puckett

Any suggestions on a good place to eat nearby, we would take a taxi. Thanks P

shillmac

If you have 4 hours, you have time to go into San Jose to a restaurant. It is a 20 minute drive. Check out some of the travel books or perhaps someone else will have a restaurant suggestion. We have found good food at El Pueblo (as well as several gift shops and art shops). It is an easy drive from the airport and I would characterize it as a mall of restaurant, shops, and bars.

puckett

Thanks for the suggestion. Don't know If we want to risk going that far, in case we have trouble getting back for our flight to the Osa.

shillmac

Heredia is a neat little town with a couple of pretty parks, some nice restaurants, a cool underground market that covers an entire block. It is about a 20 minute drive from the airport. There is a French Restaurant in Heredia that is very good. Cafe de Paris or something like that. Wonderful good. . .good atmosphere. It is within about 3 blocks of the parque central. Worth checking out.

courtneycwo

We just did a 4 hour lay over w/sansa last week and found a funky lunch spot across from the airport. It's a gas station that serves great local food - I think it's a Castrol. Don't be put off by the outside - it's quite good food and a fun experience - directly across from the airport.

puckett

Thanks for the help. I'll try the gas station.

fluffnfold

I know this response is probably too late for the original poster, but I thought it might help others.

We had a four hour layover between our Sansa flight from Tamarindo and our flight out of San Jose back to the US. The time passes more quickly than you think. After deplaning from Sansa, someone loaded our luggage onto a cart and walked us over to the main international terminal. Then you stand in line to pay your departure tax ($26 per person, which can be paid by credit card!), then another line for airline check in. Some counters were extremely crowded (American, in particular), with several flights leaving within the same time frame, so that could take some time. The security checkpoint could also be time consuming if many flights are leaving at once. We did leave the airport and checked out the gas station (Castrol) across the street. The restaurant was full, and I wouldn't hesitate to eat there, although we decided to explore further. We ended up walking to the Hampton Inn/Hampton Suites area, where there was a Rosti Pollo restaurant (the CR idea of TGIFridays). It was a good place to spend an hour or so for a meal, although it wasn't air-conditioned (so sit near a window).

The airport itself has a few shops (three gift shops and two duty free), so you can browse awhile. Be sure to try the chocolate-covered coffee beans and macadamia nuts from Britt. There is only one food area that has a Church's Chicken, Burger King, and Papa John's pizza, plus a bar. If you go downstairs near gate 4A, there is a smoking bar which also serves the same food mentioned above. Don't worry about it being smoky--it is outside in a courtyard and a great place to spend some time. What's more, it seemed like many flights left from gate 4A. You are loaded onto shuttle buses and driven out to the plane, so they start transporting/boarding about 45 minutes before departure.

Hope this helps!