www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Thanks much guys.

No, the airline has no obligation to notify you of a vaccination requirement. However, the airlines usually do notify travelers of such requirements. In this case, since the trip was not a simple round-trip, it probably didn't flip the switch inside of the airline's computers that notifies passengers of those requirements.

In the end, as previously stated, the airline's only obligation is to provide transportation, not plan your trip. Airlines do check passports, visas, and other immigration requirements because most states require airlines to remove unacceptable travelers at the airlines' expense.

Here's a must-visit website for everyone, even those who visit specific states on a regular basis:

https://travel.state.gov/content/passpo ... untry.html

As for the Yellow Fever vaccine, it's best to go ahead and get it if you're visiting Central America, South America, and/or Africa on a regular basis, unless you have a good reason not to be vaccinated.

I've been there... Listening to folks who are trying to get the airline to let them on the plane, using some exception to the rule. I have a yellow fever vaccination. It took 2 minutes, it was free, and it's good for 10 years. With the certificate, you can spend the next 10 years traveling, and never worrying about any requirements for a yellow fever vaccination. I'm not one to get frivolous vaccinations, but if it's an issue in international travel, then it's worth the minute risk involved. A smart traveler is an informed traveler.

It does seem like the airline could have been a little more helpful in this case. I wouldn't count on a refund, but hopefully the traveler can get a little compensation for the inconvenience, even though it's his own fault.

My beef is not due to the fact that my itinerary got disrupted. My beef has to do with the fact that Delta charged me $1,600.00 to come home. You see: My original flight was Rio to Atlanta on DL60 with a 3 hour layover in Atlanta and then catch my connecting Delta flight to San Jose. I had an assigned seat number 28F for the GIG - Atlanta flight. After giving up fighting with the Delta agent to find a way for me to go on to CR I threw in the towel and decided to come home to L.A. (on the exact same flight..DL60). At that point, the Delta agent said I could not keep my original seat # 28F. I would have to "release" that seat and they would have to issue me a new seat (all this on the same flight). However, agent said the only seat I could have would be in Business Class and for that I would have to pay $1,600. When I asked why the "F" I couldn't simply keep my originally seat (28F) and then buy a separate ticket from Atlanta to LAX (average price around $450) all she would say is "It's not possible". Gave no explanation why. In effect, I was "forced" to upgrade. She provided zero response on why I couldn't keep my original assigned for the Rio-Atlanta leg of the trip. So now I am fighting with Delta trying to get back $1,600.

Just like United Air & National Phuc-a-stranded-passenger RAC, they know they have you by the short hairs & phuc u out of as much as they can!!

CostaReeker

I did not catch that you were flying on the same flight back to ATL before heading back out to SJO. I wasn't expecting that, so I didn't catch it. My apologies.

From the airline's point-of-view, they are still correct. The interruption of your planned itinerary is entirely your own fault, and the airline is free to do pretty much whatever they want to do with you. On the other hand, in this particular case, the airline was definitely being an asshole. Actually, not the airline, but whoever runs Delta's ticket desk at GIG. In most cases, those are not Delta employees, and they'll just do whatever the computer tells them to do. Even in the best case, they are Delta employees, but are not very well trained in the intricacies of ticket booking. Most likely, the employee fell back on his/her basic training, which tells him/her that the best (easiest) way to handle the situation is to cancel the current ticket and start a new booking.

My Rule of Airline Travel #11: Never, Ever, Never, Never, Ever... Let a desk agent (ticket desk or gate desk) book or re-book your travel. They have no imagination, they don't know how to do it, and they will definitely F*** up your ticket, given half a chance. You might get away with it in a Hub or Focus City with core airline employees on duty (ATL, JFK, etc.), but over 20 degrees south of the equator? Fat chance.

Here's what you do, next time...

When the ticket desk agent asks for your Vaccination Certificate, you answer, "Oops. I left it in the taxi. Let me go call the taxi company, and I'll be right back."

Then, you go outside and call Delta's customer service center, back in the USA. If you have a frequent flyer call center number, then call call that number. Tell the agent that you have a "personal emergency" (it's true) and that you need to get back to LA without the side jaunt to SJO. Bob's your uncle and you're home, at $0 cost. You probably won't get any money back, but you won't have to give up your seat back to ATL.

If you really want to play it safe, don't even bring the issue up until you're on the ground in ATL.

I posted 10 years also, but I forgot something. WHO recently declared (this year) that new Yellow Fever vaccinations are now good for the life of the person. If you have an old certificate, it still expires 10 years from the date it was issued, in most cases.

However, WHO still recommends 10-year boosters for those who are definitely heading into an area where contracting yellow fever is a high risk. Also, just because WHO says the vaccination is good for more than 10 years, that doesn't mean that Costa Rica has to agree (but it probably will). Hopefully, this won't be an issue 10 years from now.

WoooooHooooo!!! I just received a call from someone in the executive offices of Delta (asst. to CEO) indicating that he is issuing an immediate refund of the additional $1,600 I was charged.

I got my vaccine in Jaco before going to Cartagena last year. I had to pay 90.00 for it , but that included her backdating it 10 days. It needs to incubate before you can get on the plane . I am sure it is much cheaper in the states or San Jose.

I missed something. Is is necessary to go FROM CR to Colombia also?

It is not cheaper in the USA. It is a pain in the ass to find someone who can vaccinate you and provide the paperwork in South Florida. I called a dozen places. All could do the paperwork, but none had the vaccine. Not even the county themselves.

_________________
bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

no i usually go to costa rica for a month in January and spur of the moment we decided to go to Colombia for a week of the trip. Bought the tickets and found out about the vaccine requirements after so rather then me and my buddy be out 450 round trip each from sj/cartagena we had to get creative.

Was it Colombia that required the vaccine to ENTER, or was it Costa Rica that required it to RETURN?

_________________
bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

I realize this thread has been centered around Yellow Fever but makes me wonder:

For frequent travelers to Latin American countries in general are there any other key vaccines that one should be aware of and look into before traveling?

WHO and the USA's CDC will give you the usual shpiel about getting your Hepatitis, Influenza, and Typhoid vaccines. I think it's overkill and my airline never made me get them. The Yellow Fever is the only vaccine that you should worry about for almost anywhere in Central America. There are a few tiny areas that are considered to be at risk for malaria, but the prophylaxis is not recommended unless you're going to be in a high-risk area. There isn't even a malaria vaccine. You have to take a battery of drugs, or whatever, which boost your immune system to help you fight off the infection. The CDC calls it a "regimen", which sounds scary enough to me to avoid it.

If I were traveling into the Amazon jungle or any of the real third-world countries in Latin America, I'd research the particular situation. Every situation is different.

I'd avoid the Yellow Fever vaccine if I could, because the side effects, although rare, can be pretty intense. Easy enough to fly from Colombia straight back to the USA.

If you don't have it in the USA, then you definitely don't need it in Costa Rica. Name any disease that exists in both the USA and Costa Rica, and Costa Rica's infection rate is almost always much lower. AIDS, Zika, the brain-eating amoeba, etc. are far more of a problem in the USA than in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a very healthy country. You're far more likely to get hepatitis or typhoid in the USA. The problem here is that more people head out into the jungle/wilderness without taking the proper precautions.

Costa Rica has an ultra-aggressive disease-control policy that would put North Korea's security to shame. Yellow Fever doesn't even exist in Costa Rica. The vaccination requirement is entirely a preemptive strike. When 10 cases of Zika hit Guanacaste here, I couldn't go outside for a week because the cloud of mosquito poison covering San José made me physically ill. Aside from Costa Rica's mega-aggressive disease-control policy, the natural geographical separation of the populated areas generally keeps anything from spreading quickly. San José occasionally has an outbreak of Dengue, usually once every 3 years, and usually in non-tourist areas. It's the population density in San José that makes it spread. The dengue mosquitoes like to live indoors with the people.

Costa Rica is still called third-world, but since it ranks higher than over 70% of the countries on earth (including almost all of the second-world countries) in every international health & quality of life report, it's the seventh and eighth-world countries like Suriname, Bolivia, Haiti, Venezuela, etc. that I would worry about.

[/quote]
Was it Colombia that required the vaccine to ENTER, or was it Costa Rica that required it to RETURN?[/quote]


Costa Rica... but i had to show the card @check in San Jose, @check in Cartagena @check in Bogota when I re boarded a plane for transfer.

Awesome to hear BT, it was a lot less money but Expedias' 'insurance' was near useless for me. Funny how all these big companies talk constantly about customer service, till they actually have to perform. Then suddenly nada. Mat.