Skip to main content

Southwest Airlines Community

In Love With Liberia

samuel-dickinso
Explorer A

Starting in October, Southwest will fly to Liberia, Costa Rica out of our brand-new international terminal in Houston.  Tickets to all international routes from Houston are now for sale on Southwest.com—CLICK HERE to check out routes and fares. Your legs are heavy.  It’s the second hike of the day, and every muscle in your body protests the steep ascent. All of the sudden, you round a corner and you’re greeted by an incredible sight—Mount Arenal, an active volcano, quietly smoldering against a bright blue sky.  How did you end up in such a majestic place?  Welcome to Costa Rica. 2Only several days earlier, you flew into Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia (pronounced “lee-BEAR-ee-UH”), the capital city of Costa Rica’s Guanacaste province. Here there are only two seasons: the dry spell from November to April and the rainy season from May to October.  You absentmindedly flip through an informational pamphlet.  Wow—97% of Costa Rica is literate! Suddenly conscious of the US currency that fills your wallet, you are relieved to discover that Costa Rica has maintained a free trade agreement with the U.S. since 2009 and most Costa Rican businesses accept U.S. credit cards and cash.  With a sigh of contentment, you turn your attention to another challenge—learning to surf! 3Liberia is the gateway to some of the most exotic and ecologically-diverse places on the planet! Beaches like Playa Tamarindo are well-known for their exquisite sunsets, and Rincón de la Vieja National Park is home to a multitude of outdoor recreation activities. Whether you decide to dabble in ecotourism at Monteverde or simply relax at a boutique hotel, Costa Rica is a great vacation spot that lays the groundwork for incredible adventures.
Now that Southwest has added Liberia as one of its international destinations, it’s easier than ever to get there!  What are you waiting for?
For information regarding international travel, please visit https://www.southwest.com/html/air/intl/international-travel-documents.html.
2 Comments
vickilloyd
Explorer C
I was very happy to hear about Southwest serving the Liberia airport, but have been frustrated to find that I can't get there from San Diego, even though Southwest flies from SAN to HOU! I called customer service, and was told I would have to book 2 trips - one from SAN to HOU, then another from HOU to LIR. This wouldn't be all that bad, except my bags would have to be retrieved and rechecked between the flights. I hope in the near future Southwest will figure out how to book international flights with a domestic leg included. I have a lot of Western area (LAS, PHX, SNA, SFO, LAX, SAN) friends who would happily drop Delta, American or United to fly to Costa Rica from their local airports! (If United can get me from San Diego to Liberia without rechecking bags, why can't Southwest?)
millie-richter-
Frequent Flyer C
Vicki... I'm so sorry that you're disappointed with our SAN to LIR offerings. I asked our networking planning folks and apparently the situation you described above is a result of the limited service we currently have in the HOU to LIR market--unfortunately we only offer a morning flight HOU-LIR, which is not late enough to connect from our first SAN-HOU flight. Going forward, as we gain expertise in the HOU international market, we will look to supplement our service with additional trips, pending each individual markets performance. So please keep us in mind when planning your international travel, as we would love to have you touch down in LIR on one of our beautiful jets.