Costa Rica -
One of our favorite places to visit is Costa Rica. If you live in the southeastern United States, getting to Central America is inexpensive and quick. We have traveled around Costa Rica on a tour bus, with a private driver, by train, taxi and local bus. We have seen volcanoes, snorkeled, rappelled down waterfalls, kayaked, white water rafted, walked on hanging bridges, zip lined, and many other activities. We can share many ideas and ways to get around. We go for dental work, to get furniture and just to relax. I am going to do a week long project on places to go, things to do and how to get there. I will gladly answer any questions anyone has about how to travel in Costa Rica and give you connections we have. Let's make this a fun entry and see how many people will get the information needed to take this awesome trip.
Today, let's start with travel to Costa Rica. Of course, everyone flies there from the US. There are 2 major airports, San Jose (SJO), and Liberia (NCT). San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica and centrally located. Liberia is in the state of Guanacaste, which is the northwestern part of the country. The flight into Liberia is more expensive and longer than the one to San Jose. We normally fly into San Jose and then use trains and buses to travel around the country. This is partly due to the fact that our dentist is in San Jose, but also because it is cheaper to fly into this airport and more flights are available. The express bus service is normally around $50 each way for the 5 hour drive to Guanacaste and can provide door-to-door service.
Another option when you fly in, is to have your activities pre-arranged. Many of the activities will include transportation from your hotel to the site and then a return to your hotel. Sometimes, our activities move us around the country, so we may start the morning at one hotel and get returned to another hotel in a different town or state.
Renting a car is an option. We have talked to people who have rented a car and used a GPS. The roads are well maintained and the GPS seems to work very well. I can definitely say, we have never driven in this country. I don't know if I would ever even try only because in the cities the traffic just moves in a giant wave. There seems to be no logical direction, you just go with the flow. Once outside the city, things are much easier. We also chose not to drive because it is such a beautiful country, and I would rather spend my time in the vehicle enjoying the scenery and wild life then watching the traffic. When you are not the driver, you have a local driving you and giving you points of interest and a lot of information about what you are seeing around you.
Spirit Airlines is currently the least expensive airline to Costa Rica. But they add baggage fees they do not even serve complimentary water on the flight. Regardless of which carrier you use, there is a $32 country exit tax to be paid at the airport when leaving Costa Rica. So keep these fees in mind when comparing other airlines to see if they exceed the amount you are saving. The last trip we took to Costa Rica was only $300, round-trip for two. Including the $25 baggage fee each way and the $32 exit tax, the entire trip $235 each. This was still cheaper than the next lowest air fare.
I'm going to leave the blog to Costa Rica at this point. Feel free to ask questions so I know what you want to know next. Tomorrow I will talk about activities in and around the San Jose area. I can give travel options and prices to the different activities.
