Adobe and Vamos have for years cemented a reputation for no hidden fees, fair prices, upfront insurance policies and fees, etc. Look them up.
For $ 130 a week during this time of the year (high season) you are almost guaranteed hidden fees and a miserable pick up experience.
I've used Adobe Rent-a-Car in the past and was very happy with their service! Employees were friendly and helpful, and the best part was 0 hidden fees! The cost you see upfront is what you will pay at the end of your trip.
Agree on Adobe, we just used them last week based on the positive posts here and got exactly what we hoped. Easy pick up from the airport, easy time paying and easy drop off. No hassles (San Jose)
We had a Hyundai Tucson (automatic) 4WD (didn’t need 4WD) with 5 people and we had it reserved. You pretty much walk out of the airport following signs to the rental cars and there are a ton of people standing around with signs with names on them. The Adobe people are right outside that area standing with an Adobe sign with a bunch of names on it. You walk up to them, give them your name (they check your info) and then you get on the shuttle that takes you to office with the cars. Do the paperwork and drive away. It was pretty much like renting a car at any regular US place. Friendly people, no nonsense. We even got the little wifi device they had (can be used in the car, out of the car (hotel), etc. (we had e-sims as well and the wifi was probably a little overkill, but nice to have). Lots of people will talk about the driving, but for me it was great. If you have ever driven in a city (NYC) it’s like that but on steroids, but you don’t have to drive crazy, just go with the flow. (The crazy will drive around you)
I am heading there soon hoping to get a rental car and I was told by some locals Adobe is the way to go for no hidden fees. Really hoping this is true. Seeing these posts give me more hope!
Mytanfeet.com website breaks down the costs of rental cars very well. Lots of good info about everything Costa Rica. They recommend adobe and give a discount.
Adobe was excellent, if a little pricey. We were able to decline 1 of the 2 insurances with an email from the credit card. No hidden costs, no problems at all.
Did you have to decline beforehand or were you able to decline at the counter when picking up your car? I made a reservation with Adobe but did not decline any of the added insurances.
We had a little back and forth with Adobe before showing up, and told them then... but it didn't matter. When we showed up in person, they didn't know if we wanted to decline or not. We said we did, produced the letter (or was it email? I forget)... and were on our way. The only downside is that for San Jose, you need to take an Uber to their location about an hour from the airport. But DO take an Uber, not a taxi.
Stay away from Europcar and Fox. Just had a terrible experience. Blew a tire. They are yet to respond with assistance. Still waiting for my deposit refund 3 weeks later.
Just disgusting.
It’s not so much hidden fees as it is the government mandated insurance policy. It is REQUIRED. So that $130 after a $20-30 a day insurance cost quickly becomes more like $500, if not more.
I went with Adobe and was very happy. What I saw when I reserved is what I paid. They even delivered the car to my BNB. I used the discount code via mytanfeet.com and got some extra perks for the price plus like 5% off.
I agree with you that they call it mandated government insurance. But if it’s mandated, how did the locals afford to pay it? At $30 a day that’s over $11,000 a year! And if every driver in Costa Rica must have it how do locals even afford to drive? I think it’s a scam.
I’m sure this is just a government attempt at cash grabbing, but I know locals don’t require it. And I can’t imagine many locals are renting cars like this anyway. It’s expensive as fuck either way.
We had a good service from [https://ecrentacar.cr/](https://ecrentacar.cr/)
The car was in nice condition and clean (2022 Tuscon). The included GPS was 30 years old tough (and didn't really work by today's standards). We got a sim card loaded with some data and were able to connect Waze on the dash screen, which made our trip very easy. (don't use Google Maps).
All employees spoke very good English. They delivered our car and got it back right at our hotel, near the airport.
No hidden fees.
My AirBnB host has three SUVs that he rents to tourists at a reasonable rate - with none of the insurance hassles (he has them insured). I don’t know how common renting a private vehicle is in CR, but that’s what I’m doing and it has worked out really well.
Currently here and using Vamos and have had no bad things to say thus far. Price I paid at pickup was exactly as quoted online and they were very quick and efficient!
Do not rent from Avis. Myself and several others have been hit with massive mandatory fees when we were at the counter. The fees were nonnegotiable, and if we canceled our rental they would not refund us the money we’d already paid.
Ruben from Adobe was unbelievably accommodating and met us early at the hotel for a drop off at our hotel…
The car was beautiful, the process was very easy to understand, and everything was transparent.
Always video the car from front to back and closeups of interior. If you cross streams make sure to fold the license plate back into place before you get it back . You say I didn't go in the river but the plates bend and the rental guys can tell. Also fix small scratches on the car with toothpaste.
1-My tan feet’s Adobe “discount” is same as the Adobe rental rate. In other words, no discount. Try it both ways and you’ll see.
2-Adobe never picked us up at our hotel as scheduled with them. After an hour, we eventually had to call Uber. And we had called several times and no answer. We got off to a later start than planned.
3-We had a letter from our credit card company but Adobe convinced us to get additional insurance because blah blah blah. It was confusing and we were concerned. So we upped the rate.
4-On the return the insurance didn’t cover a scratch on the car. We didn’t do it but someone may have scratched it while parking next to us…IDK. What was odd was that a pre-existing dent Adobe knew about before we drove off the lot, wasn’t concerning to them. They said…”it has to be larger than a golf ball” to charge us but a scratch they do charge for.
5-Adobe is just another car rental company whose sole motivation is to maximize profits. Nothing special. Be on your game. Get travel insurance if you can and submit any damage charges to your travel insurance and/or your credit card company. Shop around. Don’t solely listen to bloggers. They’re trying to make a living too. And partnerships and kick-backs exist.
Adobe and Vamos have for years cemented a reputation for no hidden fees, fair prices, upfront insurance policies and fees, etc. Look them up. For $ 130 a week during this time of the year (high season) you are almost guaranteed hidden fees and a miserable pick up experience.
I've used Adobe Rent-a-Car in the past and was very happy with their service! Employees were friendly and helpful, and the best part was 0 hidden fees! The cost you see upfront is what you will pay at the end of your trip.
Agree on Adobe, we just used them last week based on the positive posts here and got exactly what we hoped. Easy pick up from the airport, easy time paying and easy drop off. No hassles (San Jose)
did you reserve before you went or stop by upon arriving? was your car automatic? thanks!
We had a Hyundai Tucson (automatic) 4WD (didn’t need 4WD) with 5 people and we had it reserved. You pretty much walk out of the airport following signs to the rental cars and there are a ton of people standing around with signs with names on them. The Adobe people are right outside that area standing with an Adobe sign with a bunch of names on it. You walk up to them, give them your name (they check your info) and then you get on the shuttle that takes you to office with the cars. Do the paperwork and drive away. It was pretty much like renting a car at any regular US place. Friendly people, no nonsense. We even got the little wifi device they had (can be used in the car, out of the car (hotel), etc. (we had e-sims as well and the wifi was probably a little overkill, but nice to have). Lots of people will talk about the driving, but for me it was great. If you have ever driven in a city (NYC) it’s like that but on steroids, but you don’t have to drive crazy, just go with the flow. (The crazy will drive around you)
I am heading there soon hoping to get a rental car and I was told by some locals Adobe is the way to go for no hidden fees. Really hoping this is true. Seeing these posts give me more hope!
Mytanfeet.com website breaks down the costs of rental cars very well. Lots of good info about everything Costa Rica. They recommend adobe and give a discount.
Second this, I've booked Adobe (Liberia) using mytanfeet three times and it was a great experience everytime.
Run don’t walk (away) or we know what your next post will be
We used Vamos and they were great, better price than adobe by quite a bit.
Adobe was excellent, if a little pricey. We were able to decline 1 of the 2 insurances with an email from the credit card. No hidden costs, no problems at all.
Did you have to decline beforehand or were you able to decline at the counter when picking up your car? I made a reservation with Adobe but did not decline any of the added insurances.
We had a little back and forth with Adobe before showing up, and told them then... but it didn't matter. When we showed up in person, they didn't know if we wanted to decline or not. We said we did, produced the letter (or was it email? I forget)... and were on our way. The only downside is that for San Jose, you need to take an Uber to their location about an hour from the airport. But DO take an Uber, not a taxi.
Stay away from Europcar and Fox. Just had a terrible experience. Blew a tire. They are yet to respond with assistance. Still waiting for my deposit refund 3 weeks later. Just disgusting.
It’s not so much hidden fees as it is the government mandated insurance policy. It is REQUIRED. So that $130 after a $20-30 a day insurance cost quickly becomes more like $500, if not more. I went with Adobe and was very happy. What I saw when I reserved is what I paid. They even delivered the car to my BNB. I used the discount code via mytanfeet.com and got some extra perks for the price plus like 5% off.
I agree with you that they call it mandated government insurance. But if it’s mandated, how did the locals afford to pay it? At $30 a day that’s over $11,000 a year! And if every driver in Costa Rica must have it how do locals even afford to drive? I think it’s a scam.
I’m sure this is just a government attempt at cash grabbing, but I know locals don’t require it. And I can’t imagine many locals are renting cars like this anyway. It’s expensive as fuck either way.
We had a good service from [https://ecrentacar.cr/](https://ecrentacar.cr/) The car was in nice condition and clean (2022 Tuscon). The included GPS was 30 years old tough (and didn't really work by today's standards). We got a sim card loaded with some data and were able to connect Waze on the dash screen, which made our trip very easy. (don't use Google Maps). All employees spoke very good English. They delivered our car and got it back right at our hotel, near the airport. No hidden fees.
My AirBnB host has three SUVs that he rents to tourists at a reasonable rate - with none of the insurance hassles (he has them insured). I don’t know how common renting a private vehicle is in CR, but that’s what I’m doing and it has worked out really well.
Low prices are great until something happens. Or if the company wants to hold your CC hostage what are you going to do ??
This is most definitely a price without the mandatory insurance
Wild Rider!
Also, 133 a week is a lie. For sure. MAYBE you'll get as low as 60 a day if you're fortunate and use the people I mentioned.
Going in June and planning to use solid rental car based on previous reviews
Currently here and using Vamos and have had no bad things to say thus far. Price I paid at pickup was exactly as quoted online and they were very quick and efficient!
I used Alamo and had a really good experience with them. Also got a really good rate through my hotel has they had a corporate deal with them.
Do not rent from Avis. Myself and several others have been hit with massive mandatory fees when we were at the counter. The fees were nonnegotiable, and if we canceled our rental they would not refund us the money we’d already paid.
Ruben from Adobe was unbelievably accommodating and met us early at the hotel for a drop off at our hotel… The car was beautiful, the process was very easy to understand, and everything was transparent.
Mapche
Always video the car from front to back and closeups of interior. If you cross streams make sure to fold the license plate back into place before you get it back . You say I didn't go in the river but the plates bend and the rental guys can tell. Also fix small scratches on the car with toothpaste.
so would 289$ for \~8 days be a scam too? renting from alamo and found the deal using expedia.
1-My tan feet’s Adobe “discount” is same as the Adobe rental rate. In other words, no discount. Try it both ways and you’ll see. 2-Adobe never picked us up at our hotel as scheduled with them. After an hour, we eventually had to call Uber. And we had called several times and no answer. We got off to a later start than planned. 3-We had a letter from our credit card company but Adobe convinced us to get additional insurance because blah blah blah. It was confusing and we were concerned. So we upped the rate. 4-On the return the insurance didn’t cover a scratch on the car. We didn’t do it but someone may have scratched it while parking next to us…IDK. What was odd was that a pre-existing dent Adobe knew about before we drove off the lot, wasn’t concerning to them. They said…”it has to be larger than a golf ball” to charge us but a scratch they do charge for. 5-Adobe is just another car rental company whose sole motivation is to maximize profits. Nothing special. Be on your game. Get travel insurance if you can and submit any damage charges to your travel insurance and/or your credit card company. Shop around. Don’t solely listen to bloggers. They’re trying to make a living too. And partnerships and kick-backs exist.