Flights to Costa Rica
 

Hi,
I've been watching the fares to CR for several weeks (for travel in the beginning of July, from NY or Hartford). Expedia's fares had stayed pretty steady and then dropped for a couple of days. I - foolishly, it turns out - didn't buy my tickets at that point. Now they're higher than they were originally, and they seem to be edging up. I don't know if there's a "system" to how the pricing works, but should I expect the price to keep going up now, as I'm getting so close to July? Do you think there's a chance they'll drop again? If not, I'd better buy them tomorrow!
Thanks for your help!

Don't you hate it when that happens? I can sympathize because the same thing has happened to us and we wanted to kick ourselves, too! I don't think there is a way in the world you can know what is going to happen with airfare. We got a couple of really good deals from Dallas in 2003, none of which have shown up at all this year. Probably none of us want to advise you one way or the other because they could drop again--but, as you say, July is not a month the airlines have to worry about as far as filling seats for Costa Rica.

I will also be traveling in July and, like you, have watched airfares to Costa Rica go down and back up again. Last year, about this same time, it seemed like the fares were increasing, when earlier in the spring they had been lower. Suddenly, toward the end of April, Continental's fares suddenly dropped from over $600 to $405 (from San Francisco), which is what I ended up paying for our trip last July. I am also reluctant to advise you on whether or not it would be wise to wait (especially given the price of oil these days), but I can tell you that I plan to wait, with fingers crossed, at least for another couple of weeks to see if they start to drop.

BTW, have you checked America West? I could get a RT fare for $433 today, but they only have one departure from SJO each day and it leaves at 7:40 a.m. - yikes!

Terri

Thanks for the replies Terri and Shillmac. I think I'm going to gamble and keep my fingers crossed for a few more days!

Hey there -

Just a quick note - I am flying to Miami (finding cheapest flight from my area (Lou. KY) and then flying Martinair out of Miami. Roundtrip martinair is only 243. So if you can get a cheap flight into miami...this could be a possible option....Just a thought. Good Luck!

jeg, we usually travel from Hartford or Newark and for our last 2 trips to CR (both in August) we were at around $500 which is not great but not bad either. What is the price you are getting? I think if I were you I would probably wait a bit.

Try www.flycheapol.com

We used them for direct flight from Newark to San Jose on Continental in August for under $500.00 each. Name sounds strange, but I know a number of Fodors regulars have used them. I think we first heard about them from one of Iza's posts a couple of years ago.

Some of the travel search engines like orbitz have fare alerts. Just e mail them with your planned dates to CR and they will alert you by e mail when the rates drop.

I have used flycheapol.com too with good results in 2001 but in 2003 their prices were not as good as what I was able to get from on-line agents like expedia or orbitz.

Did think about booking with specific airlines directly?

I usually check between Travelocity (with Fare Watcher), American Airlines (nonstop out of Dallas), and Continental. But it really pays to spend quite a bit of time comparing. Recently, I was working on June airfare, wanted to go out of Oklahoma City (which is closer to us) and connect in Dallas (AA) or Houston (Continental). When I entered the dates through Continental, it came up with a surprise promotional offer (not mentioned in the original price) that was a great deal. Better flight times and everything. Sometimes we feel like we've gotten "lucky" and other times we just bite the bullet. I guess it all averages out. . . .

We always book directly online with either Continental or Taca (from NY). We find that their prices are always better than through the travel websites, and sometimes they have really special online deals, and they give you extra points etc. Taca is usually cheaper.
Pura Vida,
Neta Talmor

Thanks for all the tips. I finally gave in and booked on Expedia for $564.00 per person. That's more than I was hoping for, but at least I don't have to worry about it anymore!
We're planning to go to Arenal, MA, and Tortuguero, with first and last nights in Alajuela. I'm trying to decide on one more place -- either Hacienda Baru or the Sarapiqui area. Any opinions? (We like hiking, but probably wouldn't do rafting.) Thanks.

hey jeg,
I don't know what your cancellation policy is on those tickets but...I just saw tickets from Hartford for 332-362 pp. I was attracted by the $215 pp I saw for DC area then backtracked to find out where you were departing. It may be worth the hassle if you can cancel and rebook. A couple hundred bucks a piece. How many people? Food for thought.

I got mine for June/July in Feb and paid $196. Some friends waited a few weeks and paid $362 and $307, different flights, same day. Now they're back down in the low $200 (from DC area.)

Best of luck to you.

Julie, tica traveler

Traveling next Feb from JFK. Had enough AA miles for one rt, however, no seats on AA. They put me on TACA, which is their partner and has a non stop in both directions. Wife ticket I had to buy, and it was $510.

Julie,
Thank you for checking! I found a Hartford fare for $415 (US Air), but couldn't find one as low as you mentioned for the beginning of July (4 people). Where did you see it?

I like to check sites like orbitz and expedia for fares and take those flight numbers to the carriers websites. Always find cheaper fares this way, at least avoid the $10 fee these sites charge. In this case I found a direct flight to San Jose from NYC for $480 including taxes on Taca.com, compared to $470 and a layover in El Salvador on Expedia.

I really lucked out with a sale US Airways offered a few weeks ago for just a few days. I got a nonstop flight out of Philly for $260 per person!! Anyway, you can never know what the airlines are going to do. I am a travel agent so I can definitely say that their patterns of sales or increases in fares do not make too much sense. You just have to jump on the good deal when you see one.

As a side note, two charter companies who offer flights into Liberia are Apple Vacations & Vacation Express. Generally they advertise with the hotel packages, but you can usually work it out for just airfare - although you will be limited in the days that they fly. But, you can sometimes find good deals this way. Hope it helps!