Arriving in Costa Rica
CALLING/TEXTING/WIFI
The country code in Costa Rica is +506 and all the phone numbers have eight digits. If you don't already have the WhatsApp app on your phone, you should definitely download it and use it as your primary means of communication. It's what everyone uses here, and depending on how much you want to use your phone, if you are connected to any internet, that is an easy way to communicate without having to buy a physical SIM card or pay for an E-SIM card or international phone plan before you come. If you have a T-Mobile plan you can continue to send SMS messages internationally for free without changing anything on your plan but phone calls are prohibitively expensive. If you need to make phone calls without being reliant on whatsapp and wifi access your options are to buy an international plan from your current provider, buy an E-SIM card or a physical SIM card when you arrive.
MONEY
The name of the currency in Costa Rica is called colones but just about everyone accepts American dollars so it is not necessary to exchange your dollars at the airport. That said, it’s important to know that no one accepts any American coins or any bills that have tears or aren't in very good condition so make sure you are bringing crispy currency. Currently the exchange rate is a little less than 500 colones per dollar. If you plan on visiting different parts of Costa Rica before or after our immersion, you should know that Costa Rica is a very expensive country, especially if you go to popular tourist areas. The beaches are all free and you can find good Airbnb deals and simple hostels/pensiones but food and transportation is expensive.
ARRIVING/TRANSPORTATION
There are two international airports that you can fly into in Costa Rica. Alajuela/San Jose (SJO) or Liberia (LIB). SJO is approximately a 3hr drive from San Luis and Liberia is about a 2.5hr drive.They both have advantages and disadvantages depending on where you are coming from and if you are planning to visit other parts of the country before or after our immersion. There are plenty of car rental companies at the airports but there are no car rental companies in Monteverde. If you rent a car, get a 4x4 or all-wheel drive with some clearance and if you are timid about driving on steep inclines and sometimes pothole ridden tropical roads you should probably not rent a car to Monteverde.The intention is to not leave the farm once we arrive so you won’t need a car for 6 days once we arrive in San Luis.
There are more flights and airlines that fly into SJO than LIB. The trip from SJO is a two-lane highway so if there is roadwork or an accident on the road things can get delayed. The highway from Liberia is a four lane highway so traffic is less affected by congestion and accidents. You should decide on whether or not you will be exploring the country before or after and this should help determine which airport will be best to fly into and whether or not you are going to want to rent a car to get at any point in your trip.
The Liberia airport is farther north so it is 45min/1 hour away from the beautiful beaches of Guanacaste and the Nicoya peninsula. SJO is closer to some of the famous tourist spots towards the south of the country, like Manuel Antonio or Jaco. Regardless of the airport, you should book a flight that arrives no later than 1pm on Sunday June 7. Below are a list of shuttle services, a few taxi drivers in Monteverde and the website where you can buy a bus ticket to/from the airport to Monteverde. The bus costs $7 (4hrs) but you will also have to pay an additional $25-$30 taxi (30min) to get you from the Monteverde bus station to San Luis. A shared shuttle from the airports to Monteverde costs $40-$60 and will take you all the way to San Luis but keep in mind that if you are sharing a shuttle with people outside of your party or planning on taking the bus, those services won’t wait for you. Any flight delays to Costa Rica will probably result in you having to get a private shuttle to San Luis ($180-$200) once you land so the ideal thing to do would be to coordinate a group shuttle with everyone who is landing around the same time and all coming to our immersion.
SHUTTLE SERVICES
Rica Verde Shuttle Service
Drivers name: Raudin
Whatsapp/Tele #:+506 8367 5460
Alajuela (SJO) to San Luis: 1-4 passengers $200
Liberia (LIB) to San Luis: 1-4 passengers $220
Transportes Yanco
Driver's name: Yanco Perez
Whatsapp/Tele #: +506 8604 3833
Alajuela or Liberia: 6 passengers $350
Private Shuttle: $180
BUS INFO
https://www.transmonteverde.com/
SJO to Monteverde
6:30am/2:30pm
Monteverde to SJO
5:30am/2:30pm
There is no bus that leaves directly from the SJO airport to Monteverde so you have to take a 10 minute taxi from the airport to the bus stop at Villa Bonita. The bus from Monteverde to SJO will take you directly to the the airport.
CAR RENTAL
From there you can take a short $10 taxi ride to rent a car at any number of international car rental companies. If you want to keep it local we recommend you go with Vamos La rental company. They are one of the few Costa Rican owned rental car companies and the price they quote you when you reserve the car online is the price you will pay when you go to pick up your car. Keep in mind that depending on the places that you want to visit in Costa Rica, four-wheel drive is a necessity.
MONTEVERDE TAXI
Manuel
Whatsapp/Tele #:+506 8376 4678
Juan
Whatsapp/Tele #:+506 8447 9139