The Rush is On in Costa Rica to Leave the City for Easter

Semana Santa traffic in Costa Rica.
Countdown to total shutdown in San Jose over Easter weekend.

The city of San Jose is just about closed for the weekend. The final buses will depart the city by 3pm today in route for northern and beach destinations. With bars and liquor sales shutting down at midnight last night, supermarkets and inner city transportation on a limited schedule and just about every single private and public business and bank closed up, San Jose has become a veritable ghost town.

Thousands of people have already left the city to celebrate Semana Santa with their family or on the beach with the rest of the country. This year bus companies say there are a record number of people traveling by car, but the rush for the bus is still the highest around this season. Most companies have had to contract up to 30 extra buses for the pre-weekend rush.

With all the extra vehicles on the road, travelers can expect to ad an extra 45 minutes or one hour to their travel times. The worst delays can be expected in route to Guanacaste, as the northwestern province has proven to be a favorite this Semana Santa. The administrator of the Alfaro bus company estimated that they have taken an average of 4,000 people per day to Guanacaste. They were forced to add more departures to their schedule and increase their bus fleet. On Wednesday the company sent 65 buses from San Jose to Guanacaste that were completely full.

Part of those travelers includes an estimated 75,000 Nicaraguans that are expected to cross the border during Holy Week to be with their family. To avoid illegal immigrants entering the country over the Nicaraguan border, more than 100 immigration and regular police officers will be sent to reinforce the border control.

In less than three weeks, about 40,000 tourists have entered the San Jose International Airport this March, adding to the mix of travelers. It is expected that this statistic will grow to a record number of tourists entering the country this month.

The beach is the most popular destination for national and international tourists alike. The weather is expected to be sunny throughout Costa Rica this weekend, with some short downpours in the afternoon in the Pacific and light rain in the morning in the Caribbean.

The Red Cross will be out in full force this weekend to prevent a repeat of the 31 deaths that occurred last Semana Santa. They will have placed 1200 works on both coasts and along the roads and have already made 34 effective rescues. Red Cross officials recommend that bathers not enter the ocean or river alone, and that they stay at a depth where they can still touch the ground. They also recommend that when bathing in the ocean that you find a reference point on the beach to note your location. Once you notice yourself moving further down, return to the beach immediately to avoid getting caught in a rip tide.

A total of 13 people have already died from this past Sunday through yesterday afternoon, and 40 have been declared in critical condition. One death was due to a bus that flipped over around a sharp bend in the road in San Cristobal de Baru in Perez Zeledon in route to Quepos.

Whatever your plans this weekend, remember to drive safe and use common sense precautions while swimming or consuming alcohol. If you are still planning to join the exodus from San Jose, the following bus routes will have their final departure at the times listed below, and all bus routes will be closed tomorrow, Good Friday.

San José- Limón
4:30 PM

San José -Puerto Viejo
11:30 AM

San José- Guápiles
3:30 PM

Limón- San José
4:30 PM

Puerto Viejo Sarapiquí-
12: 00 md

Guápiles-San José
12:00 md.

San José- San Carlos
3:45 PM

San José- Miramar
12 md

Miramar- San José
7:30 AM

San José- Guanacaste
8:15 PM

San José- Orotina
2:45 PM

San José- Manuel
3:00 PM