Job Discussion Forums

[teachwrite]

Thanks to Corr88 for finding this solution.

Many teachers have expressed interest in flying one-way to San Jose, rather than purchasing a round-trip ticket and wasting money on a return flight that is never used.

Most Airlines in the U.S. require either a return ticket or "proof of onward travel" in order to board a flight to Costa Rica. The consensus is that many times you can get away with flying on a one-way ticket, but occasionally you will run into a particularly officious agent who won't allow you to board. Costa Rica customs is said to be fairly laid-back and will accept a claim of onward travel (e.g. to Panama or Nicaragua). However, this solution isn't likely to ease a traveling teacher's nerves.

So...

You can make a reservation at www.ticabus.com, which will result in an unofficial looking confirmation email (a few days later, that is). If you reply to the email and ask for a more official looking ticket, they will send you a word document which can be edited (again, after a few more days of waiting).

I've removed my name and modified the passport number, but here is a link to the ticket template, which you can then edit and print as-needed.

Note: the "ruta" or route/destination for this ticket is "CRI-PTY" which corresponds to Panama City and the "fecha salida" or departure date is Jan 11, 2008 (written as 11/001/2008 in the ticket). You can edit those values, although I'm not sure what the code is for other routes. Be sure to enter your correct passport # and nationality as well.

http://www.farrung.com/~markos/Pub/BOLETO_ELECTRONICO.DOC

Cheers.

[OleLarssen]

Thanks, mate. This is great.

[Twonny06]

If you make your reservation online, it will take TICA bus forever to respond back to your email request. It is best to make your reservation months in advance because during the summer months, you will probably not get a response from them until you are well in Central America. If you want immediate assistance from them you should call or fax in your request to the office of the Central American city of your departure. Once on the phone with them, be prepared to speak a little Spanish or ask if you could speak with someone that knows English (in Spanish). Simply tell them that you will need them to email an itinerary to you because of immigration purposes. In most cases, they will cooperate with your needs. Good luck!

[OleLarssen]

In the two times I've been to their offices in San Jose, there's been a guy there who speaks fluent English.

[Twonny06]

There normally is someone in each of the offices that speaks fluent English. The odds are sometimes slim that a fluent English speaker will answer the phone when calling. I have always seen a fluent speaker in Guatemala City as well.

[OleLarssen]

Well, if it's a non-English speaker, just ask "Habla usted ingles?" or something like that, and I'm sure the on-site English dude will be fetched.