Is arrival at airport 2 hours before flight enough time from San jose to Canada?
Jun 6th, 2006, 03:11 PM
#2
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The official requirement is three hours. I've flown in and out of Costa Rica for years and there have been times I've needed all three of those hours. There have been other times I've breezed right through. I've never been able to correlate the time it takes with any time of day, day of the week, or season of the year. I always allow three hours just because you never know.
Jun 6th, 2006, 04:06 PM
#4
Do you have time for this coffee tour....... yes.
Would I do it if I were in your shoes.......No !
You hit one traffic snarl on the way back and and you will be chewing your finger nails !!!
Maybe Zoo Avenue is a better choice.
There is lots of coffee to buy at the airport and lots of chocolate covered coffee beans to eat to your hearts content.
You may pay more at the airport but you will have peace of mind of being already checked in....
Eat enough free coffee beans to make up for the extra coffee cost at the airport. !!!
But beware !!!!
I ate lots of the white chocolate and dark chocolate covered coffee beans .... and
about an hour later I was ready to fly home.... WITHOUT the plane !!!!
I agree with Jeff
Percy
Would I do it if I were in your shoes.......No !
You hit one traffic snarl on the way back and and you will be chewing your finger nails !!!
Maybe Zoo Avenue is a better choice.
There is lots of coffee to buy at the airport and lots of chocolate covered coffee beans to eat to your hearts content.
You may pay more at the airport but you will have peace of mind of being already checked in....
Eat enough free coffee beans to make up for the extra coffee cost at the airport. !!!
But beware !!!!
I ate lots of the white chocolate and dark chocolate covered coffee beans .... and
about an hour later I was ready to fly home.... WITHOUT the plane !!!!
I agree with Jeff
Percy
Jun 6th, 2006, 04:42 PM
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ha ha Percy, I brought a lot of those choc/coffee beans back with me and one of the girls had a few too many! I thought we might have to duct tape her to her chair.
and back on topic, I wouldn't chance it! Cutting it just too close.
and back on topic, I wouldn't chance it! Cutting it just too close.
Jun 6th, 2006, 06:21 PM
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Gail,
Do you happen to be taking the Air Canada flight to Toronto that leaves about 1.30 PM. I can give you my personal experience with that as I have taken it many times. 3 hours is definitely overkill. 75 to90 minutes prior is more than adequate. In May I arrived at noon, had time to buy the airport tax, check in, go through the security and buy duty free and overdose on the free Britt samples..
and still sit in the lounge and wait till boarding. From my experience, the mornings are very hectic at the airport as there are lots of flights leaving at very close to the same time. Once you get past those blocks, things are not as bad. It also depends on the size of the aircraft and how fully it is booked as to how long her check in time can be.
And as for road traffic, ditto - your times are not in the rush hour times - so barring unforseen circumstances, like breakdowns or strikes or accidents, that shouldn't be an issue.
I think its doable. However as others have said you have to decide if it will cause too much stress.
raquel
Do you happen to be taking the Air Canada flight to Toronto that leaves about 1.30 PM. I can give you my personal experience with that as I have taken it many times. 3 hours is definitely overkill. 75 to90 minutes prior is more than adequate. In May I arrived at noon, had time to buy the airport tax, check in, go through the security and buy duty free and overdose on the free Britt samples..
and still sit in the lounge and wait till boarding. From my experience, the mornings are very hectic at the airport as there are lots of flights leaving at very close to the same time. Once you get past those blocks, things are not as bad. It also depends on the size of the aircraft and how fully it is booked as to how long her check in time can be.And as for road traffic, ditto - your times are not in the rush hour times - so barring unforseen circumstances, like breakdowns or strikes or accidents, that shouldn't be an issue.
I think its doable. However as others have said you have to decide if it will cause too much stress.
raquel
Jun 7th, 2006, 08:13 AM
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To help expedite checking in, pay your departure tax when you get to Costa Rica, this will save time (look for the booth near the immigration lines).
We left on a Saturday morning and it took us about 45 minutes to check in. We had a LOT of time to kill.
Karen
We left on a Saturday morning and it took us about 45 minutes to check in. We had a LOT of time to kill.
Karen
Jun 7th, 2006, 03:03 PM
#8
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i guess the moral of the story is...as a forum their opinion, and get 50 answers 
As of right now, i'm not considering that 1:25 Air Canada flight because that is way too tight. The flight i'm considering leaves at 2pm.
If I don't spend too much time contemplating coffee purchases (i am SUPER indecisive), I could actually leave the tour at 11 and get to the airport at 11:30 getting me there 2.5 hours early.
I am going to try and find a later flight...but I guess I'm might take the risk and try and squeeze it in...cross my fingers.
As of right now, i'm not considering that 1:25 Air Canada flight because that is way too tight. The flight i'm considering leaves at 2pm.
If I don't spend too much time contemplating coffee purchases (i am SUPER indecisive), I could actually leave the tour at 11 and get to the airport at 11:30 getting me there 2.5 hours early.
I am going to try and find a later flight...but I guess I'm might take the risk and try and squeeze it in...cross my fingers.
Jun 7th, 2006, 05:04 PM
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Gail, no question that leaving mid-day is a lot less hassle than early morning when several large flights are all bunched together, and 2.5 hours is probably enough time. That's the thing about Costa Rica, though: you always have to qualify things with "probably." I have breezed through purchase of the tax, check-in, and security in 45 minutes -- I flew out last week and was amazed to do it all in 15 -- but I would never advise someone to give themselves only that amount of time, because there have been enough other occasions when the whole process took two-plus hours. All it takes is one flight, your airline or another, that gets cancelled or delayed, and you've greatly upped the number of passengers in the terminal all trying to get through security at the same time you are. The odds are in your favor that everything will be okay, but there's never any way to predict these things with 100% certainty.
You *should* be okay with 2.5 hours. There's one of those qualifying words again.
I have breezed through purchase of the tax, check-in, and security in 45 minutes -- I flew out last week and was amazed to do it all in 15 -- but I would never advise someone to give themselves only that amount of time, because there have been enough other occasions when the whole process took two-plus hours. All it takes is one flight, your airline or another, that gets cancelled or delayed, and you've greatly upped the number of passengers in the terminal all trying to get through security at the same time you are. The odds are in your favor that everything will be okay, but there's never any way to predict these things with 100% certainty.You *should* be okay with 2.5 hours. There's one of those qualifying words again.
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