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Air Travel Travel to Costa Rica
For several years, I have stayed somewhere in Guanacaste (northwest Costa Rica) or further south on the Nicoya Peninsula and rented a small SUV. My wife is a beach lover, and I am an avid birder - so we split the short time that we have. I have also flown into San Jose and birded that way. Generally speaking, the San Jose Airport and destinations beyond work well if you have some kind of tour set up ahead of time and someone else is driving. I much prefer flying into Liberia and renting a car from that destination. It's simpler, and there's far less traffic. There may also be significant cost variations in flying to each airport, but since this changes so much every year I'm reluctant to say much on the subject. From Dallas I know how to save money, but where you're flying from will determine if you can save money flying into Liberia. My wife and I have very little knowledge of the Spanish language, but we have always felt comfortable driving anywhere in Costa Rica, getting gas, or even fixing a tire. Costa Ricans see a lot of tourists and they are exceptionally patient. Commercial Flights - One of the most significant issues concerning Costa Rican birding in the last decade is the opening of the Liberian airport to International travel. Prior to 2000, you could not fly into Liberia on any International commercial flight. Beginning that year, we became aware of charter flights flying into Liberia from two American cities. With the expansion of the Daniel Oduber Airport in 2003, however, it became possible to get direct public commercial flights from many U.S. locations into Liberia. The following major airlines fly into Liberia as of 2006: Delta, American, U.S. Air, and Continental. As of 2006, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, Miami and perhaps other cities now have direct non-stop flights to Liberia although they may be limited to specific days of the week. As of 2007, I have heard Denver will soon have flights there, perhaps on Frontier Airlines. Liberia International Airport - http://www.liberiacostarica.com/airport/liberia.html If at all possible, you are looking for non-stop flights. From Dallas, the flight time to Liberia is 3 hours and 53 minutes on the non-stop flight! There's much less stress to your travel plans and you get about 1/2 day extra for birding than if you took a flight that involves a transfer. Flying into San Jose has also become easier in the last decade. More and more locations are offering non-stop service to San Jose from the states which saves you a lot of time and stress. Flying into San Jose does have some significant advantages for those wanting to rent a small SUV or car. Your access to some terrific birding locations is less than 2 hours (La Selva, Braulio Carillo, lodges around Cerro del Muerte, Rancho Naturalista, and Tapanti). Weather can be a problem any time of year, so I'm not sure I'd let the summer wet season deter me if I really wanted to bird on my own. Charter Flights - Direct charter flights (Champion Airlines in 2006) from Dallas and occasionally Minneapolis/St.Paul are available during the summer months and are significantly cheaper if you play by their rules. Those two charters to Liberia are through MLT vacations at http://www.mltvacations.com , but you won't see the prices advertised for Liberia, CR at this web site until about April. The prices go down in May and June as it gets later. We have used this charter frequently. You can buy "air-only" packages for 7 and 14-day intervals using this charter system. By waiting until the price drops (about three weeks before departure), we pay roughly about the same price we would pay round trip to go from Dallas to Denver ($225-300 round trip). The charter plane (Champion Airlines usually) has been reliable in most years, and we've done pretty much the same thing for seven years. The price trade-off between a charter and a public flight is measured in time limitation - the charter flight forces one to leave and return on their schedule - usually only on Saturdays in June, July, and early August. You can also get the combo air and hotel packages (we stopped doing this after our first year, preferring to just find our own spots). We have purchased "air-only" the last several years. For people in Oklahoma and Texas who want a summer experience in Costa Rica, you could easily save a whooping $300+ a person on airfare if you can get to Dallas and then use a MLT charter flight rather than a public non-stop commercial flight - but you might be relegated to Saturdays as flight days. I suspect there is a similar savings for the charter in Minneapolis. There are great advantages to flying into Liberia rather than San Jose. Many flights to and from San Jose, CR are still routed through Miami - a brutal and time consuming layover unless you're coming from Europe. Commercial flights to and from Liberia and in the United States on the other hand are frequently direct flights from places like Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, and Houston. Some non-stop flights can be limiting as they only fly direct one day a week. Things have changed over the years, so please check all possibilities. I'm not a travel agent.
The only downside is that the Liberia destination is on the Pacific northwest of Costa Rica. One is further away from the Caribbean slope avifauna (which have a higher density of species) than if you landed in San Jose*. You can drive to some pretty birdy locations from Guanacaste for Caribbean slope birds - like Carara NP - but it's an all-day thing. If it is your first or second time to Costa Rica or if you have very limited time to bird and summer is the only time, this issue should not prevent you from using Liberia as your jumping-off point.
If you arrive by air and want a rental car, you should do this over the Internet before you arrive. That way the car agency will literally meet you at the airport, drive a few blocks to the agency to fill out papers, and then you can drive off on your own. There are several familiar rental car agencies. Most have a web page where you can email the Costa Rican representative and get the car you want (I strongly recommend at least a small SUV). I've used "Budget" but they're probably no better or worse than any other. Other ideas for transportation to other locations can be found here: http://www.liberiacostarica.com/transportation.html Trip Insurance Trip insurance can be done over the Internet on your own. If you're going to drive in Costa Rica, you should consider it. We do this every year in case we have a serious accident in the car and have to be flown back. Most policies will also cover your expenses if your flight is cancelled or over 6 hours late - a growing problem as of late. |
The Liberia airport is a much
easier "in-and-out" issue than San Jose. Customs is quick, rental car companies
will meet you at the airport door and will drive you back to their offices for
paperwork, and the road system around the Liberia airport is drop-dead simple for
people driving. Driving around San Jose on the other hand can be troublesome and
confusing.