www.CostaRicaTicas.com

So after reading someone elses post about Miami now being bad with customs I was looking at my e-ticket here at my arrival and departure times, and Im seeking your expert opinions on how much running Im going to require to do to make my flights if any.

I dont usually do to many connecting flights so usually I just take my sweet time getting to places but this time I have a few stops before I get to CR.

Anyways let me describe my trip there then back.



TO CR

I land at JFK at 7:18am, and leave at 9:25, I land and take off from terminal 8 so Im guessing I just follow the crowds to get to the baggage pick up then run upstairs directly above and check my bags back in? Im not familiar with JFK at all.

Next I take off from there and land in Miami at 12 something and dont take off til 5 so thats nothing, but is Miami only one terminal or what? I dont have anything printed here.




Now my concern is on the way back really. I leave CR and land in Miami at 12PM, and then I have a connecting flight to JFK at 1:25pm

I have flown into Miami, but it was a few years back and like I said time wasnt really of matter. So will an hour and 15-20 minutes cut it for getting thru customs and checking in my bags? Any tips or anything?

Fromt here I go to JFK like I mentioned and I have another hour and a halfish before I go to Halifax. Which shouldnt be a problem since Id already been thru customs, correct?


So my question remains, should I have any trouble getting to any of these flights? The miami to new york one seems to be cutting it close with me, since I have no idea where Im going and customs lines can be hella long at 12 in the afternoon

When you return to Miami, look for signs on where to go. The guys that check passports will not tell you anything. I know this from personal experience. As far as JFK is concerned, I always fly Taca in terminal 4, so I have no idea where you have to go.

Good luck. I hope you will have better luck in Miami than I did.

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Tunaman

JM

Coming through MIA is no picnic, but the one time I braved it (never again) they had people out there directing you to pick up your bag, go through customs and leave your bags again on the pther side.... (stupid)....but I did make my flight......


Tuna

On your Taca flights, have you ever flown through and had to stop and change planes in GUA...Customs there too ???

Have flown Taca before but always with the stop and go in GUA, no changing of planes.

Any info appreciated...

CG

I don't know why everyone bad mouths Miami Customs so much. Considering the volume of traffic they handle I think they do pretty good. Security requirements in the post 9/11 age are always changing but I have found that most times you can go right through customs just waving your declaration (assuming you have nothing to declare). You do have to be careful you don't get in the wrong lane. As for having to pick up your bags, going through customs and having to check in your bags on the other side, maybe I'm missing something. I'm a little confused. How else would you expect them to do it? Do you expect the customs agents to just take your word for what is in your bag or to check them in the baggage handling areas while you're not there? Or say all you with nothing to declare, you just go on through and we'll take care of your bags for you?

The real problem with the Miami Airport is in getting around the airport is horseshoe shaped with the international terminal being near concourse A and unless you're next flight segment is on American you can find yourself having to go all the way around the horseshoe (concourse H). They have various people movers and walkways on the 2nd floor which can cut your journey down but its not always easy to figure out where they are. As with so many airports that have constant construction or remodeling, it seems to change every time exactly where you need to go.

An hour and a half is tight but certainly doable. The only problem is if your flight is delayed out of SJO and it reduces your transfer time.
The terminal is not printed on the ticket because they don't know that far in advance where your plane will be slotted; American uses three concourses at MIA (E,F and A?).
If you're a US citizen, head to the far right at immigration. Those lines move quickly. If you're not a US citizen, look for lines that are being serviced by two open booths, which doesn't always happen (sometimes they have one line per open booth).
Once you give you bag after customs to the people at American (and that's really fast), ask them for the gate for your specific flight.
Also remember there's no food on American flights and it sounds like you will be in the air for a good deal. Either pack a snack or get something beyond the security checkpoint. The processing time and respective lines at the security checkpoints can vary. With 90 minutes you likely won't have much time to hit the BK or other fast food joint if you get caught in a long line. Some terminals have food options beyond security, but with all the construction I'm not sure which ones are it.

Jmacuala, I agree with Dragon. 90 minutes is tight, but doable. A lot will depend on your flight from SJO landing in MIA on time, as well as your luggage getting to the "baggage pick-up" area quickly. MIA is a large, horseshoe shaped airport, and it can take time to walk from your arrival gate, all the way to customs, then to the baggage carousel, then through immigration, then back to the AA ticket counter, then to your boarding gate.

One trip, I flew from Orlando, thru Miami, into San Jose. On our return flight (Sunday night), we landed in MIA late, and by the time we went through all the motions, our connecting flight to Orlando had already left. I had to rent a car (at 10 pm on a Sunday night) in Miami, just so I could drive to Orlando to get my car out of the garage. I'll never do it again. I find it easier to drive a couple hours to Miami, and get the direct flight.
YMMV.
Good luck,
Mikey B.

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

Well to add some more info, Im Canadian and flying AA with all my flights.

So when I land in Miami I have to go to customs first ( I knew that ) then go get my bags, then check them in, but immigration? Why do I have to go to immigration if its a connecting flight..

The only time I had to change planes was in Miami, and that was with AA. Now, I fly non-stop JFK-SJO on Taca. Only 5 hours and I am there!

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Tunaman

Well Ill probably get lost at JFK as well, except I dont think thats as bad because the airport is broken down into like 9 parts and I only have to go from terminal 8 to 9 which is in the same building.

Whoaa wait I just read Dragons post and got lost.

OK, so they dont know which terminal Im suppose to go to until like that day? So when I land in Miami how do I know which counter to go to? I dont really think I have time to walk around for an hour looking at signs seeing which AA is flying to JFK

Why not get a direct flight from Orlando to SJO on Martinair or Condor?

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"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Jmacaula wrote:



There is an AA desk in the area immediately after exiting customs. Just take any checked baggage to them and ask what gate your JFK flight is departing from. There is only one terminal in MIA but there are 8 concourses in that one terminal.

There also are TV monitors with flight information all over the airport.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

GringoTim, I haven't flown with either of those airlines, but I will try Martinair in the future. I've heard both good and bad about Martinair, but I'll give them a shot. I never heard of Condor. Thanks for the info.

Mikey B.

_________________
You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

You may not know which gate you'll get ahead of time, but depending on the airline you can have a pretty good idea of which concourse you'll get. The one exception is American Airlines because they are so big at MIA that they need more than one concourse. If its any help here is the latest breakdown for the major US carriers and select foreign ones (the rest of the int'l carriers are scattered throughout the concourses):

A&B American, TACA (their gates are also at the farthest end of the A concourse)
C Entirely American (Int’l) & American Eagle and a few Qantas gates
D Entirely American & American Eagle
E (the middle concourse) American, Martinair, Air Canada
F United
G America West, Northwest
H Delta, US Air, Continental (if you're connecting from one of these to TACA leave extra time)

I'm pretty sure all international departures have to go through security at the A Concourse side of the terminal, though I could be mistaken since I usually fly TACA. Coming back, with all the various twists and turns its less clear to me where you come out of customs but I'm pretty sure that is also near the A concourse. So unless you're on one of the carriers that come out at the other end of the terminal, you don't really have that much walking between your gate, immigration and customs. Beyond that, though, you're on your own.

I do have a couple of other small tips. I recommend the Cafe La Caretta as a place to eat near the E concourse (assuming you're not too burnt out on latin food). And if you're a Coke addict like me but don't like to pay the inflated airport prices for fountain drinks, you can pick up reasonably priced cans of soda out of the vending machines on the 2nd floor of the airport hotel.

jmac,
Even if you're Canadian, you need to go through immigration when you land in the US, particularly since you're next flight in MIA-NY.
Also, I didn't want to confuse you. Usually they will tell you when you do check-in in San Jose what the gate will be for your NY flight (and could possibly print it on the MIA-NY boarding pass). However, from my frequent experience on connecting in Miami, they change the gate about 50% of the time. There will usually be an update right before you land on connecting flights. After you get past immigration and customs, the persons who take your bags usually have the gate info; to be on the safe side, check the monitors as soon as you get to the main concourse.

BTW, not all interantional flights come through A; that's usually for Taca, some American flights (the last few times I've been on American it feels like they take the Central American flights through there) adn a few more from South America. IIRC, they have two or three other processing zones for interantionals (I want to say D or E plus one more).