I am planning to move to CR in the winter. I have 2 areas that I need answers to:

1. I would like to drive down, so that I have a car while I'm there
(to buy a car there costs double with the import tax). From what I
understand, I can only have the car in the country for 6 months, then
need to take it out. I need to know if it's worth it from a financial
standpoint to do this, as well as what requirements there are to bring
a car in with Massachusetts plates (i.e. paperwork, customs). My car
is worth about $3500. I have learned that I will need to get CR
insurance at the border, and this is approximately $20/month.

2. I would like to know the route that is most safe (and efficient) to
drive from Boston to San Jose. It will be 3 guys and a girl traveling.
One of them speaks spanish. We plan to drive only during the day.

I'd be carefull with your MA license plate...i bet you it will last a
week & it will be stolen.  With the both cars my boss had shipped
down, the Georgia plates were  stolen quickly (i guess people take
them for souveniers??)  This also happened when we shipped a car to
Belgium, so...it's not just a Costa Rica thing.

Oh, thanks a lot for that tip. That makes sense.

I drove from Florida to Costa Rica twice and lived there for 23 years.
Central America is beautiful but there is tremendous suffering and
poverty everywhere and so guerilla organizations and bands of armed
criminals roam everywhere, many wanting vengence against the U.S. for
their interventions in Latin America, others just envious of American
wealth. On my first trip by car I was present when the Guatemalan
military police murdered an American tourist from Alaska that crossed
on a motorcycle just ahead of me near Comitan (north route). On the
2nd trip I saw the border guards machine gun a man (Guat.)and his wife
because his name was on a list of suspected guerillas (south border).
I was later held prisoner for 8 days at Coatepeque, Guatemala after an
accident. If you will check the U.S. State Department website you will
discover that 16 tourists were murdered by armed bandits on the
Panamerican highway in Guatemala just last year. Also, 28 American
tourists were machine gunned in Honduras last year after they were
ordered to get off a bus carrying them and other tourists. More than a
dozen tourists were murdered in Costa Rica last year alone. Please
check out the State Department information carefully -then ship your
car down by ferry from Miami. You would be better off renting a car in
San Jose. Costa Rica is a beautiful country with a perfect climate but
it is also very dangerous and you should never go anywhere without
other Americans with you. The Costa Rican police are corrupt and many
have been charged with murder, rape, robbery, and shaking down drug
dealers for their money and drugs. A word to the wise from someone who
married, lived and worked in Central America for more than 27 years.

Ohh....i'm not sure i liked that last post.  Though it is correct to
be cautious...how many murders in New York City last year?  Lost
Angeles?  Atlanta?
I've been traveling to Costa Rica for 10 years, by myself and with
friends, rented cars & driven everywhere!  As a single woman, i've
traveled with girlfriends, and male friends...i've even gone alone.  I
have NEVER had any problems.

*Now...have I heard of problems?  Of course...i've been sending 
tourists (thousands in the last 10 years) to CR for a long
time...and...i've probably had...maybe a handfull of thefts of
camcorders/computers/cameras from rental cars....a few thefts by hotel
staff...and pick-pockets in San Jose (and of course the license plate
theif).  I wonder how many i'd have if i sent people to New York on
vacation rather than CR?

*I've traveled to Guatemala, Belize and Panama as well....and wow...I
can say that the  amazing/wonderful/friendly/kindest people i've ever
met in my life outway any "criminal element" by far (off the charts,
no comparison).
Take a look at the US travel warnings...take a look at the local news
in any US city...you'd think we as americans were a barbarian bunch
with no good qualities.
**Point is, be careful, be smart and have a fabulous time, remember to
respect locals and their customs...no matter where you travel!

God Bless!!!!!!!

Just wanted to add that, for my part, I do not make a profit from
sending thousands of tourists to Costa Rica. By pretending that
visiting Costa Rica or Guatemala is like visiting Disney World puts
people's lives in danger only for the sake of making money from
tourism. I posted the truth about the situation in Central America and
everything can be confirmed on the State Department's website. I
forgot to add in my original post that there were over 500 kidnappings
in Mexico last year. The fact that the U.S. has more murders (16,000+)
than any country in the world won't console you much at the moment the
guerillas tell you to get off your tourist guide's bus and you start
wondering if maybe it's to allow you to take their pictures - or
whether it's for something else!

Thank you, I appreciate both sides of the issue.... I do realize it's
very dangerous through Mexico and plan to be very safe (i.e. drive in
the day, in groups of cars). It's increasingly clear that it wouldn't
be the simplest and probably not the cheapest option to drive. I'm
just trying to figure out if it's worth the experience... thanks for
your input!

I take offense at your insinuation(you don't know me or how i make my
money... believe me i don't do this job for the money, I have nothing
to gain here) .... but....I don't feel a need or have the inclination
to argue it with you...no matter what I say, you'll disagree with
it...
I'm sure tam_tam can make up his/her own mind... Good luck to
you....enjoy your adventure!