Calling all planners! Playa Grande Logistics

and thus we emerge from a 4-month streak of cyber-silence. as we hear of more and more people making plans to be in costa rice with us, march 2010 is slowly starting to feel within the realm of the semi-near future. and so for all of you planners out there (you know who you are), it's time to talk details!

getting there
the most convenient airport to playa grade is liberia. there are a few U.S. cities with flights directly there - if you live in or around atlanta, new york or miami, consider yourself lucky because your city is one of them! people coming from elsewhere will have to transfer, but fortunately flights with a single transfer are consistently cheaper than those with two (or more). we've started tracking airfares from a bunch of cities to liberia so that we can give you a heads-up if and when fares from your city come down. the latest fares from kayak.com are listed at the end of this post, and we'll post occasional updates if something noteworthy happens in the way of prices.

it's about a 1.5 hour drive from liberia to playa grande and there are a couple of options for getting there. you can rent a car, which you won't need on a day-to-day basis if you are planning to stay put in the playa grande area, but would probably make your life a lot easier if you want to do some exploring farther afield. otherwise, we hear from hotel bula bula that there are taxi services from the liberia airport to playa grande that run about $25/person each way. we can also try to coordinate cab-sharing among people who are arriving on the same day and around the same time if that's helpful. since there aren't a ton of flights to liberia, there's a good chance that people coming in around the same time on the same day would even be on the same flight.

staying there
we've heard that a number of people have already made their lodging arrangements, but there is still plenty of room within palm beach estates, the area of playa grande where the festivities will be based.

rental houses
for those of you who are thinking you will stay with a group of people, the vacation houses available for rent within palm beach estates are probably the best option cost- and amenity-wise. hotel bula bula rents several vacation houses, and is offering a reduced rate (10% off) on rentals to our guests (see hotel information below for bula bula website). Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO) also has a good selection of vacation homes for rent, and some of them offer reduced rates for longer stays. if you want to be easy walking distance from the reception site and the houses/hotels where most guests will be staying, you should look for listings within Palm Beach Estates, which is a small vacation community within the larger (albeit still sleepy!) playa grande.

hotels
hotel bula bula, where we'll have the reception on march 26th, is slowly filling up. it's a small hotel with just 10 rooms, and from what we know three of them are booked for friday night and four of them are booked for saturday night. if bula bula is your choice for lodging, you might want to reserve sooner than later -- check out the bula bula website for more details on this option. as with their home rentals, bula bula is offering a 10% discount on rooms for our wedding, so when you reserve online, make note that you are there as part of our group, and the charge on your credit card will reflect the reduced rate.

another option in palm beach estates for those interested in staying at a hotel is hotel cantarana. this hotel is a little cheaper than hotel bula bula, and is still well situated. it's a quick walk to the reception site, the beach and pretty much anything else in the tiny development. like bula bula, it's a small hotel - 6 rooms plus a bungalow, i believe - so again, reserving sooner rather than later is advisable.

outside of palm beach estates
hotels bula bula and cantarana are the only hotels within palm beach estates, but there are additional options elsewhere in playa grande. though they are less convenient location-wise, there are several hotels in the northern part of playa grande that offer a range of amenities - the always popular (and euphemistic) "rustic" is thrown around in the reviews i have seen for a couple of them - for a wider range of prices than the two hotels in palm beach estates. note that getting from the northern end of playa grande to its southern reaches (palm beach estates) is not what it might seem, given that it's a small beach village. it would be about a 20-30 minute walk along the beach from one end to the other, or a quick drive.

there are also plenty of lodging options in tamarindo if you want to be closer to more non-wedding related action. however (nathalie editorial coming), what i have read makes tamarindo sound like an overdeveloped, seedy tourist trap and brendan's experience there mostly confirms this impression. it does have more nightlife options in the way of bars and clubs, especially compared to sleepy playa grande. so if dancing all night in overdeveloped tourist traps is your thing, you've found your home in costa rica! but otherwise i'd advise you to stay within playa grande.

let us know if you have any questions as you make your plans. we hope the additional information is helpful, and we look forward to celebrating with you in march! more to come, and current flight listings are below...

atlanta
$723, nonstop

baltimore/DC
BWI - $636, one stop
national - $648, one stop
dulles - $648, one stop

boston
$718, one stop

chicago
$488, one stop

los angeles
$756, one stop

miami
$532, nonstop

new york
$632, nonstop

philadelphia
$667, one stop

pittsburgh
$727, one stop
$675, two stops

portland
$727, one stop

san diego
$707, one stop

san francisco
$697, one stop

seattle
$735, one stop