I’ve only ever had two problems with taxi drivers in Costa Rica.

The first time I had a problem, I should have known when we got in.  When I told him where we wanted to go, he said “mucho dinero.”  I had been there several times and knew it wasn’t going to be more than 5,000 colones ($10) or so.  I shrugged and we drove on.

… and on… and on…

I finally realized that he wasn’t going anywhere close to the right direction.  We were heading into the busiest part of San Jose when my starting point and destination where both in Alejuela.

I finally said “aki” which means “here” and motioned for him to pull over.  I paid him and my family and I got out of the taxi.

I then just hailed a new taxi which took me to the proper destination without the games.  No real problem.

The second time was a bit of a battle of wills.

We often take two taxis when we go a long distance.  We just go to a well-known spot near our final destination and then catch a local taxi to our real final destination.  It avoids the problem of a non-local taxi trying to find an obscure destination in a town he isn’t familiar with.

The 2nd taxi ride is always only 1-5km.  The cost is usually $1-$2… never more than $4.

We did that one day and when we arrived, the taxi driver said “dias miel” (or 10,000 colones which is about $20).

I asked to see the meter.  It was conveniently broken.

We went back and forth a few times with me offering a more reasonable 3,000 colones.  He refused to budge.  He wanted 10,000 colones which was outrageous.

I finally realized where we were and the consequences (or lack thereof) of simply getting out of the taxi.

I dropped the 3,000 colones on the front passenger seat and simply got out and walked away.

You should have seen the look on his face.

Remember that the Costa Rican people are not violent in general.  Also remember that it is difficult to get the police to respond.  Even if they did respond, the taxi driver would certainly get in trouble for not having a working meter and trying to extort an unfair price.

So, if you run into a dispute with a taxi in Costa Rica, you can always do what I did.  You pay what you know is fair and walk away.  What can they do to you?

-James D. Brausch