Driving conditions:

The main roads in Costa Rica are very good. This is especially true of the Pan American. Once you get off of it things quickly deteriorate but are still quite drivable in the more touristy regions. A word of caution: if you drive out of San Jose towards the Panama border driving can be a little dangerous. We were in the mountains outside of the capital on a winding road and nearly had a head on collision with a bus that was passing a truck in a blind corner. This was our closest call in the entire region.

Recommended roads:

• If you want some adventure, try going around the Nicoya peninsula using back roads. The starting point would be at the town of Playa Del Coco and would take you right around in a day of hard driving (trails, beaches, rivers, etc). If you do plan on doing this you will need some recent maps, a few friends and a very good GPS. Not easy to do but certainly possible if you are ready to take some wrong turns once in a while. A possible source of info on this route would be BMW of San Jose. They do this tour every year and might be able to help or put you in touch with somebody who has done it and wants to do it again. Not for the faint of heart or the unprepared.

Police and military:

This country apparently enforces traffic regulations and speed limits but we broke both and never got stopped. Police presence was very light everywhere.

Services:

There is a BMW shop in San Jose (the capital).

Border:

Border crossing: Penas Blanca
Cost for bike: Free but you must buy insurance for 7890 colons, 1250 for fumigation (rate was 1$ for 495 Colons)
Cost for us: Free
Time it took: 1 to 2 hours
Comments: Very busy crossing and a bit complex