Six is the number where the sums turn over, and also where people most often get the calculation wrong. Here are the four things that decide it.
1. Six is a category boundary
The Piper Navajo takes up to six passengers. The Cessna 206 takes four.
With six travellers you are already in the six-seat category, not the four, which means adding a seventh jumps category again. The difference between six and seven changes the aircraft, not the split. The specific aircraft is assigned on confirmation, based on passenger count, baggage and the destination field.
If your group is six adults, say so. If it is four adults and two small children, say that too: weight distribution and baggage space are not the same thing, and sometimes what looked like it would not fit does.
2. What you compare on the other side
Six scheduled tickets, not one. That is where the sums start to close.
And you have to add what almost nobody adds:
Baggage. Six people with suitcases, and with children, car seats, pushchairs or boards. On scheduled that pays; on charter the question is what it takes up.
Transfers. If the scheduled service does not reach your field, that is two cars or a minibus at each end.
The extra night. If the domestic timetable does not match the intercontinental arrival, six people in a hotel for another night. It is the cost most often forgotten and with six passengers the most expensive of all. We show a "from" price per route; the final fare depends on the date, the group and the baggage, and is confirmed in writing before booking.
3. What appears on no spreadsheet
With small children, the difference is not only money.
A direct thirty- or forty-minute flight, at an hour you choose, against waiting in a terminal, a connection and imposed timetables. In a family that has a value each person weighs differently, but it is real.
And everyone arrives together, which with six people split across two scheduled departures is not guaranteed.
4. Where arithmetic does not govern
If your destination has no scheduled service — Nicoya, Palmar Sur, Barra del Colorado — there is no comparison to make.
And if the runway limits. This is the one that surprises people, and it has to be said before quoting: at Punta Islita, eight metres wide, a group of six may not fit any suitable aircraft. At that point it is not that it is expensive: it is that you go in via Palmar Sur and continue by road.
The round numbers
For the commonest routes from San José — Tamarindo at 97.1 nautical miles, Nosara at 85.6, Drake Bay at 83.5 — with six passengers the divided fare comes very close to the scheduled ticket plus extras.
For short legs like Quepos, at 33.4, it does not. There scheduled or the shuttle still win even at six.
What to tell us so the sums come out right
How many adults and how many children, and what baggage they carry. Not a range.
The arrival time of your international flight. That is what decides whether an extra night enters the comparison.
And your final destination, not just the airport. If there is a long transfer afterwards, it counts. Ground transfer is not included in the fare: your accommodation or a local operator arranges it.
Frequently asked questions
Does it pay with six people?
On medium routes from San José the divided fare comes very close to scheduled plus extras. On short legs, no.
Which aircraft takes six?
The Piper Navajo. The Cessna 206 takes four, so six is already another category. The specific aircraft is assigned on confirmation, based on passenger count, baggage and the destination field.
Does it matter that they are children?
Yes: weight distribution and baggage space. Say so when enquiring, because sometimes what looked like it would not fit does.
What gets forgotten in the comparison?
Baggage, transfers at both ends and the extra night if the timetable does not match.
Does the group of six always win?
No. At Punta Islita, eight metres of width can leave six with no suitable aircraft.
What details do you need?
Adults and children separately, baggage, international arrival time and final destination.
Enquire
The specific aircraft is assigned on confirmation, based on passenger count, baggage and the destination field.