We debated taking a big trip this year… Especially since we already know we’ll be traveling to pick up our missionary son this summer. So, Superman and I thought about going somewhere just the two of us for a week. And then the idea snowballed because we thought about how much fun we could have with the kids. So, Costa Rica, here we come!
Superman watched a TON of awesome YouTube videos from travel gurus and we put together an itinerary of must-do’s. We booked flights, a condo, a rental car, and several excursions in the rainforests and National Parks in advance. He looked into currency exchange, eSIMs for our phones, and all kinds of safety tips from drinking water to preventing petty theft to driving.
We got all packed up in 6 carry-on bags, 6 backpacks, and 1 checked suitcase to hold snorkel gear and toiletries. Not too bad for a 15 day trip.
We got up at 3am and arrived at the airport by 4. Check in and security were a breeze, so we had time at the gate to at least close our eyes and rest before boarding our 6am flight to Houston. Some of us even slept on the 2 1/2 hour flight a little. Yay for that.
We had a 5 and a half hour layover in Houston which was a bummer, but it was still one of the shortest total travel times available when we purchased tickets (aside from spending double or triple what our tickets cost). There was a little play area that the kids had fun in, and we also took walks up and down the terminal and enjoyed the artwork. I even caught up on some emails I needed to write. We did some exercise, dancing, and went crazy with the kids a little too! Finally it was time to board the next flight to San Jose, Costa Rica.
The kids asked how long this flight would be, anticipating a long time after their experience last year going to Thailand… Nope, only 3 1/2 hours! They were disappointed that the plane didn’t have movie screens, but we were able to quickly get devices connected to the free entertainment wifi through the airline, and everyone got to watch a movie to pass the time.
We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset through the windows before landing in Costa Rica at Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría. We were quickly surprised by how many planes came in all at once… Thankfully we only had to wait in line about half an hour to get through passport control/immigration and get all of our passports stamped– they did a 180 day visa. Okay… 15 days ought to be just fine. The queue filled the room behind us and we were glad we got off our plane before 10 more landed.
Once through immigration we went to baggage claim and got our {now broken} checked bag. Bummer, they broke a wheel off our new suitcase. Oh well. We also exchanged some US currency into Colones in the airport so we would have cash for tolls. We didn’t exchange much though because we’ve heard that rates are better outside of the airport (at BCR (Bank of Costa Rica) bank locations).
This is when we realized that immigration does not equal customs… So we got in another line to have all of our bags xrayed before we could exit the airport. I forgot about an apple I had and was asked to throw it away. Other than that, no incidents.
We took a shuttle to our car rental office and were very glad for the research Superman had done so we weren’t blindsided by the required-by-the-government insurance added cost. I mean, who wants to double the cost of your car rental with insurance? But at least we knew to expect it. We went with the full protection package (no worries if anything at all happens) because the price difference between that and the basic coverage (we pay out of pocket for just about everything) was only $200 and we decided it was worth it for the peace of mind. They also allowed me to be added as a second driver at no extra charge which is nice in case of emergencies or going for groceries.
By now it’s 9:30pm. Kids are hungry and tired. Car rental guy asks us where we’re staying and we tell him Jaco Beach and he said “That’s great! You’re close! Only two hours drive.” Yep, super close. We hop in the car and shove (I mean very carefully arrange) all of the luggage in, and start driving.
Travel tip: always bring a phone holder and car adapter/charging cord with you so you can easily set up your GPS. And save the area to offline maps with google in case you have no service. (People online said they prefer Waze to Google Maps in San Jose. We didn’t love it, but maybe because we’re not familiar with it and it was speaking mostly Spanish in a weird accent.)
We thought maybe we’d find a fast food place on our way out of the city, but instead we found ourselves immediately off the beaten path going up and down hills and crossing one-way bridges through dark ravines as we made our way to Jaco. The only restaurants we passed were already closed for the night. Luckily, the little kids went to sleep as we navigated the dark roads and translated Spanish street signs and converted kilometers to miles per hour. (Why do places have mileage markers and speed limits in km per hour and distance signs in miles? Puerto Rico did that too!)
Online and with Google maps we were told to expect tolls between San Jose and Jaco. Even the rental car guy asked if we had money and knew to go in the manual pay line through the toll booths… Not sure if Waze was on toll-avoidance or just took us on a strange route, but we never encountered a toll booth.
We DID however get stuck behind a semi going literally 8 miles per hour up and down the hills and there was no passing lane or even a remote possibility of passing due to blind curves and hills… We were behind him for probably half an hour. Glad when we (and about 25 cars with us) could finally pass.
The GPS took us down a dark street that turned into sand and ran along the beach…. We figured out the right way to go, made it back to the main road and found the real entrance to our condo complex. Finally made it in at 12:30am– everyone had to have a snack before crashing for the night since we missed dinner (and skipped lunch and real breakfast– oops, mom fail!). Long day of travel, but glad we’re finally here!
Pro Tip for traveling to Costa Rica– If your flight is scheduled to land in the evening, spend your first night in San Jose and travel to your beach or jungle destination the next day. Do the same thing in reverse when you leave if you have an early flight. Trust us, a 2-3 hour drive at 5am is not a great start to a travel day.
