sylviam

We are staying at BDC and can't decide what time we should fly out on Nature Air. Check in time at BDC is not until 2pm. We are staying in Arenal and were debating if we should leave late in the day and stay overnight in San Jose for a morning flight to BDC like the 8:30 am or 10:50 or if we should stay in Arenal, leave early the next am for the 3 hour drive and catch a later flight.

Any suggestions?

hipvirgochick

I wouldn't worry about check-in time because you can always leave your luggage at reception and do a hike if you're early.

Personally, I avoid 1 night hotel stays if at all possible so it might be easier for you to just leave Arenal early and take a noon flight out. I think there's one at 12:15 or so via Nature Air. Are you returning a rental car at SJO? If so, might be easier to fly Sansa since it's within walking distance of the airport.

volcanogirl

Personally I wouldn't want to give up a night in Arenal for a night in SJO. I agree with hip. Also, the check-in time at BdC isn't that big of a factor; we got there around noon, and they had us sit down for a nice lunch and then we checked in afterwards when the room was ready.

ShellD

I agree too! I think that is pretty much the standard there. The flights arrive, you get picked up and have lunch while your cabina is made up for you if needed. By the time you are done lunch you should be all set.

tully

Keep in mind that there is an hour drive from PJ to BdC, so that will eat up someof your time. I've arrived there really early before and never had a problem, usually after lunch all the cabinas are ready and if you're really early you can go for a hike on the Titi trail, should eat up about an hour. I've done the 1 night in SJO in between destinations and hated it as I felt like I lost a full day.

sylviam

Thanks for all your replies. I thought I had read on this site that it was better to leave SJO earlier because of weather conditions later in the day.

Does anyone have a preference of Nature Air vs Sansa?

volcanogirl

We flew Sansa, and they were fine. I believe NatureAir lets you bring a slightly higher baggage weight with you - it was 22 pounds for Sansa. One of our guides told us he likes NatureAir because they have 2 engines, and Sansa only has a single engine, but I have no idea if that's really true. I really don't think you can go wrong either way. BdC made our arrangements for us, and they put us on Sansa.

volcanogirl

One benefit of Sansa is that it's right by the SJO airport which makes it more convenient.

hipvirgochick

Sansa was fine for us. The current weight restriction for Sansa is 27 lbs (25 lb plus 2 lb carry-on). I only know this because I just received our confirmations for next Spring. Yay!

shillmac

It is true that Nature Air flies twin engine planes. Bosque del Cabo used both of them (they have to in order to get everyone down there!), but they prefer Nature Air (according to the office staff--I've heard it from the lodge staff as well) and say that overall they have a better reliability record as far as "on time" and not losing anything.

We've gone on one and returned on the other more than once--to get the times we prefer. It really isn't a big deal. The 25 min. or so drive to the Nature Air "International" teminal at Pavas is a nuisance, of course.

During the dry season, time of day isn't such a big deal. Between May and November, morning flights are definitely best for avoiding mean weather.

volcanogirl

hip, I'm jealous they upped their baggage limit - so hard when it was only 22! Lucky duck!

sylviam

Thanks again everyone.

Shillmac: my husband used to pilot small planes and he prefers the twin engine. Also, he thinks the Nature Air pilots fly on instruments so they have a better on-time ratio than Sansa which may not fly on instruments.

What's the latest anyone has left BDC assuming they did not have to catch a flight at SJO the same day for home?

Suzie2

I have flown to PJ many many times over the last 15 years. I go at least once a year and sometimes twice. I have never had a problem with the flights due to weather. I mostly fly Nature Air. Their flight times seem to be a better fit for me. The 10:50 would be a good flight for you.

Another option might be to leave Arenal the afternoon before and stay in Villa Blanca for the night. It is in San Ramon and right on the way back to San Jose. It is a pretty place. From there it only took us about 1 1/2 hr to Alajuela. You will need to allow time to turn the car in and get to Pavas for a Nature Air flight.

I have arrived early at BdC many times (this past summer they welcomed me home because I have been there so many times) and just go ahead and make myself comfortable by the pool and catch up on the news. There are bathrooms right there if you want to change into your bathing suit. You can also just hit the shorter trails which we have also done. You should be in time to get your first taste of Phil's famous Tuna melt sandwich if they have fresh tuna.

volcanogirl

Ah, yes, the tuna melt, and don't forget the banana pancakes at breakfast!

Suzie2

I was typing when you posted the other so I didn't see the question.

I do prefer to fly in the morning as the afternoon trade winds off the Pacific can rough the flight up sometimes. You do fly right along the Pacific coast and can see Dominical and Manuel Antonio. The 9:30ish Nature Air flight from PJ works out great for me. There is one little spot as you turn from Jaco towards the central valley that has had me bump my head in a small 6 seater because of the bumps even with a seat belt on. Most of the flights are in larger planes which are smoother but they can still get a little bumpy depending on the winds.

Suzie2

Oh yeah, I can taste those pancakes now.

volcanogirl

Oh, yes, and Jose's delicious smoothies. How do they do all of that in the jungle?!

They recommended morning flights for us as well. In terms of leaving BdC, we left about 10:00-10:30a.m., then it took about an hour to ride to Puerto Jimenez, then we waited at the cemetery for our flight. There's not much of an airport there - just looks like a little bus stop by the cemetery. Our flight was nearly an hour late picking us up for the flight back to SJO, and then the flight itself was about an hour. We got back to SJO in the afternoon. We stayed there overnight since we wanted a day to recover before heading back to the states.

tully

I can't remeber the exact time but I know last year I took one of the Sansa later flights out, like 1pm or so and it was fine.

What month are you traveling?

shillmac

This past summer, I arrived at Peace Lodge about 10:30 or 11:00, having taken the 8:30 flight out of Pavas. Fortunately, I was able to go straight to my cabina and fell straight into bed (I'd been up since 4:00, because I THOUGHT I was on the 6:30 flight--man, was I bummed to have to wait in the Pavas airport for 2 hours!!!).

It was great. . .I took a little power nap, then showered (actually I showered before the nap--it's one of my favorite activities at BdC!), then headed up to the restaurant for my tuna melt! Never will forget how happy I was to be back there again! And it had only been 4 months! I won't get that lucky this year. . .

sylviam

Tully: We will be in CR in April 3-12th. Arenal for 4 nights and BDC for 4 nights and 1 night in San Jose on the way home.

We are really looking forward to our first trip to CR