Country Guide » Travel To & Around
Costa Rica is a small country, but driving distances are pretty long because of the bad conditions of some of the roads. Even though the drive might be scenic and nice, some people really prefer to fly and be able to save time when going from place to place.
There are two domestic airlines which offer flights all over the country: SANSA and Nature Air. The first one is a division of a larger airline called TACA which flies all over Latin American and the USA, while Nature Air is exclusively for Costa Rica, and it also offers a couple of destinations in Nicaragua and Panama. There are also a series of local private companies that charter planes all over the country as well.
The local airports in Costa Rica are usually small airstrips without any facilities for the passenger. None of them are real “terminals” but hangars. Since both SANSA and Nature Air use small aircrafts, these flights rarely have flight attendants. Passengers have to wait for their flight at the hangar, and once the aircraft lands, the pilot or co-pilot himself helps the passengers with their luggage. Only three of the airports listed below offer real terminals – those are: San Jose Intl. Airport, Liberia Intl. Airport and Pavas Intl. Airport.
Here is a list of the most popular airports / airstrips in Costa Rica, and which airline or charter flight company services them.
|
Airport / Airstrip |
Airlines / Companies available |
Frequency |
| San Jose Intl. Airport |
SANSA |
Daily |
| Liberia Intl. Airport |
SANSA / Nature Air |
Daily |
| Tamarindo Airstrip |
SANSA / Nature Air |
Daily |
| Tambor Airstrip |
SANSA / Nature Air |
Daily |
| Islita Airstrip |
Nature Air |
Mon/Wed/Fri |
| Nosara Airstrip |
Nature Air |
Tue/Thur/Sa/Su |
| Carrillo / Samara Airstrip |
SANSA / Nature Air |
* |
| Limon Intl. Airport |
Charters |
** |
| Tortuguero Airstrip |
Nature Air |
Mon/Wed/Fr/Su |
| Pavas Intl. Airport (SYQ) |
Nature Air / Charters |
Daily |
| Palmar Sur Airstrip |
SANSA / Nature Air |
Daily |
| Drake Airstrip |
Nature Air |
* |
| Carate Airstrip |
Charters |
* |
| Cañas/Taboga Airstrip |
Charters |
* |
| Chacarita Airstrip |
Charters |
* |
| Golfito Airstrip |
SANSA / Nature Air |
Daily |
| Arenal / El Tanque Airstrip |
Nature Air |
Daily |
| Quepos / La Managua Airstrip |
SANSA / Nature Air |
Daily |
* The frequency to these destinations varies depending on the season
** Even though Limon is considered to be an International Airport, it’s not really used / serviced by any local airline
Both SANSA and Nature Air have their main offices in San Jose, and there are a few destination towns that have a small office to issue tickets. Reservations are mostly made via internet.
The Costa Rican Government has a plan to develop another larger international airport in Palmar, but this is only in its initial stages.
