1. By Air

a) International

Getting to Northwest Guanacaste became considerably easier for North Americans in 2002, when the Daniel Oduber International Airport opened. Charter flights arrive there from the UK and the government is at the moment trying to concession out an expansion of the airport.

Being within the “magic hour” of travel time from the airport is on the minds of most developers as they choose the locations for vacation communities; most tourists won’t put up with more than that. All of the destinations between Langosta and Papagayo are at most an hour from the airport by car, while the beaches between Playas del Coco and Papagayo take just 20 minutes. La Cruz, the main – though rather sleepy – town north of the Santa Elena Peninsula is about an hour’s drive on a nice road.

b) Domestic

If you are traveling from San José you can make the long drive up, (4.5 to 6 hours) or take a domestic flight either the international airport near Alajuela (For Sansa Air) or from the domestic airport in Pavas, near central San José (operated by Nature Air) .

Also, at least one flight leaves daily for San Jose from domestic air strips in Liberia, Tamarindo, Nosara and Sámara. Flight times are kept up to date on each airline’s Web site (www.flysansa.com or www.natureair.com).

2. By Car

The drive from San José takes between five and six hours, depending on your destination in the region. There are two ways to go. The slightly shorter route is turning left at the junction Las Juntas de Abangares and crossing the Taiwan government-funded Tempisque bridge. The other option is to drive to Liberia and turn past the airport, which is about 30 minutes longer. The drive is nice occasionally but most residents of Northwest Guanacaste take advantage of reasonably-priced domestic flights to save themselves at least eight hours on the road there and back.