Costa Rica: Day one flying into Liberia
Groove Cruise LA 2014
July 24, 2019
Melbourne Day 1
October 18, 2019
They say Costa Rica has only two seasons rainy and not rainy. We chose to go in August, which is during the rainy season. We were under the assumption that it would be less crowded and our flight would be relatively empty. We were wrong. Our flight was overbooked and the airline was offering vouchers up to 600 dollars. What we soon came to realize is that Costa Rica is a top tourist destination all year round, specially for surfers.
The flight to Liberia from LA was a direct 5-hour flight and if you can sleep on a plane, it isn’t bad. For those who can’t sleep, most airlines offer in flight entertainment whether it’s screens on seats, or Wi-Fi. It’s also long enough for those of you, who’ve been meaning to start a new book in your reading list.
Once arriving to Liberia, getting through customs is a rather easy process. It took a total of about 15 minutes. Once you’re past customs and collect your check in bags, the airport offers several services such as currency exchange, Duty Free store, and SIM Card Kiosks. For the currency exchange, we only exchanged 160 US Dollars, but realized during our trip that maybe 50 dollars would have been enough. Almost every place accepts credit card, and if you have a travel credit card there is no transaction fee, and you rack up so many points. (Insert sapphire link here) Alcohol price at Duty Free was the best price that we found during our trip. A few people from our group bought some bottles and beer. I did not get a SIM Card since I had free data and text with T-Mobile.
The rental car centers are off site in different locations. You have to check in into the corresponding Kiosk and they arrange shuttle service for you to be taken to the rental car location. It is very important that when booking a rental car you ensure that it is automatic transmission as most cars in foreign countries are manual. This happened to us. Luckily, a few people in our group knew how to drive stick. Dollar, the rental car company that we chose, did not have cars with automatic transmissions at the time of check in. They were very accommodating and offered to drive to our location the next day to switch cars with those that had an automatic transmission. Also, another thing to keep in mind when booking cars for Costa Rica is that you’re better off renting a 4X4. Most roads are paved, but some areas can get bumpy and with rain, it makes is so much easier. We originally had a reservation for one van to hold 8 people, but in the end chose to go with two 4X4 SUV’s. The entire group was very glad we made the switch. When renting a rental car in Costa Rica, you have to keep in mind that the price you book online will not be the final price. All rental car companies require mandatory liability insurance.
The Airbnb we stayed at was in Ocotal, which is next to Del Coco Beach. Driving to Del Coco Beach was a short 30 min drive. The driving instructions to the Airbnb were a bit confusing since most roads don’t have names and the instructions included landmarks instead. At last we found our Airbnb, and oh my god, did it exceed our expectations. The view was absolutely stunning with the best ocean view. (Insert pictures) The house itself has three rooms and two bathrooms. There’s also the lighthouse that is on the premise but it has its own entrance. The view from the top of the lighthouse is even more breathtaking.
For dinner we went to Father Rooster, which was right along the beach coast. This was the most expensive restaurant we went to during our entire stay. The food was good with different varieties. Dinner ended with a long firework show, as there was a wedding that was taking place next door.
After dinner, we went grocery shopping and went to Super Compro, DO NOT shop here. The groceries were overpriced. Lupero, had better quality foods and cheaper prices.
When we got back to our Airbbnb we all changed into our swimsuits and hoped into the infinity pool.
End of Day 1
The flight to Liberia from LA was a direct 5-hour flight and if you can sleep on a plane, it isn’t bad. For those who can’t sleep, most airlines offer in flight entertainment whether it’s screens on seats, or Wi-Fi. It’s also long enough for those of you, who’ve been meaning to start a new book in your reading list.
Once arriving to Liberia, getting through customs is a rather easy process. It took a total of about 15 minutes. Once you’re past customs and collect your check in bags, the airport offers several services such as currency exchange, Duty Free store, and SIM Card Kiosks. For the currency exchange, we only exchanged 160 US Dollars, but realized during our trip that maybe 50 dollars would have been enough. Almost every place accepts credit card, and if you have a travel credit card there is no transaction fee, and you rack up so many points. (Insert sapphire link here) Alcohol price at Duty Free was the best price that we found during our trip. A few people from our group bought some bottles and beer. I did not get a SIM Card since I had free data and text with T-Mobile.
The rental car centers are off site in different locations. You have to check in into the corresponding Kiosk and they arrange shuttle service for you to be taken to the rental car location. It is very important that when booking a rental car you ensure that it is automatic transmission as most cars in foreign countries are manual. This happened to us. Luckily, a few people in our group knew how to drive stick. Dollar, the rental car company that we chose, did not have cars with automatic transmissions at the time of check in. They were very accommodating and offered to drive to our location the next day to switch cars with those that had an automatic transmission. Also, another thing to keep in mind when booking cars for Costa Rica is that you’re better off renting a 4X4. Most roads are paved, but some areas can get bumpy and with rain, it makes is so much easier. We originally had a reservation for one van to hold 8 people, but in the end chose to go with two 4X4 SUV’s. The entire group was very glad we made the switch. When renting a rental car in Costa Rica, you have to keep in mind that the price you book online will not be the final price. All rental car companies require mandatory liability insurance.
The Airbnb we stayed at was in Ocotal, which is next to Del Coco Beach. Driving to Del Coco Beach was a short 30 min drive. The driving instructions to the Airbnb were a bit confusing since most roads don’t have names and the instructions included landmarks instead. At last we found our Airbnb, and oh my god, did it exceed our expectations. The view was absolutely stunning with the best ocean view. (Insert pictures) The house itself has three rooms and two bathrooms. There’s also the lighthouse that is on the premise but it has its own entrance. The view from the top of the lighthouse is even more breathtaking.
For dinner we went to Father Rooster, which was right along the beach coast. This was the most expensive restaurant we went to during our entire stay. The food was good with different varieties. Dinner ended with a long firework show, as there was a wedding that was taking place next door.
After dinner, we went grocery shopping and went to Super Compro, DO NOT shop here. The groceries were overpriced. Lupero, had better quality foods and cheaper prices.
When we got back to our Airbbnb we all changed into our swimsuits and hoped into the infinity pool.
End of Day 1
