We're staying in Guanacaste; it makes the most sense to fly into LIberia since it's less than 30 minutes to the resort...BUT the flights into LIR are DOUBLE what it costs to fly into San Jose!!!
I tried to convince FH to fly into SJO and do the 4 hour drive to the coast; but he says time is money; and wants to pay the extra to just fly into LIR. What do most people do??? LIR is just SOOO expensive!!!
wiggleit28
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Re: Costa RIca HM'ers
We are flying in and out of SJO though for the Guanacanaste region Liberia does make the most sense. Unless maybe you want to look into a local flight on nature air or sansa and see if that's more cost effective??
Notwedyet08
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Re: Costa RIca HM'ers
Do you know how much the transfers cost from SJO to Guanacaste? Need to see if we're going to still pay $300 in transfers.
Thanks!
wiggleit28
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Re: Costa RIca HM'ers
You might pay less than 300--I think it's about 100 one way on Nature Air. Check out the website:
natureair.com
Leia1920
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Re: Costa RIca HM'ers
Do not rent a car and drive There are many check points along the way with police with machine guns
We were on a resort van and got stopped 2 times and had to show passports tgey did search our backpack
Costa rica is beautuful but always renember you are in a 3rd world country and the police are not like police here
Leia1920
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Re: Costa RIca HM'ers
Also flying into liberia is much easier also as many of the 'main highways' are unpaved and very very bumpy We flew into liberia and had an hour and half drive and it was very very bumpy and uncomfortable I would listen to fh on this and just spend the money
Notwedyet08
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Re: Costa RIca HM'ers
Posted by Leia1920
Also flying into liberia is much easier also as many of the 'main highways' are unpaved and very very bumpy We flew into liberia and had an hour and half drive and it was very very bumpy and uncomfortable I would listen to fh on this and just spend the money
Thanks! I think that's what we'll do!
sjr385
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Leia1920
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Re: Costa RIca HM'ers
wiggleit28
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Re: Costa RIca HM'ers
Posted by sjr385
Posted by Leia1920
Do not rent a car and drive There are many check points along the way with police with machine guns
We were on a resort van and got stopped 2 times and had to show passports tgey did search our backpack
Costa rica is beautuful but always renember you are in a 3rd world country and the police are not like police here
We were just in Costa Rica in December -- we flew into SJO, rented a car, and drove from there to Arenal and then to Manuel Antonio. We didn't see anything like that... no checkpoints at all. And while the drive was far, most of the roads were absolutely fine. There were a few bumpy, unpaved ones. Maybe it varies by region.
FYI, Costa Rica doesn't have a military. Their police force plays the role of the military domestically.
I can't speak from experience on this but i've always heard that Costa Rica is a very safe and peaceful country. I've never heard anything about checkpoints, so I found that a little odd but...again, I haven't been there yet. I have read a lot of traveler reviews about getting around the country by car and have read that the roads can be pretty bumpy but that overall, driving is safe.
FutureMrsK10110
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Re: Costa RIca HM'ers
We flew into SJO because we stayed in Arenal first and ended our HM in Guanacaste and flew out of Liberia. We had private transfers to and from the airport and in between the hotels. DH and I had the long 4 hour ride into Guanacaste. Our guides during our transfers were great. They pointed out what was growing on the farms and gave us an entire history of the country. They even spotted howler monkeys and pulled over for us to get pictures of them as well as hear them howl. I would suggest checking with a travel agent the price of a private transfer from SJO to Guanacaste and compare it to the cost of a direct flight there. If the price is reasonable I would fly into SJO and take the 4 hour ride again. You really get to see the country and it's beautiful. I would also recommend popping a dramamine because most of the roads are not paved. The trasfer co. we used was Swiss Travel. They are great. (They also make stops along the way whenever you want. It's a great opportunity to buy souviners because the ones on the resorts are expensive. They'll also stop along the way for lunch. The food is amazing.)
FutureMrsK10110
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Re: Costa RIca HM'ers
Posted by wiggleit28
Posted by sjr385
Posted by Leia1920
Do not rent a car and drive There are many check points along the way with police with machine guns
We were on a resort van and got stopped 2 times and had to show passports tgey did search our backpack
Costa rica is beautuful but always renember you are in a 3rd world country and the police are not like police here
We were just in Costa Rica in December -- we flew into SJO, rented a car, and drove from there to Arenal and then to Manuel Antonio. We didn't see anything like that... no checkpoints at all. And while the drive was far, most of the roads were absolutely fine. There were a few bumpy, unpaved ones. Maybe it varies by region.
FYI, Costa Rica doesn't have a military. Their police force plays the role of the military domestically.
I can't speak from experience on this but i've always heard that Costa Rica is a very safe and peaceful country. I've never heard anything about checkpoints, so I found that a little odd but...again, I haven't been there yet. I have read a lot of traveler reviews about getting around the country by car and have read that the roads can be pretty bumpy but that overall, driving is safe.
I also haven't heard of any check points and we did not see any during our travels there. It's a very safe and peaceful country. I was completely comfortable my entire time there. (DH and I were there in October 2010.)
Leia1920
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Re: Costa RIca HM'ers
We encounteres two check points. One was on way to nicaragua and one was on way to ricon We also stayed in a part of costa rica tgat is still very rural and undeveloped. Areas like arenel are much more developed then where we were(we also went there)
The check pointd Were kinda scary and was explained to us that a lot of nicararagans try to sneak into costa rica to live
But around where we stayed was very beautiful and we felt very safe.
The town we stayed in had a 1 room police station, 1 room school and a tiny convience store. The owner of where we stayed built the school and police station for the town. He is from long island. All roads around where we stayed were unpaved and it was a 60 min drive to closest paved road. The one bar that was in the town was the front of someones home
It is a safe country but you do have to be aware just like anywhere, we were told especially in the undeveloped areas.
Just what we experienced and what we were told by the owner and staff. Everyone has their own experiences
