It is the warning this catalogue repeats most, and until now it was spread across thirteen pages. Here it is whole, because the last leg is what breaks most trips — and it almost never appears in the quote.
The four kinds of mismatch
The airport has a different name. Santa Teresa, Mal País and Montezuma are served from Tambor. San Juan del Sur, from Costa Esmeralda. Papagayo, from Liberia. Searching for "Santa Teresa airport" returns nothing useful because it does not exist under that name.
The destination has no strip. Granada, Nicaragua is the extreme case: you fly to Managua and drive forty-five minutes. Papagayo, twenty minutes from Liberia.
The last leg is not by road. Tortuguero is reached by river; the field sits on the bar and the transfer to the lodge is by boat. Drake Bay ends at a strip and continues by sea or track.
The airport is the gateway to a region, not a town. La Ceiba for the Bay Islands. Playón Chico for San Blas. Nobody travels there to stay there.
Why this matters more than distance
An example from the catalogue itself: Tortuguero is 53.4 nautical miles from San José. It is a short flight.
But on landing there is a river transfer that we do not operate and that has a last departure of the day. If the flight arrives late, the boat does not wait.
That pattern repeats: the flight is almost always the predictable part of the day. What fails is the next link, because someone else coordinates it and it keeps its own schedule.
The rule that solves nearly everything
Ask the time of the last leg before fixing the time of the flight.
It sounds obvious and almost nobody does it. The natural sequence is to book the flight and then tell the hotel; the sequence that works is the reverse.
At destinations with two windows — La Fortuna to Tortuguero is the catalogue's example, with a morning window at the origin and a last boat at the destination — planning backwards is simply how itineraries break.
What is and is not in the fare
We say it on every page and we summarise it here: the ground or sea transfer on the last leg is not included, and in most cases we do not operate it.
It is not a commercial exclusion: those transfers are provided by local operators, lodges and boat services you contract with directly. Ground transfer is not included in the fare: your accommodation or a local operator arranges it.
What we do is tell you beforehand, and confirm with you that the link fits.
When the mismatch removes the flight
And here is the part that does not favour selling.
If the airport serving your destination is twenty minutes by car — Papagayo from Liberia — and you enter the country through that airport, no domestic flight improves on it. Ground transfer is not included in the fare: your accommodation or a local operator arranges it.
The same with Granada from Managua. The mismatch between airport and destination sometimes means one more transfer; other times it means the flight was unnecessary.
The thirteen mismatched destinations
They are flagged on their own pages, but they are worth having together: Papagayo, Santa Teresa, Mal País, Montezuma, San Juan del Sur, Granada, Tortuguero, Drake Bay, Guanaja, the Bay Islands generally, San Blas, Playa Venao and Santa Catalina.
At all of them, the right question when asking for a quote is not what the flight costs, but how long it takes from the strip to the bed.
Frequently asked questions
Why can I not find my destination's airport?
Because many carry another name: Santa Teresa is served from Tambor, San Juan del Sur from Costa Esmeralda and Papagayo from Liberia.
Is the transfer from the airport included?
No. It is provided by local operators, lodges and boat services you contract with directly. What we do is tell you beforehand. Ground transfer is not included in the fare: your accommodation or a local operator arranges it.
What should I coordinate first?
The time of the last leg, and only then the flight. The natural sequence is the reverse, and it is what breaks itineraries.
Are there destinations with no road?
Yes. Tortuguero is reached by river and the transfer to the lodge is by boat; Drake Bay ends at a strip and continues by sea or track. Access to the lodges is by river and has a last departure of the day that sets your flight time.
Can the mismatch remove the flight?
Yes. If you enter through Liberia and your destination is Papagayo, it is twenty minutes by car: no domestic flight improves on that. Ground transfer is not included in the fare: your accommodation or a local operator arranges it.
What is the right question when quoting?
Not what the flight costs, but how long it takes from the strip to the bed.
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