The price of a flight covers the aircraft and its operation. What decides the date is often something else.
This guide gathers the five links we do not operate and that do condition your trip. Confirm them before fixing the flight's hour, not after.
1. The tide-driven boat
Sierpe, for Drake Bay. Anyone reaching Drake by river leaves from Sierpe, half an hour from Palmar Sur. The boat leg on the Térraba depends on tides and is arranged by your accommodation or a local operator.
And anyone coming back from Drake reaches Sierpe at the hour the tide and the boat give them, not the one they choose. It is the link most likely to shift the whole day.
Many Drake lodges include it in their package. Ask them before pricing it separately.
2. The river with a last departure
Tortuguero and Barra del Colorado. From the field to the lodge you go by river, and there is a last departure. Access to the lodges is by river and has a last departure of the day that sets your flight time.
Forty-seven nautical miles of flying are no use if you arrive after that hour. The lodges know their own and usually give it without being pressed.
It is the detail that most often forces a booking to be redone anywhere in the catalogue.
The specific aircraft is assigned on confirmation, based on passenger count, baggage and the destination field.
3. The national park quota
Corcovado requires a certified guide and quotas coordinated in advance. Access requires an authorisation handled by the area’s administration or your local operator, on their own timescales.
Chirripó requires an advance booking on a limited quota, managed by SINAC, and several days of walking. Access requires an authorisation handled by the area’s administration or your local operator, on their own timescales.
We handle neither, and both are booked before the flight. It is the reverse of a normal booking.
An itinerary combining the two — San Isidro to Drake Bay, 38.0 nautical miles — stacks up two quotas that do not move together. If the Chirripó descent runs a day late, the Corcovado one does not move with it. Ask for margin.
4. The privately administered field
Punta Islita is not run by the DGAC like most of the catalogue. We confirm the field owner’s authorisation in the quote, because it changes with the date and the operation.
That means advance coordination with the operator, and not taking it for granted on the day. It is what can prevent the flight even when the fare is agreed.
It is the only Costa Rican destination in the catalogue where this applies.
5. The track or water transfer
In Osa it can be long and by track, especially towards the peninsula's interior. Ground transfer is not included in the fare: your accommodation or a local operator arranges it.
Between Golfito and Puerto Jiménez there are ten nautical miles, but by water: a regular boat across the Golfo Dulce.
Neither is included in the flight's fare.
How to order a booking with outside links
- Park quotas first. They do not move.
- Then the boat or the river, which set the hour.
- The private field, if it applies, with advance coordination.
- And the flight last, which is the most flexible thing of all.
It is exactly the reverse of how a normal trip is booked, and that is why it is worth saying before anyone pays for anything. The flight adapts; a park quota does not.
The practical consequence: ask for dates with a day of slack whenever two or more of these links appear in the same trip.
Frequently asked questions
What does the flight price cover?
The aircraft and its operation. Not transfers, boats or park quotas.
Which is the most critical link?
The river's last departure at Tortuguero and Barra. It is the detail that most often forces a booking to be redone. Access to the lodges is by river and has a last departure of the day that sets your flight time.
Do you handle park quotas?
No. Corcovado and Chirripó are booked before the flight and we do not handle them. Access requires an authorisation handled by the area’s administration or your local operator, on their own timescales.
What if I combine both parks?
They are two quotas that do not move together. If the Chirripó descent runs late, the Corcovado one does not. Ask for margin.
Are there private fields?
Punta Islita. It requires advance coordination with the operator. We confirm the field owner’s authorisation in the quote, because it changes with the date and the operation.
In what order do I book?
Park quotas, then boat or river, then private field, and the flight last: it is the most flexible.