How to get to Costa Rica from Europe?
Surfers and travellers from Europe has to take a flight across the Atlantic to arrive in Costa Rica (of course, they can also take a cruise to get there). As air travel gets a little more painful because of new security measures and higher prices (for fuel), we give you some tipps how to minimize stress and expenses.
From Europe, you have the choice of a non-stop flight to San José or via a stop-over in the USA. All international flights from Europe arrive at San José’s Juan SantamarÃa international airport; Liberia, 217km northwest of San José, has been upgraded as a second-string international airport, but is not served with direct flights from Europe.
Before you buy your flight ticket to Costa Rica, consider the following:
- check your maximum baggage
- ask for the extra costs for your surf board(s) - learn here how to save your money with our surfing vacation package
- some flight tickets can’t be “cancelled” or the flight dates changed
- the arrival time - many flights from Europe arrive late afternoon or evening in San José
- check for any visa regulations
Airlines going non-stop from European cities to San José:
- Air Madrid
- Iberia (via Madrid)
- Condor (from Germany, via Havanna)
Airlines flying via USA:
- KLM / Martinair (via Miami); update: more about my MartinAir experiences here
There are also several US-Airlines connecting Costa Rica and Europe through a stop-over in Atlanta, Miami, Washington or Newark.
We recommend you to avoid the US stop-over as you will be registered, finger-printed and you need the “correct passport version” (a machine readable passport) or a visa for the US even you don’t get out of the airport. Maybe there will be more direct flights to Central America from Europe one day!
There is a departure tax of around USD 26.00 on international flights.
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