Forgive what could possibly be a dumb question ! My sisters boyfriend insists he wants to land in Liberia ( the travel agent said to ) I am unfamilar with this area , what are the advantages , is Monteverde closer ? Etc.

No question is dumb.
Funny you asked; my kids had just said if they return to CR, they would prefer to land in Liberia as they most enjoyed the Guanacaste area. Don't know if Liberia is closer to Monteverde, but I know someone else on the forum will. LIberia airport is closer to the NW Pacific beach area.

I believe it looks closer to Monteverde , and maybe even Arenal ??? At least on the map I was looking at . Tamarindo is a booming town from what I gather , Obviously lots of people really love it . I personally like things a lot more lush and hilly . The tickets are going to be about 800.00 more expensive just for landing there ? They are 600.00 pp tx. included for San Jose , and 1000.00 pp for Liberia . I guess you also land there to go to tamarindo ? Input is great , thanx ! Faith

faithie:

Yes Monteverde is closer and so is Arenal BUT not that much that it would make any difference.
It is not just mileage but also how easy it is to get there and the roads also.

Arenal to Monteverde would be a breeze if the road was not so awful.

Liberia is of course closer to all the beaches along the Northern Pacific Coastline.

I cannot understand why the price difference is so great, maybe because you have to do a little "milk run" to get there from where you are.

During the winter time there are charters flights going to Liberia.
I just got back ,last month, and we landed in Liberia and it was cheaper than going to San Jose.!!!

If you want to do the Guanacaste area , then for sure this is the place to land.

Percy

For right now the 600.00 price tag is great out of Montreal . 1000.00does seem a lot for Liberia . I guess they can still land in San Jose , go to Arenal , Then Monteverde ? They want to end the trip at the beach , Tamarindo or Playa Samara might be more his style . For the savings of 800.00 is this a good idea to do it out of San Jose ? Thanx

Sure he can go out of San Jose.

If he is going to rent a vehicle and
drive then he just has to drive a little further to get to Tamarindo and then back again to San Jose..but he is saving $ 800.00 which would pay for vehicle and gas .

It is a tough road to Monteverde not matter which road you try to take.

Percy

I think they want to try to do things by interbus , or local bus , sort of the backpacker thing ? Feasible ? Probably land , one night in Orquedias Inn outside San Jose , leave for Arenal in the A.M., spend 2 nights , leave for Monteverde , spend one or two nights , then on to whatever beach . Is this possible by interbus , directos , etc. ???? Thanx a bunch Percy !!! Faith

faithie

I think I will let someone answer who has actually used the interbus.

The thing with inter bus is the stops along the way to pick up other people in other towns.

You will have to spend two nights in Monteverde, since you have come this far on this bumpy road, there is no use whizzing through it.

You might as well see all you can in Monteverde.

Everything is doable ...it is just the time and the ride involved.

You will have a long bus ride from Tamarindo back to San Jose , so you better plan on staying the night before your flight near the airport....like at the
Orquedias Inn again.

Percy

Percy, I think Interbus doesn't stop but is direct between locations. The public buses make all those stops. Interbus, if you look at their schedule, just runs between the more popular locations and doesn't pick up people in between. That's why it cost $30-35 per person rather than $3.00 per person on the public bus! I'm not speaking from personal experience, however.

For sure, a savings of $800 (unless you had more $ to sling around than you know where to sling it!) would justify flying into San Jose. From Tamarindo and the Pacific, they'd just want to be sure and return the evening before. Or catch a morning domestic flight (which they could do for about $80 per person).

Thanx people , I will pass all info. on to my sister and boyfriend . There are actually 3 bus options from what I understand , the inrerbus or grayline , the local, and the local Directo . Once again thanx , with all your help I will figure it out for them ! Now , back to my neices trip !!!! Faith .

We flew into Liberia, our first trip down. It was on a Charter, from Atlanta with Vacation Express. Since then I have found lots of good air only deals with them, however the dates never worked. And as Percy says, there are lots of Charters that fly into there. Don't know what Charter Companies you have, but it would be a good place to check.

Liberia airport was fun. Very small, open air terminal, and I believe just one runway. That was back in 2000 and things do change.

It was however a fun experience.

We find that the major airlines always tend to be a hundred to two hundred more to fly in there. However if the price were more competitive, we would not hesitate to fly into Liberia.

I guess I will tell my sister that if they can save 800.00 to do so , and land in San Jose . From what I understand it is not a huge differance in terms of getting to Arenal , then Monteverde . Obviously if your interests lie in the Guanacaste region alone , and the beaches in that area , liberia is the spot . Thanx !!!

Your correct shillmac about the buses.
I was getting the interbus mixed up with the public bus.

Yes, an $800.00 saving is a major reason to fly into San Jose.

I think once you have seen all you want to in Arenal ,you can moveon to Monteverde...

But we all agree , get to San Jose Airport the night before...or if you have a later afternoon flight then take an early morning flight from Tamarindo.

What would I do ?
I would stay the night before very close to the San Jose Airport...then if you have time to kill the next morning...go to Zoo Avenue.

Percy

Not sure where your sister is planning to fly out from, but American Airlines is running a sale from 17 American cities to Liberia. Example: $281 from Chicago. From the information I received, the fares were only good to Liberia. Maybe this is why the travel agent suggested it?

Sara

It is out of Montreal for 1000.00 dollars . To san Jose for 600.00 . Thanx though !!