Driving in Costa Rica – Sarapiqui to Cahuita

By The Mantled HowlerCosta Rica, Travel

Driving in Costa Rica?

If you were wondering how the roads are and how the driving in Costa Rica is, wonder no more.

Today, we drive from Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui to Cahuita, on the Caribbean coast near the Panama border. The 160 kilometer (100 miles) drive took around three and one half hours, including traffic.

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Getting Around

I highly recommend using Waze to get around.  In addition, from what a few Ticos told me, Waze is the most reliable application to find your way in Costa Rica.

Do not be intimidated by what you read on the internet. Driving in Costa Rica is truly enjoyable. Contrary to popular belief, the primary roads are in surprisingly good condition albeit road signs are scarce.

The Road

There are many friendly local vendors along the road.  In fact, today, we are in luck. We score ourselves some fresh picked Rambutan, an ideal snack for our drive.

Work is in progress to widen the road from two lanes to four lanes over a 107 kilometer stretch.

The road is lined with beautiful greenery with palm and banana trees sprinkled here and there.

Traffic

Keep an eye out for speed limit changes. More often than not, speed limit indications are painted directly on the roadway.

Make sure to remain vigilant. You will often encounter cyclists and pedestrians, even on primary roads.

Driving in Costa Rica is slightly different comparatively to the North American way of driving. For example, drivers often overtake on double lines.

There is a relatively high volume of truck traffic as you near the port city of Limon due to the many container terminals nearby.

If you are buying Costa Rican pineapples in North America, this is probably where they left from.

Once passed Limon, truck volume does decreases noticeably.

Small Bridges

Be careful when arriving at small bridge crossings. In Costa Rica, many small bridges are not wide enough to carry two oncoming vehicles. One of the sides of these bridges usually has a “Ceda El Paso”, or yield sign whereas the other side has right of way.

Fuel

There are fuel stations at regular intervals along the primary roadway. The Costa Rican government regulates fuel prices in Costa Rica and prices are pretty much the same all over the country. I had read that one should be weary of attendants when fueling as some of them would put a higher amount when running your credit card. During my stay there, not once did this happen.

Cahuita

Entering the quaint little town of Cahuita, there is a branch of the bank of Costa Rica, a pharmacy and many bed and breakfasts and cabins.

Furthermore, the main street in the village lodges a host of restaurants.

At the edge of town is the entrance to beautiful Cahuita National Park, which I highly recommend visiting.

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