Besides Costa Rica’s international Juan Santamaria Airport, San Jose has another less known airport. Pavas, the capitol’s classy east neighborhood hosts the smaller Tobias Bolanos Airport, used for domestic flights all over Costa Rica and international flights to Nicaragua and Panama. Pavas is located very close to downtown San Jose. On your way from the center of San Jose to the airport in Pavas, you pass Sabana Park. Not many people will realize that this quiet green oasis in the middle of San Jose used to be an airport. Where once the landing strips were, now people are strolling through the maze of paths, playing soccer or enjoying a horseback ride. In 1977 the former airport terminal found its new destination in housing the Contemporary Art Museum with a very interesting collection of the best paintings and sculptures from Costa Rica’s talents. But this former airport has more to offer. Right next to the park you can find the La Salle Natural History Museum which houses a rich taxidermy collection of Costa Rica’s rich natural environment. Pavas itself is an up-class neighborhood where the USA Embassy and the prestigious Franklin Chang Diaz Scientific Institute, named after the famous Costa Rican astronaut who participated in seven space shuttle missions, can be found. The Tobias Bolanos Airport is very easy accessible by taxi, bus, or private transportation. It is used as a hub for Nature Air and other domestic airlines. Nature Air offers more than seventy daily flights to fifteen destinations in Costa Rica and two international destinations to Granada in Nicaragua and Bocas del Toro in Panama. Nature Air is the only airline that operates exclusively with twin engine planes and compensates its carbon dioxide emissions for 100%. From Pavas’ Tobias Bolanos Airport the whole of Costa Rica opens up for you. Whether you choose the popular destinations on the Pacific Coast like Tamarindo, Quepos, Jaco and Manuel Antonio, or the magnificent Arenal volcano close to La Fortuna. The Caribbean coast is within reach thanks to flights to Limon and Tortuguero. If you want to give your vacation an international twist, destinations like Granada in Nicaragua and the island group of Bocas del Toro in Panama are worth considering. The domestic flights offer a cheap alternative for time consuming journeys by land and offer majestic views of Costa Rica’s impressive green landscapes. So when you are arriving to Costa Rica on Juan Santamaria International Airport it’s a good opportunity to plan your trip well to safe a lot of precious holiday time by air travel, because you have to consider that transportation by road goes at an average speed of less than 45 miles per hour.