If you must park your vehicle at the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in Costa Rica, please note that your parking costs recently went up by more than 100 percent. According to a report by Fabio Mena of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, the new daily parking fee increased from $14.75 to $35, and the hourly rate climbed to $2.48 from $2.14.

 

If you choose to pay in colones, your parking fee may be a bit higher or lower; this is due to the recent decision by the Central Bank to switch to a currency exchange rate that makes the United States dollar (USD) float at a managed pace against the Costa Rica colon (CRC).

 

This raise in parking fees cannot be controlled by the Regulatory Authority of Public Services (Spanish acronym: ARESEP) since the parking facility at SJO is privately managed by Aeris Holding, the firm that controls airport operations.

 

Should your travel plans to Costa Rica require a longer period of parking; your expenses will be considerably higher. According to CRHoy.com, the weekly parking rate at SJO is now $200. These rate changes went into effect in late February; back then, travelers who left their vehicles at SJO had to pay $87.75 per week, which means that they are now subject to parking fees that have been increased by 175 percent.

 

According to the SJO website, which is managed by Aeris, the parking capacity at the main international airport of Costa Rica is rated at 398 vehicles in two levels. The upper level features an open-air parking plan, which means that vehicles are not protected from sunshine or other weather conditions. The SJO parking facility is open year-round, and it is monitored by video surveillance and foot patrols.