Costa Rica Opens up - slowly
Oct 13, 2020, 5:02 pm
#31
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Mexico City, MX
Programs: No airline/hotel status use, Chase UR, Amex MR, CapOne etc
Posts: 266
That is very interesting. We love Mexico, and in fact we just made our annual trip to Punta Mita a couple of weeks ago. We have Costa Rica booked for Thanksgiving -- our first ever trip there. The testing and insurance requirements don't seem too onerous -- just a little costly. If I had known about the Mexico alternative I would have certainly looked into it.
You'll have a great time i'm sure! Just don't get fooled by the brochures for the arenal volcano, it stopped spewing lava 10+ years ago and the town is pretty bring now, not much to do, make sure to hit the cloud forests, tamarindo, nicoya penninsula, manuel antonio are some of my favorite spots. Watch out around San Jose that city can be dodiger then ppl think.
Oct 21, 2020, 12:04 pm
#32
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: OH
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat, Marriot Lifetime Gold
Posts: 9,538
I think Costa Rica might be a better fit, its more developed and has better infrastructure for easy tourism. Oaxaca and Chiapas have a lot of pristine untouched rainforest but its more rugge and "backpacker" style in terms of transport and accommodation.
You'll have a great time i'm sure! Just don't get fooled by the brochures for the arenal volcano, it stopped spewing lava 10+ years ago and the town is pretty bring now, not much to do, make sure to hit the cloud forests, tamarindo, nicoya penninsula, manuel antonio are some of my favorite spots. Watch out around San Jose that city can be dodiger then ppl think.
You'll have a great time i'm sure! Just don't get fooled by the brochures for the arenal volcano, it stopped spewing lava 10+ years ago and the town is pretty bring now, not much to do, make sure to hit the cloud forests, tamarindo, nicoya penninsula, manuel antonio are some of my favorite spots. Watch out around San Jose that city can be dodiger then ppl think.
Oct 22, 2020, 4:07 pm
#33
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SJO/MGA
Programs: bits of shiny plastic w/ varied utility
Posts: 383
No more PCR test requirement
Effective 26 October.
Come on down. Note the health insurance and "HealthPass" form are still required.
https://ticotimes.net/2020/10/22/cos...t-for-tourists
Come on down. Note the health insurance and "HealthPass" form are still required.
https://ticotimes.net/2020/10/22/cos...t-for-tourists
Oct 27, 2020, 11:47 am
#34
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Ha Noi, Viet Nam.
Programs: UA 1K M, AA 2 MM PREM, AVIS First, HYATT Explorist, Marriott Lifetime Platinum., Hilton Gold.
Posts: 657
Effective 26 October.
Come on down. Note the health insurance and "HealthPass" form are still required.
https://ticotimes.net/2020/10/22/cos...t-for-tourists
Come on down. Note the health insurance and "HealthPass" form are still required.
https://ticotimes.net/2020/10/22/cos...t-for-tourists
Thanks
Oct 28, 2020, 12:24 am
#35
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: LAX
Posts: 10,908
Nov 9, 2020, 4:29 pm
#37
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Rochester, MN
Programs: UA Silver, Hilton HHonors Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,830
Disagree, feel this is more welcoming, that you don't need a brain swap just to go on vacation. Will def consider Costa Rica for our late winter getaway.
Nov 11, 2020, 6:52 pm
#38
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: LAX
Posts: 10,908
Ya but it can be a major bummer if you catch a bug and end up stuck for weeks because some folks decide to go with a bit of cough and stand in immi line next to you.
Nov 17, 2020, 2:47 pm
#39
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: OKC
Programs: IHG Spire, National Exec, AA Plat
Posts: 2,274
Anyone have any experience with the insurance requirements when visiting Costa Rica - found here?
https://www.visitcostarica.com/en/co...y-requirements
Riu hotels are giving Riu Protect with €30k medical assistance and 14 nights of extended stay covered. In addition, I have other insurance that provides $1M of medical benefit and $250k evacuation coverage.
I am wondering if it's worth trying to use these plans to get in, vs. buying the insurance from the page above. Worst case, if they do not accept these, can you buy it at upon arrival so that you still get in?
https://www.visitcostarica.com/en/co...y-requirements
In the case of international insurance, the tourist must request from their insurer a certification issued in English or Spanish, noting at least three conditions, without forgetting to add it to the HEALTH PASS:
- Validity of the effective policy during the visit in Costa Rica.
- Guarantee of coverage for medical expenses in cases of pandemic disease COVID 19 in Costa Rica, for at least US $50,000 (fifty thousand dollars of the United States of America).
- Minimum coverage of US $2,000 for extended lodging expenses due to pandemic illness or trip interruption/cancellation due to illness, which covers the extra cost of the passenger due to quarantine.
I am wondering if it's worth trying to use these plans to get in, vs. buying the insurance from the page above. Worst case, if they do not accept these, can you buy it at upon arrival so that you still get in?
Dec 4, 2020, 7:12 am
#41
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: San Jose, Costa Rica
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum
Posts: 1,894
Dec 4, 2020, 9:28 pm
#42
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Rochester, MN
Programs: UA Silver, Hilton HHonors Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,830
Dec 8, 2020, 12:10 pm
#43
Join Date: Oct 2018
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 302
An update for anybody looking to come to CR. We had to leave CR recently and re-enter via Miami. As our residency is pending submission due to Covid backlog re-entry was under normal tourist conditions.
Things are very quick/efficient now. We flew in to SJO from MIA on AA middle of the day. We were about half-way through the plane so not first off but found queue to be moving at a reasonable speed at immigration. The health pass QR code was checked whilst we were in line as someone walked down the line to check everyone before they got to immigration. It felt like arriving in normal times apart from this check of the QR code. We previously entered on INS insurance policy but this time just submitted our worldwide annual policy.
We didn't have a specific letter from the insurer certifying it when we created health pass but just provided the 1 page "Covid cover" summary that was an FAQ sheet on their website and the policy document and limits itself - all combined into a single PDF of about 20 pages long. When they scanned our QR codes mine went green whilst my wife/daughter went red. We had to leave immigration line and get a bus. The bus took us about 200 yards down to another room where we joined the "sort your insurance" queue out. There were more staff than people waiting and we were at the front of the queue in 30 seconds. A bit of broken Spanish, a two minute set of button-taps and we were all sorted. From there it was a walk back to the immigration hall (1 minute) and we rejoined the queue at the back which by this point had almost completely vanished.
Immigration itself was a standard affair - the one thing to note was that our exit document was dated at 87 days (our exit flight) not standard 90 days. This is based on insurance declaration more than exit flights from what I understand. We could have actually put the 90 days down but it makes little difference to us. If it matters to you that you get 90 days then get 90 days of insurance or you may be stamped for less.
Bags were already out and straight through customs with a porter. They've been splitting tips between all team members since Covid came along and have had lots of people unable to work.
Time from wheels-down to arriving at our car was an hour including sorting out a problem with our insurance. Had it been no problem could have easily been 30 minutes. This was a full flight.
Some things to note:
- AA did a document check in Miami. They checked it confirmed docs were OK and then gave us paper confirming it. Gave said paper to check-in agent who then tried to check docs again and didn't know what she was doing. Someone had to tell her she didn't need to.
- If you do the "Edit my Health Pass" link online don't load the link in Edge it will tell you the browser is not supported even though it is for initial creation. Also the link is one-shot so don't click it on your phone if you need to open it on your PC.
- We didn't get a PDF confirmation for our daughter - no idea why - so make sure you screenshot the QR codes, that is sufficient for entry without the "full" PDF
Hope this is useful.
For anybody looking at chain hotels the JW Marriot at Hacienda Pinilla (Guanacaste) is now open. If you're in SJO and looking for a Hilton property that's a bit more "holiday" than work I normally stay at the Double Tree Cariari - staff super friendly and always end up upgraded at the moment whilst it's quiet
Things are very quick/efficient now. We flew in to SJO from MIA on AA middle of the day. We were about half-way through the plane so not first off but found queue to be moving at a reasonable speed at immigration. The health pass QR code was checked whilst we were in line as someone walked down the line to check everyone before they got to immigration. It felt like arriving in normal times apart from this check of the QR code. We previously entered on INS insurance policy but this time just submitted our worldwide annual policy.
We didn't have a specific letter from the insurer certifying it when we created health pass but just provided the 1 page "Covid cover" summary that was an FAQ sheet on their website and the policy document and limits itself - all combined into a single PDF of about 20 pages long. When they scanned our QR codes mine went green whilst my wife/daughter went red. We had to leave immigration line and get a bus. The bus took us about 200 yards down to another room where we joined the "sort your insurance" queue out. There were more staff than people waiting and we were at the front of the queue in 30 seconds. A bit of broken Spanish, a two minute set of button-taps and we were all sorted. From there it was a walk back to the immigration hall (1 minute) and we rejoined the queue at the back which by this point had almost completely vanished.
Immigration itself was a standard affair - the one thing to note was that our exit document was dated at 87 days (our exit flight) not standard 90 days. This is based on insurance declaration more than exit flights from what I understand. We could have actually put the 90 days down but it makes little difference to us. If it matters to you that you get 90 days then get 90 days of insurance or you may be stamped for less.
Bags were already out and straight through customs with a porter. They've been splitting tips between all team members since Covid came along and have had lots of people unable to work.
Time from wheels-down to arriving at our car was an hour including sorting out a problem with our insurance. Had it been no problem could have easily been 30 minutes. This was a full flight.
Some things to note:
- AA did a document check in Miami. They checked it confirmed docs were OK and then gave us paper confirming it. Gave said paper to check-in agent who then tried to check docs again and didn't know what she was doing. Someone had to tell her she didn't need to.
- If you do the "Edit my Health Pass" link online don't load the link in Edge it will tell you the browser is not supported even though it is for initial creation. Also the link is one-shot so don't click it on your phone if you need to open it on your PC.
- We didn't get a PDF confirmation for our daughter - no idea why - so make sure you screenshot the QR codes, that is sufficient for entry without the "full" PDF
Hope this is useful.
For anybody looking at chain hotels the JW Marriot at Hacienda Pinilla (Guanacaste) is now open. If you're in SJO and looking for a Hilton property that's a bit more "holiday" than work I normally stay at the Double Tree Cariari - staff super friendly and always end up upgraded at the moment whilst it's quiet
Dec 9, 2020, 10:22 am
#44
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: OKC
Programs: IHG Spire, National Exec, AA Plat
Posts: 2,274
Thanks for that. On the insurance, did they give you the option to purchase insurance there locally if needed for the same ~$12/day or whatever it is online from the two approved providers?
I am currently trying to decide if I take a chance with my existing worldwide insurance, or just spend the $70 do avoid the headache.
I am currently trying to decide if I take a chance with my existing worldwide insurance, or just spend the $70 do avoid the headache.
Dec 9, 2020, 7:02 pm
#45
Join Date: Oct 2018
Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 302
Yes same price - no penalty. They just have the INS website available on a large touch-screen for you to complete it there/then. I'm not sure if they had the other provider (the $12 per day one). If not there's nothing to stop you signing up on your phone, you're in an area with airport WiFi and 4G.