When Visiting Costa Rica, Should I Rent a Car? Take a Bus? Book a Van? TELL ME ALL THE WAYS. #LETSROLL

Excellent question. And I have some excellent answers for you, starting with everybody's favorite answer: it depends!

My favorite, favorite way to get around the country, by far, is by CAR. Renting a car here is super easy, and the drive is beautiful! You can stop and take that sunset photo, pose at the top of that cliff, and stop for a beer on your way. Even better? Costa Rica is really safe and easy, and you have nothing to worry about. You'll basically be driving down a tropical equivalent of, say, New Hampshire.

That said, a few things you need to know about renting a car:

If you want an automatic, book the car early.
The rental company will usually require a $500 - $1,000 hold on your credit card (or more), in case you decide to go all Indiana Jones and never come back. This is normal. They'll give it back.
If you're landing at SJO, we love Budget! They have a gorgeous new facility, even though you have to grab a shuttle. But you have to grab a shuttle for all of them, so it's all good!

That said, there are a few reasons why you might not want to rent a car: (a) You're on a tight budget; (b) You just don't want that kind of responsibility; (c) DRIVING IN CENTRAL AMERICA, ARE YOU CRAZY? (It’s really not crazy, I promise.)

If any of these are the case, my next suggestion for you is definitely to go by—ready for this?—plane. Actually, if you can take the plane at any point during your journey, it's well worth it for the aerial views. Planes here are easy breezy, like taking a taxi, and they cost less than $100. Since the entire country of Costa Rica is the size of West Virginia, getting around is quick! Here's what you need to know:

There domestic airline is called Sansa.
You can hop on a Sansa flight straight from San Jose—or anywhere in the country!—but be warned: they'll want you there one hour prior to your flight, which means that it's important for you to make sure you have enough time in between when you land and when your flight is. Do not forget, dahling.
Another tip: during the rainy season, it mostly rains in the afternoons—so it's better to book a morning to early afternoon flight if possible. (Otherwise your flight might get rained out.)

Last but not least, you can either take the local bus or you can hire a private shuttle service to get you to your hotel. The local bus is good if you're on a backpacker's budget: just be warned that it'll take you several hours to get where you're going, as the bus will stop and let people off and let people on.

A private shuttle is another great option—usually carrying less than ten passengers—but will be more expensive than the local bus. But air-conditioned! And someone will be there waiting for you at the airport. A good one to check out is Interbus.

The other way, of course, is to swim. ;) Once you get to the coastline, there's really not much more you need to worry about, in this life. YOU WILL BE JUST FINE. EVERYTHING WILL BE JUST FINE. YOU MADE IT. YOU ARE HERE. WELCOME.