Before You Depart

BOOKING YOUR OWN FLIGHTS

Booking your own flights has advantages like flying from your home airport, choosing your own seats, upgrading your seats, and using and collecting airline miles. Tour-only travelers are responsible for arranging their entry and exit flights, as well as their arrival and departure transfers. Unused land services including those caused by air schedule changes and delays are non-refundable and smarTours cannot be held responsible.

When booking your flights, please note that our tour starts in San José and ends in Tamarindo. We recommend that you:

• Fly into Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)
• Fly out of Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR)

When booking your return flight, please note that the travel time from Tamarindo to Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR) is approximately 1.5 hours.

TOUR MEETING POINT

When and where you’ll meet the rest of the group depends on if you purchased our air-inclusive package with group flights from/returning to the U.S. or our tour-only package.

• smarTours Tour-Only Travelers: We recommend you arrive with time to settle in before joining the welcome orientation and dinner at 7 PM on Day 1. Hotel check-in is generally not before 4 PM.

TOUR ENDING POINT

The final end point for your tour depends on if you purchased our air-inclusive package with group flights from/returning to the U.S. or our tour-only package.

• smarTours Tour-Only Travelers: The tour ends after breakfast on the last day. Generally, hotel check-out is prior to 12 PM (noon).

PASSPORT AND VISA INFORMATION

Travelers must be in possession of a passport valid for at least 6 months after the date of travel. All visitors are required by the Costa Rican immigration authorities to have a minimum of one blank visa entry page in their passport. Insufficient pages normally results in denied boarding or denial of entry upon arrival and the person is likely to be detained pending return to their country of origin. Before your trip, review travel requirements and restrictions by country including passport and visa requirements. You can also learn more about passport and visa services. Please remember that it is your responsibility to obtain the necessary travel documents before the trip.

COSTA RICA DEPARTURE TAX

Costa Rica Departure Tax ($29 USD) not included. Departure Tax must be paid on departure directly by each traveler by major credit card (service fee may apply), USD , or local currency. This cost of the departure tax is subject to change. It is the traveler’s responsibility to reconfirm the cost of the departure tax prior to travel.

TICKETS AND FINAL DOCUMENTS

Final instructions, documents, and travel tips will be emailed to you 10–14 days before the scheduled start of your tour. If you have not received your final documents, please check your spam folder or contact smarTours.

HEALTH REQUIREMENTS

Immunizations are not currently required, however, you may wish to consult your personal physician or local health authorities for their suggestions. The CDC recommends you stay up to date on routine vaccinations, and consult your physician at least one month prior to travel. Learn more about the CDC’s destination-specific recommendations.

CLIMATE

Please find the average highs and lows for different areas in Costa Rica below:

CREDIT CARDS AND LOCAL CURRENCY

The official currency in Costa Rica is the Costa Rican Colón (₡). Hotels and some stores accept major credit cards like MasterCard and American Express. However, for “street shopping” you will need local currency or U.S. Dollars. It is recommended that you bring along cash in small denominations.

Electricity

Costa Rica operates on 120 volts/60 Hz and uses plug types A, and B which are commonly used in the U.S. and Canada. Learn more about plug types, adapters, and converters.

BAGGAGE

Each passenger may bring one piece of checked-in luggage and one carry-on piece. Please check with the airline for the maximum weight and size for luggage. We recommend that you do not over-pack and that you take a variety of separates with climate and comfort in mind.

Please note there is limited space in the ground transportation vehicle(s). Passengers are limited to one piece of checked-in luggage and one carry-on piece. If you exceed this limit and bring additional baggage, you may be asked to store your excess items at your own expense (additional cost).