ateabag

Just found out this am that Natureair was discontinuing service to Granada! We are staying at Pelican Eyes & were planning to fly into Arenal. What are our options & the best way to do it now? Many, many thx!

krbr17

Do a Google search for these, and maybe they'll be able to get you where you need to go. There are probably additional options but I just don't know them. Good luck!

Air:
- Sansa Air

Ground:
- Interbus
- Costa Rica Transfers
- Costa Rica Shuttle
- Vantrans

Car Rental:
- Tricolor

Suzie2

Check out Tica Bus or Nica Bus.

Macaw Air does a charter flight to Granada so you could probably get from Granada to Liberia via air. You could then have a ground transport arranged to pick you up at the Liberia Airport or you could rent a car and drive yourselves.

What a pain that they would do this after you get everything set.

Good Luck.

ateabag

Thank you for your kind & timely help! The good news is that I found this out before we left so have time to fix this & Nature air was kind enough to give us a full refund. Did some calling this am & Pelican Eyes said they could arrange a Nica driver to take us to the border to be met with a CR driver to take us to Liberia-$150. He was going to ck into the bus. Both Arenal Paraiso & VDV were kind enough to advise me-both felt that flying from Managua to SJO was a better option via Sansa. It is exactly the same rate from Tricolor & we get an xtra day so sounds like renting a vehicle is not a problem. Vista del Valle has room for us to overnite before our drive to Arenal. Thx for condolences, it was a bit of a panic this am. Any thoughts on all of this?? Many, many thx

NicaZ

I did this trip before and actually hired a car from Granada to the Costa Rican border, then another from the border to near Liberia. It was about 100$ but worth every penny. The bus is cheap and gets you there but is a mess. We waited at the border for 2 1/2 hours on the bus. We took the car service there the whole way for 3 hours and the bus back took us 9 (especially because it was 3 hours late). DEFINITELY worth the convenience of hiring someone especially if Pelican eyes said they would arrange it. I would ask for less than $150 though. If you want a driver in Granada, I know some good people to recommend so just reply back here...Not the best cars but safe drivers....And it is also probably quicker than flying MGA to SJO-- the drive from there to Liberia is outrageously long.

NicaZ

Oh! And one more thing-- I am not sure what your experience is in Central America, but unless its extensive, I would never ever recommend driving yourself. Plus, if you have an accident the insurance issues are lengthy and expensive. Not a good idea unless you are a pro!

Suzie2

I am so glad you have gotten such good advice from lots of people. I'll bet it has taken a lot of the worry off you. Now you can get back to being excited about the trip. Good news that Nature Air refunded your money.

After seeing two cars being repaired, latin american style, I am a believer that nothing can't be fixed down there whether it is a physical object or a travel issue.

Sounds to me like the Managua to San Jose would be the best fix if you can get to Managua easily enough. On the other hand you would get to see a lot of the country going by private transport and you would get to Arenal that same day. VdV is so nice though......hmmmmmm. These are the kind of tough decisions I like to have.

Let us know what you decide and do give us a report on Pelican Eyes.

ateabag

I don;t know what I would do without you all! Anyone give a guess how many hours in the car it would take to get to Arenal from Pelican Eyes?? Still working on it....

ateabag

I cannot thank you all enough for your kind responses. All advisements were good & held merit. The opinions seemed to be as regionally divided as the countries. I am sure either way would have worked but the border crossing with a taxi waiting made us a little uneasy even though I am confident Pelican eyes would have put us in capable hands. We are ticketed to fly out of Managua into SJO. VDV had room for us in one of the cottages with outside shower so should be a pleasant stay. Rental vehicle does not seem to be an issue. Now the ? is, we would like to stop at La Paz waterfall gardens either on the way up to Arenal or back from Monteverde. The problem is how to do this with the luggage in the SUV . I have read that it is not a good idea to leave the vehicle unattended with luggage in it. Would it be advisable to view the gardens one at a time, leaving someone in the vehicle or is their parking in a secured area? Or would it be prudent to drop the luggage at VDV, then backtrack to see the gardens. I have no idea how far the two are apart. Thx again!

shillmac

The 2 are 45 min to an hour apart, I'd guess. You know, we are very cautious about that same issue. And try very hard to plan our trip so we don't have to worry about it. But a couple of years ago, en route to the Caribbean lowlands from the central valley, we stopped to tour La Paz--left our stuff and it was fine. I remember that we didn't even think twice about it or worry about it. There must have been someone on duty there to ease our minds. Otherwise I would remember worrying about it the entire time we were in the park! All was well. . ..