Costa Rica | Travel By Air, Water & Road

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Getting Around by Air

SANSA (website: www.flysansa.com) operates services between San José and provincial towns and tourist resorts, including Tortuguero, Tamarindo, Quepos and Golfito. A bus is provided from the airline offices in San José to the airport. SANSA's main rival is Nature Air (website: www.natureair.net), which is considered to have more reliable service and has identical routes. Both use a variety of aircraft carrying up to 35 passengers. A number of companies also provide internal charter flights using small planes.

Getting Around by Rail

There is a train that goes once daily from San José to Caldera, near Puntarenas on the Pacific Coast. Contact the national rail operators INCOFER (tel: 233 3300) for more information. The 4-hour journey is operated as a scenic ride. Local service (tel: 257 6161) connects San José to Pavas and San Pedro, in the western and eastern suburbs, respectively.

Getting Around by Road

Traffic drives on the right. The standard of the roads ranged from generally very good in the highlands to abysmal in many rural regions. Potholes are frequent, many roads remain unpaved, and during wet season landslides are common. There are 35,583km (22,110 miles) of all-weather highways including 663km (412 miles) of the Inter-American Highway and highways linking San José with the other principal towns.

Bus: There are regular and inexpensive services to most towns using modern air-conditioned, but buses are often crowded so pre-booking is advisable. Numerous bus companies compete. Interbus (tel: 283 5573; website: www.interbusonline.com) and Grayline Fantasy Bus (tel: 220 1226; website: www.graylinecostarica.com) operate scheduled services connecting key tourist destinations with each other and with San José.

Taxi: Numerous and inexpensive in San José. The taxis are coloured red (except those serving the Juan Santamaría International Airport, which are orange). Taxis are usually metered, but few drivers use the meters as they figure they can extract more money from tourists by not doing so. Ask your hotel concierge how much a fare should be, and negotiate with the driver to an agreed amount before setting off.

Car hire: Major international car hire companies as well as local firms have offices in San José.

Regulations: A speed limit of 88kph (55mph) is enforced on most highways. However, Costa Ricans are notoriously dangerous drivers who pay little heed to speed limits and traffic regulations. Use of seat belts is mandatory.

Documentation: Drivers must have a national licence or International Driving Permit. You must be 25 years of age to rent from most car rental agencies.