Costa Rica

By plane

Juan Santamaría Airport (SJO) is located close to the cities Alajuela, Heredia and the capital San José. SJO is currently under remodeling. An otherwise pleasant airport features the normal assortment of duty-free shops, interesting souvenir and bookshops, but an inadequate selection of overpriced restaurants (Church's Chicken, Burger King and a fast-food pizza joint). SJO is serviced daily by Air Caraibes, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Iberia, Thomas Cook, LTU, Martinair, Mexicana Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways, Air Canada as well as Taca and Copa Airlines. Connecting the airport with cities such as: Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta, Phoenix, Orlando, Chicago, Newark, Toronto, Montreal, Madrid, Frankfurt, Bogota, Caracas, Lima, Guayaquil, Quito, and all Central America. Frontier Airlines begun non-stop service from Denver on November 30th, 2007 and flies to SJO 5 days a week. There is a US $26 exit fee at the Juan Santamaría Airport. This must be paid in cash, or by Visa (in which case it will be processed as a cash advance). The fee can also be paid in advance at some hotels or banks. Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR) is near Liberia in the Guanacaste province. This airport is closest to the Pacific Northwest coast. Liberia receives flights from Delta, American, United, Continental, Air Canada, Sky Service (charter), and First Choice (charter). Connecting the airport with cities like: Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Newark, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, London, etc.

By car

The Interamericana (Panamerican Highway) runs through Costa Rica and is the main entry point by car. The border post in the north (to Nicaragua) is called Peñas Blancas and in the south (to Panamá) Paso Canoas. Virtually all travel out of the capital (except to the Caribbean side) will involve travelling this road. There are many speed traps along this major artery, as well as some random police checks for seat belts and, especially near the borders, for valid travel documents. The highway speed is 80km/h, but since the Interamericana (a.k.a. Highway #1) passes through innumerable small towns the speed frequently drops to 50 or even 30 km/h as you suddenly find yourself in a school zone. Most of the highway is not divided. A common indicator that a police checkpoint is ahead is that oncoming cars flick their lights at you. Drivers also appear to flick their lights sometimes when someone has overtaken them. A speeding ticket is at the most 20,000 Colones (US $40), and although the police are generally congenial, foreign drivers are occasionally illegally offered an "on the spot" fine that is half that or less. Many Costa Rican roads are in terrible shape, and short distances can take a very long time. To get a feeling for distances and driving times this map with the major roads of Costa Rica can be helpful. Even the only road in and out of popular tourist destinations are riddled with major potholes. To avoid potholes, drivers will often snake through the left and right lanes, usually returning to the right when oncoming traffic approaches. While this may seem erratic to North American drivers, one becomes quickly accustomed to it. Driving at night is highly inadvisable due to the unpredictability of road conditions and lack of safety features such as guard rails on the many hairpin turns in the hills. Many roads are unpaved, and even the paved roads have lots of unpaved sections and washed out or unfinished bridges. Bridges are often only wide enough for one vehicle; one direction usually has priority. Do not expect to get anywhere quickly, supposed 3 hour journeys can turn into 5 or more hours easily: there are always slow cars/buses/trucks on the road. This causes a lot of crazy driving, which you begin to emulate if you are in-country for more than a day. The government does not seem to be fixing the infrastructure well (or at all!) 50km/hr is good over unpaved roads; you hit a resonance frequency where the damping factor of the suspension matches the undulations of the road and you have a smooth ride. Some hotels, in the mountains, require a four wheel drive to reach the destination. Call ahead. This is more for the ground clearance then the quality of the road. Four wheel drive vehicles are widely at the car rentals near the air port, but call ahead. Navigation can prove challenging. Road signs are relatively few, and those that do exist can be inaccurate. It is recommended that you have a good road map with the small towns listed, since road signs will often only indicate the next town, not the direction of the next major city. Towns generally do not have town-limit signs; you are best to look at the names on the roadside food stores and restaurants to determine the place you are passing. Stop and ask, practice your Spanish. The center of town is usually a public park with a Catholic Church across from it. There are no formal street addresses in Costa Rica, but two informal systems exist. The first (often used in tourist information) indicates the road on which the establishment is located (e.g. "6th Avenue") together with the crossroad interval (e.g. "between 21st and 23rd Streets"). In practice, street signs are virtually non-existent, and locals do not even know the name of the street they are on. The second system, which is much more reliable and understood by locals, is known as the "Tico address", usually involving an oriented distance (e.g. "100 meters south, 50 meters east") from a landmark (e.g. "the cathedral"). It is worth noting the particular road naming system in San Jose. Avenues run east-west and streets run north-south. The numbering is less straighforward. Starting at Central Avenue going South are 2nd, 4th, 6th Avenue, etc. while going North are 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc. Streets use even numbers going west, and odd numbers going east. This means that if you are at 7th Avenue and 4th Street, and looking for 6th Avenue and 5th Street, you are on the wrong side of town. Gas stations are full service and the guys there are very cool about taking dollars or Colón(es). The interesting thing is that Costa Rica is small so you do not burn a lot of gas getting places even though it seems like forever. Costa Rica is also land of the traffic circles so people from Europe should have no problem but North Americans should make sure they know how they work. The gas stations really are full service, without asking I have had my oil checked, and water in my raditor filled, and tire pressure topped off. The state owns a gasoline company and the private companies raise their prices to the level of the state set price. It is recommendable to always use super gas and not regular, the regular is soiled. If not you will have to change the gas filter and clean the injectors after 5000 miles.

By bus

There are bus services from the neighboring countries of Panamá, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Check out www.ticabus.com or www.transnica.com for more information. There is an extensive network of bus routes within the country with reasonable fares. Departures are very punctual, though routes often take longer than expected. Stop by the Tourist Office downtown (underneath the Gold Museum in the Plaza--ask anyone and they'll be able to help you out) and get a detailed schedule. The bus system is a safe and even fun way to see a lot of the country cheaply and not have to worry about car rentals. It is highly recommended! If using the bus routes within the country, some ability to speak and understand Spanish may be necessary, although most are friendly enough to be able to help you out.

By boat

There are some boat transfers available into Costa Rica from Bocas del Toro in Panamá. There is twice daily boat service from Los Chiles (in NE Costa Rica), former home of the Contras, to San Carlos, Nicaragua. The cost is about $5, plus a $1 fee. The boats usually only run in the mornings.