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[quote=”lyncota”]I feel fortunate to live within driving distance to 3 major airports in the Northeast, so we always are able to pick and choose our flights to Costa Rica.
COPA and TACA are both great. I would stay away from Spirit. Beware of hidden fees! They charge for carry on.
[/quote]I use to use TACA exclusively… since the Avianca merger they have gone downhill… besides the major changes to the flight schedual and routing! 🙁
[quote=”costaricafinca”]Flights are usually more expensive going to Liberia, due to the landing fees. Also less airlines fly into there.[/quote]
Actually, based on the web sites for each airport, more airlines serve LIR than SJO, even excluding all the charter airlines that fly from Canada – but I’m pretty sure that SJO has many more flights on a daily basis by the fewer airlines that do serve SJO.
So it is (unfortunately for us) accurate that the fewer flights with higher landing fees do indeed cause the airfares in and out of LIR to be higher.
Because we have 6 grand kids arriving each June + our daughter and her husband and maybe our daughter-in-law, it is beneficial for us to gather all of them in Orlando for 1 hotel night, then fly them into and out of SJO at the lower airfares and pay the extra $100+/- for the shuttle each way versus the higher fares in/out of LIR.
However, if it were only 2 or 3 people (versus our 8-9 people) then it is well worth the extra airfare into and out of LIR.
It comes down to doing the math.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]Flights are usually more expensive going to Liberia, due to the landing fees. Also less airlines fly into there.[/quote]
Shopping around (checking Kayak and Expedia everyday when a trip is planned) you’ll find flights are often very close in price from the US between SJO and LIR…. I’ve gotten bargains going to both. Big diffence I’ve noticed…. flight into SJO are 90% Ticos…. flights into LIR… 90% gringo… perhaps part of the price difference. LIR seems to attract more true tourist (beaches) while SJO is more of the hub for CR citizens traveling. Dynamic pricing based on demand… just shop each day and you’ll get a good price!
I agree that some of the “low cost” airlines nickle and dime you to death… not a bargain at all!
[quote=”sweikert925″]I was trying to work out the total cost differential between flying into SJO and LIR and I wondered what a taxi cost from the LIR airport to the center of Liberia. Normally the taxi to/from San Jose from Juan Santamaria costs me about $30 each way. Anyone familiar with flying to LR care to share the taxi fares you generally pay? It also seems that hotel rooms in Liberia are a bit cheaper than the average price in San Jose.[/quote]
“The center of Liberia” is less than 10 minutes from LIR in normal traffic. so the rates should be very reasonable ($10 or so); HOWEVER, the cabbies are looking for longer fares (to Coco, or Tamarindo, to resorts, to secluded areas, to Arenal area, etc.) so they are not so interested in a short fare. I arrived at LIR one day a couple hours before my wife and wanted to grab lunch at the restaurant that is less than a 1/2 mile from the entry intersection to the airport. I asked a cab driver how much and he said “$20 one way”.
So now, my question – “why do you want to go to ‘the center of Liberia'”?
I was surprised to read that more airlines use LIR.
The amount and facilities offered by your hotel in Liberia are much less than what is available in San Jose.[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”costaricafinca”]The amount and facilities offered by your hotel in Liberia are much less than what is available in San Jose. [/quote]
For me, the only facilities that I require in a hotel room are a quiet, clean, bedbug-free bed, hot showers and someplace nearby that serves decent meals at a reasonable price. Anything beyond that is nice but not essential.[/quote]hotel info for Liberia area:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g309240-Liberia_Province_of_Guanacaste-Hotels.html[quote=”sweikert925″]Thanks. Any of them you can personally recommend?[/quote]
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g309240-Liberia_Province_of_Guanacaste-Hotels.html
that the same link I posted on the forum earlier. Of course, the most “gringoish” is the Hilton Garden Inn, but several friends have told me that they had good experiences at Hotel Rincon del Llano when they stayed overnight for 7:00am flights.
I might suggest that the area around the Liberia Airport and the town of Liberia itself is absent of anything to do, no restaurants, no attractions, even no stores and no sodas.
I think I remember you saying you aren’t interested in the beach areas
– if I’m wrong I would urge you to take a taxi to Playas Del Coco or Ocotal or Hermossa (all within 25-30 minutes from LIR) and then work your way down the coast from there.
– if I am right, then I would arrange transport up to Tileran, Tronadora (sp?) or the Lake Area and start exploring there.
Check FlipKey and/or Airbnb and you can find plenty of small vacation rentals or small hotels or even “in home apartments” that are very reasonable and within walking distance of all the things that are absent in the area around the airport.
safe travels
[b]Costaricabill[/b], I second your recommendation to start to work your way along the coast. It is not a beachfront road, and is definitely not direct.To go back and forth to Liberia makes no sense. If you don’t want [b]hot[/b] weather, why even bother to go this route?
The town of Liberia does offer a few good restaurants, and it does have sodas and stores…but is wouldn’t qualify as a tourist town. It does offer a movie complex.[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”costaricabill”]So now, my question – “why do you want to go to ‘the center of Liberia'”?
[/quote]
Thanks for the information.Well I may or may not want that depending on where I wind up booking a room when I do visit there but it seemed the best way to determine what taxi fares cost in comparison to San Jose. It was just much easier than asking “how much for a taxi ride from the Liberia airport to a hotel I can’t tell you the name of since I don’t know it myself yet?”.:wink:[/quote]
As Bill stated you can count on $20.00 one way – there is nothing in the Center of Liberia except a Kentucky Fried Chicken. (Just kidding)
You should just book across the street from the airport (Marriot) and take the free shuttle.
[quote=”johnr”]
You should just book across the street from the airport (Marriot) and take the free shuttle.
[/quote]Just to avoid any confusion, and for clarification, it is a Hilton Garden Inn (not a Marriott) and the shuttle only goes to the airport and back – not a good way to see the countryside!
[quote=”costaricabill”][quote=”johnr”]
You should just book across the street from the airport (Marriot) and take the free shuttle.
[/quote]Just to avoid any confusion, and for clarification, it is a Hilton Garden Inn (not a Marriott) and the shuttle only goes to the airport and back – not a good way to see the countryside![/quote]
I’m sorry you are correct – Hilton Garden Inn. You can also buy your exit visa there for a little extra cash. I was just trying to address the hotel / center of Liberia thing. I’d rent a RAV4 and head down the center of the Nicoya and just start branching off to the beaches.
I just came back from Playas del Coco and surrounding areas and maybe I was in a different Liberia than the one to which you are refering. Had a decent and reasonably priced meal at a traditional restaurant (can’t remember the name “crs”, not El Bramadero) at the Interamerican/Airport highway crossroads. Also, I see the town itself as vibrant provincial center. Lots of tourists around, the Airport has really made a difference, many shops and just about all you would need except for maybe a Del Rey, Key Largo or Beetles Bar. “Por Dicha”.
[quote=”costaricabill”][quote=”sweikert925″]Thanks. Any of them you can personally recommend?[/quote]
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g309240-Liberia_Province_of_Guanacaste-Hotels.html
that the same link I posted on the forum earlier. Of course, the most “gringoish” is the Hilton Garden Inn, but several friends have told me that they had good experiences at Hotel Rincon del Llano when they stayed overnight for 7:00am flights.
I might suggest that the area around the Liberia Airport and the town of Liberia itself is absent of anything to do, no restaurants, no attractions, even no stores and no sodas.
I think I remember you saying you aren’t interested in the beach areas
– if I’m wrong I would urge you to take a taxi to Playas Del Coco or Ocotal or Hermossa (all within 25-30 minutes from LIR) and then work your way down the coast from there.
– if I am right, then I would arrange transport up to Tileran, Tronadora (sp?) or the Lake Area and start exploring there.
Check FlipKey and/or Airbnb and you can find plenty of small vacation rentals or small hotels or even “in home apartments” that are very reasonable and within walking distance of all the things that are absent in the area around the airport.
safe travels[/quote]
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