Costa Rica: Where & How to Travel Now
Since closing it’s international borders in March, Costa Rica has effectively controlled the Covid-19 outbreak throughout the country. As of October 3, 2020, Costa Rica - with a population of over 5 million - has 79,182 cases of COVID-19 (10,650 of these are “Por Nexo” which is a way of counting everyone in a household that has a confirmed Covid case as having the virus, though this is done without a test) and 950 fatalities.
Domestic tourism with regulations has been permitted in the country since June and Costa Rica has taken smart strategic measures to encourage residents to explore their own country. (For example, all national holidays in 2020 and 2021 were moved to Mondays so that Costa Ricans can enjoy long weekends to travel around the country and extend their stays.) And our hotel partners have all been open and welcoming the high-end local market, which has allowed them to dial in the new protocols, streamline operations within current restrictions, and most importantly, the hotels have had a vital revenue stream over the past several months, enabling most of them to increase their payroll & hiring by 50% since June.
Says Hans Pfister, Co-Founder & President of the Cayuga Collection “It’s very, very hard to go from 0 to 100 or even 0 to 75 overnight. Hotels that have stayed closed must hire and retrain staff, ensure everyone understands and follows the new protocols and figure out their own supply chains and what is possible. You can have a plan, but you can’t really determine how well it works until you can apply it in real time. For the Cayuga Collection Hotels, being open and catering to the high end local market for months now has given us plenty of time to “practice” in a way, ensuring we are 100% ready for the return of international guests. Our hotel teams are also excited and motivated, seeing their hard work and dedication over these difficult months pay off.”
Part of this dedication is because the hotels which Clark and I partner with throughout Latin America are owned by individuals as opposed to boards of investors, and in this case, 4 out of the 5 hotels that we represent in Costa Rica are owned by local Tico families - they are passion projects born out of love of place as much as they are businesses. People travel for different reasons but this is something for advisors to consider when discussing Costa Rica travel plans with your clients - suggesting hotels that have been open, supporting the local economy and doing things right for months vs. those that have been closed and don’t plan to reopen until mid November or festive.
Morning set up at Hotel Aguas Claras
Now for all of the details.
Who Can Visit Costa Rica: As of November 1st, all United States Citizens can enter Costa Rica for tourism purposes.
Costa Rica is also currently open to all citizens and residents of Canada, Mexico, the UK, the EU Schengen Zone, Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay, Jamaica, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and the People’s Republic of China.
Requirements for Entry: All travelers arriving in Costa Rica must present the following:
Prior to departing the US, complete the online Health Pass Form. Each passenger must answer this health pass individually and after the completion of the health pass, they will receive a QR and alphanumeric code that they must carry on their mobile or printed on paper to present to authorities at the airport.
Travel Insurance that guarantees coverage of at least $50,000 USD in medical expenses in the event of becoming ill with COVID-19 while in Costa Rica AND a minimum of USD $2,000 for lodging expenses required as a result of contracting the virus (trip interruption insurance to cover quarantine expenses) Travelers should ask their insurance company to issue a certificate stating these coverages. Policies vary and everyone needs to do their own due diligence.
Travelers may also opt to purchase insurance through Sagicor, a Costa Rican company that offers policies in accordance with the government mandates. This can easily be done online here: Tienda Sagicor Sagicor also has a desk in the San Jose International Airport where they will examine traveler’s insurance policies on arrival and if 1.) the policy doesn’t meet the requirements they can sell them coverage that does or 2.) issue the necessary certificate that verifies the the coverage offered by an international policy meets the governments requirements.
Gurpo INS, the International Insurance Company in Costa Rica also offers coverage but the interface on their website is terrible and hard to navigate. We can’t recommend that anyone attempt it!
While the insurance bit may pose a slight inconvenience, it’s important to assure your clients that they will not be barred from entry into the country if they somehow purchased the wrong insurance at home as long as they obtain the additional necessary coverage on arrival.
Costa Rica no longer requires any Covid testing as a condition for entry.
More information can also be found on Visit Costa Rica
International Flights: Right now there are a handful of direct nonstop flights to San Jose International Airport from the following USA airports. Schedules are much better if you are on the East Coast as all of the West Coast must currently fly through Houston.
Newark: United Departs EWR daily at 7:15 am and arrives in San Jose at 10:30 am. Gotta love a flight that aligns well with hotel check-in times! You can be on your way to the beach and enjoy a late lunch surf side by 2:00 pm.
Miami: Two nonstops per day on American Airlines, a morning and evening option, both have you in San Jose in about 2 hours, 30 minutes. (Also, when I checked for this blog post, roundtrip tickets in Standard Economy were $230 each for flights during the second half of October.)
Houston: One flight daily on United, departing IAH at 9:37 am and arriving SJO at 12:25 pm.
Delta, Alaska, Southwest and JetBlue have yet to resume their service to Costa Rica, and we don’t talk about Sp*r*t. But there are rumors that the first four airlines will begin direct service from Atlanta, Dallas, Boston and Fort Lauderdale at the end of October or early November. United also plans to restart direct flights to San Jose from Denver next month.
Domestic Flights: SANSA, the national domestic carrier in Costa Rica hasn’t resumed full service yet due to a lack of demand. The fleet of 12 Cessna Grand Caravans is fully operational so we expect more domestic flights to become available as passenger load increases over high season. But for the time being, they are not entirely reliable and scheduled departures are frequently cancelled or rolled into a single option.
So How Do You Get Around Costa Rica?: In the absence of regularly scheduled, reliable commercial flights to more out of the way destinations (think Osa & Nicoya Peninsula, the Caribbean Coast) private charter flights are a great option, especially for family or friend groups of 4 or more. We’ve always championed private aviation in Costa Rica - it make zipping from the Pacific to the Caribbean side of the country a breeze (compared to an all-day driving adventure on windy mountain roads) and the terrain you fly above is BEAUTIFUL - Napali Coast-like undulating rainforest covered hills rising from the sea to the cloud forests to the Continental Divide. Not to mention it keeps your social bubble intact, preserves your valuable vacation time and eliminates the need to connect via San Jose, as is often the case with Sansa when attempting to fly from Puerto Jimenez to La Fortuna for example.
Some of our partners, like Kurà, offer access to a private helipad and for a couples retreat, this is the perfect & fun arrival option for two, either when traveling to Kurà from San Jose or when connecting from elsewhere in the country.
Lapa Rios has made it easy and done the work for you, offering their Epic Private Adventure that combines sister properties Pacuare Lodge & Lapa Rios Lodge into one seamless trip, including private charter flights between Siquirres (the take out point after rafting out from Pacuare Lodge) and Puerto Jimenez/Puerto Jimenez & San Jose. Private transfers and dedicated guides at each property are also included. Rates start at $6,683 per person, double occupancy in a River View Suite (Pacuare) and a Deluxe Bungalow (Lapa Rios.) Contact Greivin Alvaraz at greivin@laparios.com for more information.
Social distancing happens naturally at Lapa Rios. Refreshed Deluxe Bungalows are surrounded with lush greenery & uninhibited wildlife.
For travelers who want the expert planning guidance of an advisor but are more DIY on the ground, renting a car and driving Costa Rica’s roads is great fun and a very affordable way to get around, especially if you are hauling surf boards and want the to explore less accessible spots. Just get a little SUV with 4WD, make sure you have WAZE downloaded (and a data plan that allows you to use navigation while driving) and go. Hans Pfister shares that there are “some driving restrictions in place to ensure that people aren’t gathering late for parties, but they apply to the hours from 10 pm to 5 am and don’t affect our guests.”
For families with young kids and first time travelers to Costa Rica, we love this 7-night MONTEVERDE & MANUEL ANTONIO itinerary, which can be done via a rental car or with a private transfers arranged by the hotels, Senda Monteverde & Arenas Del Mar. Oh, and we are very excited that the road to Monteverde is now 100% paved! No more “Tico Massage” for the last 20 km! It makes Monteverde a quick and smooth 2 hour drive from San Jose and more accessible than it was previously.
Regulations in Country: As mentioned previously, hotels in Costa Rica have been allowed to operate at limited capacity since June and all of our partners have been open for several months now and are pros of travel in the era of Covid. You can check out the specific policy of each property on our Covid-19 Updates page.
While all hotel amenities (restaurants, guided excursions, beach clubs, pools, wellness centers) are open & available for guest use at our partner hotels, some have been adapted to accommodate social distancing, private experiences and more frequent deep cleanings.
Costa Rica requires that face coverings be worn in enclosed spaces, on public transportation, and when a distance of three meters cannot be maintained between people.
National Parks are open though entries are limited to control crowding & group sizes are limited. Most of our partners are only offering private excursions at this time. For something like Corcovado National Park which is an easy day trip from Lapa Rios, make sure to request this at the time of booking so entry is secured.
Beaches are “officially” open from 5:00 am until 2:30 pm, but as Hans shares in his blog “what it’s like to travel in Costa Rica right now” this rule is largely meant to prevent large parties and gatherings from occurring. While Da Lime beach club at Hotel Aguas Claras and Playitas Beach Club at Arenas Del Mar must stop their beachfront service at 2:30 pm, guests can still enjoy drinks and food at the physical restaurants until normal closing hours. And if you decide to take your cocktail for a sunset walk in the surf, no one is going to bother you.
OCT 8 UPDATE: Restricted beach hours ended on October 15.
Waves and sand basically all to yourself at Arenas Del Mar
What’s With the Travel Warning?: Costa Rica’s well-intentioned attempt to encourage some accountability by US governments by only permitting tourism from States with low infection rates has ultimately led to the USA maintaining a Level 4 travel warning against Costa Rica while dropping it for neighboring countries (Like Nicaragua) which impose no restrictions against US travelers. It’s petty, bureaucratic nonsense and we expect the travel warning to drop once borders reopen to all American travelers.
I have yet to travel to Costa Rica - in fact this coming weekend will be my first flight since March - a trip to see my parents in Pittsburgh and then husband’s grandparents in Naples, FL for some long-overdue & precious family time. Travel right now is a personal choice, but for me, after East Coast family visits, I’ll be making plans to head to Costa Rica and Panama in early November to champion our industry partners and friends and share the experience with all of you! Reach out via email if you have any questions at all - I’m happy to help and excited to feel the buzz of energy in our part of the industry again.
Kirsten