Getting to Costa Rica is cheap...

[Wetstuff]

I can take 3-4 day escapes but not real vacations..  I have done CR, Panama and the Dominican Republic a couple of times.  But these were either prone or kiting.

CR looks really promising for SUPsurf, so I looked into doing a quickie.  There were a couple of places where the gear (and waves) seem promising..

http://www.experience-nosara.com/camp/sup-surf-camp-with-dave-boehne/

http://www.costaricastanduppaddleboardingcamps.com

I have been to Nosara.  But Pilon near Pavonnes appears to be very attractive for SUP. There are others I am sure, but these two seemed most attractive to me. 

Getting to San Jose is now dirt cheap..  Spirit Airlines would have me in SJO at 1am from Baltimore for $145. (many people crash near the airport to make their flights the next day outbound anyway..)  Or for $265 .. 7am-Noon ..BWI/SJO.  ..a return flight for $150. at 1:30pm would have me in Balto at 11pm.  NOT BAD, eh?

The rub for a short-schedule type like me is the intra transport.  Sansa Airline can get me into Quepos, close to Pavonnes/Pilon for $111. from SJO.  ..but not to Nosara.  Natureair can get you to Nosara and Pavonnes for a little more $$ ..but you have to take a cab to another airport in San Jose to get Natureair flights.

Once landed:  The "Airport" at Nosara was nearly a walk to places to stay when I was there.  The trip to Pilon from Quepos airport is a $70 cab ride.

... if you have the time, I would highly suggest you consider a trip to CR. 

Understand, Central America is not Disney Land.  You have to take your personal and property security very seriously.  Leave your bling at home and never leave anything where you cannot see it.

Jim

[PilonSUP]

All good info but you need to fly into Golfito not Quepos to get to Pavones.
Keep in mind that the "puddle jumpers" can't carry sup's.

We rent from 7'7" on up....if the surf report shows more then two stars or more...its gonna be GOOD! Hard to get skunked on a sup in cr any time of the year.

Good luck Wetstuff
Shawn

[Wetstuff]

Sorry Shawn, You are correct: wrong local airport.   The reason I wanted to come to your place was the the choice of boards.  I have heard nothing but good about your camp.  Good luck.

Jim

[endlessfight]

.....is cheap if you fly out of the US. haha. We canadians get absolutely screwed. I live 2hrs from the MI border and I can fly from Detroit to Costa Rica for about half the price it would cost me to fly to Edmonton to surf the wave pool with the Easy Rider crew.

Usually Panama, San Jose, and Managua are all relatively close in price. I can however suggest flying Spirit at an absolute last resort. I fly a lot, have flown to central america a lot, and after a few horrible experiences have completely boycotted Spirit. Try to fly Taca or Copa if you can. Out of all the airlines i've flown on they are my fav. I believe their surfboard policy allows for up to 12 feet as well. To put it bluntly, i would rather hitchike to CR then fly with Spirit. Just search the internet about them and see the comments from the CEO regarding their horrible business rating and number of customer complaints. that company does not deserve a cent out of anyone.

[endlessfight]

woops, double post sorry~!

[kneecap]

Anybody have any experience with Spirit flying down there?  I was looking at flights and my better half us a little freaked out over flying a lesser known airline.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

[endlessfight]

Anybody have any experience with Spirit flying down there?  I was looking at flights and my better half us a little freaked out over flying a lesser known airline.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

ive flown with spirit to san jose numerous times. if everything goes fine, then you're good to go. you'll be on a real small plane with no food or drinks but you will get from point a to point b, and thats what it's all about. however if something goes wrong; flight is delayed/cancelled, lost baggage, etc. you're up sh!ts creek. i was on a layover and the flight got cancelled. the next one (to nicaragua) didn't fly for another two days. they gave me a night in a $40 hotel room and a $7 meal voucher. i had to buy my own flight out of pocket with AA the next day to avoid waiting another day and a bit. they also said they were going to refund me the full amount of my flight and they did about 50% of it and it was my fault for not getting a reciept from the front desk person. it's just stuff like that. there is a reason they are the second worst rated airline in the world.

just keep in mind that they have a ton of hidden fee's. they charge a lot per each bag (if you show up to the airport with a carry-on and don't pre-buy it, they charge $100 per carry on). surfboards are only $100 each way if you reserve in advance and not too bad. i brought a 9'6" SUP with them once and it arrived okay. however once i flew to costa rica with a surfboard, paid for it both ways, and when i arrived to come home they told me there was a restriction on luggage that was oversized and i was going to have to fed ex it home for like $450! i nearly craped myself. i made a bit of a scene and got talking to the manager and was eventually allowed to bring it.

[crtraveler]

We've always done JetBlue to Costa Rica, but it's easy from NY, not so much from other places....  great thing is that its $50 each way for ANY sized board.....

[Wetstuff]

CRT..  I quickly checked Jet Blue (JB) when I heard 'any size board' .   Wash DC (Orlando)SJO on a Wed/Wed would be about $450.

I'm also trying to map out 3-day shots to FL ..but JB from Balto flys north to Boston to get to Orlando. A typical 2 hour trip take 6+ hours.

The important bit - you are 100% correct about boards.  They are exempt from the normal size limitations according to their Contract of Carriage.  It's best to print out that stuff before you wrestle with a counter clerk who does not like the look of your bag.  We got hassled in PR coming back from DR with kites and saddles. (next trip was direct to MIA)

Spirit blows hot and cold to the public.  Older people have little tolerance for 'adventure' - young people probably need the price.  A friend who spends about two weeks a month in Nica says it's never been a problem.  I have heard others tell of their flight being diverted way off course to haul a mechanic to fix a down aircraft.  USAirway is our local carrier - you are smart to NEVER book the last flight of the day from PHL.

Thanks for all the input. 

Jim

[crtraveler]

Yeah they have in writing somewhere, up to 15 ft long and 100lb max.... so for our purposes it's really ANY sized board...  We connected in Miami a couple years ago and my board didn't make it on the connecting flight to San Jose....  I was panicked!!  (brand new Mana)  I filed the claim at the baggage center, they immediately gave me credit for the baggage fees and told me they would call me as soon as they found it and get it to me wherever I was (I was in Tamarindo, 5 hours away).  They were there there the next afternoon... the dude turned right around and drove back to San Jose - I was very happy w/ their service to say the least!!