About Juan Santamaria Intl. Airport
Juan Santamaria International Airport is the main airport of San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. Juan Santamaria International Airport, which is located in Alajuela, 20 km west of San Jose city center, is also the central airport of the local airlines Nature Air and Sansa Airlines as well as Copa Airlines and Avianca. Airlines that have direct flights to Juan Santamaria Airport, which is the busiest airport of Central America are Edelweiss Air, Iberia, Lufthansa, Spirit Airlines, Aeromexico, Condor, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, WestJet, Wingo, Volaris Costa Rica, Southwest Airlines etc. You can reach San Jose city center in a short time by getting on a taxi or minibus after arriving at Juan Santamaria Airport, which provided transportation service to approximately 5 million passengers in total according to the statistics of 2016.
Getting to the City Center from Juan Santamaria Intl. Airport
Juan Santamaria International Airport, which is located near the city center of San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, is one of the busiest airports of the country. If you are travelling with your private car, you can follow the highway General Cañas while travelling to the city center from the airport, which is located 11 miles of San Jose. You can also benefit from the transportation alternatives such as taxi or bus which carry passengers to San Jose city center by departing from the airport terminal. If you want to travel in the city comfortably or travel to different parts of the city, you can rent a car before leaving the airport terminal. The shuttles of tour operators are generally preferred by crowded groups who want to travel to the city center from the airport. If you plan to use the shuttles which are more budget-friendly for crowded groups, you should make a reservation in advance. If you consider renting a car for your transportation, it would be a good idea to get in contact with the car rental company in advance and make a reservation before your travel. In this way, your car will be ready for you at the airport and you won’t have any trouble in finding a car especially during busy seasons. You don’t have to make a reservation in order to use taxis or buses. At any time of the day, you can easily find a taxi at Juan Santamaria Airport. There are also buses operating frequently and carrying passengers to the center. TUASA buses, which start operating at 04:30 am, carry passengers to San Jose city center from Juan Santamaria Airport until 11:00 pm. You can get to the center of Alajuela in about 15 minutes by getting on a bus for an affordable price. If you need to travel in the direction of Heredia, your travel will last 40 minutes by bus. If you need to travel to Jan Jose, it will last about 35 minutes. Buses departing from the airport terminal offer a fast and economical transportation. Station Wagon buses operating for 24 hours offer service between the city centers and the beaches located in Guanacaste and Puntarena. You can benefit from these vehicles in order to travel to Alajuela and San Jose. If you want to get information about TUASA buses, you can call (506) 2442-6900. For Station Wagon buses, you can call (506) 2441 1181 and get detailed information. At Juan Santamaria Airport, many international car rental companies offer service for passengers wanting to rent a car. You can get in contact with Dollar, one of the car rental companies located at the airport, by calling (506) 2443-2078 or make a reservation for the car you want to rent over the internet and receive your car when you arrive at the airport terminal. If you choose Payless for renting a car, you can contact (506) 2430 4647 or (506) 2256 0101 and get detailed information about car reservation. In addition, there are many other companies at the airport such as Hertz and Firefly Rent a Car, Economy, Solid, Advantage, Nu, Solid, Alamo, National, Enterprise, Budget and Apex and you can also contact one of these companies for your transportation. In order to rent your car from Hertz and Firefly, you can call (506) 2221-1818 or (506) 2258-4343 and (506) 2430-7707. National, Enterprise and Alamo can be reached from (506) 2242-7700. In addition, you should keep in mind that you can speed up your car rental process by reserving your car through the internet. All of these companies offer online services for their customers. In order not to confront any problem while receiving your car from the car rental office located at the terminal, you should have your travel documents such as international driver’s license and passport with you. You can easily distinguish the orange-colored taxis waiting in front of exit door of the airport terminal. Taxis Unidos vehicles offer service for 24 hours at Juan Santamaria Airport. If you want to get in contact with the taxi office located at the airport, you can call (506) 2443-7544 and get information. Furthermore, taxis are one of the fastest transportation alternatives that you can use for travelling to San Jose and other important centers located near it. In addition, the fare you will pay for travelling to San Jose from the airport is not very high. The distance between these points is 11 miles. You can get on these in front of the airport terminal and reach your destination in the city center within minutes. There is not much chance to bargain with the driver but you can get in contact with the drivers in advance and learn how much you need to pay for travelling to your destination. If you need to travel as a crowded group or have heavy luggage, you can prefer one of the bigger vehicles. The cost of travelling to the center from Juan Santamaria Airport by taxi is not very high but you can travel to the center by using a means of public transportation such as bus. After reaching the city center by bus, you can continue your travel by getting on a taxi from the center and in this way, you can reduce your travel cost. Another transportation alternative offered to the passengers travelling to the center from Juan Santamaria Airport is the shuttles of tour operators. You can choose one of the two different companies offering service in this field. These companies are Gray Line Airport Express and Interbus. When you come to the shuttle rental points located in baggage claim area, you can get information about the fares which can vary depending on your route and travel date. After getting detailed information, you can make your decision. If you decide to benefit from the shuttle service offered by the tour operators, you can contact Gray Line Airport Express by calling (506) 2220-2126 and (506) 2291-2222 and make a reservation after you ask the questions coming to your mind. For Interbus, which is the other alternative offering service at Juan Santamaria Airport, you can call (506) 4100-0888 and get information about these shuttles. You can use the shuttles of the tour operators for travelling in Costa Rica or to any other destination abroad. These shuttles are one of the most ideal transportation vehicles for those travelling in group or trip organizations.Bus
Car Rental
Taxi
Tour Operator Shuttle
Getting to Juan Santamaria Intl. Airport from the City Center
Juan Santamaria International Airport is located 11 miles of San Jose, which is the capital and one of the most developed cities of Costa Rica. The transportation alternatives that you can use to get to the airport from the city center are bus, taxi, car rental and shuttles of the tour operators. Taxis are among the best options that you can prefer since they offer transportation service without any destination or time limitation. Passengers who want to travel for more affordable fares can benefit from the buses that carry passengers to Juan Santamaria International Airport from morning hours to evening hours. You can also benefit from the car rental alternative for travelling from the city center to the airport. You can also use the car you have rented for travelling in and around the city. It is possible to find many car rental offices in the center and at the airport. However, if you need to travel during the crowded seasons, you can make a reservation before your travel by getting in contact with one of the car rental companies in order not to have trouble in finding a car.
Bus
The buses operating between San Jose city center and Juan Santamaria International Airport are the most economical vehicles you can use for your transportation to the airport. The buses depart near the Nuestra Señora de La Merced Catholic Church in the center. Buses start operating at early hours and after midnight you cannot be able to find a bus. For this reason, if you need to travel to the airport from the city center at a late hour, you can prefer getting on a taxi or renting a car in advance. If the place you are staying in is close to the bus stop in the city center and you need to travel in the daytime, you can choose the bus option which is nearly as fast as taxis and have a chance to travel for a much more affordable cost. You can buy your bus ticket when you come to the stop and continue your travel directly to the airport. If you need to get to the airport from one of the beaches located in the regions like Puntarenas and Guanacaste, you can get on one of the buses carrying passengers on these routes. Traveling to the airport from San Jose city center lasts about 35-40 minutes. The travel from the other points near the center varies between 20-40 minutes depending on their proximity to the airport.
Taxi
Taxis, which you can easily find at many points of San Jose city center, are among the fastest alternatives that you can benefit from when travelling to the airport. The distance between the city center and airport is about 11 miles and at the end of this distance the taxi fares don’t increase much. If your hotel is located in the center, you can ask your hotel to call a taxi for you or you can get on one of the passing taxis. One of the biggest advantages of taxis is that you have a chance to find a taxi anywhere and anytime you want without any limitation. If you need to travel to Juan Santamaria Airport from a location that is far from the center and airport, you can still use the taxi option but you should keep in mind that the fare you will pay will be higher depending on the distance. In this case, you can evaluate other transportation alternatives such as the shuttles of tour operators or you can bargain with the driver on the fare before getting on the taxi and travel to the airport comfortably without paying too much.
Car Rental
In the center, many international car rental companies such as Alamo, Hertz, Budget and Enterprise or alternative companies such as Solid, Apex, Nu and Payless offer car rental service for the passengers who want to travel to the airport in a comfortable way. After renting your car in the city center, you can reach the airport terminal in about 20-30 minutes by following the airport direction signs. You can deliver your car at the airport by preferring a car rental company which has also an office at the airport. In addition, you can get in contact with one of the companies in advance and learn whether you can deliver the car at the airport or not. If you want to rent a car in the city, you will need certain documents such as a driver’s license valid in the country and passport. While renting a car, you should bring these documents with you. After renting your car, you can take a city map with you in order to find your way more easily.
Tour Operator Shuttle
In the city, the companies such as Interbus and Gray Line Airport Express offer a different transportation alternative for the transportation to the airport from the city center. Travelling with the shuttles of tour operators is ideal and affordable for crowded groups and those travelling for business purpose. The fares of these shuttles can vary depending on the distance and the number of passengers. If you want to take advantage of these shuttles, you should get in contact with one of the companies in advance and make a reservation. As you can use these shuttles for travelling to the airport from the city center, you can also use them for travelling to different regions of Costa Rica or other countries.
Airport Information
Juan Santamaria Airport which connects San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, with many different parts of the country and world, offers a great and comfortable atmosphere for its guests with shopping, eating and drinking opportunities as well as recreational areas. You can buy souvenirs by visiting Vida Pura located within the airport terminal or spend time by taking a glance at gift alternatives. Colibrí Craft Store, Green Trails, Casa Tica and Morpho Store Britt Shop Costa Rica are other options you can evaluate at the airport. Duty Free shops located in different parts of the airport are waiting for passengers who want to buy perfume, souvenir, alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink or chocolate for budget-friendly prices. If you want to have a snack before leaving the airport, you can visit Q Corner by Quiznos, Teriyaki Experience, Smashburger, Cinnabon or Quiznos to Go. If you have enough time and enjoy eating or drinking in a good place, you can prefer Bar 45° GastroPub, Malinche Restaurant or Café Lavazza. You can benefit from the free internet connection in many parts of the airport while waiting for your flight. If you need to make money transfer or perform any other banking transactions, you can find BAC San Jose, Bancredito, Global Exchange, Scotiabank, Citibank and ATH branches or ATMs at the airport terminal. The recreational areas and passenger lounges are among the areas where you can spend time on comfortable seats while waiting for your flight. If you need to park your car at Juan Santamaria Airport, you can use the parking area of the airport which has a capacity of 400 vehicles. The fees of this parking area which you can benefit from daily, weekly or monthly can vary depending on these periods.
