Car hire prices at San Jose Airport, Costa Rica

For October 2026, booked about a month ahead, a good price for a hire car at San Jose Airport is around £29 a day for a Compact (a Hyundai Verna-sized car). An Economy is £26 a day. In the last 2 weeks before pickup a Compact is nearer £25. If your quote is well over these, the price checker will tell you for your exact dates.

For October 2026 at San Jose Airport, waiting pays off: a Compact is £29 a day booked about a month before you fly, dropping to £25 in the last 2 weeks. Booking 9 months ahead across the year averages £74 a day compared to £41 around 2 weeks before pickup, so you lose nothing by holding off. October 2026 is also the cheapest month of the year, starting at £41 a day for a Mini compared to £142 in January 2027. Across the 395 airports we track car hire prices for, nearly half of our customers book within 16 days of pickup.

Dollar is the cheapest company at San Jose Airport for a Compact car, averaging £26 a day, but requires a credit card and holds a £1,108 deposit. Amigo is the next cheapest at £36 a day, while Avis averages £39. For a company with a published review score, Dollar scores 80/100 from 40 reviews. Every counter is based at the airport, but not one accepts a debit card for deposits.

The cheapest company can cost you a longer queue or a bigger deposit, so check the review score and desk wait beside each car in the results before you book.

Dollar is the best-reviewed qualifying company at San Jose Airport, scoring 80/100 from 40 reviews, with an average desk wait of 19 minutes. Dollar is also the cheapest supplier at the airport, averaging £26 a day for a Compact car over the past 12 months. Other suppliers, such as Alamo with 23 reviews and Sixt with 21 reviews, do not yet have enough reviews for a score. Budget delivers the fastest counter service at 7 minutes, but averages £91 a day.

Review scores are CarTrawler customers' own, from the last five months; the score and the desk wait sit beside each car in the results.

At San Jose Airport, deposits held on your card range from £369 with Alamo, Enterprise, Green Motion and National to £3,692 with Avis, and all 17 counters require a credit card. None of the 17 desks accept a debit card, so you must bring a credit card in the lead driver's name. The deposit and payment rules for each vehicle are shown in the search results. Extras charged at the desk are listed under each car with their price before you book.

If you bring your own child seat, check your airline's rules first: most carry one free, some charge.

The biggest trap at San Jose Airport is arriving without a credit card, as all 17 desks refuse debit cards for the security deposit. Deposits can climb as high as £3,692 with Avis, which will consume a significant portion of an ordinary credit limit before you even drive away. Desk queues can also stall your departure, with waits reaching 26 minutes at Avis and Payless. Because you face winding routes with heavy traffic and long driving stints, being stranded at the terminal without an accepted payment card will ruin your schedule.

Only 73% of prices at San Jose Airport are full tank out, full tank back, so read the fuel line under the car before you book.

For longer journeys across Costa Rica, choose an Intermediate like the Toyota Rav4 at San Jose Airport, which costs around £32 a day for October 2026. It seats 5 people and takes 3 bags, whereas stepping down to a Compact like the Hyundai Verna costs £29 a day but holds only 2 bags. Smaller classes provide less comfort on potholed rural highways, making the extra boot room and ride height worthwhile. Automatic models make up 64% of what is offered and cost £5 less a day than manuals, while electric or hybrid cars are practically nonexistent in the fleet.