Liberia vs. San Jose Airport

In traveling to Costa Rica, there are two airport options to fly into. Liberia is the smaller of the two and flights are more expensive. However, the airport is less than an hour away from Guanacaste, which is the area that my wife and I enjoy visiting.

San Jose is a larger airport and is in Costa Rica's capital city. Flights are usually half the price ($300 to $400) but the airport is about a 4 hour drive from Guanacaste. While the prices are alluring and a 4 hour drive may not seem like such a bad trade-off, driving conditions in Costa Rica are much different than in a fully developed country. Driving at night or in inclement weather is strongly advised against, so it's important to consider flight time arrival and whether you're visiting in rainy season. With rain, low lighting conditions, and rough roads, driving from San Jose can be a more challenging proposition. (Trust us, we embarked on the journey at night and in a strong rainstorm during our first trip to CR - not exactly the best way to start a honeymoon!)



Both airport options have their pros and cons. We have our fingers crossed that Liberia will get some competitive interest from other carriers such as Spirit or Airtran. That should fix the only big con with Liberia, making Costa Rica travel more affordable and convenient.

What measures can one take to help get a new airline to Liberia? Do you know of other airlines or ideas that we have overlooked? Additionally, this post has made me think of ways to more easily stay informed on travel flight deals. How do you do this?