A well connected country Costa Rica’s domestic air travel infrastructure is actually quite strong. Flying is one of the easiest ways to get around in Costa Rica, especially to more remote regions such as the Osa Peninsula, where roads are often just dirt tracks. There are two main airlines in the country that provide not only reasonably priced domestic air travel, but also offer scheduled daily flights.
Sansa and Nature Air regularly operate flights to at least 15 destinations across the country linked from San Jose. Both of these Costa Rica airlines use a variety of small prop planes that carry between 9 and 25 passangers. With these airlines you can fly not only to major cities like Liberia International Airport or Quepos Domestic Airport, but you can get flights to remote regions such as the Coto 47 Domestic Airport in South Puntarenas or the Barra del Colorado Domestic Airport in Limon. It is important to note that while Sansa operates from the Juan Santamaria International Airport, Nature Air operates out of the domestic Tobias Bolanos Airport in downtown San Jose, a 20 minute drive away.
Most of the domestic flights are moderately priced at $80 one way, but do keep in mind that during peak tourist season flight prices tend to go up. Some important things that you need to keep in mind when traveling by a domestic airline is;
- Infants and children up to the age of 2 fly for free.
- The maximum baggage allowance per person is 25 lbs or 12 kgs including your carry on bags.
- Excess baggage has additional charges.
- Surfboards are often treated as excess baggage, so it is best contact the airline before hand and find out.
- Make sure when you book to ask if they can take your surfboard, some flights don't have room.
- The price of excess baggage is subject to change.
If you have the money, one can also use charter flights to get to the destination of your choice, while they are slightly more costly, they are a great alternative to traveling on your own schedule.
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