dawbydo

The two of us arrive at 9:30 pm on a monday and we figure by the time we get our baggage, clear security, exchange some money (can we at this time of night?), and get organized it will be nearing the stroke of midnight so heres a few questions for those who know:

..Can we buy bus tickets to puntarenas in the airport?
...are their lockers we can put our backpacks in so we can have a quick nap
.......are we allowed to sleep in the airport for that fact??

we are catching the first bus to Puntarenas (6:00am hopefully) so we figure there isn't any point in paying hotel prices for a 4hr sleep!

What should we do??
Any info or insight will help!

dawbydo

Anybody?

Kathi

Arrivals are pretty simple, you should be through immigration with your bags in 30 minutes... giving you more time to sleep.

There is an ATM outside arrivals on the 2nd floor where you can get colones. Don't panic if you don't get them right away as US dollars are accepted everywhere.

I cannot help with the bus information or airport sleeping/lockers. It is a small airport and personally I would not want to sleep there or trust leaving my belongings there. Here are 2 places near the airport for about $35 a night:

www.vidatropical.com (which provides your transportation to/from airport and breakfast)

www.pensionalajuela.com

Jeff_Costa_Rica

Airport arrival is really the luck of the draw, especially in the evening. I wouldn't plan on being out of there in 30 minutes though. Several big flights from the U.S. bunch their arrival times together in the evening and it sometimes can be very slow. (But you should be out of there long before midnight.)

There's a currency exchange booth that stays open for flight arrivals just as you enter the baggage claim area. (Turn left.) You'll see an ATM there too. There's another currency exchange booth on your way out after you go through customs. I've never seen any storage lockers in the airport.

You can only buy bus tickets to Puntarenas at the bus terminal.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

Or I guess you could buy your bus ticket from the driver as you board. The bus terminal is in San Jose, probably about a 30-minute taxi ride from the airport. I don't know about local bus service from Alajuela (the city where the airport is) to Puntarenas.

shillmac

Do stay at Vida Tropical. It will be an excellent place for you to lay your head for the night. A taxi can get you there cheaply.

Jeff is correct in that several airlines from the U.S. are scheduled for 9:30 arrivals (or close to it). So good luck with that!

You shouldn't have any trouble catching a bus from Alajuela to Puntarenas. I think there is a schedule on the Monteverde website. Vida Tropical can help you with that, Particularly if you e-mail them ahead and ask them to give you advance info on that.