
Sammi says
Hello Mireia, we have sent you an email about the monthly rates
Lisa Merrell says
Hi I followed your instructions for booking with Mytanfeet but when I click through it never says Mytanfeet, but Guest. I cleared my cookies. Are you guys still partners with Adobe?
Sammi says
Hello Lisa, yes we are, sorry the widget has been undergoing the end of the year maintenance but I just sent you an email.
Joseph David says
Hi! Thanks for all the info. Your blog has been very helpful in planning my trip.
I’ll be in Costa Rica for the next two months and I’m looking for a 4×4 rental car for the entire time. Do you have extra tips on how to get the lowest rate for that? Also, would you recommend buying more than basic liability insurance?
Thanks again!
J
Sammi says
Hello, we have sent you an email
Cheryl Brown Evansen says
I just discovered that my insurance company has the rental car collision/theft coverage. Otherwise, I would DEFINITELY get it as the roads are so bad that the last two cars we rented had significant dents by the end of the week caused by rocks and potholes, and that is not covered by minimal insurance. btw Definitely take pictures ahead of time of any scratches, etc. on the rental car.
Nhung says
Hi!
Love your blog and tips! It helped us a lot with the organization of our trip. We are trying to book a car for the end of December for two weeks and your discount would be extremely precious! However, they are asking for a Corporative Logon – where do we go from here?
Thank you for your help!
Sammi says
Hello Nhung, we just sent you an email!
Sammi says
Hi Jason!
Please email us with your rental info (dates, pick up/return location and type of car) and we’ll get back to you!
Jason says
Hey there! Thanks for the info, you saved the day!
I am planning to go to Costa Rica for one month. I do like to receive the discount.
Best regards,
Sammi says
Hi Amrutha! We will be sending you an email very soon 🙂
Amrutha says
Hi there! Thank you so much for this blog- it’s been so helpful. My friend and I are hoping to rent a car for about a month – how do we receive the discount for the long-term?
Thank you!
Andriy says
Hi there,
I made a car rental reservation for end of December through your link and it didn’t ask me for the credit card info. Do I have to call the car rental office to provide it?
Thank you,
Halyna
Sammi says
Hi Halyna, we just responded back via email 🙂
Paula says
Hi Sammi, I’m trying to book a car using the widget but is asking for Corporate logon…. Can you please send the correct link with the discount?
Sammi says
Hi Paula, I just sent you an email!
Ron Blitenthal says
Hi Yeison and Sammi. I really love your site and it has been extremely helpful in planning my trip. Thanks so much! With regard to rentals, I see a rental can be dropped off as early as 4:30 am, but how late can a car be dropped off? I might have a 2:20 am flight and am trying to figure out how long before that I need to get to the airport. Thanks in advance and stay safe.
Sammi says
Hi Ron, what we can do for the late night drop offs since you’ll probably need to return the car around midnight since you have to be there 2 hours before an international flight, is we can arrange with Adobe so you can leave the car in the parking lot and they’ll pick it up in the morning. Just leave a note in the comment section that you have a 2:20 AM flight so you need to arrange the car to be left at the airport.
Ron says
Thanks very much!
Brittany Burnes says
Hello! I had a couple of quick questions, and I apologize if you have already addressed them in other comments (clearly this is a popular topic!).
In the past when renting vehicles in Costa Rica, we were able to utilize the insurance liability waiver through our credit card. Is this something that is no longer possible? When going through the reservation process, it is not possible to “unclick” the third party liability. Is this something Adobe specifically requires? We have found in the past that some companies do require and some do not (in which case the credit card print out is acceptable).
Also, I noticed the field for airport pick-up. Is this actually pick up of the car at the airport (San Jose specifically), or is it simply the shuttle to their office? My husband and I have seen/heard of people picking up at the actual airport, but have never been able to find a company to provide that service – which would be a huge timesaver! By the time we wait on the shuttle, wait for an agent, and finally hit the road, we typically get delayed by at least an hour, so actually leaving the airport with our car would be amazing!
Thank you (as always!) for your wonderful help and advice!!
Sammi says
Hello Brittany, with Adobe, you can decline their Car Protection Insurance with your credit card, Liability Insurance is not possible to decline. You can untick the Car Protection box to decline it and when you get the letter from your credit card company, you can send it to be approved.
For the airport pick up, their office is off-site so the agent will meet you at the exit of the airport, lead you to their shuttle and the shuttle will take you to their office which is about 5 minutes away. Their policy is normally they aren’t able to have the car ready right at the airport due to the space and airport policies, they can sometimes make exceptions with authorizations for special circumstances.
vera says
Hello,
I am trying to make a reservation for Adobe using your widget and it is asking for corporate login information.
Can you check into it or send me a link so that I may get the mytanfeet discount. Used it last time and it was a great discount.
Thanks,
Vera
Sammi says
Hi Vera, I just sent you an email 🙂
Travis Soto says
Hello,
We love your site and have found it so valuable over our many travels to Costa. We typically use the Adobe in Liberia – love it! This trip we will be arriving in San Jose at midnight and I am hoping you can provide some guidance. Are we able to have car waiting at airport? Or, since we will be staying close to airport would it be best to have car delivered to hotel next day? Thank you for your feedback.
Sammi says
Hi Travis, if you want to get the car when you arrive, the Adobe agent will wait for the last client even if their flight arrives at midnight. If you would prefer to get the car the next day, you can get the car delivered to your hotel the day after. The hours of delivery are 830 AM to 4 PM.
Sammi says
Hello Ashley!
Make sure when you go to book the car it says “Welcome Mytanfeet” in the right hand corner, if it says “Welcome Guest” it means that you’re on Adobe direct. If you opened multiple tabs, it’ll default back to the Adobe direct website. You may need to use another browser or system.
Ashley says
We have used this amazing discount code in the past on previous trips to Costa Rica and are trying to book again for this November, however when I use your widget and enter the info and click book it takes me to the adobe site and it appears that the discount is not applied. It charges us for kids booster seats (which I thought were free in the past), it prompts me to log in to a user account on adobe, and it doesn’t appear to be the same discount that we used in the past. Please let me know how I can get this discount code to work.
Thank you so much
James says
What are the blackout dates for the deal with Adobe? I just went through the process, and I don’t know about price discount, but the insurance box said 20% deductible.
Sammi says
Adobe uses a template for the reservation form so that part won’t change but for the list of the benefits package for Mytanfeet readers, all the intangible benefits are part of an agreement between Adobe and Mytanfeet like airport shuttle, free driver, $ 0 deductible on liability (Up to $20.000 USD), discounts, deposit benefits, road assistance… They are automatically included in your reservation.
Beth says
Hi! Thank you so much for the amazing blog! This car rental info is pure gold. Seriously, renting a car in a foreign country is just downright sketchy (you never know what you’re getting and the hidden fees and insurance are ridiculous!). Can’t tell you how much I appreciate this information, not to mention all of the other info/insight on your blog.
Sammi says
You’re very welcome Beth! 🙂
Erin says
Hi! We will be flying into San Jose and then driving to the La Fortuna area and eventually making our way down to Quepos. Do we need to get a gps with the rental car or will our phones be adequate to get us where we need to go?
Sammi says
If you will have internet on your smartphone, you can use Google Maps or Waze as your GPS.
Jenny Burke says
Hi Sam,
I plugged in for a rental car for a full size SUV ( 6 of us) for 10 days. The total was $1,112. This seems astronomically high! Is this the going rate? I’m hesitant to book with any other car rental companies because Adobe is so highly recommended. Thank for all your help!
Sammi says
Hello Jenny, we just sent you an email 🙂 Just a quick note that full size SUVs are considered a premium car (like the Mistibishi Montero Sport) and it will depend on your dates and availability
Sylvia Darrell Balsor says
many thanks, feeling much more relieved after viewing video, will be booking car soon 🙂 Through here of course 😉
Sammi says
Great we’re glad it’s helpful!
Sammi says
Hi Sylvia, the Adobe Liberia airport office starts collecting cars around 4:50 AM. The LIR Airport is pretty small and it doesn’t take long to get through check in or security at all. We’ve taken this flight many times and return the car at 4:50 AM, then the shuttle to the airport is around 5-6 minutes so it is doable.
You can read more info in this Liberia Car rental drop off article
Sylvia Darrell Balsor says
question? we’re looking at booking a rental car in april for 12 days, looking at adobe as they show as being at airport terminal, our departure flight is 6:50am but agencies dont show as opening till 5 am would returning car at 5am be doable and still make flight cutoff time (United international flying to US) ? we’ll be checked in in advance but still need time to go through security, check bag and such. is the drop off at the airport or via shuttle at that early. trying to figure out if it is possible to do before booking. staying at del coco so rental car much cheaper than shuttles everywhere. PS thanks for the video explaining the insurance and such on car rentals, very helpful 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Emma, the widget on this page should be working and you can use it to check pricing and availability.
Emma says
Hi there,
Could you please send me the link to see the mytanfeet pricing, as the widget is not working on the adobe website.
Thank you!
Tipu says
Hi Sammi, just arrived in San Jose. Made the big mistake of not reserving a car. Can’t seem to find one with adobe and the regular rental companies. Here through Tue and we were planning on visiting Monteverde and Arenal. Any suggestions for a last minute car rental. Btw very informative blog. Thanks
Sammi says
Hi Tipu, we have sent you an email.
Valentina Pereira says
Your blog has become the best expert travel advice source for us before and while in CR.
We’re travelling from playas del Coco (Las Palmas) to Santa Teresa in March and I’m trying to decide if we need to rent a 4×4 or a sedan. We’re not planing on going on expeditions in the jungle.
Also, would The car be delivered to us if it’s rented for over 7 days? If the answer is yes, what office for pickup and return should we put in the form?
Sammi says
Hello Valentina, for Santa Teresa it is recommended to have a 4wd especially if you plan to go to other beaches in the area or if your hotel/accommodation is in the mountains. Adobe can deliver the car to Playas del Coco, select the Liberia Airport office for pick up and delivery and write in the name of your hotel in Playas del Coco and the time you’d like the car (830 AM to 430 PM are the hours of the services). In the comment section, write the time you’d like the car picked up and where in Playas del Coco.
Jeffrey Agler says
Want to book a vehicle for week of Dec 20 2020 with 20% discount. Doesn’t allow you, when will it be available?
Sammi says
Hi Jeffrey, we just sent you an email, thanks!
James says
Can’t seem to find any availability of any cars around Christmas ? Are they not available yet?
Sammi says
Hi James, not yet but I just sent you an email for more information.
Carolyn Davidson says
I’m sooo confused, where is the link to get the discount?
Sammi says
There is a widget on the page where you can check quotes, but I also sent you an email in case the widget isn’t working for you
Ngim says
Hello, we are planning to get to SJO on 7/22 in the evening, rent a car and stay the night in SJ. Leave SJ the next morning to LaFortuna and stay until 7/27. From there drive to Playa Chiquita and stay until 8/3. Planning to stay at a nearby hotel next to the airport since our flight back home is 8/4 at 7am. What kind of car should we get(3 adults, 2 kids ages 4 and 11)? Should we return the car on 8/3 to avoid the hassle or 8/4 before our 7am flight? Thank you in advance.
Sammi says
If you don’t plan to going off the main roads or other destinations, you can rent a sedan but it might be a bit tight with 5 people, a mid size SUV would be more comfortable. Those destinations don’t require a 4×4/4wd to get to.
I would return the car on the 3rd so you don’t need to worry about driving or returning it super early in the morning.
Jeroen says
Hi!
The car rental form near the top of this page doesn’t work. I fill it out, it goes to the Adobe site, showing an unfilled form. I fill that out and it just keeps coming back to that same unfilled form. This happens on Chrome/Firefox/Safari, even with cookies, etc. cleared.
I can go directly to the Adobe site and make a reservation just fine, but I’d really like to get the Mytanfeet discount!
Is there some other way I can make the reservation with the Mytanfeet benefits?
Thanks!
Jeroen
Sammi says
Hi Jeroen, sorry for the inconvenience they have been working on the widget!
We sent you an email regarding your car rental 🙂
Sammi says
You don’t need a 4×4 for those destinations but if you plan to explore a lot, then a 4wd is always recommended. But if you stick to the towns and main roads, they are all paved and you can get a sedan.
Here are our recommendations for hotels near SJO Airport
sabrina r hahnlein says
I love your blog and all the great tips.
I’m traveling with 2 other girls, we are going Jaco for 2 nights, Tamarindo for 2 nights and then to La Fortuna for 2 nights. Will we need a 4×4? It seems like all those roads are paved but everyone who has been to Costa Rica tells me we need a 4×4.. what should I book? Since we arrive late the first night we are going o stay in San Jose any recommendations as to a place close to the car rental so we can get an early start the next day?
Angel says
Hello, thank you for this post. We are planning a trip to CR and want to use the Adobe service as well. You mentioned you got a letter from your CC company to decline the insurance… I am also a Chase Sapphire member and was wondering how you go about asking them for that letter?
Thank you.
Sammi says
Hi Angel! You can call the number on the back of your card and ask them to email you the letter.
Sam says
Hello,
Let me begin with “THANK YOU” for a such a detailed blog on Auto Rental Insurance. I was almost getting ready to book car rental via Kayak but got utterly confused with all the rental insurance options and COST! And your blog definitely helped!!!
I’m traveling with family to CR this summer for a 9 day trip. Arriving @ SJO, staying a couple days each at Alajuela, Fortuna, Mt Verde, Tamrindo and finally flying back from LIR.
1. Based on my research thus far i think will need a 4×4 mid size SUV – Any recommendations?
2. Plus just to double check, Credit Card Auto CDW insurance is still accepted as long as I have the letter from the CC stating — “This letter confirms that your MasterCard®World EliteCard provides MasterRental® coverage. Therefore, vehicles rented with your card are eligible for coverage in Costa Rica. Please note that the coverage is subject to the terms and conditions of the MasterRental® program.”
the letter I received from my CC company doesn’t show the actual covered amount though, will that be a problem?
Thanks
Sammi says
Hi Sam, for mid size SUVs, Hyundai Tucson, Mistubishi MOntero Sport, Chevy Trailblazer, Hyundai Santa Fe are some good SUV’s for Monteverde for bigger parties.
For the CDW insurance letter, you will need a letter that has the full name of the cardholer, last 4 digits of the credit card being used and letterhead of the company and that it says it covers Costa Rica. If you’re renting with our partner Adobe, you can send it to us and we’ll verify it with Adobe. If not, then you should send it to the company you’re renting with to make sure they accept it.
Glad the blog is helpful 🙂
Sammi says
hi Michelle, the widget is on this page here and it is working.
Michelle says
We are a family of 4 going to Costa Rica from Feb 17 – Feb 19. Where do we find the form?
Gops says
Hello, thanks for all the information.
We are travelling to Costa Rica June 13 thru June 22 2020. 3 Families that includes 6 Adults, 5 kids(Age: 12,13,14,15,16).
First few days we are staying at LaFortuna/El Castillo region overlooking Lake Arenal and Arenal Volcano. Plan is to explore places in that area.
Then we head to the beach area:Reserva Conchal, Guanacaste Province. Our flight is in and out of Liberia Airport.
Any suggestions on how many cars. LaFortuna rental has recommended 4WD. We are looking for Automatic.
Regards
yeison says
Hello Gops,
Thank you for reading Mytanfeet, I just sent you an email 🙂
Ivy says
Thank you SO MUCH for all of this fabulous information and connection to Adobe. We just got back from a ten day trip to Costa Rica and had the most amazing time. Thanks to you, renting a car was one of the easiest parts of the trip. We got a great car, a great discount, clear understanding of the insurance, and a cooler (yay!), all delivered right to our hotel.
We got an early start on our first day which meant we were lucky enough to see morpho butterflies and a sloth crossing the road while the sun was out briefly.
We’re already looking forward to our next trip to CR!
Sammi says
Hi Ivy, thanks for your feedback and we’re very glad to hear the car rental went well! We’re happy to hear you had a good time in Costa Rica and we hope to see you back soon.
Heather says
Hi and thank you for the detailed information on your site. Just wondering what your recommendation would be for 6 adults traveling from San Jose to Ciudad Cortes, Puntarenas in January 2020? I am aware that a 4×4 is needed but wondering if you think a larger SUV is more economical and roomy enough or would you suggest 2 smaller SUV’s? Thank you kindly in advance!!!
yeison says
Hello Heather,
Thank you for reading our blog 🙂
I just send you an email with our recommendations.
Sammi says
Hello Tricia!
You can use the widget on this page to check prices and make reservations with our partner Adobe REnt a Car.
Tricia Wilson says
Hi
Thank you so much for your very detailed blog. I’ve been reading all of it to help me plan my trip to Costa Rica in April 2020. I am looking to rent a 4×4 vechile for the 9 days we are there. Can I book through you to receive the discount? Thank you
Mark says
Hi, we’re planning on renting a car through you guys, but wanted to check on what we’d need (and if you have any recommendations on the places we’re going). We fly into San Jose in the morning and are planning to go straight to La Fortuna for 3 nights. We then plan to go to Manuel Antonio for 3 nights and then 1 night in San Jose. We have 2 little kids so we don’t want to try to do too much as we plan to return again. What sort of car should I book and do you recommend the number of nights in those areas (or anywhere else we should stay along the way)? Thanks.
Sammi says
Hi Mark, for your routes you don’t need a high car, you can perfectly rent a sedan. You can read more about the Cars to rent in Costa Rica and you can watch our videos to see what they’re like. I would recommend a Hyundai Accent (similar to a Honda Civic size), not the Hyundai i10 because the i10 is very small.
Your itinerary sounds good, it’s a very popular itinerary for families and 3 nights is a good amount of time because the driving is long so it’s good you are staying a few nights.
You can read more about La Fortuna and Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica in these posts.
Janis Bond says
My husband and I are also looking to rent a car from Tamarindo to La Fortuna on Feb 22 to Feb 25, 2020. I am wondering the same as the above reader, do you think a 4×4 is necessary on these roads? And what route would we take? Your blog is very informative. thank you
Sammi says
Hi Janis, that route is on well paved roads, you can read more about it in this post here: Driving Guanacaste to Arenal so you don’t need a 4×4.
Morgan says
Hi Yeison and Samantha,
Thanks for all the great information! We’ll be in Costa Rica at the end of November for about a week. We plan to spend a few days in Monteverde and then head out to Playa Grande in Guanacaste to hopefully surf for the rest of the trip. Considering the places we are going do you think it’s necessary to get a 4×4 vehicle? Based on your information it sounds like Monteverde might be a challenge without one. I was hoping to get away with something a bit cheaper since we’re only driving to two places and because it’s the dry season.
yeison says
Hello Morgan
Thank you for your message and reading or blog.
We will highly recommend you to get a 4WD if you are going to use the Sardinal route #606 there are very bad sections if you are planning to use the Las juntas route #145 you might be able to go in a Sedan but there will be sections where you will need to go very very slow. For Playa grande, you will be fine with a Sedan.
Valerie says
Yeison and Samantha,
Thank you very much for providing such a detailed info. I just reserved a car via your link. We will be arriving to Liberia 10pm Nov 8th, and flying out from Liberia on Tuesday Nov 12th early morning.We decided to pick up a car next day after arrival, Nov 9th 7am.
Below is our itinerary. Could you please let me know if it looks ok/doable:
Nov 9th- pick up a car and drive to Rincón de la Vieja National Park. Spend the entire day in the park(Hike La Cangreja Waterfall(3,5 hrs or so), hike to Catarata Oropendola(1.5hrs). Is there any other hikes you recommend to do? Is there any reasonable priced hotel you can recommend to stay in the park?
Nov 10th- head to Bagaces waterfall, spend couple of hrs there and then head to Tenorio Volcano National Park(3-4hrs) and after that head to Monteverde. Do you have any recommendation for hotel/lodge on the way to Monteverde?
Nov 11- get to Monteverde early morning(is 6.30-7am reasonable?) spend 3-4 hours in Monteverde and head to the coast, Playa Hermosa or any other beach, we are open for suggestion here. Or may be skip the beach(we are from San Diego, CA, so the beach is optional :)and spend the entire day in Monteverde. Or may be skip Monteverde and go to Arenal and hike the volcano instead. What would you recommend?
I apologize for the long post and thank you very much in advance!
-Valerie
Sammi says
Hello Valerie, for Rincon de la Vieja, Guachipelin is the closest to the national park entrance but Borinquen is a very nice mountain resort at a different part of the park, not super far away. I would personally stay a night in Bijagua (Tenorio Volcano NP) and also stay a night in Monteverde and spend more time in the rain/cloud forest since you live at the beach.
Dan says
Great information guys !
Hope you can help with these questions..
We are planning to rent car for a week and reaching SJO and then going to Poas -> Arenal -> Monteverde -> Manuel Antonio and back to SJO.
– should we rent a 4X4 ?
– do the Gas stations take credit card ? are there any tips /things to remember when filling gas ?
– Do we return the car to the same location where the shuttle take us once we reach the SJO airport ?
– All the tolls on high way have to be paid in cash or does the car have some sort of automatic transponder to charge the toll?
– which option of the insurance should we buy to ensure coverage against car breakin/ window breakin or damage ?
– We would like to avail the benefits you mention . Are they automatic once we reserve the car thru the link or do we need to ask for them at the car counter ?
Thank you so much for your great help ! This will certainly help someone like us who is travelling to costa rica for the first time !
Sammi says
Hi Dan! Here are the answers to your questions.
– should we rent a 4X4 ?
It is recommended to have a high car for Monteverde due to the Monteverde road conditions. a 4×4 or 4wd is not absolutely necessary in dry season, a high car like a Hyundai Creta 4×2 will work since that car has higher clearance.
– do the Gas stations take credit card ? are there any tips /things to remember when filling gas ?
Yes they do. You can read our post Costa Rica gas stations for tips.
– Do we return the car to the same location where the shuttle take us once we reach the SJO airport ?
Yes, it will be to the San Jose Airport office.
– All the tolls on high way have to be paid in cash or does the car have some sort of automatic transponder to charge the toll?
Need to be paid in cash. Costa Rica does have a “quick pass” but car rentals don’t give them out or offer them included because its a complicated process and the tolls are not very many or very much so you will need to pay the toll.
– which option of the insurance should we buy to ensure coverage against car breakin/ window breakin or damage ?
The Full Insurance with Adobe (Extended Protection) will cover vandalism, you can read this post for more details: Adobe Rent a Car insurance.
– We would like to avail the benefits you mention . Are they automatic once we reserve the car thru the link or do we need to ask for them at the car counter ?
Regarding the list of the benefits package for Mytanfeet readers, all the intangible benefits are part of an agreement between Adobe and Mytanfeet like airport shuttle, free car delivery, discounts, deposit benefits, road assistance… They are automatically included in your reservation.
If you need an item like the baby seats, cell phone, GPS ($6 a day) or cooler… We need to know in advance and we will add to your reservation.
Caroline says
Hi! I’m traveling to Costa Rica the week of Christmas with my best friend and we will be there for a week. We’re wanting to visit Guanacaste (Rincon de la Vieja, Llanos de Cortes), La Fortuna/Arenal and Mistico Hanging Bridges, and Limón (probably Puerto Viejo de la Talamanca). I travel all the time but have never driven in a foreign country and it makes me a bit nervous, but my best friend thinks we should rent a car. I’m wondering if you could give me advice, based on where we want to go, about the conditions of the roads, and whether or not it would make sense to rent a car? If so, do any of those areas require a 4×4? We’re flying into San Jose because Liberia didn’t have flights for when we needed to go home. Any help is greatly appreciated!!
Sammi says
Hi Caroline, you can read more about getting around Costa Rica here. Renting a car is the most flexible option.
For driving, the destinations you listed are pretty far apart. San Jose to Guanacaste is around 4-5 hours, Guanacaste to La Fortuna is about 4 hours, La Fortuna to PUerto Viejo is around 5-6 hours. I would recommend choosing somewhere closer to San Jose so you aren’t spending all your time on the road, especially for only one week.
You could do something like San Jose – La Fortuna – Puerto Viejo – San JOse or go to Manuel ANtonio instead of Puerto Viejo which is closer by a few hours.
None of those routes require a 4×4 and the driving is fairly straightforward, especially if using a GPS or Waze/Google Maps.
Faith says
Hi Guys, Such great information on this blog! I was wondering how far in advance I should reserve my vehicle?
We are traveling Feb 15-27, 2020.
Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Faith, at least a couple months, like in end of NOv/Dec or so should be good. February is right in high season so if you need an SUV, earlier the better. Sedans tend to have more availability.
harry says
My flight reaches at 4 50 pm on a friday and i assume will be done with immigration by 5 30 pm. Is free shuttle offered at that time and what is the latest they offer free schuttle.
yeison says
Hello Harry,
Yes our partners at Adobe always wait until the last client shows up, we have had readers arriving even after midnight and they always stay, so are good 🙂 Please let us know if you have further questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet
David D says
Just wanted to say that I took advantage of this deal on my recent trip to Costa Rica, and it was a fantastic experience: the car was dropped off at our hotel, on time and as promised, and the gentleman who dropped it off explained everything fully and made sure to note any existing damage to the car (small dings or whatever). When we dropped off the car at the SJO location, the process was quick and easy (with no surprise charges or anything), and the shuttle took us to the airport. After reading various horror stories about car rental companies in CR (surprise insurance charges, bogus damage charges, etc.), I’m very happy that I went with Adobe. In addition, MyTanFeet really earns their commission, as they were in communication with me regarding the car rental after I booked as well. For example, I had my credit card company email me a PDF version of the letter describing my insurance coverage, since there would not be enough time to get a physical letter. I emailed it to both Adobe and MTF, and MTF confirmed to me that it contained the necessary information.
By the way, a tip to fellow travelers: if you are spending your first night in San Jose, you may want to consider taking an Uber to your hotel after you land, and then having Adobe deliver the car to your hotel the next day (especially if you are arriving after dark). That’s what I did, as driving in San Jose after a long flight (again, especially at night) can be stressful, and I’m very glad I did so.
Sammi says
Hi David, I’m glad you had a good time in Costa Rica and a good experience with Adobe. Our main goal is to help people through our blog so we’re happy to hear that. Thank you for reading our blog!
Craig Ross says
Hello,
Great post, thanks! For the insurance you can waive, you mentioned getting a letter from the credit card company. I called mine and they said they have no way to send a letter like that but my supplemental car rental insurance is spelled out completely in the Card Member Benefits. I have that printed out. Is that ok to get the Car Protection insurance waived?
Sammi says
Hi Craig! We sent you an email but none of our readers have actually had a problem getting the letter, it has to be through the bank such as Chase Bank, Capital One Venture Corp, etc. Adobe needs the letter, they can’t accept the terms and conditions.
Craig Ross says
Thanks!! I just had to get to the right person and then it was no problem.
Rachel Smith says
I just made a reservation for August 24th-August 30th was hoping for a Suzuki Jimney but that wasn’t available so I chose the Ssangyong Korando instead. By any chance would a Jimney be available?
Sammi says
Hi Rachel! We just sent you an email 🙂
Maggie says
I just made a reservation for December 1, 2019 – December 4, 2019 using the widget and it is $47.00 less to book on the website directly. I know that booking directly, I would have to pay $4/day for an additional driver but I would still be saving $31.96. Please let me know if I submitted the reservation incorrectly.
Thank you,
Sammi says
Hello Maggie, we just sent you an email about it!
Jeffrey Heyman says
Hello-
We just reserved a Mitsubishi L200 4×4 Manual for August 1-15th 2019 (which is not ideal would prefer an SUV that seats 5-7 people as we have a family of 5) so would like to know if there is anything else available that you can see in their inventory and if not, is there weather protection for the truck bed in case of rain so that our luggage would not get soaked?
Thanks!
Nasha/Jeffrey
Sammi says
Hi guys! We sent you an email and Adobe has sent you an updated confirmation for a Hyundai Santa Fe! (It may have slipped in SPAM if you don’t see it but let us know if you didn’t receive them).
Maranda says
Hey there! I tried using the widget, but am uncertain about the clearance of the available vehicles for my itinerary. I’m landing at Liberia on 7/15 and will travel to Rio Perdido in Bagaces from there. I’ll pick up my 2nd driver at Liberia on 7/17 and then head down to Santa Teresa. The house we’ve rented is on a hilltop and I’ve been warned about the steep road to get there. Flying out of Liberia on 7/22.
Sammi says
Hi Maranda! We just sent you an email.
Eric Trigg says
This blog has been very helpful!
My wife and I are going to CR in a few weeks. We are flying into SJO and driving to Jaco for a few days for a wedding, then on to Dominicalito for the rest of the week. We were considering catching a flight from Quepos La Managua Airport back to SJO to save us some drive time. Will Adobe pick up the car from there or do we get a shuttle from the office in town. Still deciding on catching that flight or driving back to SJO. Also I plan on getting a 4×4 and was considering the Suzuki jimny, but I’m 6’3 250 and not sure how much room it has. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks, Eric
Sammi says
Hello Eric, Adobe can pick up your car from the local Quepos airport no problem. When you make the reservation, just write that in the comments and include what time you will be at the airport Adobe knows when to pick up the car. The return process is not very long and I believe you need to be at the airport at least one hour before your flight.
I would rent a 4×4 for the most comfort. Yeison is almost 6’2 and about 215 pounds and he even says the Jimny is pretty small for his size and for long drives, it won’t be the most comfortable. The Jimny is a great compact car but it is quite small.
Sammi says
Hi Jazmine, the Extended Protection insurance from Adobe is basically an extension of the Liability and it is optional. You can read more about the Adobe Rent a Car insurances in this post.
We always recommend visitors to never leave valuables visible in their car, park in unmarked, dark or unpopulated areas/roads and to always roll up windows and lock doors. Theft and car theft is the most common crime for tourists here and they will take advantage if they see people leaving ipads, wallets, purses and valuables laying out very visible in the car.
For Monteverde, it is recommended to have a high car, especially for rainy season. An Accent will not be comfortable and there are a ton of potholes up there, especially in the rain so it is easier to damage the car. The Creta is not 4×4, but it is high and is 4×2. If you take the Route 145, it has more paved and concrete sections than Route 606 but once you get into Monteverde, there are many unpaved, big pothole roads as well. You can read more about Monteverde road conditions.
Jazmine says
Hola!
Love your blog posts, my boyfriend is taking me to CR for my 25th birthday and I’ve been reading everything possible. Your blog has been super helpful in our preparation!
We are looking to rent a car from June 6th to June 12th, pick up and drop off at SJO. My boyfriend has questioned if the Extended Protection plan is worth it since we will have the roadside assistance and 0% deductible thanks to you.
We will be going to Monteverde and La Fortuna. Is there a lot of crime there that we should be worried about vandalism or theft?
Also, we are looking at going with the Hyundai Accent as we are familiar with driving it and feel like that may help with driving in a foreign country. Should we consider going with a larger vehicle like the Creta for the itinerary we have planned?
Thank you so much in advance!
Lindsey Shawver says
Which option do we choose when reserving if we want the shuttle to pick us up at the San Jose airport and then take us to the office to get the car? Looking to book this week for our September vacation. Thank you!
Sammi says
You’ll choose San Jose Airport, enter your flight information and this option will have the free shuttle to the office. Let me know if you have further questions.
Nivedita says
HI
Could you pls assist how i could fil up the form to book a car from Adobe and avail off the dicsount pls?
Thanks
Sammi says
Hi Nivedita, the discount is automatically applied in the widget, you just need to fill out the form on this page to make a quote or reservations.
Josh Hamby says
Yeison was great! Thank you so much for the first good experience with renting a car in CR. We had mechanical issues with the car that left us broken down and Mytanfeet had someone from Adobe out in less than 45 minutes with a replacement vehicle. I will use this site for booking car rentals and other activities in the future.
Pura Vida!
Sammi says
Hi Josh! Thanks for your feedback and glad we could help you out with your rental 🙂 Hope to see you back in CR one day!
Angela Money says
Wonderful blog thank you for all the great information! I recently rented a car thru my tan feet, it only asked for one driver…. my husband will be driving also, so how will Adobe know not to charge me the extra $4 a day? Secondly, do you recommend the GPS? I’m only concerned with intermittent service on my cellphone not allowing my GPS to work all the time….
I’d rather pay the extra $48 than to be lost. Thank you for any feedback!
Sammi says
Hi Angela, the extra drivers are automatically included in each reservation (see the important read first section in the post). You’ll add the extra drivers when you pick up the car and sign the contract. It sounds like you already have some cell phone service but if you don’t have a plan that allows for a lot of data, then you could get GPS to use instead as your navigation device instead of using Google Maps or Waze on your phone. If you don’t have any internet coverage at all on your phone, you could get the wifi hot spot so that you have internet available and can use your phone for apps and GPS.
Joanne Skinner says
Hello
I am interested in booking a car drop off and pick up in San Jose. I have tried using both iPad and iPhone and the booking form does not appear on this page… I’ve watched the video but have no access to the booking form.
Is this form only compatible with a computer? Thanks
Sammi says
Hello Joanne! I apologize the Adobe widget is currently down, I just sent you an email about it.
Jessica says
Hello! I’m really enjoying your CR content, and prepping for a 2-person trip to Dominical (flying into SJO) in late May. I got a quote through Adobe using the widget on this page, but on the Adobe quote it’s showing a 20% deductible on Liability Protection, vs. the 0% you mention above. Could you clarify what I should be seeing/expecting? I’ve done a lot of research on the various insurances but there are still some questions and this seemed like a difference. Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Jessica, the 0% deductible liability is automatically included for Mytanfeet reservations (and it is up to $20,000). The reason why it still shows 20% is because the Adobe system uses the same template for all quotes. I saw you made a quote which shows that same template, so once you make an official reservation, we’ll check over it and have an Adobe agent confirm to you that the liability is 0%.
Let me know if you have other questions,
Josie says
Hi there! I just reserved a car for April 2nd-11th 2019 from Adobe through your affiliate link and one of the rental requirements is a little confusing. It says we must have “Valid driver´s license with more than 2 years from the first date of issue.” Does this mean the issue date must be two years ago, or does it mean it has to be valid for at least 2 years after the date of issue? We’re from Canada and our driver’s licences expire every 5 years, so my boyfriend who is the primary driver just had to renew his licence in 2018, and he does not have an old one to bring, so we’re a little worried. Please let us know! Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Josie! The wording is confusing but what Adobe means is that you should have had your driver’s license (any license) for at least 2 years. It doesn’t pertain to the license you have now, Adobe just wants to make sure you are not a new driver and that you’ve been driving legally with a license for at least 2 years so you guys are good!
Andrea says
What if you need to return the car earlier than 5am when they open? My flight leaves at 6:00am and an hour would not give me enough time to return my car, get to the airport, and go through security.
Sammi says
Hi Andrea, if you will be flying out of San Jose Airport, you can leave the car in the parking lot, no problem. If at Liberia Airport, they don’t normally do this but Adobe can arrange it if it’s the only option available. When you make the reservation, put a note in the comment that your flight leaves at 6 AM so you need to return the car at 4 AM and we’ll coordinate with Adobe for the best option for you.
Tanya says
My boyfriend booked a car rental with you, and I had a couple questions. If there are any issues when we get to the airport, who and how do we get a hold of someone ??
Also where do you get the car?
Lastly, we are landing in Liberia on May 1st at 12:30pm, and we want to grab the rental car and drive to Monteverde. Is getting the car a quick process? Im hoping that we can get there before dark.
Sammi says
Hi Tanya, we just sent you an email!
Lorissa says
Can I fly into Liberia, rent a car there, and return the car in San Jose?
Sammi says
Yes absolutely. There is an extra fee for the different pick up and return locations, it is $40.
Lorissa says
Thanks! Your website has been very helpful for our vacation planning.
Sammi says
You’re welcome! Glad to hear that 🙂 🙂
Jane Dunn says
Hi, love your website. After reading your blog, we like to rent a car to tour around La Fortuna area, then join Tortuguero/Rio Pacurare River raft tour. Is there a place we can return the car along the way prior to join the Rio Pacurare tour except going into San Jose? Try to save time to go into San Jose.
Thanks for your time,
Sammi says
To not go back to San Jose to return the car, you can see if you can coordinate a return at Guapiles. Adobe has a small station at the Rio Blanaco gas station where you can return cars. Guapiles is a big city and is the place where people get their car rentals after a trip to Tortuguero. You can rent the car in La Fortuna, drop it off in Guapiles and see if the tour company can pick you up in Guapiles at the Rio Blanca gas station. At the Rio Blanco station, you can drop it off at any time and there is an extra $45 fee for this and there is another fee for renting from la Fortuna and return at Guapiles which is $30 so it will be an extra $75 fee.
Jeff says
Absolutely love your website…so helpful! My wife and I are flying into Liberia airport April 13th and will be staying at Occidental Papagayo for 4 nights before renting a car. We would like to rent a car to travel to Nosara where we have a AirBNB for 2 nights before returning to Liberia airport. Two questions: Does Adobe deliver cars to the Occiental Papagayo resort? Also, would you suggest a 4×4 car or could we get by with something non 4×4 with a higher clearance to travel to Nosara? Any suggestions on which car would be a good fit? Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Jeff! Adobe can definitely deliver cars to the Occidental Papagayo. The hours of the delivery are 830 Am to 430 PM so you can select other location for the pick up and write in the comment section that you’d like the car delivered to Occidental papagao on what date and the time.
For Nosara, it is recommended to have a higher car. Asx, Creta, Tucson will work great or a Jimny if you can drive manual are great cars for 2 people.
Dana says
Hi! Thank you for such an awesome blog. My SO and I are headed to CR in May. We’ll be in Tamarindo and Huacas. We’re renting a car, which is turning out to be the biggest expense. Without your blog, there would be a ton of things I didn’t know. I read somewhere that your driver’s license needs to be issued for at least 6 months. We both recently got our CA driver’s license after moving from TX. We’ve both had a driver’s license for over 20 years. Will that be an issue? Should we bring our expired TX license to show that we’ve had a license for longer than a few months? Thanks again! You’re awesome.
Sammi says
Hi Dana, it will depend on the company you are renting from as they all have different policies. With Adobe, our car rental partner, they only require that you have had a driver’s license for at least 2 years, so you must have been driving legally for at least 2 years so you guys are good!
Morgan says
Hi,
We were thinking about renting a car for our trip in August. We have U.S. passports and state driver’s license. Do we also need a tourist visa to rent a car?
Thanks,
Morgan
Sammi says
Hi Morgan, you just need a valid passport, driver’s license and a tourist visa to rent a car and drive. The stamp you will receive upon arrival at the immigration in the airport and the stamp they give you is all you need when it comes to visas.
Sammi says
Hi Joey, Adobe gives a one hour grace period for the return but they will charge you if you return the car later than the one hour period. For up to 4 hours, they charge a partial day, after 4 hours they charge a full day. You can return the car the day after you get back to San Jose, if you arrive too late.
Joey says
Thanks! Also, do I need to designate a pick up/drop off spot with the reservation or can I add that later?
Sammi says
You can add it later, we can make modifications so no worries if you’re not sure now 🙂
Joey Benson says
We will be renting a car in March and the day we bring it back we will be driving from Tamerindo. We will probably stop to do some hiking along the way and I’m not sure when we will get back to San Jose. Is it necessary to have the car back right when the reservation is for or can we just pay for the extra time if we are later?
Jeff says
Hello, will Adobe pick up the car at an Airbnb (in tamarindo)?
Sammi says
Hi Jeff! They don’t go to Airbnbs but they can go to the closest hotel to your location. If you’re staying in a gated community, they can deliver the car there though.
Jeff says
We plan to pick up from LIR drive to the rain forest then drive to Tamarindo and drove the car off. Will Adobe pick up the return car at a hotel close to our Airbnb in Tamarindo? What is the fee for that?
Sammi says
Hi Jeff, yes Adobe can definitely pick up your car a hotel close to your Airbnb in Tamarindo! This service is free and the hours are from 830 AM to 430 PM.
Jeff says
Ok great. How do we set this up?
Sammi says
Hi Jeff, when you make a reservation using the widget on this page, just write in the comment section that you would like the car picked up at the hotel closest to your Airbnb (please look on Google Maps or send us the maps of your Airbnb and we can help you find the closest hotel), and the time (hours are 830 AM to 430 PM). We’ll check over it once the reservation is made to make sure everything is correct.
Duane says
I attempted to click on your widget on the website so I could book a rental car and the widget would not work. Is there a contact number or different website where we can book a rental car and receive the discount? We are traveling next month.
Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Duane, we just sent you an email!
Sammi says
Hi Tim! You can definitely do that as Adobe has offices in San Jose, Uvita and Tamarindo. Each reservation is a separate contract so they will have to take a deposit for every single contract, but it is returned 24-72 hours after the contract closes (when you return the car).
Tim says
Hi and thanks for all the amazing info on your site. Me and my girlfriend are coming to costa rica on the 25th of feburary. I would like to get a rental but my travel plans are a bit complicated. First we land in san jose on the night of the 25th, then the morning of the 26th I would like to get a 4×4 suv. We would then make our way over the next two days to uvita and I would like to drop the suv off there on the 28th. Then I was hoping to re rent the same suv from uvita on the morning of the 6th of March. We would then drive to tamarindo where I would stay a week with the suv. Then I would like to drop it off in tamarindo on the evening of the 11th of March. This will no doubt complicate things and I’m wondering if they will charge double deposits and if so how much. Also im guessing double drop off fees for different locations. Is this the best way of doing things or am I doing it the worst way lol. I would appreciate the help and would like to book using your website. Thanks so much.
Larry says
My family of 5 is looking to rent a car for 23 days. I was wondering about the Hyundai Santa Fe. Does that have 2 or 3 rows of seating?
Sammi says
Hi Larry, the Santa Fe is a full size 7 pax SUV with 3 rows (last row you can put up or down). You can watch a video and read more about the car in this post: Cars to rent in Costa Rica
Sammi says
Hi Larry, the Wi-Fi deal has to be done manually (you can read that in the Important please read first section, point number 6: if you’re renting the Wi-Fi for more than 10 days, the rate will show up as normal. Adobe has to manually adjust the rate so please write a note in the comment section.). Once you make the reservation, we will have Adobe adjust the rate to $100 as they can’t do it automatically in the widget.
Larry says
My family is looking to rent a car for 23 days. When I selected the wifi option on your site, it did not apply the max of $100 as you mentioned, but wanted to charge me $230. Is the discount applied after booking the reservation, or should it indicate $100?
Jeff says
Hi. My wife and I will be traveling to Costa Rica in April 2019 and would like to rent from Adobe. We arrive late on the 2nd and leave early on the 16th. (SJO airport)
A 4WD will be needed. Preferably automatic transmission.
What can you suggest is our best option?
(Stay at a hotel close to the airport and have the car delivered early morning of the 3rd and have the car picked up at the same hotel on the evening of the 15th?)
THANKS!
Sammi says
Hi Jeff, you can do either option. Adobe waits for all clients no matter the time so even if you arrive at 11 PM or midnight, the agent will be there and you can get your car right away. If you don’t think you’d want to drive after flying late at night, I’d recommend to book an airport hotel and have Adobe deliver the car the next morning. The hours of the delivery and pick up service at hotels is 830 AM to 430 PM. So if you would like to leave super early the next morning before 830 AM, then I’d recommend to get the car right when you land.
You can also get the car picked up before your flight but you will need to find your own transportation to the airport. Most airport hotels like Hampton and Adventure Inn have a free shuttle or it’s a cheap taxi ride. If you can be back in San Jose before 430 PM, Adobe can pick up your car then but if you plan to be driving from somewhere far and want the whole day, then you can drop the car off at the Adobe airport office until 10 PM but you will need your own transportation back to the hotel.
Another option is depending on your flight on the 16th, the Adobe office starts receiving cars at 445 AM so you can drop the car off the morning of your flight and have them shuttle you for free to the airport.
All of those are good options, it just depends on what you’d like to do.
Neel says
Thanks for posting and setting up the offer through Adobe! We took advantage of it and had a great time driving around the La Fortuna / Arenal area this past week (Jan 20 – 27, 2019) with the family!
Sammi says
Hi Neel! That’s great to hear, we are happy to hear that you had a good time and experience with Adobe! 🙂 Thank you for reading Mytanfeet and hope to see you back in CR one day!
Jenna says
Hello!
We are flying in to SJO on Feb 06 and leaving Feb 11 – wanted to get a car that is 4×4 but there aren’t any left on the Adobe website right now for those dates. We will be driving to Mal Pais – is it necessary to have a 4×4? If so, how can we request it from the Adobe website?
Thanks for your help!
Sammi says
Hi Jenna, we have just sent you an email!
Jessica Davidson says
Hi how does it work if my flight comes in at 11pm into SJO and I want to rent a car with Adobe?
How would I receive the car? The next day come pick it up? I planned to leave first thing in the morning.
Also, my flight departs at 630am so what is the process of dropping off the vehicle if adobes time for drop off the earliest is 5am?
Sammi says
Hi Jessica, Adobe waits for every client no matter what time they arrive so you can get the car when you land. They’ll pick you up at the airport, shuttle you (complimentary) to their airport office so you can get the car that night.
For your departure, Adobe does start receiving cars around 445 AM at their airport office but if you would like to be at the airport earlier, Adobe can authorize you to leave the car at the San Jose airport parking lot (they’ll send you instructions). Additionally, you can return the car the day before if you like or have Adobe pick it up at your hotel in San Jose (hours of this service is from 830 AM to 430 PM) but you will have to arrange your own transportation to the airport in the morning.
Let me know if you have other questions!
Annamarie says
What is your recommendation regarding 4×4? I’ve read mixed posts online. We will be spending some time in Monteverde, but will be getting transportation to varies activities through the tour companies. We’re also going to be visiting to Poas Volcano and plan to drive ourselves. I’d rather not pay for 4×4 if we can get away with 2×4.
Sammi says
Hi Annamarie, in dry season for Monteverde, you can get away with a 4×2 like the Hyundai Creta as it is higher than a normal sedan (as long as the car isn’t super crazy packed that it goes down a lot). If you’re visiting in rainy season though, a 4×4 would be better. Let me know if you have other questions.
Gwendolyn Tucker says
Question, Most cars show they only seat 4. We have 5 people.
Even most suv’s have a middle row that seats 3., is this not the case with these car rentals?
Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Gwendolyn! Adobe puts it seats 4 for some of the SUVs because the space in the middle is too small to fit 5 large people but they do have 5 seats like the Tucson, Creta, etc.
Mitzi Bodine says
We are traveling to CR in early March. The flight we’re looking at doesn’t get into Liberia airport until 11:20pm. If we rented a car, would it be possible to get our rental car from the airport at that time or do they have a rental office in Tamarindo? We’re staying at Mundo Milo Eco Hotel in Playa Junquillal. Not sure if we could take a shuttle from the airport to the hotel and then have the car delivered there?
Thanks in advance for your help – love your website!!
Sammi says
Hi Mitzi! Adobe waits for all their clients no matter what time they arrive so you can definitely get the car at 1130 PM when your flight arrives. They’ll take you to their airport office via complimentary shuttle so you can have the car right away and drive to Junquillal. If you get a shuttle to your hotel and have the car delivered to Junquillal, there is an extra fee so I would recommend getting the car right away. Let me know if you have other questions.
Lisa GILMOUR says
Hi there,
My husband and I are travelling to Costa Rica February 9-16. I’ve heard some scary stories about car rentals in CR i.e. hidden fees, overcharged credit cards, extra fees when rental car is picked up. Can you guarantee the quote I was given is the only price I will have to pay when we pick up the car?
Thank you
Lisa
Sammi says
Hello Lisa, yes with Adobe Rent a Car, it is guaranteed that the price you see on your reservation is exactly what you’ll pay. They don’t have any hidden fees or last minute insurances, all of their fees and insurances are laid out in the reservation so you know exactly what you’re paying for. Unfortunately, some car rental companies who use third party brokers have this bad reputation because they only show the car rental price without all the fees, taxes and insurances so tourists think its a super cheap car rental deal but when they arrive to pick up the car, they get hit with all the fees and mandatory insurances they didn’t know about. This is the main reason why we partnered with Adobe because they include everything, guaranteed.
Gilad says
Hello
We are a family of 7 persons that come to Costa Rica between 6th of July – 7th of August . We look for a comfortable car 4*4 And we have 2 options:
1. Taking it for the all period – returning it in the same place
2. Taking it in San Jose and bringing it back in puerto viejo in 29/7.
Waiting for your offers
Thank you
Gilad
Sammi says
Hello Gilad! You can rent the car the whole time or return it in Puerto Viejo. Either way is fine, there will be an extra charge for different rental offices ($70) and then for your group of 7, I would definitely book a private shuttle back to San Jose.
For 7 people, you can rent an H1. There are 7 pax SUVs like Mitsubishi Montero Sport but then you don’t have much luggage space so to make sure you can fit everyone and their luggage, it’s better to rent an h1 or 2 compact SUV’s.
Taylor says
Hi, I am for sure going to use Adobe.. loved you blog..it helped me plan my whole trip.
One thing I’ve heard is that even when I rent a car I shouldn’t take it to tourist places (Arenal, any time we go to the beach, la Fortuna etc.) because rental cars are known to be stolen..is this true or are people trying to scare me?
Thank you in advance
Sammi says
Hi Taylor!
Stolen rental cars are not actually that common in Costa Rica and thousands of tourists rent a car and drive in Costa Rica every year (not saying it never happens ever but it’s very low). Petty theft is the most common crime so when you’re driving, make sure to never leave valuables in the car and always lock your doors and roll up your windows (sounds like common sense but you would be surprised at how many tourists leave the car windows down with ipads in the backseat laying around.
yeison says
Hello Michael,
Thank you for your message and I hope you are doing great!
Regarding your first question Adobe can only deliver cars at Hotels, no airbnb’s, if by any chance the airbnb you are getting is a hotel or it is condo complex we will be able to deliver the car. If your airbnb is not a hotel usually what we do is to look for the closest hotel from your location and set the closest hotel as the meeting point.
The WiFi is a portable device that works with cell phone signal, it comes with an unlimited data and the speed goes around 4 MB the cost is $10 a day, you won’t need to buy a Sim Card or a plan. If by any chance you have an unlocked smart phone you can bring it an buy a sim card it is way cheaper and depending on your phone you can also use it as a “hot spot”
Please feel free to email us if you have any questions and thank you again for reading Mytanfeet.com
Michael says
Sorry if this double posts, but I’m just wondering about having a rental car delivered in the morning. We fly in late at night and would rather just take a cab. How far out of San Jose could it be delivered? I am looking at an Airbnb that is out towards Braulio Carrillo (I believe it’s in San Isidro). Any chance it could be brought that far?
I’m also curious how the WiFi works. Do we need to buy a SIM card and plan on top of that? Is it unlimited browsing?
Thanks in advance!!
Michael says
What if I am staying at an airbnb in Alajuela (I haven’t booked it yet) or somewhere else in the surroundings of San Jose. Could I still have the vehicle delivered? (We arrive in the evening so would rather not have to drive that night)
Sammi says
Hi Michael, Adobe doesn’t deliver to Airbnbs, only to hotels, so if you can find the closest hotel to your location, they can deliver to Alajuela and San Jose. Let me know if you have other questions!
Frederique says
Hello, I just booked my car, through your widget on your website, for my trip to Costa Rica at the end of the month. Thank you for your amazing guidance and information about driving in Costa Rica. It was extremely helpful! I am so glad I found your blog. I am now so excited to go to Costa Rica! Two more weeks and we are there. Can’t wait!!
Thanks again,
Frederique
Sammi says
Hi Frederique! I’m glad the blog has been helpful and we hope you have a great time in Costa Rica!
Sara says
Hello – I am looking to rent the Hyundai Tucson 4WD automatic or similar / GROUP F in February for 8 days. We would like to purchase the necessary insurance through Adobe. Do you recommend upgrading to Extended Protection? Is that instead of Liability Protection or in addition to? I appreciate your help in advance. Thank you!
Sammi says
Hello Sara, if you have the budget to purchase the Extended Protection, I would recommend it (I tend to be on the safe side, that’s me). Extended Protection is optional and an extension of Liability, Liability is mandatory in Costa Rica. You can read more about Adobe’s insurances in this post here: Adobe Rent a Car insurance.
KP says
Hi! Some friends and I were hoping to rent a 7-seater car with Adobe in San Jose. Could you please email me so I could ask for some advice related to the details of this rental?
Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi, we just sent you an email 🙂
Abby Kamunge says
My husband and I will arrive midday at Liberia airport on December 31st. This is our planned route of exploration in Costa Rica: Dec. 31st – Jan 3rd (Samara)/ Jan 3rd – Jan 6th (Monteverde) / Jan 6th – Jan 9th (Arenal) / Jan 9th – Jan 11th (San Jose). We did book this somewhat last minute so transportation is our biggest issue. I’m trying to understand our options. We’ve thought about renting a car, but if we don’t, it sounds like our options are InterBus, a taxi, or the regular bus. Is that right? Do we need to book bus tickets in advance? Does InterBus only depart at one fixed time of day per city or are there several trips between cities per day? Does InterBus pickup from the airport or do we have to go to a nearby hotel? Do people use Uber in CR? Do you think renting a car would be a better option? (Although we may be too late to do it). Is it better or worse to arrange our transfer after we arrive in the city? Thanks so much for your help!
Sammi says
Hi Abby, if you don’t rent a car then you will need to shuttle, taxi or bus. You can check shared shuttles like Interbus. The shared shuttles have fixed schedules, usually one in the AM and one in the PM for some routes, some routes only have AM. You have to make reservations in advance for shuttles. You can check the Interbus website to check schedules and we have a 10% discount with them so we can help you book them. Interbus picks up only at hotels, and if you are landing at an airport, you will have to go to the Hilton Garden Inn in Liberia and the Denny’s Restaurant in San Jose for pick up.
Uber only exists in San Jose so there are no Ubers for your destinations except San Jose.
You can read this post for getting around Costa Rica for more info: getting around Costa Rica
Personally, I would rent a car but right now, availability is very very low so cars will be super expensive. And shared shuttles are limited on spaces too as they are first come first serve (whoever pays first) and most shared shuttles only have 10-12 spaces so you will have to check availability with them because that is our peak tourism time. Our car rental partner, Adobe Rent a Car is completely out of cars for your dates (not even a small sedan, nothing) so you’ll need to contact a few companies to see if anyone still has availability.
Avi says
Hello! We made a booking through your website with a discount which was great. Our trip plan slightly changed and we now need to modify our booking (pick up location and date). When I try to modify our booking with your promo code, their system is giving an error and doesn’t allow me to update the booking with the discount. I have checked their regular website and they have 4×4 available at the location. Could you please help? Thank you.
Sammi says
Hi! I just sent an email replying to your confirmation so we can make the changes 🙂
Michael Fizer says
Hello!
I am attempting to reserve a car and had emailed Adobe with a few questions, but I haven’t received a response (2 weeks). So, if you don’t mind, I will as you! Hah. I will paste my questions from the email below:
1. My credit card does not have raised numbers. Will this be a problem?
2. Do you have any experience with Chase Sapphire Preferred cards being used instead of the insurance that you offer? I will print out terms of the cards insurance coverage to bring with me if needed.
3. Are you able to pick the car up from Hotel Presidente in San Jose when we return to the city?
We are very excited to visit your country! We will be renting a 4wd from January 14th-22nd.
Thank you,
Michael
Sammi says
Hi Michael! I just sent you an email but just in case, here are the answers to your question.
You don’t need a credit card with raised numbers to use with Adobe.
If you get a letter from your credit card company stating they will cover the insurance, you can use that to decline Adobe’s Car Protection Insurance.
Adobe can pick up the car from hotel Presidente for free, the hours of this service is830 AM to 430 PM. Just write a note in the comment section that you’d like the car picked up from there and what time.
Pawel says
Excellent website Sammi and Yeison, thank you so much!
I hope you can help us answering some questions too.
1) Me and my wife are flying from Europe, arrive late at the Liberia Arpt: 10pm on January 21 – but stay at Playa del Coco. What is the cheapest/best option to get to Playa del Coco so late at night?
2) After 3 days we are thinking of renting a car for the rest of the trip: 14 days. Would Adobe deliver the car to Playa del Coco with drop off at Liberia Arpt when we come back?
3) I quoted with your widget for Hyundai Grand i10, but I want to get a quote for Suzuki Jimny too (but I don’t see it) or other very small & least expensive 4×4, the other 4×4 on the site are much over our budget.
I would greatly appreciate your help.
Pavel
Sammi says
Hi Pavel!
The best way to get to Coco that late at night is a private shuttle.
For the car rental, Adobe can deliver the car to your place in Coco for free and you can return it at Liberia Airport. I’ll check with Adobe to see if they have a Suzuki Jimny, I will be sending you an email with more information shortly!
Keri says
Hello, I was wondering if Adobe offered a luggage carrier for ontop of the vehicle? We have 6 people and in need a 4×4. Idont think we will all be able fit comfortably for 11 days of travel with all of our luggage
Thank you!!!!!
Sammi says
Hi Keri, unfortunately Adobe doesn’t have luggage carriers for tops of cars. In this case, I’ll send you an email to get more information to check options for you.
Amanda says
Hello,
I would be interested in hearing more about these options as well. I will be in a similar situation this February.
Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Amanda! Unfortunately Adobe doesn’t have carriers for luggage for the top of the car so options are to get a bigger car. The h1 is the biggest van so if you have a large group, that’s the best option. It can fit up to 9 people plus lots of luggage or with all the seats down, 12 people but not that much luggage space. Or rent two cars.
Sadie says
Hello- I was looking to rent a small 4×4 for December 9-18 both pick and and returning at SJO. It looks like their website says they no longer have any available. Is there any way to contact them and be sure?
Thank you
Sammi says
Hi Sadie, I just sent you an email 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Liz, if you select Liberia Airport, Adobe will pick you up in their complimentary shuttle to bring you to their airport office which is less than a mile away. You can watch a video of this pick up here
Adobe can deliver to Villa del Sueno though for free, so if you would prefer that, you can do opt for that option. You will need to book your own transportation to Villa del Sueno and then Adobe can deliver the car to that hotel, the hours of this service is 830 AM to 430 PM.
Extended insurance is optional and it’s an extension of the Liability so you covered for way more. You can read detailed information about all of Adobe’s insurance in this post here: and if you can afford it, I would personally get it (I like to play it safe especially when driving in a foreign country).
Liz says
I have a few questions:
1. I am arriving at Liberia Airport at 9 pm on March 20th. We are staying in Playa Hermosa that night. If I select Liberia Airport as pick up location, is the car rental office location right there or do we have to take a shuttle to get the car?
2.Your site says “Complimentary car delivery and pick up to and from nearby hotels” Is Villa Del Sueno in Play Hermosa a free delivery?
3. Do most people go with full extended insurance? I need to find out if my current insurance covers me.
Sami Gianella says
My husband and I are wanting to rent a car with Adobe; however, their website says your driver’s license must be valid for two years. We recently moved between states in the United States so we had to get new licenses and my husband’s states he has only had it for 1 year, but he has had a valid driver’s license for over 8 years. If we bring his current valid driver’s license, as well as his old one, to demonstrate that he has held a driver’s license for over 8 years would that be sufficient for us to be able to rent a car with Adobe?
Sammi says
Hi Sami! Sorry that wording is a bit off – it just means you must have been driving for at least 2 years, not necessarily how old your current license is so you guys are perfectly fine 🙂
Lisa Lam says
My hotel is in playa hermosa, guancaste. Is this considered near one of the locations?
Sammi says
Hi Lisa, Adobe can drop off and pick up the car from Playa Hermosa 🙂 In the comment section of the reservation, write down your hotel name and the time you’d like the car (hours of this service is 830 AM to 430 PM). Let us know if you have any other questions!
Sammi says
Hi Lori you can make a reservation and get our discount by using the widget on this page 🙂
lori says
can i please get the car rental discount for adobe
Gabor says
Hi,
I was looking at this offer as I’m planning to rent a car for a week soon.
I entered the details and got a discounted price but can’t see that the 0% deductible is added, that box is not ticked.
Am I misunderstanding something?
Thanks
Gabor
Sammi says
Hi Gabor, the 0% deductible is automatically included in every Mytanfeet reservation so you don’t need to request or tick the box, it’s already in the reservation 🙂
Denise says
Hi
I am hoping to go with Adobe for my trip! However, I don’t see any 4x4s listed for the dates I would need from December 24-Jan 4. Am I too late? Please let me know!
Sammi says
Hi Denise, I just sent you an email with information 🙂
Lauren says
Hello,
After reading your blog, I decided to go with Adobe for my trip! However, I don’t see any 4x4s listed for the dates I would need (December 31st-Jan 3rd). Am I too late, or are they just not all listed? I thought I saw something on one of your blogs about having some 4x4s set aside but I could be mistaken. Either way, please let me know!
Thank you!
Lauren
Sammi says
Hi Lauren, I just sent you an email. Please check it (If you don’t see it, please check spam). Thank you.
Stacey says
Hello! Could you tell me what the cancellation policy is for adobe?
Sammi says
Hi Stacey, it is up to 72 hours before rental date no charge. Less than 72 hours it is equal to one day of rent for the penalty fee.
Scott says
Youve been awesome quick follow up on that:
– Tamarindo to Nosara: Is part of Highway 160 not paved you are referring to?
– Is Drive from San Jose to Nosara on upaved roads?
– Could you tell me why you would recommend gonig to Tamarindo first?…curious?……thanks again!
Scott
Sammi says
If you go to Nosara via Ostional, that road is not paved (160). For San Jose to Nosara, I would recommend going the same way so you will have to pass through Nicoya.
I recommend Tamarindo first because Tamarindo is developed and more touristy. Nosara is not as developed and not as touristy so you can kinda get like the, typical tourist beach town experience first, and then go somewhere more remote and less touristic. But that’s just my personal opinion of course.
Stacy says
Hello,
Your blog is sooooo helpful. I have shared it with many people because we are going to Costa Rica in April for a wedding. All the guests are from the U.S. and your blog has been great for us.
Do you have more information about the wifi router that we can get with our car? Is there a limit for data? What is the speed of the data? What is the coverage area? We will be travelling from San Jose to El Silencio Lodge to La Fortuna to Samar to Secrets Resort…..we will get good coverage in those areas? Thank you.
Sammi says
Hi Stacy, I’m glad the blog has been helpful! The Wi-Fi router has unlimited data with 4 mbps speed. It can connect up to 6 devices. Coverage is good in the main areas and towns.
Stacy says
Thank you. In areas that are not main towns, do you find you get at least spotty coverage? Or do you get no coverage at all? We are trying to determine if using our own phones as GPS with the wifi router will work well for our travels, or if we should also rent the GPS from Adobe.
Sammi says
The Wi-Fi hot spot is with Claro. You can see it works in all the major areas but it does get spotty or have no service in the rural areas and some remote national parks. If you load your GPS (google maps or waze) on your phone using Wi-Fi before you leave, it’ll keep working even if you don’t have service as long as you don’t close the app.
Stacy says
Thank you so much!
Scott says
Ok great I think that is a good location for us! Curious your opinion on a couple things:
1. Are the roads/conditions better going from San Jose to Nosara OR from San Jose to Tamarindo? I know it is longer to Tamarindo, but I was curious as to the nature of the roads+driving conditions+logistics.
2. How are the roads/conditions driving from Tamarindo to Nosara?
We want to rent a car and drive to both towns and stay for a couple nights in each town, but trying to decide if we should go from San Jose to Tamarindo first or San Jose to Nosara first. Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Scott, San Jose to Tamarindo is on all well paved roads, including the main Interamericana highway 1. I would recommend going to Tamarindo first for a couple nights and then go down south to Nosara.
It is recommended to have a high car for Nosara. Tamarindo to Nosara is on some unpaved, hilly roads and a high car will be highly recommended.
Dani says
Thank you for the information! I’m totally into going with Adobe based on your super helpful review. But question, they don’t offer the small 4×4 for my dates (Nov. 27-Dec. 4), is this because I am too late!? Is it possible one might become available?
-Many thanks 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Dani! I just sent you an email with more information 🙂
Scott says
Hello, we are coming next week and staying at VILLAS PALMAS, San Jose, Costa Rica. Is there an Adobe Rental Car nearby there? Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi! Yes there is one 4 kilometers away, their San Jose office. Here is the maps: https://goo.gl/maps/ZdDU9mJetyR2
Cara says
Thank you for all of the time you have spent giving such detailed information! It has made trip planning so much easier. I find your website/blog posts totally essential.
We will be landing in San Jose at 8pm and would like to rent a car for our 2 week trip. Is it OK to rent cars & be navigating that late, or would it be better to have it delivered the next morning? We will be driving to Cahuita with two young jet-lagged kiddos so would like to start early if we are just in a hotel room. We are thinking of staying near the airport for ease, though if we find a cool resort a little outside of town that we can figure car rental drop off with we’d love that too & get a later start since there would be grounds or something to walk around.
Thank you!!!
Sammi says
I recommend to have it delivered the next morning (earliest delivery time is 830 AM) or you can go to the Adobe office to pick it up earlier at 730 AM. It’ll be a lot easier than having to navigate San Jose at night with two young kids and you can get a nice sleep that night, wake up fresh and leave early the next day.
Here is our post on hotels near San Jose Airport: hotels near San Jose Airport
Adobe can deliver to any hotel in the San Jose area or by the airport.
Sammi says
Hi Trisha, the reason the widget isn’t working is because the online system doesn’t allow reservations under 24 hours (see the Important section). Adobe always refunds your deposit, it can take up to 72 hours for credit cards. Sorry to hear about your friend who didn’t get his deposit back, unfortunately there are some companies here that take advantage. But rest assured, Adobe is one of the biggest car rental companies (they have the biggest fleet) and have been in operation for over 20 years so they will for sure refund your deposit.
To make the reservation in under 24 hours, you will need to call them. Their number 506.2542-4800 and the closest office to Tinamastes is Uvita. Let the Adobe agent know you are a Mytanfeet reader and want the Mytanfeet discount and benefits.
Trisha says
Hola. I have tried using your widget above to book with a discount with no luck. My main concerns regarding renting cars in Costa Rica, as someone who has lived here for 5 years, is that they often times do not refund your deposit. This has happened to many friends of mine and I am not in a position to risk this. I see that you help customers with your partnership with this rental car company and that gives me some reassurance that if there is a problem that I will have additional assistance in the matter from you guys which is awesome. I am looking to book for tomorrow, and drop off Friday. Where is the closest pick up to Tinamastes? And I would like to drop off at the airport. We are trying to take a rental up rather than use our own car as we will be on an extended trip. Would you be able to help in such short notice as the website and your links do not seem to be working great right now. Pura vida!
Louise Besserer says
Hi there…
Your info is great! Looking to book a 7 passenger SUV from March 4th to March 15th, 2019 when our family comes for a visit. We only have a golf cart for our 2 month stay…Feb/Mar, 2019 so unable to go and pick up the car rental when required. We stay in Surfside Estates, in the Surfside/Portrero area in a house on Aguacarte ( I will have to get the lot number from our landlord). We are near Perlas restaurant. Would it be possible for a delivery of our car to such a location? On our return…if we stop at the Adobe office on the way into our place after we return our family to the airport…would we be able to have them shuttle us to our location after we bring them the car?
We are still uncertain if we will be going through our credit card for the Car Protection…but understand a PDF of the letter from the credit card company is required to be emailed to Adobe and we need a hard copy on our arrival. We have always done full protection with the extra cost but still debating what to do this time. What is the process should we waive the Car Protection in the event of an incident? Most other car rentals have scared us into getting the coverage with the fact that we’d have to take care of police contact, reports, etc.
Appreciate all your discounts!
Sammi says
Hi Louise, Adobe does have an office in Huacas and they can deliver it to your hotel in Potrero for free and pick up. Adobe doesn’t shuttle people to places from their office but what you can do is after you return your family to the airport, you can have Adobe pick up the car at your place when you get home if the timing works out. The hours of the pick up and delivery is 830 AM to 430 PM.
Then for the insurance if you decide to waive Car Protection, (which covers the rented vehicle), in case of an incident, what happens is that Adobe will charge the full amount of damage to you and then your credit card company will reimburse you. You will need to file paperwork with Adobe in order for them to release the documents to your credit card company to begin the reimbursement process. You should also check to see what your credit card company covers just in case as well.
You can read more about the Car Protection insurance here: Costa Rica road conditions.
Marta says
Hi guys,
Outstanding blog! Hands down the best on-line source of information about Costa Rica. We wanted to book a car with Adobe via your blog for the upcoming trip in November, but we will be landing in SJO at 10:27pm and the latest car pick up time is 10pm. Would Adobe rental be still open after 10? Is there any other way to pick up booked car after 10pm? Thanks a bunch!
Sammi says
Hi Marta! No worries, Adobe always waits for their last clients so even if you land at 1030 PM, they will still be there to wait for you at the airport to pick up the car. When you make the reservation, just choose 10 PM as your pick up time and include your flight information. In the comments, please write what time you’ll be landing just so Adobe has it in their notes.
Claire says
Hi, we are looking to rent an suv for our upcoming trip in March. Our credit card covers us for CDW insurance and wondering if I can cancel that option when I book with Adobe. Thanks in advance, Claire.
Sammi says
Hi Claire, when you make the reservation, you can untick the Car Protection box, that is the only insurance you can decline using your credit card insurance. Then you will need to send Adobe a PDF letter from your credit card company stating they will cover this insurance or bring a printed copy when you pick up the car.
Eirik Nydal Adolfsen says
Hi there!
Thank you very much for your thorough information regarding rental cars in Costa Rica. We are planning to rent a car with Adobe after your recommendations. Pickup in Jaco on Monday january 28th, and return it on San Jose airport Sunday February 3rd.
However, I can´t find anything on cancellation policies. Is it free cancellation? Free cancellation up until a certain date?
Thank you in advance!
Sammi says
Hi Eirik, Adobe’s cancellation policy is that there is no charge if cancelled with at least 72 hours notice. If less than 72 hours, they charge a fee equivalent to one day of rent. Let me know if you have other questions!
Andrew Pawluczkowycz says
Hello MyTanFeet,
Do I need my own data plan to use the hotspot? Or is that part of the rental fee? And how good is the signal?
Thanks for the great website!
Andrew
Sammi says
Hi Andrew, the hot spot already comes with its own data plan. The one Adobe rents out is unlimited data, 6 mbps speed with Claro, the third largest network in the country so signal is pretty good 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Sid, I just checked with Adobe and unfortunately they don’t have a minivan (H1) available for your dates anymore so my best recommendation is you will need to rent two cars to fit everybody. Additionally, you will have to make a separate reservation for the other 3 people after you leave on the 28th because once you leave and if you are the one making the reservation and signing the contract, then the other group cannot drive the car. They will need to make their own separate reservation from the 28-Dec 1st.
So your options are to rent the sedan or Creta from 22-28 for your family of 4, then the other 3 people can make a reservation for when they arrive on the 24 to Dec 1st.
Troy says
Hi, thanks for all the great Costa Rica info!
My flight will be landing in San Jose at 9:30pm and I see there is an option to pick up the car until 10pm, which I probably wouldn’t make it to on time. Is there any chance that if I give my flight number and time that I can still get a car that night, or would I need to wait for the morning?
Thanks again!
Sammi says
Hi Troy, Adobe waits until the last client so no worries about that, you can still get the car when you land. On the widget, select 930 for your pick up time as that is when your flight lands but Adobe will wait for you for however long it takes for you to get through immigration and customs.
Sid says
Hi Sammy/Yeison
First thanks for the insight into car rentals in CR. I want to book through Adobe after watching your video. We are a family of 4 adults and 3 kids 5 yrs old. I see that there’s only a van option. Does Adobe also have a minivan option ? Also when i select booster seat, can we can 3 booster seats ?
I need another help/advice for our trip. We have an interesting plan –
4 of us ( 2 adults and 2 kids ) plan to rent a car in San Jose on 22nd Nov
3 more folks ( 2 adults and 1 kid ) join us on 24th Nov
Then we 4 leave CR on 28th Nov, so it’ll be just the 3 folks having the car until 1st.
Its easy if I book a minivan from 22nd Nov till 1st Dec. But, if the price is a lot because its a van, we planned to book a sedan first, then minivan for the middle trip and then sedan again for final leg.
Is our approach good or can Adobe work the price for us to give a good deal for one minivan all through the trip ?
Appreciate your help !!
Sid
Kent McTeer says
Esterillos, Ojachal, San Isidro de El General….4×4 needed Feb 19 to Mar 3?
Sammi says
It will depend on where you are staying because the road between all three is paved but once you get into Ojochal town or up in the mountains of San Isidro, a 4×4 is highly recommended/recommended so it will depend on your lodging, I’d recommend to ask your hotels.
PJ says
Thank you for this awesome and super helpful information! Do you know if Adobe will deliver the car to a hotel right next to SJO airport? The hotel is the Courtyard Marriott San Jose Airport Alajuela.
Sammi says
Hi PJ, yes absolutely. The hours of the service is 830 AM to 430 PM and when you make the reservation, just select the specify a location and write in the comments you’d like the car delivered to the Courtyard at what time.
Camilla says
Hello! If the car is being dropped off at a hotel, how does the sign-off work (credit card deposit, etc)? You don’t have to be at the rental car office for that?
Thank you!
Sammi says
The Adobe agent brings the credit card machine and all the materials with them so you just need to bring your passport and drivers license down to the parking lot to finish paperwork and sign the contract.
craig thiel says
Hello. Very helpful blog post re: car rental. In the states, all cars are nonsmoking. Is this the case in Costa Rica? I sure hope so as my family has allergies to cigarette smoke. Can you request a non-smoking vehicle if smoking is allowed?
Thanks
Sammi says
Hi Craig, Adobe doesn’t allow smoking inside the car and I’m pretty sure all car rental companies in Costa Rica do too.
Brian says
I would like to hire a car to go from Guanacaste to Arenal observatory lodge in middle of October will we require 4WD. Which office is closest to Riu Guanacaste Hotel.
Sammi says
Hi Brian! The Arenal Observatory Lodge is actually in the national park and the road is not too bad, it is unpaved but nothing bad and it’s all flat. We have driven there with a sedan and it was fine so 4×4 is not necessary. For the Riu, you can choose the Liberia office since Adobe has free deliveries and pick ups to the Riu Hotel. When you make the reservation, write a note in the comment section that you’d like the car delivered to the Riu and the time (service is from 830 AM to 430 PM). Let us know if you have any other questions!
Sammi says
Hi Gina! The Total Protection insurance is completely option, you don’t need to get it if you don’t want to. In this post: Adobe Rent a Car insurance.. you can read exactly what the insurances cover because they each cover something different. The total protection insurance is pretty much an extended coverage of the liability insurance, the car protection is to the rented vehicle only and total also includes vandalism and windows.
You don’t need a 4×4 for your destinations, in fact you can rent a sedan if you’re just staying in Puerto Viejo, La Fortuna and either Tamarindo/Conchal/Playas del Coco area (depends on where you’re going in Guanacaste). If you’re going to like Ostional/Nosara, a high car is recommended but for Tamarindo, Coco and the surrounding areas, a 4×4 is not necessary.
Let me know if you have other questions!
Gina says
Hello, my husband and I will vacationing this year in Costa Rica from Oct. 19 – Nov. 2. I’ve been hesistant in booking a car rental but after reading this blog I think I will book a 4×4 mid size SUV thru Adobe.
My credit card company does not cover me for a rental car. I know that I will have to get the liability protection and the car protection. Is the “total protection” completely optional? If I got the liability protection and the total protection does that cover me for everything listed under “car protection”?
If I’m traveling from San Jose to the South Carribean to Arenal to Guanacaste, do you recommend a 4×4?
Sammi says
Hi Mia! We can check with upper management because they have made exceptions, especially since you will be turning 23 very close to your rental date.
Mia says
Thanks for all this information!! I just booked a solo trip to Costa Rica, going to visit La Fortuna and need to rent a car, preferably directly from the San Jose airport. I saw that Adobe only rents to 23 and over. I’m 22 and will be turning 23 1 week after the rental. Do you think they can make an exception?
yeison says
Hello Ailsa,
We have some pre-reserved cars for our readers, please contact us.
Ailsa Bryce says
Hi! I am trying to reserve a car for a trip in January and I am trying to work out whether I really need a 4×4 or not. We will be driving to just outside La Fortuna (Heliconias Lodge) to Fortuna and from La Fortuna to Hotel Moana in Malpais. Your advice would be very much appreciated!
Sammi says
Hi Ailsa, the road to La Fortuna is fine including the Heliconias Lodge. Mal Pais is recommended to have a high car because the road through there is not paved and it will depend on where you plan to go in the area. You don’t necessarily need a 4×4 if you stick to the main roads but if you plan to go explore or off road, then a 4×4 is highly recommended.
Doug says
Just booked thru Adobe. Easy and thanks for the discount! Any surf racks available for October 6-16th?
Sammi says
Hi Doug, yes we have surf racks available. If you would like them, please let us know and we can add it to your reservation since there are surf racks for the Hyundai Tucson.
Dave Martin says
May the rental be paid for with a Discover card? Are there any charges for mileage?
Thanks,
Dave
Sammi says
Hi Dave, Discover cards aren’t accepted and there is free mileage (they use kilometers here but same thing).
Sergii Menchuk says
Greetings,
I am just curious if the listed are correct or it is just kind of bug:
For 8 days the estimated total for Hyundai i10 is $119,59, while much bigger Hyundai Creta is priced $81.83 for the same 8 days.
Regards,
Sergii
Sammi says
Hi Sergii, can you please let us know which dates you’re looking at? Usually there are promos going on for certain cars for specific dates so that may be one of them.
Stacey says
Hello!
I have made a reservation with Adobe through you site, ans I must say it was very simple and easy. I spoke to someone over there and he was very helpful and pleasant. I hope all will go well during our trip, but for now, I am very much confident.
Thank you for making the process so easy!
I will make sure to leave a comment once we get back home, in december.
Have a great day. 🙂
yeison says
Hello Stacey.
Thank you for the nice comments and please feel free to contact us if you have any questions 🙂
Laura says
Hi y’all,
First I’d like to thank y’all for sharing all of this wonderful information and your insight to traveling in CR!
Is there a charge for returning the car early? We’re flying into & out of SJO and are not sure what date we will return to SJO.
Thanks!
Laura
Sammi says
Hi Laura! There is no charge for returning the car early.
Maria says
Hello Sammy..based on your experience, do you think it is better to use the credit card insurance or the one offered by adobe?
Sammi says
For me personally, if I already have credit card insurance, then I would use that one. But you need to know that in case an incident happens and you need to use this insurance, that Adobe will charge the entire amount upfront and then your credit card insurance will reimburse you later. Also make sure to go over the details of your credit card insurance because they are all different on exactly what they cover.
Bill & Caitlin says
Hi I was about to book on Expedia with Enterprise but read your articles. I think I will rent with Adobe, but I am still learning what to do. We are visiting in January and flying into Liberia. So a few questions: Once we land, how do we get to the Adobe office? I read one comment above that someone will be waiting for us? Sounds nice but in a foreign country I want to be sure I know where to go 🙂 … So the only Insurance we NEED is the Liability Protection? Can you explain the $1,000 deposit? When do I have to make that deposit, and how do we receive it back? … I read a comment above that we can get surfboard racks right from Adobe. that would be great, is this true? How do we do this? … Your article says that you personally handle our reservations with Adobe, how does that work? I’m not sure I understand. When I click the Adobe discount link in your article, it takes me to their site & says I am logged in as “My Tan Feet”, so I guess that is you? Just makes me confused that I am logged in as somebody else? Can you explain please 🙂 … Last question, how do I see the 20% discount that the article says I am receiving? I do not see it when I am at the checkout page on Adobe with the car I selected. Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Bill and Caitlin!
I’m glad our blog has been helpful and for your car rental, here are the answers to your questions.
How do we get to the Adobe office? Adobe has a complimentary shuttle to pick you up from the airport and take you to their airport office. You can watch a video of this process here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l30fexyzYZ0 and they always have an agent stationed at the airport. It also doesn’t matter what time your flight arrives, even if it’s very late, they will have an agent to wait for every client.
The only mandatory insurance is Liability Protection and you can decline Car Protection Insurance if you have the credit card insurance. Just make sure to send Adobe the letter from your credit card company and bring a printed copy to decline it.
The $1,000 deposit is a security deposit Adobe will hold during the period of your car rental. Once you return the car, the funds will be released 24-72 hours for credit cards. If you use a debit card, it can take up to 3 weeks for the funds to be released (time depends on your bank). If you purchase Extended Protection insurance, your deposit is $500. So make sure you have a big enough limit on your credit card but you can also use one credit card for the deposit and a different one to charge the car rental.
You can get free surfboard racks by leaving a comment in the comment section saying you would like racks. All Mytanfeet readers receive free surf board racks.
We do the customer service with Adobe so if you have any questions, comments or need to make changes/cancellations, please email us. We send every reader a welcome email as well after they make a reservation.
Mytanfeet is us so you are on the right page and the price already includes the discount when you make the reservation on this page. The discount is up to 20% which is determined by Adobe and you can compare prices to the Adobe Rent a Car website to see how much the discount is. The discount is already applied in the widget so you won’t see any “discount” section or charge on the checkout page.
Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Bill & Caitlin says
Thank you for the quick reply! My last question – can you explain the letter from my credit card company? What letter do I need? I don’t think I understand. Thanks!
Sammi says
If you have car rental insurance through your credit card, you can ask them to send you a letter stating they will cover this insurance while you are renting a car in Costa Rica so that you can decline the Car Protection insurance. You must have a printed letter to show to Adobe to decline this insurance and usually all you have to do is give your cc company a call and they can email it to you. If you don’t have car rental insurance through your credit card, then you will need to get Car Protection Insurance.
Bill & Caitlin says
Oh and one more question! If my flight lands at 1:00pm, what time should I make the reservation for? I am not sure how long it will take to get through Liberia airport, and take the shuttle to the Adobe office.
Sammi says
Hi guys, that’s no problem. Adobe has an agent stationed at the airport so they will wait for you whenever you get through immigration and customs. Just make sure to include your flight information on your reservation. You can watch a video of the pick up process from Liberia Airport in our video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l30fexyzYZ0
BIll & Caitlin says
Ok we booked, thanks! excited and expecting it to be a smooth process based on your blog!
sorry for all the questions 🙂 – my last one is – do we pay once we get to the Adobe office? When I was reserving the car, there was no place to enter credit card information… so I guess we don’t pay until we arrive?
Sammi says
Hi Bill, no worries about the questions. So Adobe doesn’t charge your card until you pick up the car and complete the paperwork. You can enter your credit card details from the link in the email to reserve your confirmation or call them at 18558611250.
Pat says
Hi! Thanks for your awesome blog. What’s the difference between choosing to pick up the car at the airport or Adobe’s office? I’d like to get the car from the airport, but I’m assuming that means using the free shuttle service from the airport to adobes office where we actually pick up the car (which I’m totally fine with)? I’m just not sure what option I should be choosing to ensure that someone will be at the airport with our name to take us to the Adobe office. Adobe doesn’t have a stand at the airport right? Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Pat, for the airport office option, Adobe will pick you up at the airport and shuttle you (for free) to their airport office to complete paperwork and pick up the car. They have this option because the airports are too small for car rental operations but their airport office is less than 1 mile away. If you choose the Adobe San Jose office, you will need to go to their San Jose office (different than airport office) to pick up the car. So if you’re flying in and want the car right when you land, select the airport option and enter your flight information. Adobe has an agent there all the time so somebody will be waiting for you at the airport 100% guaranteed.
You can watch videos of this airport pick up process on our Youtube channel here.
San Jose Airport: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQR8yC3MtqY
Liberia Airport: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l30fexyzYZ0
Renée says
Really informative blog!
Question about the car rental fees… I have looked at a SJO to SJO rental for ten days. Aside from the Car Protection Insurance at $6/ day, what are the other options am I being quoted for? I haven’t “opted” for anything else.
10 days at: $64.74
Options Selected: $250.00
Drop Off / Pick Up: $0.00
Total Rental and Options Selected: $314.74
Sammi says
Hi Renee, the quote includes the Liability mandatory insurance, the car rental and that is it if you haven’t selected any other options. There are no other fees besides that so you’ll pay exactly $314.74 for your rental, it’ll only be more if you decide to get the Extended Protection insurance or other extras. That’s one of the reasons why Adobe Rent a Car is a highly recommended car rental company in Costa Rica, they are 100% transparent and clear about what they’re charging you.
Curtis says
Hello,
There is a group of 12 of us and I would like to get a vehicle big enough to fit everyone, is that possible? Or would it be possible to get a deal on 2 separate vehicles?
Thanks
Sammi says
Hi Curtis! The only vehicle that can fit 12 is the Hyundai H1 but it won’t be able to fit much luggage at all if everyone has multiple cases or check ins. You can see what the H1 looks like here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTU04ust-M4.
My recommendation is to rent 2 full size SUV’s (7 pax) for the space and comfort. An example is the Mitsubishi Montero Sport or Hyundai Santa Fe (Mitsubishi is more comfortable to be honest). Here is a video of the Montero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjGlShVbyVs and here is one of the Santa Fe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz8z1EggHpA
You can use the widget to check prices and compare. Let us know if you have any other questions!
Carlos says
Hello again! I really have doubts about insurance. My credit card covers up to 50000 dollars.
Do you think that only with the first insurance offered by adobe, and the insurance that my card provides, will I be fine?
The other thing that I can not understand, is why I can select the third insurance without having also selected the second one. Is not supposed to be an improvement on the second?
Thank you very much!!
yeison says
Hello Carlos,
The third insurance “Extended Protection” is an extension of the Car Protection insurance, if you are not waiving the Car Protection insurance with your Credit Card Coverage you will have to get the Car Protection and the extended Protection if you want to have the highest insurance plan.
Mike Murray says
Hello, we have 3 kids under 12(no car seats). Looks like most of their cars only seat 4…but are similar to small SUV’s in the US that seat five.
Is that 4 persons mote on Adobe a suggestion or a company policy?
Sammi says
Hi Mike! It is a suggestion because there have been situations where there were 5 large adults and they weren’t able to fit so technically, the Tuscons and Cretas can fit up to 5 but they say 4 for this reason. Please let us know if you have other questions!
Nae says
Hi- Is the Wifi device a mobile device (like a pocket mifi) or only for use in the car? Will this device be useful for apps like Waze?
How does gas work for your deal? Will we be responsible for filling it up or does it come with an automatic refill?
Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Nae, it’s pretty much like portable Wi-Fi hot spot so you can take it anywhere and use it anywhere. You can connect your smartphone to it and have Wi-Fi all the time like normal.
For gas, you are responsible for filling up the tank.
Let me know if you have other questions!
Nae says
This is a super helpful question/response. Does the pocket mifi have a limit on data/streaming? Also for the phone rental, are you able to add minutes or time?
Sammi says
Hi Nae, the wi-fi hot spot has unlimited data and for the phone, you can add more credit. They will have the phone number of the cell phone and you can add more minutes at any supermarket. You just need to tell the cashier the phone company (most of the cell phones Adobe rents is with Kolbi but ask the agent to be sure) and the phone number. You can add as much credit as you like, but make sure you pay in Costa Rican colones as they don’t take card and it’ll be better with local currency.
Dale says
Sammi and Yeison, thank you for your blogs and all the useful information. We had a problem-free rental with Adobe at nearly the cheapest rate available ( yes, I calculated a dozen others with their various fees, charges and insurance combinations). All of the driving and direction tips were spot on and we found the GPS essential, at least for in and around San Jose. And except for a couple taxis all the local drivers were patient and courteous which surprised me.
yeison says
Hello Dale! Thank you for much for sharing your experience, please let us know if we can assist you in the future and thank you again for reading Mytanfeet.
Daniel Costa Santos says
Hello,
I was trying to book a car pick up at Puerto Viejo and drop off at SJO Airport, but I was still getting 70$ pick up charge…Wasn’t it for free?
Btw, do they have other vehicles available like Jimny? And how can I book it?
Thank you in advance
Daniel
Sammi says
Hi Daniel, there is a charge because of the different pick up and drop off locations. Adobe offers complimentary deliveries to nearby hotels, not different locations.
What are your rental dates? We can check to see if there are other cars available.
Caitlin Johnston says
Hi there Sammy!!
We have just reserved a car, we would like to add the wifi router to our booking please.
Thank you!
Love Caitlin Johnston
Sammi says
Hi Caitlin! Adobe will send you an updated confirmation soon with the Wi-Fi router and the 10 day deal for it. Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi guys, I sent you an email with a screenshot of the prices and the information about the other benefits (2 free drivers, road assistance and 0% deductible) as they are all automatically included, they don’t show in the confirmation because they’re already included. Just let us know if you would like the cell phone, cooler, surf racks or baby/booster seats.
Sean & Lisa Foran says
Thank you for all the great information on Costa Rica! We are going there at the end of July and I used your link to make a reservation. There was no discount applied so assuming we are going during a blackout period for discounts? The benefits you detail on the blog for Adobe rental cars sound great but none of them are listed in the reservation details or confirmation. Is there something you can provide to confirm that the Adobe reservations provide everything you suggest? Confirmation only details car reserved, dates, and estimated cost. Can you please help me confirm what is included with the Adobe? Thank you!
Ed says
Hi,
Couple of questions for my upcoming trip end of August. What is the weather condition in Gulf of Papagayo and San Jose?
Do you have any food and stops recommendations for my drive from SJO to Papagayo? Planning to drive the shortest route recommended by Google Maps.
Thanks,
Ed
Sammi says
Hi Ed, you can read this post about weather in Costa Rica here: Catarata Llanos de Cortes)
Ed says
Hi,
Great blogs! Have a few questions on car rental.
We’re planning to drive from SJO to Papagayo. How long is the drive? Is Google Maps accurate in terms of duration and distance? Do I need a 4×4 car or is a sedan good enough? Why is a Suzuki Jimny only fit 2 person not 4. There will be 3 adults total and three small carry-on luggages.
Do I really need the Extended Protection? If I don’t get that coverage, will they ask me to purchase it onsite? Read so many bad experiences on car rentals.
Thanks,
Ed
Sammi says
Hi Ed, the drive from San Jose to Gulf of Papagayo is about 4 hours without traffic. There have been times where it took us 6 hours though because traffic was horrible so plan for at least 4 hours and up to 6. You shouldn’t need a 4×4 to the Papagayo Gulf.
The Jimny does fit up to 4 but the back is very small and the trunk is very small as well so they say it’s for 2 people with luggage. If it’s 4 people, 4 people + luggage wouldn’t fit in the Jimny.
Extended Protection is completely optional, it is up to you and you can read this post on the different insurances Adobe offers to see what they offer: Costa Rica road conditions. They will always ask you if you would like it but Adobe isn’t pushy. If you say no, they’ll leave it at that since it is an optional insurance. Other car rental insurance companies are known for being super pushy or making it complicated so that if you don’t get the full insurance, your deposit is something ridiculous like $5000 or something like that.
Ed says
Sammi, thanks a lot for your response. Really appreciate it.
We’re going there end of August so will be reserving a car pretty soon through Adobe.
Can Adobe shuttle us to a hotel next to SJO on the return? What time should we return it by to use this shuttle service? We’re flying back early morning so will return in the afternoon the day prior to our flight.
BTW, what are our options and prices to get a data service on our phones? We will be there for 6 nights.
Is a phone included in the rental car? I’ve read a mention of this somewhere but didn’t see it in the reservation steps.
Thanks,
Ed
Sammi says
Hi Ed, Adobe doesn’t provide a shuttle to hotels. You can ask them when you drop off the car if they have a shuttle available but they don’t offer this service. But Adobe does offer free pick ups from nearby hotels so you guys can get that option instead and not have to go to their office to return the car. The hours of this pick up service is 830 AM – 430 PM and if you would like that, just write it in the comment section when you make the reservation (hotel name and time of pick up).
One of the benefits is to get a free local cell phone but this is not a smart phone, it can only make calls and texts and it has one hour of credit. If you would like this phone, write it in the comment section (under the Important please read first, step 2 section). If you want to get a sim card for your smart phone, you can get a pre-paid sim card at SJO Airport. You can read about them here: Costa Rica pre-paid sim cards
Ed says
Hi Sammi,
Thanks for your response. I just reserved a car.
For wifi rental, how many GB do we get?
Thanks,
Ed
Sammi says
Hi Ed, great! The wifi rental is unlimited data and has 6 mbps speed.
Caterina says
Hi I will travel in Costa Rica in August and I would like to rent a car in San Jose and leave it anywhere close to the Nicaragua’s border (possibly in Peñas Blancas) – I will proceed toward Nicaragua.
Is it possible?
Sammi says
Hi Caterina, you will need to check with the car rental company to see where their closest office is. With Adobe, they can pick it up at the border but there is an extra fee of $75 to have the car picked up at the border. What most people do is drop off the car in Liberia and then take the bus to the border.
Felipe Pereira Ravanini says
Hello again!
The phone that is included in the reservation has 3g so we can use Waze?
Do we need to say in the comments if we want to have the surf rack?
Thanks again!
Sammi says
Hi Felipe, the phone included is not a smartphone, it is a regular phone that can only make calls and texts (no data). If you want to have Internet, I recommend getting a pre-paid sim card or renting a Wi-Fi hot spot.
Please write in the comments if you want surf racks so we know to add them. Thank you!
Felipe Pereira Ravanini says
Hello! Thank you for the tips!
We are going to Costa Rica in July and was wondering if this car had surfboard racks available:
SsangYong Tivoli 4WD
From 13/07 to 21/07
Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Felipe, surf racks aren’t available on the Tivoli, they are available on the Hyunda Tucson, Santa Fe, Creta, Korando, Bego, Montero Sport, Explorer and L200.
Jennifer says
Thanks much for the great information. We are trying to decide whether to hire a driver to get us from San Jose to the Arenal area and then rent a car once we get there, or drive ourselves from the airport to the Arenal area. How arduous is the drive from San Jose to the Arenal area?
Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi, you can do it either way if you don’t want to drive to Arenal. Just note that if you have different pick up and drop off locations, there will be a fee (how much it is depends on the distance of the offices). The drive from San Jose to Arenal is around 3.5 hours depending on traffic and it is not too bad. You can see more about this route in this post: driving San Jose to Arenal
Jennifer says
Great – thanks for the link to the other article!
Amy says
Hello, thank you for all the great information.
I am arriving in Costa Rica in a few weeks to see my daughter and we are planning on traveling to; Jaco Beach, Juan Castro Blanco National Park, San Jose, La Paz Waterfall Gardens, Heredia.
Can you advise what kind of car we will need for this. It is only the two of us. I did try to call the number you provided but it was in Spanish. My daughter does speak Spanish so once I hear back from you I can have her call if necessary. I need to know what to rent and how to do it with the discount.
Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Amy! Adobe does have an English speaking line, you have to wait after the Spanish part and it will tell you to press 3. You can also read our post here about the roads in Costa Rica: Costa Rica road conditions. and the types of cars to rent: Cars to rent in Costa Rica
Christine says
Thank you for your excellent site, it has been very helpful in planning our vacation to Costa Rica. In reference to Adobe car rental, is it possible to have the vehicle waiting at San Jose airport when we land? I am just a little confused reading “airport location” and “shuttle to their office”. I would be willing to pay extra to have this service or have the vehicle dropped off at any other location that is in close proximity to the airport. We are traveling from San Jose to La Fortuna and are trying to save the time of traveling back and forth to their office that is in the opposite direction. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, is there an option to fill out the paperwork and/or pay in advance? Thank you.
Sammi says
Hi Christine! For Adobe has two options for picking up the car. You can get it when you land at the airport but the car rental companies are not located inside the airport, Adobe’s office is about 1 mile away. So they will pick you up in at the airport when you land and take you to their office via complimentary shuttle. There you will pick up the car and finish the paperwork. If you choose this option, please enter your flight information so that Adobe can track it.
Another option is that you can get the car delivered to your hotel in San Jose for free. So if you are staying a night in San Jose, you can get the car delivered the next day (or the same day you land if you want). The hours of this service is 830 AM to 430 PM.
There isn’t an option to fill out the paperwork or pay in advance since they need to take copies of your license and passport but it usually doesn’t take very long, around 20 minutes or so.
Let me know if you have other questions!
yeison says
Hello Tracy,
The reason why you are getting that message is because the rates for May 2019 are not ready yet, I am going to contact Adobe and ask them to add them, we will email you when the rates are ready. The best way to make a secure booking is by using the online system Adobe rent a car have secure servers and all the information is encrypted.
The closest Adobe office from Puerto Jimenez is in Uvita and they can pick up the car at Puerto Jimenez, the extra charge for this pickup will be $50. Regarding your last question about getting the car in La Fortuna it will depend of your plan in Fortuna and what are you going to do, most of the tours in fortuna comes with transportaion and something that you can do in order to save some money is to get a shuttle from San Jose to Fortuna do all the tours first and get the car the day before or even the same morning you go to Samara, if your hotel is close to downtown fortuna you will have many restaurant options nearby.
JOhn C Olson says
Is there any way to rent an Adobe car if we are staying in Mal Pais?
Thanks
Sammi says
Hi John, unfortunately Adobe doesn’t have an office in Mal Pais. The closest office will be in Puntarenas across from the Gulf of Nicoya or in Tamarindo but to drop off the car in Mal Pais, there will be a fee of $200.
Andrew says
Do they require that the credit card have raised numbers?
Sammi says
Hi Andrew! No Adobe doesn’t require credit cards with raised numbers, they can take the cards with the flat ones.
yeison says
Hello Katrina!
Thank you for the nice comments about the blog :). Regarding your questions in the link you will find a series of videos for all the cars our partner have, you will be able to see exactly how big it is and how many cases you can put in.
Cars to rent in Costa Rica
Katrina K. says
Hello there! First – thank you for all your amazing tips regarding travel to Costa Rica! It has been so helpful to read! We are traveling there in late June and I am looking to book our car rental through your special rate. We are a family of 5 including 3 teenage children. I was trying to determine which SUV would be the best and the video mentioned links to videos showing each car to best determine which would best accommodate us. We will likely have 3 large suitcases and some carry-ons. If you have a suggestion or can point me to the video link of each care I’d be much appreciated. Thank you again!
MATTHEW GRANT WINSTEAD says
Hey there! We rented a SsangYong Korando 4WD, but it doesn’t specify if it’s automatic or manual like the others do. Do you know which it will be? Unfortunately, we can’t drive manual.
yeison says
Hello Matthew,
The Korando comes only with a manual trasmission, I just sent you an email with some options.
Stacey says
Hello! First of all, thank you for your wonderful blog! I have been reading so much of it, and it is super helpful in my planning. We will be visiting Costa Rica in late november with our 2 kids (6 and 8) and we will be renting a vehicule for our 10 day stay. Our itineray is still open to changes, but we are looking at a Arenal, Monteverde and beach plan. We are debating if we will go to Samara (Carrillo beach seems wonderful), or Uvita for the beach, do you have any pointers? Also, I think we will need a 4X4, because we love secluded little places, that always seem to be up a rough trail. 🙂
I am very much interested in your Adobe offer, I only have a few questions. We wil probably be staying in a Airbnb close to the SJO airport on the first and last night. Can Adobe deliver a car even on a private property? Or will we need to get to their offices? The traffic in early morning worries me a bit. The return will be simpler since we will be returning at the airport and using their shuttle to catch our flight.
Your insight will be much appreciated!
Have a great day,
Sammi says
Hi Stacey! For Airbnbs, Adobe can deliver them to the closest hotel to your place or you can pick it up at the San Jose Airport office. Since you’re staying close to the SJO Airport, there should be lots of hotels around and when you make the reservation, you can write in the comment section you would like the car delivered to the hotel closest to you and the time. The hours of the service is 830 AM to 430 PM. Thanks for reading the blog and glad it has been helpful!
Dianne says
Hi, thank you for all the helpful information here! We are staying at a hotel in located between Dominical and Uvita. Would Adobe deliver the car to our hotel, or what do you think we could do? Thank you for your help!
Sammi says
Hi Dianne! Yes Adobe can deliver the car to your hotel, they have an office in Uvita. In the comment section of the reservation, please write the name of your hotel and time you would like the car delivered to your hotel. The hours of this service is 830 AM to 430 PM. Let us know if you have any other questions!
Amy Williamson says
What if I don’t want to book ahead of time, we are not sure of our schedule?
Sammi says
Hi Amy, I would book as soon as you figure out your schedule. If you’re visiting during low season (August-November), its usually OK because there are cars available since its not as busy. But if you are visiting mid December – end of April, then you should definitely pre-book because that is our high season. Our peak season is Christmas, New Years and Holy Week and we recommend booking at least a couple months for your car because those get sold out quickly.
Clarisa says
Hi there! Glad that I found your website and found this deal! I will be having a trip to Costa Rica on this end of April. I was wondering if South American driving license would be accepted there? Also, is Adobe allowed a driver under 21 to rent a car? Thank you so much!!
Sammi says
Hi Clarisa, happy to see you here and glad the blog is helpful! Yes a South American license is accepted as long as you have been driving for more than 2 years. Unfortunately the minimum age is 23, but if someone in your group is 22 at least, we can check to see if Adobe can make an exception.
Juana says
Hi,
I want to rent Adobe but I’ll need the pick up from Samara or Nicoya, but they don’t have offices there. Any advice?
Sammi says
Hi Juana! In that case, Adobe will have to charge $110 for the pick up fee in Samara and they can pick up the car between the hours of 10 AM and 2 PM. If you are in Nicoya city, the pick up fee is $75 from the hours of 10 AM to 3 PM. If you decide to rent with Adobe, just select “other location” and write in the comment section that you would like the car picked up at your hotel in Samara or Nicoya and the time. Let us know if you have other questions!
Juana says
Thanks!
I’ll get it from Nicoya.
I’ll need to rent the car 3 times during two weeks (so I don’t pay for the car while I’m not using it). Should I just rent each individually?
Also, I need the car to go from Manuel Antonio to San Jose but they won’t allow pick-up and drop-off on the same day. Any advice?
I would love it if I can just call once and book everything getting all the great perks from my tan feet.
Sammi says
Hi Juana, the easiest way to book your car rentals is to call Adobe’s toll free number 18558611250 and ask for Luis, he is the Adobe representative that works with us. Tell him you’re a Mytanfeet reader and would like the discount and benefits and he’ll help you make the reservations.
Sammi says
Hi Caroline! Adobe doesn’t have an office in Tamarindo, their office is about 10 minutes from Tamarindo but for Mytanfeet readers, they can deliver your car to your hotel in Tamarindo for free. You can also get it picked up there and the hours of this service is from 830 AM to 430 PM. If you would like the delivery and pick up, just select “other location” in the reservation form, enter the name of your hotel and also include in the comment section of the reservation what time you would like the car delivered.
Caroline Alves says
Hi there. We are thinking of renting a car for our trip next week, just for the days we are in Tamarindo. We will be taking a shuttle in from Arenal and staying at Pueblo Colonial Villas.
Is the Adobe office walkable from Pueblo Colonial or will they deliver car there?
If so, how do I go about requesting that ?
Thank you for the information. Love your website.
Lillian says
We are planning a trip to CR in June. Would it be possible for Adobe to deliver a car to our hotel around the La Paz Waterfall? If so, how much more would it cost for that? Also, we plan on dropping off the car in La Fortuna/Arenal–would they pick up the car from us at our hotel or do we drop off the car ourselves at the office there? Thanks for your help!
Sammi says
Hi Lillan! Adobe can deliver the car to La Paz waterfall, it costs $70 for this delivery. You can also drop it off in La Fortuna and you can have them pick it up at your hotel or you can drop it off at their office. For the different pick up and drop off locations, there is another fee of $40 so a total of $110 if you would like the car delivered to La Paz and dropped off in La Fortuna. Please let us know if you have other questions!
Ellina says
Hello,
Thank you for all the info. I saw somewhere in the blog that April is a busy time and we will be traveling to Costa Rica in the beginning of April. We are kind of going back and forth on renting a car. Adobe sounds like the best option especially through your blog. We still wanted to take a few days in the country before deciding for sure whether to rent or not, so wonder how realistic is it that we would be able to get something without advanced reservation? We will be staying in Atenas and thought could take a taxi to the airport to pick up.
Also, our return flight is at 8 am. Will we have enough time to make the flight with earliest drop off at 4:45?
Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Ellina, April is one of our busiest months and we highly highly recommend reserving a car beforehand because during this time of year, it will be extremely difficult to find a car and usually all that is left (if there are any) are the premium cars like a full size SUV or a pick up truck which are not cheap. You can rent in Atenas and Adobe can drop it off at your place, there will be a $20 drop off fee for Atenas since the closest office is in Grecia. For returning the car to their airport office, they start receiving cars at 4:45 AM and it’s only 1 mile from the airport so you will definitely make it in time for your flight.
I just checked for beginning of April and Adobe only has a few cars left: the Hyundai Creta, Hyundai i10 and Hyundai Accent so all the 4×4’s are already booked. But if you would like a 4×4, let us know and we can try to find one for you.
Please let me know if you have other questions!
Ellina says
Sammi,
Thank you so much for replying. I actually just now was able to reserve a Hyundi Tuscon from the Grecia location! I chose extended coverage. Do I understand correctly that the deductible will be waived since I reserved through your blog and the deposit will be $500? Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Ellina, awesome! If you get extended coverage insurance, the deposit will be $500 and 0% deductible from the Liability Protection Insurance (up to $20,000 – normally 20%). We’ll be waiting for the address of your place in Atenas.
Kent says
Hi. This seems like a super convenient and straightforward way to rent a car. Problem is it says they don’t have any. Is it because I’m looking to far in the future (next January) if so, do you know how far in advance you can book?
Thanks!
yeison says
Hello Kent!
I called Adobe and they were updating all the rates for 2019, everything should be ready and up by now. Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet.com.
Take care!
Tracy Ware says
Hi
I am also trying to book for next year, april-may 2019, and just keep getting an error message both via your link and on the site direct.
I sent them an email but have not heard back
What is best to do to secure a booking?
We are also travelling airport -poas-arenal-samara-monteverde-man. Ant.-Uvita-puerto Jiminez
I can see they don’t have a return base at PJ so I could drive back to Quepos (just want to experience a flight back to SJO at the end), do you think they would collect from PJ and would this be costly?
Also, though I’d hate to lose the independence, would you recommend getting transfers as far as la Fortuna and then picking up the car there?
Coming for 3 weeks and would like a 4×4
Thank you so much for the blog and all the help it provides…it is making my dream trip actually within my reach!!
Kristine says
Hi!
Your blog is super helpful! We are leaving for Costa Rica this weekend and I have a question. If we rent through Adobe, is there an additional fee to be shuttled from the airport? They say it’s free but is it “free”. Would it be a wise decision to arrive in San Jose, Uber to their office and rent the car when we arrive?
Sammi says
Hi Kristine, Adobe has a complimentary shuttle from the airport to their airport office. It is 100% free, we know some companies say it’s “free” but they have an extra charge but Adobe does not. It is the same if you drop off the car at their airport office, you will drop off the car at their office and they will shuttle you to the airport for free.
Adriene says
Hi – looking at renting a car for 7 days, pick up/ drop off Liberia airport. The prices shown are without insurance. What kind of prices can we expect the insurance to cost?
Sammi says
Hi Adriene, if you click on the car you would like, it will take you to the next page to make the reservation and show all the options for insurance and extras. What you see on that page will be exactly what you pay for your reservation. There are 3 insurance options, one is mandatory (LDW), one you can decline if you have credit card insurance (car protection) and one is optional (full/extended) but you need to click on the car to see the total cost with insurances.
Adriene Codelia says
Okay, thanks.
Megan Snow says
Hello! my boyfriend and I are planning our first trip to Costa Rica this April. I have a couple questions, the first is regarding the necessity of a 4WD vehicle. As of now we plan to fly into San Jose, then leave from there to go to La Fortuna / Arenal. On the way we were planning to stop into La Paz. Once in Arenal we are planning to make a day trip to Rio Celeste area. From there we were hoping to drive to Manuel Anthonio (I know, not a short drive!) for 2 or 3 days. Will this itinerary require 4WD?
My second question – is it possible to pick up a car rental after hours? Our flight arrives at 8:00pm, and by the time we get our luggage and go through customs it will likely be after 9:00pm. From what I could tell, the rental office unfortunately closes at 7:00pm.
I really appreciate your help, your blog has been fantastic for assisting us in planning! 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Megan, you won’t need a 4×4. The route from San Jose to Arenal is all on paved roads. Arenal to Rio Celeste is on paved roads if you go through Tilaran/Canas/Interamericana highway and La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio are all on paved roads as well.
We have some posts with photos and videos of those routes:
driving San Jose to Arenal
Bijagua to Rio Celeste road conditions
For picking up the rental car, Adobe always waits for their clients no matter what time they fly in if you are selecting the airport pick up. The office itself closes at 7 PM but they will be open for picks up so an agent will be waiting for you outside the airport to take you to their complimentary shuttle. They will bring you to their airport office to finish paperwork and fill out the car.
Megan Snow says
Excellent! Thanks so much for your quick response!
Since there is only two of us and we will have very little luggage, we were thinking of renting something small like the hyundai accent (cheaper, better on gas, etc.) is there any issue renting a car this small/low to the ground? (compared to a sedan, for example)
Sammi says
Hi Megan, that car is great and it is a sedan. There is even a slightly smaller one, a compact car that is cheaper, the Hyundai i10 or Hyundai Gran i10. You can see what those cars look like in this post: Cars to rent in Costa Rica
Megan Snow says
Great! My credit card company (Scotia Bank) will provide coverage, and has provided me with a letter. The letter has the credit card company name, an outline of the insurance coverage, my name/address, and the first 6 digits of my credit card number (not the last four as indicated above). Will this be sufficient for us to opt out of the car protection?
Thanks!
Megan
Sammi says
Hi Megan! They do need the last 4 digits of your credit card number so if you can get them to add that, then the letter will work to decline the Car Protection Insurance.
yeison says
Hello Relin!
Thank you for reading our blog and leaving your comment.
Relin says
Hi guys,
We’re planning to pick up a rental after we return from Tortuguero. Will there be extra costs for having the car delivered at La Pavona? We don’t really want to bother walking around with luggage and such, looking for buses etc…
Also, what are the drop off costs when we return the car in San Jose?
Thanks for your answer!
Relin
Michelle says
My boyfriend and I are planning our first trip to Costa Rica and your blog has been SO helpful for planning our trip!! We will be going from Alajuela to La Fortuna/Arenal area to Manuel Antonio then back to SJO and are looking to rent a car. We are going to be arriving at the San Jose Airport at 7:40 pm (19:40). First question, looking at some of the comments I gather that we don’t need 4wd for these routes but would like to confirm this 🙂 Based on our schedule is it best for us to select “picking up from the airport” option? Our flight heading out of Costa Rica is at 8:00 am, what is the earliest that we can drop the car off and get to the airport with enough time? Thank you so so much!
Sammi says
Hi Michelle, the comments are correct, you won’t need a 4×4 or high car for these routes. For your 8 AM flight, the Adobe office starts receiving cars at around 4:50 AM so you can drop off the car around 5:30 AM and they will take you to the airport in their complimentary shuttle to get there 2 hours before your flight.
We wrote some posts on the road conditions you can read here: Costa Rica road conditions and driving San Jose to Arenal and vice versa
Kelly says
Hi, I just wanted to ask, I’m interested in renting one way from san jose airport to Tamarindo. Our hotel is the Occidental, could the car be returned there or where do i need to drop it off?
Thank You
yeison says
Hello Kelly!
Thank you for reading our blog and leaving your comment. You can definetely pick up the car at the San Jose airport and we can arrange the car to be picked up at the Occidental Tamarindo.
Adobe and all the other car rentals always charge an extra fee when you return the car in a different area, you can see this charge under “other charges”
Please let us know if you have more questions
Lio says
First of all, I want to say thank you for having this great blog! It really helps us in planning our month long trip to Costa Rica in April.
I had a questios regarding the car rentals. Adobe seems like a really good company and we’ll probably book our car through your widget. But I saw that the cars and even the same cars are divided in different groups eg. the same car: SsangYong Korando 4WD or similar/Group L and I also saw a SsangYong Korando 4WD or similar/Group B, where the group B was a cheaper option.
Can you explain what the different groups mean please? I would help us in deciding which car to rent.
Thanks a million!
Lio says
My mistake regarding the same car, I misread the SsangYong cars. The Group B was the Tivoli and the L group was the Korando. I still would like to know how the group classification works.
Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Lio, this is because the Tivoli and Korando are different cars, the Tivoli is smaller than the Korando. They are both 4wd and fit up to 5 pax but the Korando is bigger and a nicer car when it comes to the inside and engine so it’s a bit more expensive than the Tivoli.
yeison says
Hello Jeroen,
Thank you for leaving your comment and reading our blog.
Regarding your first questions there is no need of a 4wd to go any of the places you mentioned you will be fine with a sedan or a 4×3 SUV lile the Hyundai Creta, you can click here to check the Road Conditions in Costa Rica.
You are right about mos SUV’s they don’t have a “cover” on the trunk, La Paz waterfalls have a secure parking lot and it is very safe.
Give a recommendation abou insurance it’s very hard because you never know when an incident can happen and we will feels very bad if we tell you to go just with liability and then you have an incident. What I can tell you is that in 2017 over 3000 Mytanfeet reders rented a car a a less than 1% had to use the insurance. If your credit card doesn’t provide you with Car Rental insurance like some popular USA credit cards I would recommend you to get the car protection at least, all Mytanfeet reader’s get 0% deductable on liaility (up to $20,000) so both insurances combined provide a good coverage.
You can read more about car rental insurance here.
Thank you again for reading Mytanfeet and have a nice week 🙂
Barbara says
Hi, thanks for all the great info!!
We will be at Bahia pez villas in July and we’re wondering if Adobe would deliver a car there. Also, we are going from there to AOL, and then to la fortuna. Could the car be returned in la fortuna or would it better for us to return it to the airport (sjo)?
Thank you!
yeison says
Hello Barbara,
I hope you had a nice weekend!
We don’t know any “Bahia pez villas” but I think you meant Villas Bahía Pez Vela in Ocotal Guanacaste if you are the answer is yes, we can deliver the car there at no extra cost.
I also don’t know where is AOL? my best guess will be Arenal Observatory Lodge maybe? You can return the car in La Fortuna or at the San Jose airport, but just be aware that when you return the car on a different location than the one you rented (for example pick up the car in Liberia and then return in San jose) there will be an extra fee included, you will be able to see the amoun under “other charges”.
Please let me know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet.com, have a nice week.
Jeroen says
Hi,
We are traveling to Costa Rica end of April/beginning of May with 2 adults and 2 kids (age 8 & 6). Route will be SJO – Sarapiqui – Arenal – Samara – Manuel Antonio – SJO. (any feedback welcome :-))
3 questions regarding rental car:
– Do we need 4WD? I guess not, but just checking?
– I like renting SUVs. however, I read that many/most have no trunk cover so the luggage is visible? Is this correct? In general we will go from hotel to hotel, but on the way from SJO to Sarapiqui I want to visit La Paz falls. Is it safe to park my car with the luggage not covered?
– Which insurance should I take? I am from Europe, so no credit card covering CDW. Liability protection is standard, is Car Protection enough or is Extended protection needed?
Thanks a lot in advance!!
yeison says
Hello Jess,
Thank you for leaving your comments and reading our blog!
Can you please email us the exact dates, pick up and drop off location, and type of car you are looking for?
Jess says
Do you work with any other rental companies? I am traveling to Costa Rica is less than a month, so supplies are limited within this short time frame.
Han Chen says
First of all, I want to thank you for having this amazing website. It is making our planning so much easier.
I do have a some questions about possible hidden costs. After using your widget and selecting our insurance/add-on preferences, I was surprised, and perhaps a bit skeptical, on the final price. The final price does not fully itemize each fee, so I am concerned there is an “Airport Fee”, “License Plate Fee”, “Environmental Fee”, etc. that is not listed. I know you stated that all expenses are included in the price, but I just wanted to check with you and others who have used this deal first, because the final price I am getting is MARKEDLY cheaper (>30%) compared to its competitors (alamo, vamos, wildrider).
Also, how does one obtain the cool stuff (cooler, cell phone, additional drivers – awesome promotion btw)? Do I need to send you another message once the reservation has completed, or do I need some kind of documentation when I arrive at the rental office?
Thanks for any clarification!!!
Pura Vida!
yeison says
Hello Chen,
I would like to confirm you that the Adobe don’t have any off the the extra fees you mentioned and we guarantee you that our rates are final. Most of the international companies like Alamo, National and all the ones you mentioned have this feee.
First of all the term “tax” is not correct this is actually an extra percentage that the car rental company needs to pay to the airport in order to have a kiosk inside the aiport and these car rental companies pass that percentage to their clients and they named it “Airport Tax”, Adobe decided to do not get a kiosk inside the airport because the extra cost don’t provide any real value to their clients, the Adobe agents wait for their clients at the arrival areal which is just 10 meters from where all these kiosk are and so far they haven’t got any problem and they don’t have to charge this extra fee (no a tax) to our readers.
The licence Plate fee is another extra fee that they add in order to make some extra money, they usually have extremly cheap rates like $10 or $15 a day cars in order to make it look attractive but then they charge you this other fees, same thing with all the other fees.
Adobe is 100% Costa Rican company and they have the second largest fleet in Costa Rica (Alamo, National and Enterprice are the biggest, they are own by the same company), and we decided to partner with them for many reasons, the most important ones is that their rates are final and they don’t have all this hidden cost or extra fees, their cars are very new right now they are changing the last 2016 models for 2018.
Please feel free to email at hello@mytanfeet and ask us as many questions, our goal is to provide the best infomation.
Thank you for leaving your comment and have a good night!
yeison says
Hello George thank you for leaving your question.
There is a $50 penalty or the equivalent of one day of rent for “No shows” (No show is when you make a reservation and you don’t pick up), All Mytanfeet readers have a very flexible cancelation policy so if by any chance you need to make changes or cancel your reservation please contact us and we will take care of the modifications or cancellations.
If your flight got cancel or delay, or there is something out of your control there will be no penalties.
George D says
Great info, thank you much. Have a question about car rental, what is the cancellation policy?
Zuzanna Knypinski says
Hi there! I’m looking to sent a 6 person car from April 7 through April 15, picking up at Liberia and dropping off at San Jose. Can you confirm that the quoted price includes the fee for a one way rental (a rental with a different drop off spot). Also, I’ve had issues in the past with automatic rentals. I requested an automatic, and was told only manuals were available when I got there. Does Adobe honor automatic reservations? Thanks so much! Finding your site immensely helpful overall. Keep it up!
Sammi says
Hi Zuzanna, when you make the reservation, you will see another extra charge and that is the different drop off/pick up fee (I believe it is around $40 for LIR to SJO). The price you see on your reservation is exactly what you pay with Adobe and they do honor automatic reservations (I can’t believe there are companies that don’t!). Please let me know if you have any other questions and I’m glad you find the site useful!
yeison says
Hello Karsten,
Thank you for your comments and here are your answers.
The price for the Wifi (hot spot) is $10 a day and it includes unlimited data and speeds up to 6MB down.
When people ask us if they should rent a car not we always ask them for their plans or itinerary, if what you are planning is just to go to your resort in La Fortuna or Manuel Antonio and stay there just relaxing, eating in the hotel and not exploring the area well, we always tell them to get shuttles, because you won’t need it but if you want to go to different locations stop whenever you want a car will be a better option.
Darla says
I have reserved a car for April through your link. My question is, do we pay when we pick up the car, drop off the car, or before we arrive? Thanks in advance!
Sammi says
Hi Darla, they will not charge your card until you pick up the car.
Abby says
Hello! We are planning to rent a car February 10th-February 17th. We are staying just south of Uvita. So should we use the car rental place in Uvita? And if so will they drive us to and from the San Jose air port? We are getting into San Jose around 1330 and leaving the following week around 1530.
Sammi says
Hi Abby, Adobe only has a complimentary shuttle to their airport office, not the other offices (Uvita to San Jose is like 3 hours too) so I recommend renting the car when you land in San Jose so you can have it right away to drive to your place in Uvita. You could rent it in Uvita but then you will need to figure out transportation from San Jose to Uvita and it will be a lot easier and more efficient to have a car.
Abby says
So do I put the San Jose airport as the pick up location?
Sammi says
Yes, SJO Airport and please put your flight information in the comment section of the reservation.
Andy says
I would like to book a car via your deal with adobe but I need a 4×4 and the only vehicle that is available for the dates (23rd february to 14 march) is a Hyundai Santa Fe 4WD automatic. I would prefer, because of cost and we are only 2 persons, a smaller car eg. Dahaitsu Bego Manual or similar. Can you help with that?
yeison says
Hello Andy!
I will be emailing you shortly 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Sam, the fee applies for different pick up and return locations, we don’t have a free drop off/pick up benefit. We do have the free delivery and pick up at nearby hotels. When you make your reservation, leave a note and we can check with upper management though.
yeison says
Hello Sam,
Our deal is free pick up and drop off at any hotels nearby any office, in this case you are returning the car in a different office. Adobe will need to send the car all the way to Liberia from San Jose this is the reason why they charge a fee.
Thank you for reading Mytanfeet and have a great day 🙂
Sam says
Hello Yeison,
I am trying to use the widget to make a car rental reservation, but I notice that they are adding 40 dollars for drop off/pick up. However, I thought that with your deal, the drop off/pick up is free? I am planning to pick up at Liberia airport and drop off at San Jose airport.
Thanks,
Sam
Dan Fotopoulos says
Hello Yeison
We are staying in Playa Hermosa,Guanacaste, and are being shuttled to and from our Villa and the Liberia airport. We are looking to rent two vehicles ( eight adults in our party )for the week and are wondering if Adobe can deliver two vehicles to our Villa or a designated pick up point in Playa Hermosa. It would be a shame if we would have to go back out to the airport to give our business to Adobe.
Thanks
Dan
Sammi says
Hi Dan, all Mytanfeet readers get free delivery and pick up to nearby hotels and they can bring the car to your villa in Playa Hermosa. Just put in the comment section when you make the reservation where your villa is (directions and GPS coordinates if possible if the villa is a vacation rental/airbnb) and what time you would like the car. The earliest they can deliver is at 8 AM and latest is 5 PM.
Relin says
Hi guys,
Have looked at your site so many times now and it’s been so helpful, but not fully, haha!
Which is why I have a couple of questions. We’re going to Costa Rica in September or October (Yes I know, rainy season, but hoping the weather gods will be nice to us ;)) and are currently researching car rental.
The first night we are planning to stay in or near San Jose, before we’re heading off to Tortuguero. One of the flights we can book arrives at around 7.30PM, meaning it’ll be dark. Now I’ve read not to drive in CR after dark, what would it be like driving to the hotel in or near San Jose? Would that be okay to do?
There’s also the option of taking a one way shuttle to Tortuguero, but can we pick up a rental car with Adobe in Guapiles? And if so, what would be the extra costs, as our drop off point will be different. And, how do we get from Tortuguero to Guapiles with public transport? Have tried to find that out, but it’s all a bit confusing with people saying on different sites to not walk around in Guapiles with your luggage as it’s not really safe there…
yeison says
Hello Relin,
The easiest and cheapest way is if you get an airport hotel that give you a free airport shuttle many hotels around the airport do that, then most of the companies in tortuguero they have their own transportation to the their hotels usually people get the 2 nights 3 days package with transportation. If you get the hotel transportation they will pick you up at your hotel in San Jose and take you all the Toruguero.
In the way back all teh companies stop at their restaurants to have lunch, in the case of our partner Adobe, they have an office at the Rio Blanco gas station and the only thing you will have to do is tell the bus driver that please stop you at the Rio Blanco Gas Station beacuse you have a car with Adobe, they do this every day and have had lots of readers taking their cars at this point.
When it comes to extra charges if you pick up the car at this office (you will see it as Guapiles /PN Tortuguero in teh Adobe system) and return the car in San Jose there will be no extra charges, the extra charges will apply if you return the car lets say in the Caribbean or all the way to Liberia.
You can check here available cars and rates
Vanessa says
Hello there,
I am glad I came across this site. I am finding lots of useful information for our Costa Rica trip next month! I am interested in renting a car as we are going to be going to different places, from Alajuela to La Fortuna then down to Manuel Antonio.
My first question, seeing that we will be driving from Alajuela to La Fortuna, should we get a 4×4 or is an SUV enough? We’d like to visit Arenal Volcano, Tabacon Hot Springs, La Fortuna Water Falls.
I am thinking from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio, we could just drive a sedan. Can we switch cars? If a SUV is enough, we figure we will just rent that all throughout our trip
Lastly, how late is drop off? On our last night in Alajuela, we won’t be able to drop off car until 9:00PM and our flight the next day is at 9:00AM in SJO but we would like to be at the airport at least 1.5 hours early.
Thanks in advance!
Sammi says
Hi Vanessa! REpsonded to you via email 🙂
Sau says
Really appreciate your blog and tips! I will be arriving around 4pm at SJO, getting a rental car, spending the night at the Hampton Inn, before driving to La Fortuna the next morning (heard much horror stories about first time driving, after dark in Costa Rica!). My question is: should we get the car when we get there, or get the car in the morning right before leaving? To my surprise the cost is very close (difference of $2!). I like the idea of getting the car the night before, so I would just hit the road right after breakfast. What are your thoughts?
Sammi says
Hi Sau, I would get the car when you land if you want to drive to La Fortuna first thing in the morning. You will hit a lot of traffic in San Jose however as you’re landing right at rush hour. The earliest Adobe can deliver the car is at 8 AM so if that works for your schedule and you don’t want to drive in traffic, you can have Adobe deliver the car the next morning at 8. But if you want to leave super early before 8 AM, then I recommend getting the car when you land. I do highly recommend getting a pre-paid sim card and using the GPS app Waze to help you navigate the traffic of San Jose though, it will be super super helpful because that time of day is awful traffic!
Sau says
Thank you! Do you recommend that we get the Wifi router? Or is the pre-paid SIM card sufficient? Any concerns about maintaining GPS signal while driving?
Sammi says
Hi Sau! If you want to stay connected all the time, I would get the Wi-fi hot spot. It has unlimited data so you don’t need to worry about running out of credit and adding more like a pre-paid sim card (and with Mytanfeet readers you get a free local cell phone with 1 hour free calls and texts so you have a local number in case of emergency). Once you set up your GPS route on Waze or Google Maps (Waze is better though), it will keep working even if you lose signal for a little bit as long as you don’t turn it off. The hot spot works pretty well, it is with a company called Claro which is one of the biggest in CR.
Karsten says
I had a similar question, but nothing I say said how much the Wi-fi hot spot is. We won’t be there more than ten days which the deal says pay for the first ten days and then after that it’s free. Do you know what the cost would be for 9 days?
And we are only staying in two locations and trying to decide if we should rent a car or hire shuttles. there are 8 of us so we would need a van, if we rent.
we are staying in La Fortuna and Manuel Antonio, flying in and out of San Jose… what would you recommend?
Shawn says
When you are picking your car up at the airport in San Jose (yes I requested that and gave my flight information), do they meet you at the airport with the car and then you fill out paperwork and you are on your way or do you have to be picked up by someone and taken back to an office to fill out the paperwork?
Sammi says
Hi Shawn! Adobe will meet you at the airport and take you to their office via their complimentary shuttle to fill out the paperwork and pick up the car.
Jeff Lopez says
Back in the US after a joyous week in Costa Rica right before Christmas, I need to complement mytanfeet.com and Adobe for providing a hassle-free car rental experience for our trip. Our booking arrangements through your site and the execution in country were flawless. We arrived in San Jose at 2:00 a.m. and took a shuttle to our hotel. We asked Adobe to deliver our rental car to our hotel at a specific time the next morning. The Adobe representative was punctual, courteous, provided all the paperwork with no surprise costs, as well as the complimentary local cellphone, cooler and discounted GPS (thanks to mytanfeet.com). The car was exactly as represented and our return to the Adobe offices by the airport a week later was seamless. Although I have rented cars in Europe, South America, Africa, and Australia, I was concerned that my Costa Rica rental experience would be a frustrating bracket to our family vacation. No need to worry thanks to Adobe and mytanfeet.com! My highest recommendation to any who are considering renting from someone else in CR.
yeison says
Hello Jeff,
Thank you so much for your nice words, we work hard every day in order to provide the best possible service and work with the best companies. Please let us know if we can assist you in the future.
Amanda says
Hello! Thank you for this resource! We are staying at an Airbnb and they were going to set up our rental car but their cost was substantially higher. We just booked our rental: Confirmation# 534750 and had a few quick questions:
*We are staying near San Jose for our last night in CR as our flight the next day is at 6 am. Is Adobe able to pick up the van from our hotel the night before? We have a free shuttle service through our hotel and don’t want to try and deal with dropping it off at 4:45 (when they open) when our flight is at 6? If so is this something we tell them when we pick up the car?
*Also is adding a free driver done at pickup as well or how do we add one?
*I did not need to submit my cc info for this reservation, just want to make sure that it is reserved!
*We would also like the racks added to the van roof for surf boards. How do we arrange this?
Thank you so much for all your hard work in providing this blog!
Sammi says
Hi Amanda! I’m glad that blog has been helpful! Adobe Rent a Car is an excellent company and they treat our readers very good! 🙂 Here are the answers to your questions:
1. Adobe can pick up your car from your hotel the night before. The latest they can pick up a car is at 5 PM and they can pick up at hotels near their offices. I will email you to arrange this as you can write in the comment section that you want the pick up so we can get it all figured out before you arrive.
2. All free drivers are added automatically.
3. You will need to send Adobe your credit card details to back up the reservation. They will contact you a couple weeks before your reservation to collect this or you can email or call them at 18558611250. They won’t charge your card until you pick up the car, but they do need the details to back it up.
4. I will add surf racks to the reservation. 🙂
Please let us know if you have other questions!
Kim says
Can someone clarify the wording — it says two EXTRA drivers for free on the rental on this page, and when you say extra that to me implies that two MORE can be added beyond the first person…the EXTRA part is what I need clarification on…is it TWO drivers, or three allowed on the plan without additional fees? Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Kim, yes your thinking is correct! It is two extra drivers so you have the primary driver and you can add two more people free of charge so three people total.
Maxine P says
Hello! First, thank you for this offer and for your helpful blog! My friend and I will be renting a car for a day to go from La Fortuna to Catarata del Toro. Do you recommend a 4×4 for the roads on that route or is a 4×2 okay? Thanks for your help!
Sammi says
Hi Maxine! You don’t really need a 4×4 for this route, the road is unpaved for a large part once you get out of the small towns but it is not so bad. I do remember a couple of hilly parts but nothing crazy. A sedan or compact car will be pretty uncomfortable though since it is bumpy, I do recommend getting something a bit higher like the Ssang Yang Tivoli 4wd or Hyundai Creta.
helen says
Hello
We are trying to reserve a hire car but when we do we get an error: Reserva Invalida! (1834.2900/1682.17)
Can you help us as we don’t know how to reserve the car as there is always an error
Sammi says
Hi Helen! I sent you an email but try to use a different browser or clear your cookies, sometimes when you have several Adobe pages open it runs into an error.
Sophie says
Hello Guys,
I just wanted to say thank you for this great discount I used it and I fascinated with attention received from Adobe. Excellent company and your discount just made it better.
Looking forward to used it again!
yeison says
Hi Sophie, Thank you for the nice words and please let us know if can help you in the future. Happy Holidays 🙂
Barbara Zatto says
Hi! I love what you guys are doing to help us newbies in Costa Rica! I have tries several times to book a car for 12/31-1/5, (or possibly longer and I only see no cars available. when I change the dates I see the same message. What is the best way to get the car reserved? Also, I am traveling to St. Michaels and am trying to figure out if I should rent a car out there or at the airport. Any advice, or do you know if there is a car rental agency/office in that area? Also is there an additional charge for dropping off at a different location?
Many thanks in advance.
Barb
Sammi says
Hi Barbara, those dates are our busiest times of the year and cars have already been booked up for awhile for then so unfortunately Adobe doesn’t have any cars left for those dates. You can call them to check if there are any last minute cancellations at 18558611250
David Beck says
sorry to be dumb but when I click on the rent car now link it keeps saying “fill out form below” but I can’t find the form…
Sammi says
Hi David! No worries, you may need to clear your cookies or try a different browser. It should be working but please let me know if you still keep having issues.
Angela Kiese says
Just booked reservation 5****9
We would like:
Two FREE drivers
FREE cell phone with 1 hour of credit for local calls and texts
FREE booster seat
•FREE shuttle pick up & drop off to the airport from their office or vice versa
•FREE cooler if available
•$1000 deposit instead of the $1500 deposit
yeison says
Hi Angela, we will be more than happy to add all the extra benefits to your reservation please let us know if you have any questions.
Sammi says
Hi Amy! Select SJO Airport and make sure to include your flight number in the comments so Adobe can track your flight and knows when to pick you up. You can do either option however depending on when your flight gets in in San Jose, it might be better to get the car directly when you land because you will need to figure out how to get to La Fortuna. Depending on what time you arrive, a private shuttle is expensive (around $220), shared shuttles only go in the morning and afternoon and the last bus is in the afternoon. Then if you are returning the car in San Jose, there is a fee for different drop off and pick up locations. The car drop off option isn’t really time consuming, it will be the same as if you were picking it up at the office. You need to do all the paperwork at the hotel, do the car inspection and sign everything.
People who choose to get the car delivered to their hotel usually don’t want to drive because their flight is late at night so they prefer to get a taxi or shuttle to their hotel, rest and then get the car when they’re fresh the next day for their adventure.
Amy says
When booking our car rental through your widget, if we want to rent a car at SJO (and take the Adobe airport shuttle), do I select “Adobe Rent-a-Car Office” or “At the Airport” for my pick-up option?
We are debating whether to rent the car at SJO when we arrive or wait and have the car delivered to our hotel the next morning at Hotel Kokoro in La Fortuna. Is the car drop-off option time consuming? Will we complete all of the paperwork at our hotel when the car is dropped off? Is there any advantage to one option over the other?
Thanks for your help!
yeison says
Hello again Amy,
No there is no such thing as Airport tax one of the reasons why we partner with Adobe is that they don’t have hidden fees or extra charges what you see in the reservation is final.
Thank you for reading our blog 🙂
Amy Smith says
Is there an extra fee if we pick up the car from the airport? I have heard that sometimes there is an “airport tax” of sorts that some rental companies charge.
Amy Smith says
I am looking to rent a car from Dec. 19-25th. If we are staying at a hostel in San Jose, are they able to drop it off there? Or do we need to pick it up?
yeison says
Hello Amy!
One of the benefits all Mytanfeet reader’s have is car free delivery and car pick up. We will be able to deliver the car at any hotel in the San jose area at no extra cost.
Sean says
we are travelling to Costa Rica in February/March and are considering renting a car. We will be staying at Occidental Papagayo for the beginning and end of our trip with a stay in Arenal in the middle. Will Adobe drop off my rental car ay Occidental Papayago and pick it up there for me without an extra fee?
Sammi says
Hi Sean! Yes Adobe can deliver and pick up your rental car off at Occidental Papagayo free of charge, Mytanfeet readers receive free delivery/pick up. Please let me know if you have other questions!
yeison says
Hi Schwartz,
Can you please contact us the type of car and dates, we will be more than happy to assist you with your reservation and add all our benefits and special rate. I already reported the error to Adobe IT department and they told us that everything should be working by now.
A Schwartz says
hi again,
sorry for the confusion, i reserved under my wife’s name #5xxx4 and that is probably why it would not let me reserve with the same email again…..i would like to : A. request the Mytanfeet extra exclusive benefits: FREE drivers FREE cell phone with 1 hour of credit for local calls and texts 2FREE baby seat and booster seat FREE drop off/pick up FREE cooler and$1000 deposit. B. modify my reservation to add pick up location in either LIB or Playa Hermosa and to change drop off location. also correct wrong phone number.
as an alternative wanted to check if i could get a sedan for LIB pick up for 4 days 12/31 – 1/4 for playa hermosa stay then switching to a 4×4 the rest of the way.4-13 ending in SJ. but was affraid to cancel my res. since it seems 4X4 cars are sold out!
thanks in advance
yeison says
Hello Schwartz,
We will add the benefits to to your wife reservation, I will be emailing you shortly.
Thank you!
A Schwartz says
hi, thanks for the great blog! tried booking your offer with widget but keep getting errors like – Reserva Invalida! (0.0000/349.28) – or Error al generar reservacion: InsertaReservacion[7]Procedure or function ‘InsertaReserva’ expects parameter ‘@Category’, which was not supplied.
pls help!
Sim says
Hello there, could you add the following to my reservation #5XXX28?
Two FREE drivers
FREE cell phone with 1 hour of credit for local calls and texts
FREE shuttle pick up & drop off to the airport from their office
FREE cooler if available
$1000 deposit instead of the $1500 deposit.
Thanks a lot,
Sim
yeison says
Helo Mr.Sim,
We already added all Mytanfeet benefits to your reservation, please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet.com
Ginette Pele says
Please help. I am trying to rent a vehicle from Liberia airport (for 5 adult passengers) from Dec. 20th – 28th. We are heading to the Nosara/Samara area and have been told that a 4X4 is recommended. We do NOT want to rent a truck but rather a sport utility vehicle. When I search the Adobe booking site (through your My Tan Feet website) all vehicles listed are for four people only. We would very much like to rent with Adobe and need assistance in finding a suitable vehicle.
yeison says
Hello Ginnette,
Thank you for leaving your comment 🙂
We will be more than happy to help you get your car, I will be emailing you some options in a few minutes.
Also, just for you to know Adobe all the SUV’s that Adobe has are for 5 passengers, in thecar picture they recommend the car for 4 passenger when the actual capacity of the car is 5. The reason why they do this is because in the past when they had the capacity for 5 in the pictures, some “very large” people were complaining that they were advertising a SUV for 5 passenger and they couldn’t fit inside the car, so now in order to avoid missunderstandings they decide to recommend the car for 4 people instead of 5.
Here is a video of one of the cars they advertise for 4 people but the car is for 5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g70q0roZLY
I will be emailing you shortly
Tiffany says
Hi there,
I noticed car prices for somewhat similar cars varies greatly for the 9 day price rental (ranging from as cheap as $ 22 up to $300). Can I ask why such a BIG discrepancy in pricing for similar vehicles?
Renting from 12/5/17 to 12/13/17 for 4 people
yeison says
Hello Tiffany!
Thank you for leaving your comment and for reading our blog. What you are looking right now are special rates that Adobe has at this moment for example they have a with Mytanfeet giving the Hyundai Creta 4×2 Automatic for 8 days at $26.61 for rental then after you add the mandatory insurance the final rate for 8 days is $178.61, which is an awesome price for this type of car, we are doing similar promos with diferent cars.
This promo will end tomorrow at 9AM Costa Rica time (GTM-6) and we will be back to have our normal 10% to 20% off on all the cars compared with Adobe. Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you again for reading our blog.
yeison says
Absolutely, please contact us and we will be more than happy to do any changes you need. Thank you for the nice comments 🙂
Fraz Mahmood says
Hi There,
Great site – thanks for all the information!! I made a mistake with my reservation, would you be able to help rectify it?
Thanks,
Fraz
yeison says
Hi George,
We will be more than happy to add all the extra benefits the only thing we need to know is the name of the hotel at Playas del Coco, we can send an agent to pick up the car at no extra cost.
Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet.com
George Kress says
Hi mytanfeet. I just made a reservation #531952. I would you to take advantage of the following free offers:
Two FREE drivers
FREE cell phone with 1 hour of credit for local calls and texts
FREE shuttle pick up & drop off to the airport from their office or vice versa
FREE drop off/pick up to and from nearby hotels.. (does this offer include a drop off on Jan 29th to a hotel in Playa Del Coco after the rental is dropped off?)
FREE cooler if available
$1000 deposit instead of the $1500 deposit.
Thanks..George
Amy says
Hey!
I just reserved a car through your discount widget and left my additional requirements in the comment box. Wasn’t sure if you needed me to comment in that box or this one? Looking forward to your email!
yeison says
Hi Amy, Thank you for reading our blog! We saw your message in the comment box and we already replied you and set up everything with Adobe. Please let us know if you have any questions 🙂
Jonathan Krause says
Hello My Tan Feet!
I just made a reservation for a Hyundai Tucson from November 19 to November 25th.
I would like to add on the free cell phone and the free cooler (if available!) to my reservation.
Just to be clear, even though I selected “Airport pick up”, what will happen is that a shuttle will pick me up and take me to the car rental place?
Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Jonathan, we have made sure to add the free cell phone and cooler to your reservation. The Adobe agent will be waiting for you after you exit the airport, he will be wearing a blue shirt holding a sign with your name on it. Thank you for reading Mytanfeet and please let us know if you have any other questions!
Cee says
Hi you two! First of all, I wanna say I’m so glad I found your blog. It’s been very helpful with planning my trip to Costa Rica next month, so thank you for that. 🙂
Question: After the tour group I plan on exploring on my own for a few days, coming from Manuel Antonio to Rio Celeste to La Fortuna then back to San Jose on my last day. How are the roads out there? Is a 4×4 necessary? Any tips on which routes to avoid or take?
yeison says
Hi Cee!
Thank you for the nice words and for reading our blog, we work hard everyday to bring the information and deals to our readers everyday 🙂
Regarding your question all the main roads are in good conditions and you can perfectly go with a 4×2, the only section where you have to be a little bit careful is the section Bijagua to Rio Celeste (Volcan tenorio National Park. I highly recommend you to use WAZE they will tell you live if there are any problems on the roads and traffic conditions.
Adobe has a Hyundai Creta that will work or right now we have an extra discount with the Hyundai Tucson.
Please let us know if you have more questions and thank you again for reading our blog!
Cee says
I went ahead and reserved the Hyundai Creta.
Thanks again for all of the info and for taking the time to respond!! 🙂
Brian Cortez says
I tried making a login through the site but it’s not showing the discount anymore but it would not let me proceed with out making an account.
I wanted the MT small SUV for 4 ppl.
For Oct. 29th (9am) – Nov. 4th (630 am)
Can you assist please?
yeison says
Hi Brian, I just sent you an email 🙂
Mo says
HI, I’m staying the el mangroove autograph collection hotel on Nov 12th, will Adobe drop off a car for us there or at a near by air bnb? We may decide to do your one day tour in Nicaragua on the 13th do we obviously wouldn’t need it that day and would possibly want it on the 14th.
yeison says
Hi Mo,
First of all we would like to thank you for reading our blog 🙂 Regarding your question Adobe can only deliver cars at Hotels or if condo complex, so if by any chance your airbnb is on a condo complex we will be more than happy to arrange the delivery. Please let us know if you have more questions
yeison says
Hello Jay!
First of all, we would like to thank you for reading our blog 🙂
If you would like to we can check to see what would be the deal we can get your group for 2 cars.
Jay says
Hey there. Wonderful website thanks for all the info! I am traveling with a group of 10 and carryon sized luggage. Do you think we will have enough seats if we rent the H1 van?
Thanks so much!
Jay
yeison says
Hi Susan!
Thank you for reading our blog :). Adobe can install racks in some sedans like the Hyundai Grand i10 if the reservation is made at least one week before arrival. The i10 is a good option if you are looking for a sedan but surf racks are not available for sedans.
Susan says
Thanks for all of the great information! Super helpful as we plan our trip. We are flying into Liberia, traveling to La Fortuna and then will spend a week exploring the beaches around Tamarindo in February. Based on the info that you have provided, we don’t need a 4×4 for the areas that we are visiting. I noticed that Adobe provides free surfboard racks for their rentals. Can you tell me if they will attach a surfboard rack to one of their compact cars or do we have to rent a 4×4? Our preference would be to rent a compact with a rack from Adobe.
yeison says
Hello Cole!
I hope you are doing great 🙂
Regarding your questions with Adobe rent a car it usually takes from 24 to 72 hours for the money to be released, over 3000 Mytanfeet readers have rented a car with Adobe and none have had a problem returning the deposit, we actually use Adobe a lot and I usually see the money back in 24 hours.
We have heard people saying things about other companies, but I think that the reason why they had problems is because they used a Debit card instead of credit, so I will not recommend you at all to use a debit card, use credit.
Cole says
Hi Yeison,
I have been going around and around on whether or not to get a rental for our week on CR (Dec 14-23). I received a quote from Budget and would like to book it but have a few questions.
1. Have you every had or heard of anyone having issues getting the $1000 deposit back? I have read horror stories online about the miscellaneous problems people have had with other companies regarding hidden deposits that never get released?
2. Is there and age restrication or fee? My girlfriend will be 23 at the time and I will be 22 (One week from 23…).
Thanks!
Justin Godoy says
Hello,
We are arriving on Thursday and leaving Sunday for a short birthday weekend… Did I do this form correctly for a quote?
Thanks!
yeison says
Hi Justin!
I just sent you and email 🙂
Andy Roy says
Hello – thank you for the great information! We’re trying to reserve a vehicle to be picked up / dropped off at the airport but our airline does not appear in your drop down list (Sun Country airlines out of Minneapolis / St Paul Minnesota). Should we just pick another airline?
Also, would love the cooler if available. Thank you!
yeison says
Hello Andy!
Just put your airline and flight number in the comments box 🙂
Jason says
Just fyi, we set up a rental via the link. Just over 24 hours in advance, thru the Grecia location. They called us well in advance and said we could call a cab and they’d reimburse, but we were just up the road and Uber was easier and only $2. 3 day rental, saved over 10% vs direct thru adobe site.
We added the 2nd driver at the counter, and got the gps. Thanks MTF.
yeison says
Hi, Jason, great to hear that everything went well 🙂 Adobe is a great company, please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet!
Kristina says
Thanks for the information above. I have a question in terms of safety when renting a car. I am a female in her late 20’s and have planned to solo travel for four nights prior to meeting up with a tour group. I am planning on flying into SJO, renting a car and driving to Cloudbridge for a few nights. Then on my way back to SJO to meet the tour group, I am stopping in San Gerardo de Dota for one night at an Airbnb. In doing my research it seems like it’s mostly a straight shot on main roads to get to the destination and maybe a few back roads at the end (but not more than 30 min of backroads). I would only be driving during the day. I was very excited until my family started telling me it was not safe…. that if I got a flat tire I would be in trouble being a single female, that i should not stop to use the restroom etc. They suggested I hire someone to take me there and back. However I need a car in both Cloudbridge and San Gerardo de Dota just to get to the supermarkets, little restaurants, etc. so that is not really an option. It seems that a “private driver” or “chauffer” would be out of my price range (I was seeing $200 a day on some reviews). Is driving alone as unsafe as they are claiming it to be? Are you familiar with that specific drive? What would you suggest?
Sammi says
Hi Kristina, I understand that there may be the stereotype that Costa Rica or Latin America is not safe but actually, Costa Rica is a very safe country and thousands of tourists drive every day, many of them by themselves as well. Your route goes through a main road and you’ll be passing by a large town and some small towns and that area is actually not super touristic. Locals are generally super friendly and are willing to help tourists if they get lost, etc. and I would say even more so towards women. The only thing I do warn though is leaving your belongings unattended since theft is the main crime and unfortunately, many thieves target rental cars. But you don’t have a super long route and it is extremely useful to have a car in that area since it’ll be hard to get around without one. I have driven by myself quite a few times and haven’t had any problems so just use common sense and know that locals are actually very friendly and willing to help tourists out so it may seem weird that more than one local may try to help you if you do run into any problem, but that is just how they are. I do recommend getting a pre-paid sim card in SJO Airport so that you can have data and have a local phone number in case of emergencies or if you rent with Adobe using our promo, you get a free local cell phone with minutes and texts.
Kristina says
Thank you so much, Sammi! This is extremely helpful. I will definitely utilize those tips.
Sammi says
You’re welcome!
yeison says
Hello Matus,
Thank you for reading our blog 🙂
Regarding your questions I do not recommend you to use a debit card we have had cases where it takes more than 21 days, and it is not Adobe’s fault, when you use a debit card it is a cash transaction and unfortunately in the Costa Rica banking system sending back a cash transaction takes way longer and we don’t want you to wait that long for your money. In the other hand when you use your credit card it takes from 1 to 3 business for the money to be release in your credit card.
Now Adobe can only deliver cars at Hotels in San Jose not in specific location, in your case there are many options close by the train station like the Sleep Inn Hotel. What you can do is to set up the pick up location one of these hotels and calculate the time of your arrival.
Jamison Maciag says
Thank you for all this awesome rental car info, your blog is great! I just have a couple of questions. I booked last night to pick up from San Jose and then drop off in Liberia at the end of our trip. I selected the pickup from airport option when I was booking and the airline drop down menu didn’t have any options. I was still able to enter my Delta flight number without specifying the airline and the number was listed as my pickup location in my confirmation email. Is this normal? With that being said, are the shuttle services at both airports easy to use and how do they work?
My other question was that they never requested my credit card info during the reservation. Do they actually wait to collect the info at the counter or will they contact me beforehand?
Thank you!
Jamison
yeison says
Hello Jamison,
I hope you are doing great! We received your reservation and everything looks perfect, Adobe always contact their clients to verify or ask for all their travel information just to make sure everything is ready when you arrive. After I answer this comment I am going to email you asking you for the rent of your flight information, Adobe usually ask all that information 2 weeks before arrival.
Please let me know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet.com
Matus Kotora says
Hi,
I would like to know whether I can pick the car up at Terminal Atlántico Norte in San Jose, right after I get there by bus. I also asked in Puerto Viejo Adobe office if they accept debit cards and they told me that instead of charging 500 to a credit card, it would be 1000 USD to a debit card. They told me it would take at least 21 days to refund the deposit, is that correct? How can I provide them my card information, can I give them my card at their office(more convenient for me) or do they only call me to ask for it?
Doug - San Antonio, TX says
Our Flight doesn’t get in until 1940 and it would appear the latest we can pick up the car is 1900. What would you suggest, or can we make arrangements to pick up the car around 2030 or 2100, after clearing customs and getting luggage?
yeison says
Hi Doug,
Once you provide the flight number Adobe rent a car will track your flight so in case of any delay, changes or cancellations we will be on top of it and we will hold the car until you arrive. Now regarding arriving times Adobe will stay as long as you need it we have had readers that arrive at 12 AM and they walk out of the airport by 1AM and Adobe is there, they dont close the office until the last passenger shows up or they confirmed that the flight its been cancelled or reschedule.
You can also email us at any time we always try to answer all emails and questions right away.
Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for reding Mytanfeet 🙂
Doug says
Yeison, I just made the reservation and forgot to add in the comments section that we would like the free cell phone. Can you add that in? Thanks! -Doug
yeison says
Hi Doug,
Thank you for reqding our blog! I just sent you an email 🙂
Clifton Morgan says
Hi! Just booked for November 11-20. What a great website you have. Very imformative. Would love to add the free cell phone and cooler to my reservation.
Thanks,
Cliff Morgan
yeison says
Thank you Mr. Morgan! I just sent an email to add the freebies please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet.
Emma Logie says
Hiya! We’re still freaking out about car hire! We have 17 nights from Nov 4th (9 weeks!) and nothing booked yet apart from the first night in a B&B close to the airport to chill out before we explore.
We have a rough plan of where to go:
Whale watching location (Ballena Marine National Park, South Pacific coast?) – 2/3 nights
Stop off at Manuel Antonio for 1 night
Travel North to the Monteverde Cloud forest, Santa Elena – 2/3 nights
Travel to La Fortuna, Arenal Volcano – 2/3 nights
Travel to Tortuguero National Park – 2/3 nights
Travel to Limon – 3/4 nights
Travel to San Jose airport to fly home
Do you recommend car hire or do you think we can do something like the above plan via buses? We’re on a budget but would love to drive.
Many thanks in advance!
Sammi says
Hi Emma!
I would personally rent a car as buses will take way too long and you’ll need to take private transport for a couple of the places (Costa ballena and to the dock at Tortuguero) since there aren’t shared shuttles there. It’ll be way more comfortable to rent a car and beginning of November still has really good rates since it’s still low season. For your itinerary since you’re going to so many places, a car would be the best and most efficient way to go since you’re not wasting time waiting around for buses and trying to figure out schedules (there aren’t direct buses to any of your routes) and it’ll end up being more expensive hiring private and shared shuttles.
Gordon says
Are these unlimited km rentals?
Sammi says
Yes, it is unlimited km.
Gordon says
Thanks!
Just booked! Is it necessary to call and provide my credit card if I clicked “reserve”?
yeison says
Hello Gordon,
Yes that would be the best think to do otherwise Adobe will try to contact you
Evan Yan says
Hi I just booked and would love that free cooler if available! Thanks
yeison says
Hello Evan!
I just sent an email to Adobe requesting the cooler, please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet
jt says
If i waive the CDW since I can get it on my credit card, will I have to make a larger deposit.
yeison says
Hello JT!
First of all we would like to thank you for reading our blog, regarding your question the deposit will be the same $1000 even if you declined the CDW. Please let us know if you have any questions.
jt says
Awesome! Thank you for such detailed information about the insurance. It has been so confusing. I will be booking soon 🙂
yeison says
Hello Amy! Thank you for the nice words and for reading our blog. Regarding your question there no rent a car here in Costa Rica that rents a 4×4 for 8 PAX, the biggest ones are up to 7 pax and when you have 7 people in the car the luggage area gets very small.
You can easily find a minivan like the Hyundai H1 that fits 9 passengers plus luggage or get 2 4×4 SUVs.
Amy Kent says
Thanks. We have six people for sure. I think we’d prefer the 4×4. Does Adobe let you rent a car in Peurto Veijo and drop off in San Jose or vice verse? Do they have their larger vehicles available in smaller areas?
yeison says
Hello Amy,
The biggest 4×4’s come with 7 seats, but the last 2 seats are in the “truck” area so if you use both the space for luggage will be way smaller, for 6 adults we don’t recommend to get a 7 passengers SUV because the luggage space get smaller and the 6th person will have to travel with a check in bag next to him and for long trips it will not be comfortable, we recommend this kind of cars when there are no luggage or 5 adults with luggage.
In situations like this you can use a minivan, in Costa Rica most of the travel companies use a Hyundai H1 for their tours, they can hold up to 9 adults with luggage and for 6 adults it will be plenty of space, Adobe has this kind of vans available and you can rent them in Puerto Viejo and return them in San Jose (they is a extra fee to deliver the car at a different office and you make the reservation you can see it under “other charges”).
Please let us know if you have any questions 🙂
Amy Kent says
Thanks for your blog it is awesome! I was wondering if Adobe has any 8 passenger 4×4 rentals? I have seen some on other sites, but wanted to go through your site. If they don’t can you recommend another good company?
Thanks
Frank LaForge says
Hello!
I just booked through Adobe using the link on this page, and I was wondering how I can receive the free cell phone and free cooler. Do I need to give you my reservation number in the comment section here?
Thanks a lot for everything, your blog is very helpful.
yeison says
Hello Mr.LaForge
First of all thank you for reading our blog! I already found your reservation and I already sent an email making sure you get the phone and cooler. Please let us know if you have any questions
Frank LaForge says
Thank you so much!!
Draxz1289 says
Hello,
How to get the free cellphone? Is it after the reservation? Also, by free cell phone you mean SIM card right
yeison says
HI! In order to get the free cell phone rental you have a to add a simple comment in the reservation something like “I want the cell phone” you can request the phone while you are doing the reservation or after (by emailing us), you will get a regular cell phone not a smart phone with a prepaid sim card inside with 1 hours of credit you can put more credit in the phone at any supermarket or cell phone store, by the end of the reservation you will have to return the phone.
Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet
Sara says
Hello, we are planning to rent a car through Adobe for 6 days, but we are debating to get the GPS or portable wifi. We will be traveling from Liberia to Bijagua, Monteverde, and Playa Potrero. Do you have any experience with how well the portable wifi works in those areas? Can we add on the portable wifi the day we get the car or do we have to have it reserved ahead of time?
Also, will Adobe pick up the car directly from our hotel on Playa Potrero free of charge when the car needs to be turned in?
Thank you for your help!
yeison says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for reading our blog! Regarding your question I would recommend you to get the GPS instead of the portable WiFi, the reason why is because recently the main internet provider in Costa Rica limited the amount of data you can download and speed, we used to have unlimited data. However the best option will be to have an international data plan, Samantha has a US plan with T-mobile and she gets unlimited data in Costa Rica and in this way you can use apps like WAZE that works better than the regular GPS’s.
So to make it simple if you have to choose between GPS or WiFi I will go by the GPS but if your provider in your country has an international data plan that is cheaper than renting a GPS it will work better than regular GPS.
There is another option and do what all the locals do (and I do to), you can bring a unlocked smart phone from your country with Google Maps and WAZE apps pre-install then go one of the many stores that sell SIM cards and put like $10 to use on data, when I use google maps or waze to drive I usually spend like $1 a day on data but I will recommend you to check everyday how much money you have left, you can recharge the sim card on almost every single supermarket in the country and if you choose the brand Kolbi you can check by sending a text message to the the number 8888 and message “consumo”.
You can read all about sim cards in Costa Rica here
Please let us know if you have any questions. Have a nice day and thank you again for reading our blog.
Aaron says
Hi Sammi, I have a question about this as well. We are planning to stay at Aloft, west of San Jose and south of Alajuela. Do you know if free car delivery will be provided to this location? TIA!
yeison says
Hello Aaron, I hope you are doing great!
Yes we will have no problem delivering the car at the Aloft Hotel, at not extra cost. The delivery time starts at 8:30 AM in that area. Please let us know if you have any questions
yeison says
Hello Lars, we talked to Adobe this morning and they had an issue with their internet providers and they went off line for almost an hour, everything should be back by now. Thank you for reading Mytanfeet
Lars says
Hi,
We were trying to rent a car, but it seems the fill out form is not working. Do you know how I can rent a car via your discount site?
Quynh Tran says
Hi, I want to rent a car for one or two days to drive from Papayago to La Fortuna. Can Adobe really deliver the car to my hotel (Secrets Papayago) at the specified time or do I need to go pick it up at their office? Thanks!
yeison says
Hi! Adobe will deliver the car at no cost at the Secrets, and then they can pick the car at any hotel in La Fortuna. Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet
Shawna Little says
Hey. The widget/link for the car rental appears to be down. I’ve booked through the link before. Returned to make another booking and it is not working now. Tried on both Chrome and Internet Explorer in case it was the browser. There is an error message saying it is timing out loading…the rest of the page loads fine so I am thinking it is the car rental site that is having issues. Just letting you know in case there is a way you can fix it.
yeison says
Hello Shawna,
I apologize for the inconvenience I just contact Adobe and they told me that are doing some updates on their system I will be emailing you shortly.
Aerance T says
Hi, we have a party of 9 arrive at SJO in late September but will be staying around the Puerto Viejo area. The best option seems to be renting the 9 passenger van. Would the Hyundai H1 be good enough for the 4 hour drive it takes to get there plus driving to attractions? Also, under pickup options, I selected “pick-up vehicle at airport”. Would that mean that an agent waits for us at the arrival then we get shuttled to the office, or the rental vehicle is driven to the airport. Lastly, when we reserve our vehicle, do we pay right away or do we pay when we arrive at SJO.
I would also like to say thanks for making a fantastic Costa Rica travel blog!!! Keep up the awesome work.
Thanks!
yeison says
Hi Aerance,
First of all we would like to thank you for reading our blog! Now regarding your questions, the H1 will be ok for 9 people we have used a H1 many times this year and we have had 9 adults inside no problem, actually the H1 is the car that most of the travel companies use for their tours here. You are correct about the airport, if you select the airport an Adobe representative will be waiting for you at the arrivals area and then take you to the airport office which is located 5 minutes away.
The car rental payment will be done when you pick up the car, nothing is charge up front. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Joshua Cooke says
First, you have the best and most informative site that I have found! Thank you for that. My question/ concern is about the cost of renting a car. I need an automatic 4×4 and have reserved one through your website. I usually rent through National in the states. Checking them out, I can get a similar car for around just less than $900. This is an ‘estimate’. So I need advice on which direction to go. That is a big difference. I would rather book through your website, but the difference is very significant. Any advice?
yeison says
Hello Joshua!
Thank you for the nice words we work every day to bring the best information to our awesome readers. I will be sending you an answer shortly.
Jeff Fagan says
Hi guys!
Just made a reservation through your click through site for a Liberia Airport pick up, I picked the biggest vehicle available…as there is a total of 5 in our party (4 adults 1 kid) but the form shows only 4 fit in the vehicle… should I rent another car also? We are traveling fairly light but still I’m worried the car will be cramped….we are just using the car to get around the various beaches and local sights.. our longer trips will be in our guide’s vehicles…
Warmest regards,
Sammi says
Hi Jeff! The Creta can hold up to 5 adults, it can be cramped if the two adults in the back with the kid are large sized but since little kids don’t take up a lot of space, it can comfortably fit. The back is fairly big too and can fit up to several carry on bags. If you’re just using it to get to the nearby beaches and local places, not for super long drives, it should be fine. I also checked our records and it says you made a quote, not a reservation. If you would like to confirm the quote, please let us know.
Christian says
Hi,
We are looking to visit Las Catalinas in October.
1. Is this even a good idea in the rainy season?? Rainfall seems very high in October.
2.. Should we rent a vehicle? We have been to CR before and are comfortable driving, but haven’t been to this specific area. It is $140 each way for an airport transfer from our hotel, and even with all of the insurance (4WD mini/small SUV), renting a car seems less expensive. It seems there isn’t that much super close to the hotel, but they do have a little shuttle we could make use of. We are using the vacation as a rest, and not so much to pack everything possible into a CR vacation.
Thanks! Your site is awesome!!
Sammi says
Hi Christian! October is indeed one of the rainier months of Costa Rica but in Guanacaste where Las Catalinas is, it is usually not quite as rainy and you will still have clear days. Though it’s hard to predict exactly if one day is going to be rainy or dry, typically it is sunny in the mornings and rainy in the afternoon so I still recommend going.
As for renting a vehicle, the drive from Liberia to Las Catalinas is pretty straightforward and the road is well paved and easy to drive. So I’d recommend renting a car because there is a shuttle to get to Las Catalinas town, but it is still far from other beaches and beach towns like Tamarindo, Conchal, etc. and it will cost a good chunk for a taxi (could be anywhere from $20 and up one way) so I highly recommend renting a car to get around just to visit other beaches in the area.
yeison says
Hello Ryan!
Do you if you are going to Puntarenas the main city? The province of Puntarenas is very big and there are many touristic towns in it, for example Santa Teresa, Mal Pais, Jaco, Quepos, etc. For me as a local Puntarenas is the main city of puntarenas located in the province of Puntarenas.
All the final total you will see in the reservation include all taxes and fees, there are no hidden or extra fees we guarantee you that.
Ryan says
Email sent. Thank you!
yeison says
Got it!
Ryan Birrenkott says
I am looking to rent a car from 8.6.17-8.12.17 we will be traveling from SJO to Puntarenas. What would you recommend? Also, does the total include all insurance taxes and fees?
yeison says
Hello Geoff,
Thank you for your nice comments, I just made a test reservation on the system and I received the confirmation 1 minute after I clicked on confirmed. I am sorry but can you please try to make the reservation again.
Thank you!
yeison says
Hello Patrick!
One of the many benefits that Mytanfeet readers get is free car delivery/pick up to most of the hotels in San Jose.
Geoff Robinson says
Such an amazing blog. Cheers for the great info.
I made a reservation with Adobe. How long does the confirmation email take to be sent? Can i confirm free shuttle from our hotel once the confirmation is sent through?
Patrick says
Hi, I wanted to rent a car but will already be in San Jose. Will Adobe pick me up from my hotel and take me to their office? How would I let them know this?
Allen Abad says
Hello,
Me and my girlfriend are flying in to SJO on July, 27th. Our tentative itinerary is SJO->Arenal->Monteverde->Jaco/Manuel Antonio. What kind of vehicle should we rent? Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi guys, it is highly recommended to have a 4×4 for Monteverde, especially now it’s rainy season it will be necessary. You can see what the road conditions are like for those destinations in this post: Costa Rica road conditions. and for Monteverde: Monteverde road conditions.
yeison says
Hello Sha!
Thank you for reading our blog, can you please contact us with the dates you need the car, as soon as I have it I will send you some available options.
Sha Coleman says
Hi,
We want to rent a car or SUV that seats at least 6, but it doesn’t look like Adobe has larger SUVs. We are driving to Monteverde so I’m assuming an SUV is best. Can you let me know if Adobe has large SUV for rent of if there is another company you recommend?
Thanks.
Pedro says
Hello,
We are crossing the border from Nicaragua to Costa Rica.
We are dropping one car on Nicaragua border and we want to pick up another on the Costa Rica side. Does Adobe have any pickup station at Penas Blancas?
Thanks a lot for the help.
Pedro
Sammi says
Hi Pedro, Adobe doesn’t have an office at Penas Blancas, they can deliver a car there but the fee is very expensive and it is difficult to coordinate the drop off. It will be cheaper and more efficient to go to Liberia city (there are buses from Penas Blancas to Liberia very frequently throughout the day) and have the car delivered to a hotel in Liberia there, or take the bus to Liberia and take a taxi to their office which is 10 minutes from Liberia city.
Jill says
I made a reservation for Adobe rental car on Friday, June 16 and haven’t received an email confirmation yet?
yeison says
Hello Jill,
I found your reservation and I just forward it to you, maybe the confirmation went to spam. Please let us know if everything is ok.
Jill says
Yes, thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Angela, you can check the road conditions for those routes in this post: Costa Rica road conditions. but you can perfectly rent a sedan for those destinations, you don’t necessarily need an SUV.
Angela says
Thanks! I just made a reservation. However, I am curious how much more I will actually be charged than the shown “total,” with all of the additional fees.
yeison says
Hello Angela, Thank you for reading our blog and rent a car with Adobe!
Your final total will be what exactly the amount that you are looking at, Adobe doesn’t have any hidden or extra fees. I just checked your reservation and the only thing that you need to present is a letter from your credit card company saying that they will be covering the car insurance.
We will also make sure you get the cooler. Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you again for reading Mytanfeet.
Angela says
Hi 🙂 A friend and I will be driving from SJO to Fortuna to Manuel Antonio to Puerto Viejo and back to Alajuela. Do you recommend getting an SUV for that route? Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Jay! You can definitely wait to reserve it as September is low season so it’s not going to be sold out right now. I do recommend getting it before your trip the very least and checking at least a few weeks before but you don’t need to reserve it now.
Jay says
Hi Samantha and Yeison,
I’ll be travelling to Potrero in September and I’m looking to rent a SUV from Sep 17-23. How far in advance do you think I should reserve? I could reserve now but I’d rather not 3 months of interest for a reservation during slow season.
Your input is greatly appreciated!
Thank you
Jill says
When trying to rent a car from Adobe where can we pick up the car? At the Airport or Adobe Rent-A-Cars Location? We are flying into SJO. Thanks.
Sammi says
Hi Jill, you can put the Airport and please put your flight information in the comments. THey will pick you up at SJO airport in their free shuttle to take you back to their office to do the paperwork and pick up the car there.
yeison says
Hi! The ride from the airport to Tamarindo is 100% paved. The road is in good conditions and you will find signs all the way until you get to Tamarindo. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Hari says
Hi Samantha and Yeison,
First of all thank you very much for the blog. It is awesome and has been very helpful in planning our trip to Costa Rica. We are planning to visit CR in September and going to stay at JW Marriott in Guanacaste. The nearest Adobe office from there is in Conchal Tamarindo. Do you know if we rent a car, would they be able to drop off/pick-up the car to/from my hotel?
The hotel is about 22 km from their office.
yeison says
Hello Hari!
All Mytanfeet readers get free car delivery at their hotels if the office is close by, The JW Marriot is close enough so you can get the car deliver and pick up at the JW Marriott just add a quick note in the comments when you make the reservation.
Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet.com
Hari says
Thanks Yeison. Just went ahead and reserved from Adobe with above link. Also put in a note to have them drop off/pick up my rental from my hotel (JW in Guanacaste)
Kathryn says
Hi! I’m visiting Guanacaste (Playa Langosta/Tamarindo) in August with my husband and three kids (13,12, & 6). Which car would you recommend? I only saw one SUV that seats more than 4 but the price was very high We can both drive a manual. Also, how is the drive from LIR to Tamarindo area? Are the roads paved? Thanks very much!!
yeison says
Hello Kathryn,
Thank you for reading our blog, The hyundai Tucson or the Hyunday Creta will work perfectly for you guys both cars are for 5 passengers but Adobe recommends the car for 4 Adults, we have use those cars many times before and actually you can fit 5 adults no problem and the car comes with 5 seat beats, is a normal 5 people SUV. In the past we have had some “Big” readers that they couldn’t fit in the car so we all decided to recommend the car for 4 adults.
The Hyundai Tucson is very similar to the Nissan Rogue or the Subaru Forester (in size and capacity), the Creta is like the Ford Escape.
Thank you again for reading Mytanfeet and please let us know if you have any questions 🙂
Kathryn says
Thanks for the info. I love the blog. How’s the ride from LIR to Tamarindo area? Are the roads paved? Thanks.
yeison says
Hello Mariel!
Thank you for reading our blog, can you please contact us with the info of the car you are looking we will be more than happy to check the rates with Adobe and try to get you the best possible deal.
Mariel Toribio says
Thanks for all of this! I had checked prices yesterday through your widget and then went to place the rental today, but there has been a nearly $30 price increase. Would that correct or something off? Thanks!
Jill says
Hello,
One more question, does Adobe offer any vehicles that will fit 6 people? I don’t see a vehicle option for over 5 people?
Sammi says
Hi Jill, the Mitsubisho Montero Sport, Hyundai Gran Santa Fe, TOyota Prado fits up to 7 people. They write 5 for the adults and luggages but those cars fit up to 7.
Jill says
I see a Hyundai Santa Fe 4*4 AT/Group H is that the same? I don’t see the Gran one as an option or any of the others for 6/24-6/29 drop and pick off from SJO.
yeison says
Hi jill I am checking with adobe HQ, I will be sending you an email shortly.
yeison says
Hi Jill we found you a car please check your email 🙂
Jill says
The only one I see is Hyundai Santa Fe 4*4 AT/Group H. Is this the one?
Jill says
Hello,
I am looking to rent a car from SJO airport and drive to our location we are staying in La Fortuna, Arenal area. How can I find out the address for the Fortuna, San Carlos location that is an option on Adobe to drop car off at?
yeison says
Hello Sandy, can you be so kind to let us what kind of car you want, pick up and drop locations, times and dates, thank you.
yeison says
Hello Jennifer, the power went out yesterday in the afternoon and Adobe’s servers went offline. Everything is back now and working normally so you can visit our Costa Rica car rental page
yeison says
Hello Jill. You have some options to get from the SJO Airport to La Fortuna. You can choose from a shared shuttle (approximate cost $54 per person) or take the public bus to San Jose and then take the public bus to La Fortuna which would be way cheaper. A bus from San Jose to Fortuna is like $5 and they have one at 8:40 AM and 11:30 AM. If you are considering taking a Domestic flight you can check with Sansa, they are the best domestic airline. It is more expensive with a local flight but a lot faster. If you book a shared shuttle, they can only drop off at hotels. We have a partnership with Interbus to give 10% off our readers you can check here: Costa Rica shuttles They usually have one at 8:30 AM and 2:30 PM. Or take a private shuttle which costs $200.
You can also rent a car and drive. We have a car rental discount you can check here: Costa Rica car rental discount
Jill says
We are arriving into SJO at 7am and the rest of our party arrives at noon that same day. We have one van rental and they will be picking that up when they arrive. We are staying in Arenal area. What is best way to get there? Should we take a flight, then is there easily transportation at airport in La Fortuna to get to house we are staying or should we rent an additional car and drive ourselves, OR hire a driver from SJO to house in Arenal area? Just looking for cheapest way to get us there after a long flight.
Jennifer says
Is the widget currently not working?
Sandy Huntington says
How do I go about getting a quote on a rental for June 13th to June 20th?
yeison says
Hello Stephani, I just got off the Phone with Adobe and they are looking into the problem, you are not doing something wrong. Can you please contact us with the type of car you need, dates, pick up locations. I will be more than happy to send you a quote ASAP. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for reading Mytanfeet.com
Stephanie says
I’m trying to book my reservation and when I get to the end, I keep getting this error message: “Error al generar reservacion: InsertaReservacion[7]Total de factura invalido.” I’ve tried on a laptop computer, on a phone, on a tablet and on a desktop computer in both Chrome and Firefox. Help? Am I doing something wrong?
yeison says
Hello Steven, Thank you for reading our blog can you please email us the pick up and drop off location and type of car you are looking for.
steven ketchbaw says
Hi,
We are going to costa rica via liberia from august 9th to dec. 16th. We saw on adobes web site a comparison between rental and leasing but when clicking on link it turned to espanol. Do you have any suggestion or feedback in exploring a leasing option thru your site? Thanks!
Heather Bickle says
Hello!! We are trying to book via your link for Adobe but there is an error saying something about invoice error…. should we call them and reserve via the phone? We are from Canada- should I call the 8558611250?
Sammi says
Hi Heather, sorry the widget was undergoing some maintenance. Should be working now! Please let us know if it is still not working for you.
yeison says
Hello Kevin!
Thank you for reading our blog. Regarding your question, one of the benefits for all Mytanfeet readers is that Adobe can deliver the car and pick up at hotels nearby their offices. They have an office near Tamarindo and another one close to San Joaquín de flores which is near SJO airport. What you need to do is specify the names of the hotels in the comment section of the reservation and that’s it. They only thing is that Adobe and most of the rent a cars here in Costa Rica charge a little extra fee when you have a different pick up and drop off location.
Hemang Thakor says
Hi there, I have a reservation with the Adobe car rental for tomorrow from the SJO airport. Do we have to let them know to come pick us up at the airport or is the shuttle running every 30 mins or so? Confirmation number is 5*****. Please let me know soon. Thanks.
yeison says
Hello Hemang! Adobe rent a car has a representative all the time at the airport, you will find him at the the arrivals area where everyone is holding a sign. Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet.
Kevin Zimmerman says
You have my interest piqued. My family and I are arriving in Liberia on June 24, 2017 and will most likely be taking a shuttle to Tamarindo where we will stay until July 2. We are staying at the Diria Resort. Is there an Adobe location close where we can pick up a Santa Fe 4X4? Want to do a little exploring.
We will then want to drive it to San Joaquin de Flores where we will be dropping my daughter off for a study abroad program and stay a couple nights there. Is there a close location where we could drop the car off the night before our flight leaves back to Denver on July 4th? So we would likely want to drop it off the evening of July 3rd. Then hopefully get a ride back to the hotel we are staying in San Joaquin de Flores (Vista Los Volcanes). Then catch our 6:30 am flight on the 4th.
I really admire what you two are doing.
yeison says
Hello Aaron!
Regarding your question, there will be is a small fee to drop off the car in a different office. It is usually around $20-$30 but it depends on the offices. If you are thinking about making two reservations, it will be a great idea if you are planning to stay in Tamarindo (Usually people that stay in Tamarindo explore different places like Conchal, Avellanas, etc). If you are planning to visit different beaches it will better to keep the car since there aren’t really any buses that go to the other beaches often.
Aaron Dehghan says
Hey Guys,
I wondered if I could ask a few questions regarding hiring a car in June this year. We want to hire a 4×4 to drive from La Fortuna, to Monteverde, then to Tamarindo. We will stay in Tamarindo for 3 days and I don’t think we will need the car on those days. We are then going to drive to Manuel Antonio where we will get a plane back to San Jose. I wondered whether I will be charged for dropping the car off initially in Tamarindo having picked it up in La Fortuna and then the same thing when I drop the car off in Manuel Antonio having picked it up in Tamarindo?
Do you think it is a good idea to do two bookings (to save a little money and not have to worry about the car for a few days) or do you think this is too much hassle?
Thank you for your help!
Alison says
Hi is it possible to pickup a rental car from sierpe, CR?
Sammi says
Hi Alison, yes they can pick up the car there. Please leave a note in the comment section that you’d like to pick up at Sierpe, they do have an extra fee for picking up there since their closest rental office is in Uvita and Sierpe is quite a ways away.
Sammi says
Hi Jyotin, I don’t see a confirmation email, can you please email us your rental information, thank you and we apologize for the inconvenience!
Jyotin Shah says
I made a reservation 24 hours ago but have received no reply or confirmation. Can you please help – reservation was done under the email of jyotins@gmail.com
THanks
JS
Charity says
I just made a reservation and it states at the bottom to provide cc# to guarantee the booking. Do I need to call the office to provide my credit card details? Obviously I’m not emailing it them for security reasons. If so, what is their local number, as I live in CR? Thanks for the great offer! I expect great and easy service based on your experience.
Sammi says
You can call them and give your CC details over the phone, this is their local phone number: 506 2542 4800
Cassy says
Hi, thanks for this guide and this discount! 🙂
Do the credit card with the $1000 deposit should be with the driver’s name or it can be my passenger’s card?
Thank you!
yeison says
Hello Cassy,
Yes you can do that, you can call our friends at Adobe at 1-855-861-1250.(Monday to Friday from 7:30am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 12pm) provide them your reservation number and tell them that you will use a different card for the deposit. They will add a note to the reservation in order for the agent that deliver the car will know the situation. Please let us know if you have any questions
Monika Gonzalez says
Hey! We are traveling next week to Costa Rica. I was wondering if you knew the road conditions from La Fortuna to Monteverde and if 4×4 is required or if a 4×2 would be okay.
Thanks for your help and your blog has been amazingly helpful in planning our trip!
Monika
yeison says
Hello Monika, Thank you for the nice words 🙂
Regarding your question if you rent a mid size SUV 4×2 like the Hyundai Creta you will be perfectly fine, there are some sections of the road to Monteverde whre you will find gravel, you can still do it on a sedan but you will have to go very slow.
Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for reading Mytanfeet
yeison says
Hello Jenny!
We will be more than happy to help you please contact us and we will do all changes for you. Thank you!
yeison says
Hello Jasmin,
I am pretty sure we can arrange something, can you please contact us, we have arranged earlier pick ups in the past. Thank you!
Jasmin Oswald says
Hello!
We are planning on renting a car with Adobe through you guys 🙂 When we leave CR in early June to go back home we have an early morning flight and it looks like the earliest we can drop off the car is 5am, which is probably too late for us. Is there an option to drop off the keys somewhere? Otherwise, we would probably have to drop off the car the night before. Thanks for your feedback!
jenny says
Hi, We made a car reservation through your site with Adobe and need to change the reservation but the Adobe site doesn’t seem to have that as an option. When I type in the reservation number and name, nothing happens. Any way you can help us with this? Thank you so much! We want to upgrade the car, dates stay the same.
Sammi says
Hi Libby, unfortunately debit cards are not accepted. This is because of the deposit as it can take 1-2 months to get the deposit back whereas a credit card funds are released within 24-72 hours. You can try to apply for a credit card before you go and the deposit is $1000, Adobe doesn’t accept debit cards so you won’t be able to make the reservation.
Libby Knutson says
Hi, thanks so much for all the helpful info you guys have done!! So much help!!
We have made reservations for a car and had planned on using our debit card (bc we dont have a credit card) and on the confirmation it states no debit cards. Most debit cards are visa debit cards….do you know or has anyone else ran into this issue and what we could do?
Also, we are flying into San Jose. Is the car rental pick up located at the airport?
Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi there! Your blog is impeccable – not sure if I could make sense of renting a vehicle in a foreign place without you.
I am hoping to rent from Adobe as I am confident from your posts that I will not have the wool pulled over my eyes. Unfortunately, when I got to book the website states no vehicles available. I have read the comments where you state that there may be cancellations and that you have the ability to check the database, would you be able to check for April 9th afternoon pickup and April 16th morning drop off in Liberia? We are 2 travelling and are not picky on the details but a 4×4 would be preferred (based on my research reading through your blog). Thanks for your time!
Sammi says
Hi Olivia, we will check 🙂
Jane says
Hi! I stumbled upon your blog researching for a trip with my best friend in late April to May. This is suuuuuper helpful! I wanted to look at the pricing and definitely book through your site but the widget says, “error please try again” and I’m unable to click anything on it. Please advise, thank you for all you do!!!
Sammi says
Hi Jane, can you clear your cookies or try another browser? The widget is working now, thanks.
AC Linstead says
THANK YOU Yeison and Samantha!!!
I am sitting on a plane about to depart to LIR. Last night during overnight layover in USA while already en route to LIR I realized that I had not actually ever received an email confirm from Adobe for my car rental. I reached out urgently through your ‘contact us’ form. You;
+ Responded immediately;
+ Checked the Adobe data base and verified that they had somehow screwed up/I was not in there.
+ Gathered my information in order to secure a new last minute reservation (which the adobe link would no longer allow me to make b/c I was inside 24 hour arrival window)
+ Negotiated with Adobe through the evening hours while keeping me constantly updated through the process
+ Confirmed this morning that my reservation was all set and emailed the confirmation once you had it.
Wow! You guys are awesome. I have read through your very helpful ebook. I will be recommending you to anyone who will listen! Thank you.
Best,
AC
Sammi says
Hi Hayden, yes if you don’t see any on the page where you choose your car, it means they are all booked up. Can you email us your dates, pick up and drop off location to web @ mytanfeet . com and we’ll ask Adobe to check their system, sometimes they have last minute cancellations.
Hayden says
I am looking to book from April 13th to 29th picking up at the airport, and there are no options available for 4×4 vehicle, only the Hyundai I10. Does this mean they are booked out?
Sheena says
Hello! First off this blog post is so helpful. THANK YOU!
Second, the only thing I am concerned with is the “or similar” note when choosing a vehicle. I just don’t want to go into it thinking I’m getting an Automatic Hyundai Tucson 4×4 (that’s the plan although I haven’t reserved it yet) and wind up getting their definition of a “similar” vehicle, especially since it isn’t explicitly explained and there is not a list of possible vehicles anywhere on their website.
Any light you can shed on this would be great! I just want some peace of mind. My friend is already stressing over all of the insurance stuff, haha.
yeison says
Hello Sheena,
Thank you so much for your great question I will talk to Adobe rent a car about it. Regarding the Hyundai Tucson 95% of the times the client will get a Hyundai Tucson the “similar” for this car is the Kia Sportage 2016 usually the “similar” cars have the same capacity of passengers, type of engine, transmission and size. In some cases our readers have received a higher class car.
If you would like to be 100% sure you will get the Tucson, just email us and we will make sure you will get the Tucson.
Thank you for you comment and do no hesitate to contact us if you have any questions
Sheena says
Thank you so much Yeison! I just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t be some crazy difference in vehicle size/performance. I appreciate it! 🙂
Sammi says
The Hyundai i10 is a great compact car for 2 people.
If your friend is there with you when they take the Credit card information, he should be able to use it and give us authorization for it.
You can pick up a car in San Jose and drop it off in Puerto Viejo, there will be a drop off fee for different locations and the rental must be a minimum of 3 days but you can certainly rent it for your trip starting in San Jose and leave it in Puerto Viejo.
Joao says
Hey guys, what an amazing and helpful blog you have here. Its really helping me planing my vacions on your beautiful country. thank you so much for this. I have just a couple of questions if you dont mind to help me. First im planing to rent a car for me and my girlfriend on san jose aeroport for 9 days. We are thinking to go to tamarindo spend four days there then go to arenal spend like tree days there and then go back to san jose. I already spoke with sammi and she advice us to rent a small car since the roads are good paved. So i check the availibility on our site with adobe and i found a hyundai i10 sedan with a good price, do you think this car is good for us two to do this trip? And i have a problem with the credit card because i dont have any but a friend of mine (he lives in san jose) will help us coming with us to rent the car agency and giving his card, do you think its ok? then after this 9 days trip the group grows and we became a 5person group so we need to chance car. With this group of five we wanna rent a car to spend the weekend in san jose and then travel until puerto viejo leave the car there and travel to panama. What is the best opcion for us to this second trip? Once again thank you so much for this incredible blog.. Im already a fan of you and off course i already dowload your book with tips is very helpful thanks!! 😉
yeison says
Hello Tiffany!
Thank you so much for the nice words, I just checked with Adobe and we don’t see a reservation under your name or email. Can you please try to make the reservation again?
Thanks!
Suzanne Kelly says
Through Adobe do you pay when you pick up or drop off?
yeison says
Hello Suzanne,
Adobe will pre authorized the payment and then they will charge the money at the end of the contract. Please let us know if you have more questions.
Tiffany says
Hi! I tried to book through your discount but haven’t received an e-mail confirmation.. was hoping you could help me look into that! I really appreciate all of your information and guidance- really looking forward to my two week trip once I return home from a deployment. Couldn’t think of a better place to go!
yeison says
Hello Kelly!
First of all we would like to thank you for the kind words, we work hard every day to bring the best information to our awesome readers :). Regarding your questions you can call them at this tool free number 1-855-861-1250, once someone pick up the phone you can tell them that you are a Mytanfeet reader in this way you will get all our benefits and rates. I checked the description and this is a definitely a mistake the Hyundai Tucson is for 5 passengers we have driving this car in different occasions and we are 100% sure is for 5 people.
If you would like to we can also check to see if they have a bigger car available, just email us with the dates and pickup/drop off locations and we will be more than happy to check for you sometimes they have last minute cancellations and they don’t update their system right away.
You can also go ahead and make the reservation online, you can be 100% sure the Hyundai Tucson is for 5 people. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Kelly Pearce says
Awesome, thank you for your quick reply Yeison that does make us feel better! I will go ahead and book the vehicle through mytanfeet site and just note that we do have 5 passengers in the comments in case they decide to give us a “similar” vehicle that may only seat 4. But hopefully it will be the Hyundai Tucson since we know it fits 5 for sure : ) Thanks again and we look forward to using some of your tips and advice for the areas we’ll be traveling!
Pura Vida!
Kelly
yeison says
Great! I see your reservation I will make sure you get the Tucson.
Kelly Pearce says
Hi, how do we contact Adobe rental directly? We need to book a 4×4 that seats 5 people. I used your blog to request a quote on the Hyundai Tucson 4×4 or “similar”. The specs only show that the vehicle seats 4, with no other vehicle option that seats greater than that. However when I look up the specs for a Tucson on the Hyundai website, it shows the vehicle seats 5. So we’d like to confirm that we can rent a large enough vehicle before we book it. My husband speaks fluent Spanish and is willing to contact them, but we just can’t find a contact number. Thanks for your fantastic blog by the way! Wished we had read your blog the first time we rented a car in Costa Rica!
Matt says
Hello,
I was just curious if we can get away with driving a car instead of a 4×4 suv for our trip in late August. 2 adults and we are flying into SJO and then going to Arenal, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio. Also, do we have to let Adobe know we will have a 2nd driver or can that be taken care of when we pick it up?
Sammi says
Hi Matt, I highly recommend getting a 4×4. August is in the middle of rainy season and the road to Monteverde is very bumpy and kind of steep. Since you may run into rain and the road is not in good shape, I suggest getting a 4×4.
A free 2nd driver is automatically added to every reservation and we actually offer 2 free second drivers 🙂
Matt says
Thank you:)
Lidia says
Hi Guys,
Thank so much for the detail information on car rentals, and things to do in Costa Rica. I will be going in March 22nd and I want to know if Adobe accepts debit cards.
Please advise
Regards
Lidia
Sammi says
Hi Lidia, they don’t accept debit or discovery, only credit cards.
Tara K Iyer says
Hey guys!
Your blog is so great! Thanks so much for all the wonderful advice. I’m planning a trip to Costa Rica at the end of the month (March 25th-April 2nd). In terms of our itinerary, we’d like to pick up the car on March 25th at SJO and then we’re driving to Arenal/Monteverde for a few days and then plan on driving to Samara beach for a few days then finally Playa Hermosa on 4/1 because we’re departing from Liberia airport on 4/2. Would it be possible for us to pick the car up at SJO on 3/25 and then have Adobe pick the car up from our hotel in Playa Hermosa on 4/1 (as we would like to take a shuttle from Playa Hermosa to the airport in Liberia because of a few of us have different flight times). Thanks so much for all your help!!!!
All the best,
Tara
Sammi says
Hi Tara, yes that is possible. Adobe has a free shuttle to pick you up from SJO airport to their office to pick up the car there (they can’t deliver the car to SJO due to traffic regulation and airport police) and they can pick up your car at Playa Hermosa in Guanacaste. There will be a fee for different pick up and drop off locations but they can pick up the car from your hotel in Hermosa.
If you need recommendations for airport transfer companies, we’d be happy to help you with that as well 🙂
Tara says
Hi Sammi,
Thanks so much for the quick reply! I would love recommendations for airport transfer companies! Also, if I would like to book through the widget you’ve provided, I should still choose the “airport pick-up” option as that would include transfer from the airport to the Adobe rent-a-car office, correct? And then when I pick the car up, I would at that point give them my hotel information for Playa Hermosa?
Thanks again so much!!!
Sammi says
Hi Tara, you can choose SJO airport and then the office option. Automatically Adobe has the free shuttle to take clients from SJO airport to their office. And then in the comments, please write that which hotel you will like the car to be picked up at and what time. We will check the latest time they can pick up the car.
I just emailed you regarding the airport shuttle 🙂
Pato says
Hola Sammy y Yeison,
Thank you for making the car rental process a whole lot clearer! Lot’s of helpful information here.
I would like to go ahead and book through the widget on your site though i’m wondering if it’s possible to be charged in Canadian dollars instead of USD? This would save me conversion fees on my credit card.
Gracias!
yeison says
Hello Pato,
I already send an email to their financial department to if that is possible, I will be emailing you as soon as I get the answer. thank you!
Ellen Himmelstein says
Hello,
First off I would like to say that your blog is wonderful and I don’t know how I would have planned my CR trip without it!
I reserved a car from Adobe about a week ago and received a confirmation and thought everything was set. I did not notice at the bottom of the email that it said “to guarantee a reservation we require your credit card number. If we do not receive this information within 24 hours after the reservation we will proceed to cancel it.” Since I did not see this, I did not send in my card information….does this mean my reservation has been cancelled and I will need to book again? Is there any way I can send them my information now and everything will be alright?
I depart on March 1st, so there isn’t much time to get this figured out….please help!
Thank you,
Ellen
yeison says
Hello Ellen,
I hope you are great! I just check your reservation and everything is 100% confirmed I will be emailing you shortly with the confirmation, but no worries everything is fine.
Thank you for reading our blog!
K says
Hello, I wanted to rent a car and was checking the price. But it’s only 0.87/day cheaper than the regular price at Adobe website?
Sammi says
What days and car are you looking for? Some dates depending on the season may not reflect a huge discount if it’s a major holiday or peak season which are set by Adobe.
Luis says
Hi,
I’m flying into to SJO for a day trip. The site states I have to book 1 day in advance. I’ll be arriving in San Jose Airport around 1:30 PM and would like to pick the car up around 2:30 PM. Any way you could help? I’m sorry for the short notice.
Thanks!
yeison says
Hi Luis, please check your email and thank you for reading Mytanfeet
Diana says
Hi there!
We have a couple of questions:
1) We are arriving at LIR and want to pick up our rental from there and drive from Arenal/Montverde to Tamarindo. Would you recommending having a car in Tamarindo, or is it easy to get around via public transportation/taxi? We will likely only be visiting Playa Grande and Playa Conchal when in Tamarindo.
2) If we rent with Adobe, do they pick up from Airbnb locations or hotels only?
My friend and I are visiting Costa Rica at the end of the month, and have found your blog very useful – thank you in advance for your thoughts!
Sammi says
Hi Diana, if you’re only visiting Grande and Conchal, there is a shuttle from Tamarindo to Conchal that leaves and returns 3 times a day and costs $6 one way. To Grande, you can also take a shuttle or taxi so you don’t really need a car in Tamarindo if that’s all you want to do.
Adobe can only pick up from hotels for security reasons so if you guys can find out the closest hotel to your Airbnb, they can pick up from there.
Diana says
Thanks Sammi!
One last question – I found a hotel near our Airbnb, and will request they pick the car up from there. Do you know roughly what the extra fee for that is? We are picking the car off at LIR and dropping it off in Tamarindo.
yeison says
Hello Diana! there will be no extra charge for all Mytanfeet readers that are picking up the car in Liberia and returning (or pick up) the car in Tamarindo/Conchal/Flamingo there no extra fees we just need to know the name of the hotel you will be at.
Diana says
Thank you for the fast response :). Much appreciated.
yeison says
Hello Bob!
Yes, no problem one of the many benefits Mytanfeet readers have is Free deliveries and pick ups and The Apartotel La Sabana is close to Adobe Office so it will be perfect! The best way to get the discounts automatically is by making the reservation online but if you would like to make the reservation the day before over the phone you can call Adobe rent a car reservations number 2542-4800 (this is a Costa Rica phone number) and tell them that you are a Mytanfeet reader and that you want to get the discounted rate otherwise they will give you their normal rate. They also have a Toll Free number for the USA/Canada 1-855-861-1250.
Please let us know if you have any questions
Bob says
We are flying into San Jose and shuttling to Apartotel La Sabana for the night, can we pick up a car close to there ? we don’t want to get it at the airport if we don’t have to. how do I get the discounts you speak if if I don’t reserve a car before I arrive?
Bob says
If I make a reservation on line what location do I choose that is close to Apertotel La Sabana?
Sammi says
Hi Bob, you can choose San Jose and then in the comments, please write you would like the car at Apartohotel La Sabana and we will make sure the Adobe team gets the information.
J. W. says
Thank you for your great article.
On Adobe’s site I have a few questions on their quote.
Why can’t we see the break down on the price? Does it include the airport concession fees, Environmental fee, and the license plate fee? What does the Car protection offer? Is that the mandatory SLI/TPL? does is also cover CDW? Does it include taxes? some car rental quotes have taxes added.
I am trying to make this as clear as possible so I am not surprised when I show up by having more fees added at the agency.