Papagayo Car Rentals

Cons: The rate was dirt cheap but the undisclosed need to buy Costa Rican insurance put the rate up there with the higher US rates. about $60 per day.

Cons: Nothing

Cons: There is a disconnect with kayak and the rental company. They did not have any cars available, while kayak showed plenty

Cons: Our flight was delayed by a couple of hours. They used that as an excuse to cancel our reservation. The real reason was that they wanted a higher price (2.5x) for the car. We were left stranded at the airport for hours! Our son was unwell and we wanted to get him to the hotel asap, but they just smirked at our predicament. Shame on Kayak for having such partners.

Cons: We had to wait almost thirty minutes for a shuttle after our arrival. Location is 5km from airport property. Once there, we were told that auto insurance was "mandatory" in CR for rentals. The two "policies" they offered more than doubled the price of the car. This should have been settled on the initial rental online. The company would not budge, even when I pointed out that I was paying with an American Express card and they cover any rentals. Bad start. Car itself was very underpowered. Finally, the used a retread on one of their tires, knowing how bad some CR roads are. The reason I know this is that on the next-to-last day, we were driving along and another driver mentioned our tire seemed flat. Pulled over and tire was low, but not flat. Attempted to change flat (there was spare - never rent a car without a spare!) and the jack was not able to work properly. Someone before damaged the screw mechanism. Had to get a stranger at a gas station with a jack to help me change the tire. The stranger pointed out the bad tire was a retread. Location at San Jose drop off was clean, conveniently located, and very friendly.

Cons: Very far offsite and no cars when we arrived. We had to rent at another agency for a much higher rate

Cons: Made a reservation for a minivan. Arrived in Liberia at 5pm. Called Payless to send a shuttle for us and they told us they had no cars left for rental. Another group we were with had a reservation too. We ended up having to rent a 12 passenger mini bus from another company for a lot more money. Payless representative was rude and not helpful at all. Never again.

Cons: We we totally shocked by the requirement to buy insurance in Costa Rica, which literally quadrupled the cost of our car. I feel like we were tricked into buying the supplemental insurance with Allianz, which turned out to be worthless in Costa Rica, which has a country-based requirement that you buy local insurance.

Cons: The website made it seem that my rental would be $28, and that that included all taxes, fees, and surcharges. When I arrived, I was informed that I would also have to pay for insurance (by law in Costa Rica), and therefore had the option of paying $80 or $170 for insurance. I chose the more expensive option, because the $80 option required that I put down a $2,500 deposit. The website should make these charges clear before booking. Had I know about all of the extra charges, I would have taken the bus. But I didn't, and by the time I found out I was at the rental agency and it was too late for me to catch the bus. A refund or voucher from Kayak of some sort would be nice, but I don't imagine that will happen.