Getting to Costa Rica

Costa Rica had been in the back of my mind in terms of places to visit since beginning of 2022, La Paloma Lodge really sticking with me when I started research. In July ‘22, I finally started to book the trip. Funnily enough, I booked it while I was in Montana, so I had travel on my mind while traveling.

Before I booked any flights and confirmed dates, I first checked in with the lodge since I knew they didn’t allow solo travelers at the busy seasons. Stinks, but understandable since you aren’t paying per room per night, you’re paying per person and it’s based on a two person occupancy. I decided to book 5 nights at the end of November, which is the very end of their rainy season and near the cut off as to when I was able to go. All of my communication with them was done via email and every response was timely and answered all of my questions. And I had a lot of questions….

From there, I looked at flights. Since there wasn’t a way to book from JFK to the Drake Bay airstrip, where I needed to end up, I had to book from JFK to SJO, the airport in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Next, I had to separately book a flight from their domestic terminal on a small airline called Sansa, they were tiny planes!

The lodge helped me reserve the flight with that airline, as well as the rest of the commute from there.

Since there weren't a lot of options to connect to Sansa Airlines from my regular flight, I chose to stay at a small B&B near the airport overnight and then head out from there. This gave me more time and I felt much less rushed. That B&B was Terida Airport B&B and I highly recommend it, should you ever need to stay near the airport in San Jose. It was a quick taxi ride away, very inexpensive, and an overall charming place to stay.

I headed out Friday morning, got to SJO late afternoon, then headed to Terida. Saturday morning, I took a taxi (arranged by the B&B) back to the airport to catch my short flight to Drake Bay, it was less than an hour. Once I arrived at the tiny airstrip, there was a driver waiting for me, who was organized by the lodge, of course. It wasn’t a taxi I was used to, that’s for sure, but I was ready for anything. The taxi ride was about 20 minutes and it was all dirt and FULL of potholes that the driver had to either weave around or slowly go through. We went through farmland, small homes, a town, and even drove through a creek.

When the taxi arrived at the beach, there was a boat waiting for me, again, organized by the lodge. It was a wet landing, so I had to be prepared with the swim shoes on and pants rolled up. The boat ride was choppy and rainy and it took about 10 minutes to get to La Paloma Lodge.

Phew!

I was completely prepared for this adventure, not only does it give you a breakdown on the website, but also via all the communication I did through email. I truly loved it.

Nicole, a manager and the lodge, was waiting for me at the dock and from there the adventure only continued! Stay tuned…

So while this trip did take some planning in order to get there, it was a smooth process not only due to my own research, but because of the excellent guidance I had from the lodge. Don’t ever let planning like this deter you from a trip, it’s worth it and there are always people willing to help make it happen.

Wrap up quote: “He who would travel happily must travel light.” – Antione de St. Exuper

What's the craziest travel commute you've had?