Nature Air vs. Sansa
 

I think this is really the last detail we have left to plan. I've done a search and read the previous posts, but most of them are a few years old.

Other than the location of the terminals, is there really a difference between the two airlines? Or should we just go with which schedule suits us best? To fly to Puerto Jimenez, we'll be driving ourselves, coming from Peace Lodge....which terminal would be most convenient? Oh, I guess we'll have to return our rental car though. We're using Tricolor. How will that work? We return the car and they hopefully bring us to the terminal? And then on our arrival back into San Jose, we have one final night, which I'm not sure yet where we are staying. If a hotel provides airport transfers, will they pick us up at either Sansa or Nature Air? Or do they just mean they will pick up at the SJO airport? We may be staying at the Costa Rica Marriott - we have a friend who works for Marriott who may be able to get us a room there for our last night - very discounted rate and for an early flight home, it may work well.

So, is there a preferred airline to take to Puerto Jimenez?

Thanks again for the help!

We have only flown Nature Air. I had read that their safety record was better, but don't have any proof of that. The flights were on time. Pilots very proffessional. Plane was very clean and appeared new. I guess there is some difference in the type of airplane each uses also. Someone here will know that info. The hotels will pick you up at either airport but remember to confirm with them that they have the right one written down.

We're taking Sansa down to PJ, Nature Air back--to get the times we wanted. Sansa definitely more convenient to you after dropping off at Tricolor, and yes, they will take you over to the terminal. Not sure about pick up should you be returning on Nature Air. We'll probably take a taxi to the Tricolor office.

Nature Air - two prop planes
Sansa- one prop

We used Sansa to Pj on the Osa last year with no problems.

Tricolor will pick you up at Pavas and drive you back to the SJ office. I just did this.

I prefer Nature Air. Their scheduling is more reliable -- Sansa seems to drop people off of the flight manifests from time to time.

Sandy

One difference used to be that Nature Air flies twin engine planes and Sansa single. That stuck in my mind! Not sure if this is still true. Nevertheless we ended up flying Sansa cause that's what worked for our schedule ...

Nature Air has a slightly better safety record as mentioned, and the twin prop thing as well. The first trip with our children we used Nature Air for this reason, but the last trip with them and our 2 previous trips without them we used Sansa with no difficulties.

I always use Sansa, just due to convenience of location and they have more flights and better flight times. Not sure on this, but I think in past several years, Nature Air has had 1 fatal accident and Sansa has had 2, so it's not a huge difference.

I'm not so sure those stats are going to relax anyone! Don't worry and enjoy the ride I say.

How many seats on the Nature air down to PJ?

Nature Air was great, BUT they fly out of a different airport, so you have to take a Taxi if you are connecting from one of the international airlines - it looks like a short hop on the map, but it wasn't.

I use Nature Air for the schedules. They just seem to fit better even with the taxi drive.

We've always used Sansa and liked them - I like the convenience of their airport being right next door to SJO. I've heard they are remodeling their terminal.

This might seem like a silly question but how do you get to the Sansa terminal from the Int'l one? I know it's right next door but when you exit the Int'l airport it's very congested there & walking with the luggage seems a little inconvenient.
Is there another way to get there? Thanks!

You could take a taxi but by the time you do that and do the u-turn across the busy road you could've walked there. As soon as you walk out, just hang a left, down the sidewalk slope and keep bearing left along the fence, past the little fire station and into the sansa parking lot.

Here's a marked up google earth: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLan...localeid=en_US You can see the sidewalk, fire station & Sansa parking lot

Thanks Tully! Walking it will be...I'm counting down, 2 more months until our trip to BDC. Can't wait!!

We've flown both Sansa as well as N.A. On the way to BdC we took Sansa. The plane is a single propella whereas the NA planes are double. I think that makes a difference in the smoothness of the ride. Also, NA is more true to their schedules. I know of a few people who have had their Sansa flight times changed with absolutely no notice whatsoever. A bit unprofessional and you could end up missing connectios.
Nature Air is my preference.

Thanks for the tip about checking Sansa flight times...ours have been changed from a 9:30am San Jose departure to 2:20pm and I'm not happy. I used my TACA frequent flier miles to purchase the tix back in July which was no easy task & even though the 8:30am flight is still available I'm not sure I'll be able to find someone who can help make the change to the earlier flight. To make the reservations I had to drive from Long Island to Queens & argue with the TACA ticket agent about whether or not Sansa even flew to PJ. It took 2 weeks and a lot of phone calls and emails to finally get our reservations confirmed. Now Sansa won't help me because TACA made the reservations and of course TACA can't help me because it's a Sansa flight. I've been able to email a res agent in San Jose who sounds like she may be able to help and assuming she can I guess my next question should be is there anything to do in Puerto Jiminez or the surrounding area before we can check into BDC? or are we better off going straight to the hotel & just having them hold our luggage until our room is ready? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Our room wasn't ready when we got to BdC; we had a cold drink and had them walk us through everything. They would be happy to hold your luggage while you go explore or check out the trails.

To second VG's comments, we found the BdC staff to be wonderfully accommodating. Our flight down was delayed and we arrived after their set lunch time was over. They kept the kitchen open for us and made sure we had a good meal.

shelld - reconfirm your flight times if you book Sansa. We got switched just like petite43 did, but didn't find out until we checked in. Most people say that Nature Air is more reliable for flight times, but our flight from San Jose to Arenal was delayed an hour, so you just don't know what might happen with either airline.

Yeah, just double check that morning if you can. This past week, one of our Sansa flights was canceled but we didn't know until we showed up at the ticket counter (luckily, we were able to get on an alternate Nature Air flight).

Welcome back, Plumboy! I see you lurking on these posts, and of course, want to know how it went on your trip. Are we to expect a trip report shortly?

Thanks! So not happy to be back :(

I am going to post a little report soon, but we had an amazing time on this 2nd trip to CR. Even better than the last time. Much to tell. As soon as I get caught up here at work, I'll put something together...

plumboy - Am so glad you got to go to CR!! Wasn't sure if you were going to be able to make it. Didn't get to find out before we left. Did you love Congo and Bosque? Was the gecko still there? Did you meet Steve and Kathy? Was the family with the two nice boys still there? They were there two years ago when we were there, and they arrived on our last day. We recognized each other right away. Sorry, for all the questions. Anxious to read your report!

Congo was beyond my dreams -- honestly, I still can't believe that view was real. No photos could ever do it justice, I don't think. I think it's unhealthy to be so attached to a particular cabin though! I found myself thinking the other cabins -- the ones a bit further below -- probably had more critters running around. I think they all have their pluses.

Were Steve and Kathy the couple staying in Lapa? From Canada? If so, yes, definitely talked with them a bit.

No gecko, unfortunately. We didn't see a gecko until our very last night at Orquideas Inn, believe it or not. We did have a marine toad in our cabin one night though -- that was fun.

Yes, I think the couple with the boys were still there -- didn't get a chance to talk to them much, though. I have to be honest, we're not THE most social people in the world! :) I know that's blasphemous at a place like BdC, but it just takes us longer to warm up, and we were there only three nights. Next time, we're going to stay a little longer and try to get to know people a bit more. Had some great conversations with Kim and Phil, Gerly, Xinnia -- and a couple I had chatted with on Trip Advisor before leaving. More soon...

Well, after 4 days of emails and phone calls to a very sweet Sansa reservation agent our flights have been confirmed (again)
First she misunderstood & changed our departure flight to an earlier one, next I was advised our 2:30pm arrival flight had been canceled altogether so I wound up getting the 8:30am flight I wanted after all...without any extra charges. At least that's how it looks today. I'll be sure to check again closer to May. Thanks again for the tip about reconfirming our flights. Since there will be 6 of us I'm sure it would have been a problem if I hadn't taken care of all this now. I'm glad to hear we should be able to check out the grounds at BDC while waiting for our room. It's been 4 years since our whole family has been able to take a vacation together so I'm really looking forward to this trip.

I've flown Sansa on 4 different trips to CR and had no problems. My flight times changed by about a half hour (earlier) for my last trip this month. The lodge where I stayed had arranged the flights for me and they e-mailed me the flight change information prior to my arrival in Costa Rica. I was later told that Sansa was changing flight times due to high winds that have been a recent problem. I think regardless of the airline you choose, it's always a good idea to regularly check your itinerary.

BTW, the new Sansa terminal at SJO is almost complete and much more comfortable than the old one.

The flight time changes for Sansa aren't just delays -- they straight up drop flights if they don't sell enough seats! After having this happen to me twice, both changes to the next scheduled departure change, someone in the terminal explained that to me. Great for their budgeting -- not great when you're trying to make an international connection!

While both may have flight delays due to weather this season at times, Nature Air does not use this sneaky tactic of canceling pre-scheduled flights, even if it's just you and 2 other people on the plane.

Crblogger - I've never had problems with Sansa but want to point out it's never a good idea to try and connect a local flight to an Int'l one on the same day.

Lots of good information here, thanks so much for everyones efforts...My USairways flight is scheduled to land at 1:35pm. There is a 3:30 Sansa flight to Quepos and it is their last flight of the day...after reading all this, sounds like I should drive?? What do you guys think?

There is a Delta flight that arrives 2 hours earlier but is $225 more expensive and I would lose all those flyers miles which puts me over a free trip!! Your opinion counts!!

johnb

It only takes 5 minutes to get from the main terminal to Sansa so your timing looks good. However, if your USAirways flight is delayed, it might be a problem.

You might consider either renting a car or just taking a shared van shuttle such as Interbus or Grayline. Depends on if you are interested in renting a car for your whole vacation. Of course, you can always hire a private driver for about the cost of flights for two. www.tucanlimoservices.com For shuttle information, www.shuttlebus.co.cr

I would probably go for it, but we have had our incoming flights delayed several times so there's no guarantee.