Warning! Surfboard Baggage Fees Doubled on Most Airlines.
Watch out! The airlines are out to fuck you in orifices you didnt even think you had.
Here’s the dirt. As of July 2008, many major airlines changed their oversize baggage fees accross the board. If you have traveled before, you are used to spending $50–$75 each way for your surfboard, including double boardbags with two surfboards. Thing have changed baby. Now you really have to figure the cost of bringing your boards with you into the overall cost of your trip. Whereas before, surfboard baggage fees were an afterthought, now you need to almost double the cost of your plane ticket.
Example: I paid $515.00 for my ticket to Puerto Vallarta this over the holidays 2008-2009. My surfboard (a 6′2″ Santa Cruz epoxy piece of shit I got for $350) ended up costing $613.25. It doesn’t take a mathematician to see that my surfboard cost more than I did. Ridiculuos, but I will expand on that in a minute and give you full story.
What to do:
1. Find the cheapest flight to wherever you are going. I use http://www.bookingbuddy.com.
2. Go to that airlines website and navigate to the oversize baggage fee page.
3. check the price for a single surfboard, and see if the charge for two boards in one bag (doubleboardbag).
4. Is your flight international? Anything outside the contiguous USA will have higher rates (double).
5. Decide if you really want to pay hundreds of dollars more, or just get a board when you get there.
Heres the short version of what I just went through on a trip to Mexico. I showed up at LAX, ready to pay up to $75 each way. NOPE. the Delta ticket agent told me my single 6′2″ in a single boardbag would cost $300 round trip. My fiancée and I were shocked. We were assured that this was the sum total of the charges we would incurr. Dismayed, my girl handed over our credit card and paid. Two weeks later, upon return from Puerto Vallarta, the mexican Delta ticket agent demanded another $300. I showed our receipt which I had not really looked at, but kept safe the whole trip as per my instructions from the Delta agent back in Los Angeles. “Only covers one way,” said the Mexican Delta agent. We went crazy. No manager. No recourse. Even though we had been told $300 was all we would pay, our receipt said “LAX to PVR.” We were advised to pay another $300 and take it up with Delta customer service after returning home. more…
So, its been a month of phone calls, emails, and so on. No refund after thoroughly explaining how we were misguided. It’s been really unpleasant dealing with Delta. The truth is, they are a huge corporation that would rathe rkeep your $300 that ever have your business again; which they definitley won’t. Currently my bank has credited me the $300 and are negotiating on my behalf. if thaht doesn’t work, we will be taking them to small claims court. I will update a post with that info when it happens.
The message here is still this: Check with your airline. International surfboard baggage fees are out of control. Don’t get stuck paying $600 for a surfboard like I did. Not all airlines are as bad, you might get it for $300 round trip on some, but I can tell you, Delta Air Lines will happily rape you for $600, which is probably more than you will pay for your seat ticket. Fuck them. I hate them. Be warned.
CRSG
Surfboards - What to Bring?
Bring what you normally ride.
Ok, that being said, there are a couple things to consider. First, are you bringing more than one board? Connecting flight? How long is your lay-over? Glassed on fins or removable? Longboard or shortboard? Got an extra $150 bucks for oversize baggage? Taking a domestic connecting flight? Consider these questions. You may not have a double board bag, or have a board with glass on fins that needs extra packing. Longboards might go over your airlines size limit– this stuff changes so check your airline. And, finally, check out your connection time and make sure that it isn’t too tight and your boards miss the flight. It’s happened to people I know. Idiots. Fuck them. Just kidding.
WARNING! Oversize surfboard baggage fees have changed! pay as much as $600! Please read this and don’t get stuck paying more than your seat fare for your boards. Read about what happened to me last time I went to Mexico. Be warned - check your airline website first.
What I’m getting at here is this: Maybe you want to pick up something once you arrive, new or used, or if you’re a beginner, just rent one when you need it. Maybe your whole trip isnt only a surf trip, and you plan to check out one of the volcanoes - Arenal is a worthwhile trip - do some hiking and maybe white water rafting etc. Then, it might not be worth the hassle of wrestling with a board every time you move, and it’s simply easier to rent one. if you’re a beginner, you might want to see if you like surfing before you drop $600 on a shiny new stick. You never know - it’s possible that you’ll hate surfing. You decide.
Now, if you’re an experienced surfer, and you’re single minded in your purpose (most surfer’s have th blinders on when they go to Costa Rica - I admit that I do), then you should bring some kind of a shortboard. Something in the 6′0″ to 6′8″ size, probably a thruster or a fish. Surfboards in this range are generally all you’ll need for an average day in most spots. Beachbreaks on the Pacific side are not incredibly powerful in general (compared to Hawaii) and you will get a lot of good waves with a board like that.
Bring a second board or buy one there. Chances are, you will be glad. I suggest bringing something with a rounded pintail in the 6′6″ to 6′10″ range for bigger, hollower days. When the surf gets bigger, and when the beach breaks get hollow with offshores (note: dry season in Guanacaste offshores prevail) it helps to have a little extra length, and get into the waves faster. When its hollow and fast - a board made for fast beach break will be a lifesaver to get you down the line and into the barrel, instead of behind the lip every time you take off.
Here’s my suggestion:
Shortboard: 6′0″ - 6′6″, 2 3/8, 18 3/4
Rounded Pin: 6′6″-6′10″, 2 1/8, 18 1/4
I dont really ever ride longboards, cheaters, or retro shapes. So if that’s your game - bring it! I still recommend a 6′8″ shortboard for the bigger hollower days in the beachbreak. Its just too much work to try and turtle dive the cumbersome old longboards when conditions are like that. Unless you’re a pro of course.
Going to the Caribbean side? Bring the rounded pin! Don’t say I didn’t tell you!
Air Travel To Costa Rica and Domestic Airlines
Most people will arrive by air at one of the two international airports, San José or Liberia. From San José it is possible to take additional flights on one of the domestic airlines to your final destination. SANSA and NatureAir are the two domestic airlines with destinations near surfing areas on both coasts and destinations inland.
Arriving in San José is central and gets you within a two and a half hour drive of Playa Jaco. Jaco is kind of a party town with a lot of tourism, both local and international. The beach break there gets pretty fun if you hit it on the right swell. It’s a good place to start from and from there you can head south to Playa Hermosa for some killer beach break barrels. From San José you can also make the four and a half hour drive to the Caribbean side to the port of Limon and waves like the infamous Salsa Brava.
The other International Airport is Liberia, located in the Northeast part of the country. This is a great starting point if you are headed to Tamarindo and gets you within about an hour and a half by car. Liberia also makes sense for surfers who plan to surf breaks along the Nicoya Peninsula, or possibly take a side trip up into Nicaragua.
Air travel has gotten steadily more expensive to Costa Rica. If your departure city is one of the gateway cities like Miami, Atlanta or Houston, you may still be able to find prices in the $300-$350 range. Otherwise, prepare to get out your wallet. Fares to Costa Rica are generally consistent throughout the year and the days of cheapo flights bought way in advance are over. Flights from Canada and the continental United States will be in the $500 range. Off-season tickets are roughly the same and there doesn’t seem to be a trend towards cheap flights at this time. However, you can still save on hotels, car rental and other services during the off-season once you arrive.
We suggest you use www.bookingbuddy.com and search flights using good old-fashioned elbow grease. Booking buddy simply saves you the hassle of entering your flight info multiple times and makes it easy to search all of the other online services.
