One piece of advice
 

Hello fellow travelers.

Unfortunately, our trip to Costa Rica was cut short to only 24 hours. We were due to fly to the Osa Peninsula on the 6 a.m. flight the morning that Tropical Storm Alma decided to visit. All flights canceled, airport didn't even open. Due to this and the 7-week forecast of heavy rains we decided to make a quick exit to the San Jose airport.

My biggest piece of advice........
Prepay your departure tax! I had every intention of doing this but then forgot and had we done this, we would have been able to get on the 7 a.m. flight instead of the 1 p.m. flight to Houston. We could have saved ourselves 6.5 hours at the airport. You just never know what will happen so prepay!!

We hope to reschedule in December or January. Peace Lodge is the only hotel that would not let us cancel without 100% penalty. Bosque del Cabo was great, gracious about it and knew we couldn't have gotten to them. Nature Air still intends to charge us even though they cancelled all flights for 48 hours.

Another piece of advice - get trip insurance! We did and we are glad we did for the very reasons stated above.

Holy cow, that's a bummer. Did you get to see anything in 24 hours? I'm glad to hear BdC was so great about it; I wouldn't expect anything less. How much was the trip insurance? I've always wondered about that, and how do you go about buying it?

Trip insurance is really an important part of planning a vacation. There are several companies that offer it but I always use Travelguard. I have submitted claims a couple of times & received reimbursements very quickly, I would definitely recommend them. You can purchase it from their website with a credit card. The cost varies depending upon the cost of your trip & the type of coverage you're looking for.

Charli47: Sorry to hear about your experience, hopefully you will be able to reschedule.

So sorry about the disappointment--I've thought about TI for a long time. Will be looking into it. Thanks, Petite. . .

I've never bought trip insurance and never needed it. After so many years of travel, I figure it something happens now, I'm still going to be money ahead by not having paid all those premiums.

Not that I think this is a good idea, I think we've just been lucky.

The main reason I purchase the insurance is for the medical/ evacuation protection. If you're seriously injured somewhere and need to be flown back to the US for medical attention it's extremely expensive. Also, most health insurance companies will not provide coverage out of the US. Not that bad things can't happen anywhere but in my opinion the chances of that certainly increase in CR. Between the driving conditions, strong currents, insects, snakes & all those fun adventure activities I wouldn't think of traveling without the insurance.

charli47
I'm sorry to hear about your bad experiance in CR. What do you mean about the 7 week forecast? We are going to CR on July 1st for 10 days and I'm getting worried.

for those interested in trip insurance, there is a site called insuremytrip.com that offers immediate quotes from several vendors in one location. Just input your trip dates, costs, and ages, and can view quotes and details applicable to your trip.

You can either purchase from them, or go directly to the insurance company sites to make your purchase.

Petite is absolutely right - always check with your medical insurance company to see if you are covered for medical expenses outside of the U.S. Even so, most insurance companies will not offer emergency evacuation transportation, so your travel insurance can be worth its weight in gold. Not to be morbid, but most insurance companies also won't cover cost of repatriation of remains while travel insurance companies do - thank God, I've not had to utilize it!! I lead travel groups worldwide and require that they have travel insurance. One experience with a Kiwi in New Orleans showed me the value of travel insurance - after a sudden illness it covered flying her daughter and husband from Auckland, ICU/surgery/hospital bills, casket/mortuary/repatriation in hermetically sealed casket. I never travel anywhere without travel insurance! I always use TravelGuard, but must admit I've never had to file a claim and hope I can keep that record going....

I'm interested in the response about the 7 week forecast also, since we're scheduled to leave on July 12th.

>> Also, most health insurance companies will not provide coverage out of the US.

Don't want to nitpick but I'm pretty sure this isn't true. I've had health insurance through various major providers through the years and they all do cover you for emergency medical care while on short-term foreign vacations. I've done longer stints in foreign countries and, each time, my health insurance covered me for up to 6-month stays outside of the U.S.

Obviously, you wouldn't expect a foreign hospital to accept your insurance card and bill your provider. You will have to handle your bill and then submit a claim for reimbursement. Even so, you will probably be surprised how much cheaper medical care is (even for an emergency) in other countries.

I do, however, think that travel insurance is a good idea, especially when you're traveling during risky weather seasons. I've noticed that most airlines these days are not obligated to refund your tickets (though many still do under their discretion) if flights are disrupted for reasons "beyond their control" and weather is a big issue there.

I'm thinking she probably meant 7 DAY forecast.

We have used travel insurance a few times. We don't buy it every time but we were worried about some things going on just before a few trips so we bought it just in case. Glad we did because we would have lost a pretty penny.

My husbands aunt had to be airlifted by helicopter from an Alaskan cruise and it was covered by their trip insurance.

It is a crap shoot as to whether it is worth it or not. It certainly paid for itself for us.

I never used to get trip insurance since my medical will cover me outside of the U.S. However, once I became responsible for my 101 year old aunt, I have been getting it in case I need to book an emergency flight home. My last trip to CR I got trip insurance for myself and also for my son and his fiance. I had to take my son to the hospital the day before we left, so I am now waiting for reimbursement from trip insurance. It's a good idea and only cost me $35/person.

Thanks volcanogirl, that would make sense, 7 days :) If I'd posted early in the morning, I'd blame it on not enough coffee, but in this case I have no excuse!

When returning from a Peru trip, I watched an American getting literally dumped off at the airport by an ambulance. She had accidentally been shot (don't know those details) in Lima, had to have surgery, no trip insurance, and had to endure a long, full flight back to Houston while in a full leg cast. I can only imagine the pain she experienced. I always buy trip insurance. Read your medical insurance policy. Many do not cover overseas expenses.

volcanogirl,

You have got to be right....7 days not weeks. I panicked. I've been so busy getting the right clothes for everyone and making sure I have headlamps and poncho's etc. It's a big difference from last years vacation to Alaska when I was packing fleece for everyone!

Thanks for all the help I received from this board.

If it really is 7 weeks, then we're in trouble too because we're off in July. Everyone think good weather thoughts. :)

VG-Where are you in July? Maybe we will cross paths. I am thinking good weather thoughts :)

Im interested in the travel insurance.I have purchased airplane tickets and some hotels using points. I can't tell from the info posted whether this will effect the coverage. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience? Thanks