mosey10

Hi again,

For those of you who have been to SJO lately. How long did it take you to get out and be on the road? Our flight arrives at 10:28am. Not sure what times are busiest for arrivals. Anyway. We're also renting from Dollar. How long do you think all of this will take and we're on the road?

Now for the way back. How far in advance do you recommend we get to SJO to return our car, check in...etc for a flight at 1:50 pm? Some things quote 3 hours, do we really need 3 hours. My boss just came back and said 2 was enough. What do you think?

Thanks!

Kathi

I was just there last week. Arrived at 11:30am. Was through immigration in 5 minutes. Didn't have checked luggage, so from time I left plane to departing airport was probably 15 minutes.

2 hours is a good amount for your return. Go into terminal, pay $26 departure tax. Check-in with airline. Then security - expect about 20 min. wait to get through security. So 2 hours is fine.

shillmac

2 hours is not enough if you are including the time it takes to check in your rental car and then have them take you to the airport. Allow 30 minutes for this process, minimum--if they are busy, it could be longer. Don't put yourself in a position to arrive at the airport any LESS than 2 hours prior to departure. Plan for some cushion. No need to have to get frantic at the end after a wonderful, relaxing vacation! So, yes, plan for 3 hours from the time you arrive at Dollar, take car of car business, and finally arrive at the airport.

A note of caution: Dollar is not particularly easy to get to coming from the west. It is easy to miss the exit. Before you drive out of their lot that first day, get detailed information (AND WRITE IT DOWN) regarding directions on returning. This could cost you 30 extra minutes or more. Wouldn't be fun. I speak from experience!

dfarmer

As for arriving - (if you have checked luggage) we have experienced anything from 20 - 30 mins to 1 1/2 hours. So it is impossible to know, truly depends on the circumstances of the moment. This year there were two lines open for luggage check - in one line was a band, with loads of equipment being hand checked - in the other line were two women that had obviously been on a shopping spree in the US, with huge bags that would hold a grown adult, each item being handchecked.

For departure - ditto - no less than 2 hours in the airport! If you are lucky to get through more quickly, you can always shop!

nibblette

Depends on the day you arrive and leave. Arriving on Saturday about 1PM, it was absolutely packed. Took slightly almost 2 hours to get through with checked luggage.

Departure, again, time and day dependent. Left on a Saturday morning which appeares to be a very popular time. Long lines at departure tax (though thru in 20 min). Every third person had the luggage hand-checked so checking in was very, very slow.
If you also have a car to return, go with shillmac's suggestion of 3 hours. From what I saw, if you are late they will NOT rush you thru. You can still get pulled for luggage hand-checking.

nibblette

Forgot to add, traveled with some people who had mid-day flights home. They were told they have to get to the airport at least 2 hours early because that apparently is the most popular time to depart.

mosey10

Ok. Thanks guys. I will estimate 2 hours to get out, rent the car, and be on our way. That way, if it's quicker we'll be happily suprised. We come in on a Tuesday by the way. Hope it's not so crowded mid week. On the way back we'll try to leave Peace Lodge by 9:00am. Estimate 2 hours to drive to the airport, we'll be at the rental place by 11:00. So about 3 hours before our flight. We leave on a Sunday, so I think we better get there with time. Thanks for all the input!

mosey10

Oh. I just saw most of you say it takes only one hour from Peace Lodge to SJO. So...maybe we'll leave a bit closer to 10:00. We'll just wake up, have breakfast and then head off. Thanks again for your replies!

rdp

Since we are on the topic and there appears to be some experts (as usual) - we depart SJO on Sat. at 2pm. We currently are booked on the Sansa 9:25am flight from Quepos to SJO. Do you think this is do-able? I'm assuming Sansa will be at least 1hr late which would put us at SJO around 11am or so. Even it's 1.5hrs late, that's still around 11:30am. Thoughts??

tully

rdp - there's always a risk, but I did pretty much your same schedule last year and still had way too much time to kill. In fact I had to wait an hour or so just for the airline desk to open. Never 100% sure, but I think you should be fine.

shillmac

Weird things can happen also. Last October, one of the security scanners broke down, and there was only one line at security for many people. We were in that one line for over an hour (after we had paid the departure tax, got boarding passes, and checked our luggage). You just never know!

Have a great trip, Mosey. When are you leaving?

mosey10

Leaving tomorrow!!! I'm so excited. Thanks to everyone on this board for all your help. I can't tell you how much you helped me. I will be sure to write a report when I get back!