How Safe is Driving in Costa Rica at Night?

Well I’ll tell you the one thing that you certainly will be safe from: a brutal sunburn forming an ancient Mayan trapezoid on your forearm because you JUST 👏 COULDN’T 👏 RESIST riding with your arm out the window the entire time with this beautiful weather.

So perhaps I should start with that: if you’re asking this question, it’s likely because you have to decide whether or not it makes sense to drive to your destination in the evening, or get a hotel room in the capital and then buzz out first thing in the morning. If that’s your concern, let me tell you: it is WORTH the wait so you can drive during the daytime and take in the amaaaazing views. Driving around Costa Rica is basically the most beautiful thing there is, from ravines to rainforests to oceans to beaches, it almost feels like a sin to drive at night.

That said, if you want to just get there so you can be at your destination already first thing in the morning? I get it! So if that’s the case, you have nothing to worry about: driving at night is ~ super ~ safe. Wherever you’re headed, you’ll enjoy a calm and peaceful ride. (In other words, you don’t have to worry about a gang of guerilla fighters jumping out of the trees and ambushing you or anything like you imagine in the movies.)

A few things you should know, however:

Street lighting across the country can be dim, at best—non-existent in other places. Like when you’re driving 20 miles through a giant palm tree plantation. :)
You might have a harder time finding your final destination, as Costa Rica is known for its “relaxed” address system. By “relaxed,” I mean “it’s located 300 meters west of the little supermarket that sells the mangoes, up the hill and to the right, past the cattle farm, and then up the side of a mountain with absolutely no markings”—that’s the kind of address you’re likely to get, so it miiiiight be easier to find during the day!
Costa Rican drivers will seem aggressive to the newcomer, but only because they’re HUGE fans of passing any and every car they can, as if it were a bit like a non-stop video game. So if you’re driving at night, and you can’t see well, just know it might be exacerbated by cars and headlights sneaking up on your tail and pressuring you to go faster until they can pass.
It gets dark here every day at about 5:30 p.m…5:45-ish p.m.—YEAR ROUND. So keep that in mind with your travel plans—it’s not like in other places in the summertime when it doesn’t get dark until nine o’clock at night.
You should still take precautions like anywhere in the world, and if you’re planning on stopping somewhere for dinner, for example, definitely bring your laptop with you. (And any other super valuables.) The biggest thing to worry about is not on the road, but once you stop. Petty thievery is common, though it’s almost always non-violent. But tourist rental cars are targets so just mind your items and you’ll be fine! I’ve been here for 10 years and have never had an incident. (Though I do know people who have.)

Driving is one of my favorite ways to get around the country, so no matter when you do it you won’t be disappointed.

(Cue Kid Cudi song: day and nighttttt….)

And having a car will be SO clutch for exploring later on—highly recommended!