Juan Santamaría Airport, Alajuela

Juan Santamaría International Airport is the busiest airport in Central America. Named after the soldier Juan Santamaría who was instrumental in driving William Walker (a crazy dude from Tennessee) and his troops from Costa Rica in 1856, the airport receives the vast majority of the approximate one million tourists who visit Costa Rica every year.

Although most airline tickets will say that the airport is in San José, the airport is technically in Alajuela. Not surprisingly, you'll find Alajuela a lot closer to the airport for your trip up north. The airport is only 3 kilometers from the center of Alajuela, opposed to about 20 kilometers to downtown San José. This proximity to the airport makes Alajuela a smart destination for travelers who are looking to branch out away from San José from the get-go (especially those who are heading north).

Getting to and from the airport

From the airport your taxi will be much cheaper to Alajuela than to San José ($3 instead of $14 in 2006 prices). Taxis leaving the airport are the official airport taxis (orange instead of the standard red), but if you are in Alajuela before a flight, you can call an Alajuela taxi at 442-3030. (If you have a problem with your Spanish you can have the receptionist at your hotel call, but make sure that they don't purposely patronize their own "tourism" taxi service that may charge more than the normal local cabs)

When you arrive at the airport...

When you arrive at the airport you'll have to pay the $26 airport tax. Make sure you pay your airport tax before you check in at the ticket counter. If you fail to do this, you'll simply have wasted your time in line. You must pay your airport tax before you get your boarding passes.

Since the airport is often very busy, I recommend getting there two hours before your flight's departure. If you get through security with time to spare, you can visit several duty-free stores in the terminal or buy some fast food to avoid an unpleasant airline food experience. At the duty-free stores I recommend the Cafe Britt chocolate-covered coffee beans. Mmm...

Juan Santamaría also has free Wi-Fi internet access in the terminal!

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