Flying around Costa Rica! and other Costa Rica Transportation Tips

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Airplane
Getting TO/AROUND: There are two airline companies that operate flights within Costa Rica, these are Sansa and Nature Air. They have very competitive prices between them.

Sometimes it is worth paying a little extra money if you need to get around quickly (if you are staying in Costa Rica for a short period of time). There are no trains so all the travelling is usually done by bus or car which is quite slow (especially in certain areas where the roads are in bad condition)

Just one short flight can get you from one part of the country to another instead of spending 8 hours or more in a bus. You can save a whole day.

The flights are quite cheap - from $50 - $100 one way depending on how far to go.

The flights themselves are quite exciting as well and it is great to see Costa Rica from the air as well!

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Website: http://www.flysansa.com

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Ship/Boat
Getting TO/AROUND: Tortuguero can only be reached by boat or by plane. There are no cars whatsoever in Tortuguero and no roads lead to Tortuguero either.

To get to Tortuguero the best thing to do is first go to Moin (near Puerto Limon) and get on one of the various boats to Tortuguero (trip costs around $20-$30; but bargain for the price, you may get it cheaper!)

The 80 km boat ride through the canals in the middle of the rainforest is a great experience (unless it is raining in which case you will get thoroughly soaked!) There are loads of birds and other animals to be seen along the way and the scenery is gorgeous.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: There are lots of options for car rental in Costa Rica. You can either book online or find a car rental agency once you get there. I think it is best to rent a car once you get there so that you can bargain for the price! It is probably cheaper as well.

There are a few warnings though before you decide to rent a car. Certain roads are in terrible condition (e.g. Monteverde area) and you will most of the time, especially in the wet season, need a 4 wheel drive.

You will also need to get the vehicle insured - read the policies very carefully as in the case of an accident you are still expected to pay hefty sums even with the insurance!

The price you pay to rent a car is not really cheap - but compared to certain prices you pay in Europe it can be considered quite cheap.

It is not essential to have a rental car. Getting along by buses and taxis (which are cheap!) is possible so budget travelers need not worry at all.

To find online rental cars just give "car rental Costa Rica" in Google and it will return plenty of results. Maybe the most popular options are summarised in the web page given below.

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Website: http://costarica.tourism.co.cr/rentacar.html

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Other
Getting TO/AROUND: At first sight getting from MOnteverde to Arenal and vice versa seems to be quite easy as Arenal is only about 20km as the crow flies from Monteverde.

But getting there is not easy as all! The roads are in terrible condition and driving all the way to Arenal may take anywhere between 4 to 6 hours.

I had considered renting a car for this drive but there are taxi/boat/taxi options which can get you there in half the time and the cost is just around $21 - $25! This is definitely the best option.

There are other ways - for the more adventurous you can get there by a 4 hour horse ride which costs around $60 but the journey is quite strenuous for the horses and some people say that it is not humane so I opted against this (though I was quite tempted)

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