I have a free place in the to stay at a resort in the Alajuela region between Aguas Zarcas and Quesada just outside the boundaries of the San Juan Castro National Park. Because my lodging is free, I am not especially inclined to go traipsing all over the country just to add to my species list. I will probably do a day trip or two within a few hours drive and herp my way back, but mostly I plan on being lazy

I will have a 4 wheel drive vehicle. I will probably do a few days of birding (to see that damn Resplendent Quetzal which has eluded me on several trips into its range!!

I am familiar with neotropical herping (southern Mexico, Panama, Ecuador), but have never been to CR. I have driven in many countries so that isn't a concern to me unless there is some weird CR specific driving advice someone could offer.
I know there are seasoned CR travelers on here and I thought I would ask for whatever advice you could give.
I will get Jay Savage's book but probably leave it at home.
I have the Tweeder's book but it looks like its coverage is limited to the atlantic versant.
I have Fiona Reed's Mammals of Central America and SE Mexico (1st edition

So my million questions are:
1. Anyone herped in/around that area? Any suggestions?
2. If I were to make a day trip to increase my chances at diversity, which direction would you go? The tropical deciduous forests of the Guanacaste region are tempting, mostly because I want to find a Coniophanes piceivittis (a personal quest, just humor me!).
3. Anyone have/seen this book - Federico Muñoz Chacón's "Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A pocket guide"? Its only 11 bucks so I ordered it anyway, but just wanted to know if it was worth carrying. Is there another book?
4. I am arriving at SJO (obviously) and headed up to NE of Quesada. Would you drive north out of SJO to Carrizal and go around the east side or drive west out of SJO and drive around through Zapote and Quesada? I just want the easiest route for my first day in country. I might drive back the other way just for the tour once I get a feel for local CR driving customs.
5. I arrive at SJO at 7:10pm. By the time I get through customs and get my rental car, I suspect it will be 8 or 8:30. Would it be worth trying to get out of San Jose and do some roadhunting? Are there places to stay that are easy to find north (or west - see question 4) of SJO?
6. What are the rules about accessing National Parks in CR? Do you need a permit/pass to get in? Are they day passes or can I get one for a week? Can you get those at the gates? Does one pass work for all CR NPs or do you need a different pass at each park? Can you access NP after dark?
7. I see a lot of folks reporting about road hunting in CR. Is it easy to find roads to hunt that aren't full of speeding buses/trucks/taxis? I know in Mexico that can be quite a challenge.
8. Is it cool to travel around with a snake hook? Do you get hassled at customs or at the parks? Of course, I have no interest in collecting anything but like to have a hook to pose hots and get them off the road.
Is there any other advice you could proffer?
Sorry for all the questions, but I know there are some with extensive CR experience on this forum and why not learn from the experts who understand the needs of the traveling herper?
Big TIA
Chris