First international solo trip since COVID-19
I wish I had been as brave as you when I was 18 years old! Taya Page, you are amazing. This trip will be her second time traveling abroad solo, but her first since COVID-19. Her trip back to the states was canceled eight months ago due to the Costa Rica borders closing.
Over the years, my family has flown a couple of dozen trips back to the U.S. from the Liberia Costa Rica (LIR) airport. Most of these trips were to Denver International airport (DEN). Cost me around $225-$325 if I'm not using my credit card miles.
International travel has become expensive
Airline tickets have become even more expensive from Liberia Costa Rica (LIR) to Denver, Colorado (DEN). In 5 years of traveling back and forth, these recent tickets are the most expensive United Airlines tickets for main cabin seats I have ever bought. The same flight that cost $222 to book the last five years cost me over $600 to book in 2020. Keep in mind that the ticket did not even include an open seat next to her. The flight was packed. What was included was a direct flight from Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR) to Denver, Colorado (DEN).
Do you feel it is safe to travel?
One of the first questions every traveler should ask themself is, do you feel safe traveling? If the answer is yes, now ask yourself how much room you will need to feel safe during your air travels?
Is having a direct international airline flight with no layovers worth paying more money than layovers that adding extra travel time. More airports mean more people and more potential exposure.
Liberia Costa Rica Airport (LIR)
Costa Rica is taking airline traveling and COVID-19 seriously while requiring masks and social distancing. Costa Rica Liberia airport has also marked off seating to keep people safe from COVID-19 during their air travels.
Airline ticket prices have started coming down
There is an upside to all of this. Airline tickets have started coming down over the last couple of months. Some airlines like Delta are blocking seats in parts of the aircraft if you want an open seat next to you. Meaning in some cabin sections, Delta is keeping a middle seat unoccupied. I could have booked a ticket on Delta airlines for $50 more, but the travel time was twice as long. It also added a layover.
Keep in mind that you are paying extra for most of these airline companies to offer to keep seats empty compared to other airlines that are not blocking out seats. In this case, I paid more for Taya to fly United airlines to avoid layovers. The flight was almost empty 24 hours before take-off; however, it ended up being a full flight.
If you are a little more flexible, I have seen some flights from Liberia (LIR), Costa Rica to Denver, Colorado (DEN) from $176 to $345 on Skyscanner. The downside to most of these flights is that they all have one to three layovers. Travel time is 9-31 hours compared to a direct flight that takes five and a half.
Traveling during COVID-19
Only you can answer how safe you feel about the amount of travel time. If you feel comfortable sitting next to someone or if you are willing to do a layover. We felt safer having Taya travel straight from Costa Rica into Denver, Colorado, with no layovers.
Note: The black mask she is wearing in the picture is not allowed on United Airlines due to the filter. She was aware of this before heading to the airport and arrived armed with a brand new one in her bag. We purchased the white mask at the local Farmacia for 1,200 clones (about $2.00 USD).
Note: The black mask she is wearing in the picture is not allowed on United Airlines due to the filter. She was aware of this before heading to the airport and arrived armed with a brand new one in her bag. We purchased the white mask at the local Farmacia for 1,200 clones (about $2.00 USD).
