The best flying experience in the Costa Rica Sky

One of my best flying experiences in Costa Rica was the amazing whales and turtles spotting from the sky.

From the moment I first arrived at the private airport in Samara, Costa Rica, I was intrigued by the runway and the activities involving gyrocopters. Although I’ve been fortunate to experience many tourist activities in my life, I have to say that flying in this very small aircraft, with just the pilot and me, was one of the best experiences I’ve had so far. I’m so excited about it that I just have to share this adventure with you. Because I really did see for the first time in my live four whales in the ocean and was able to film them as well. I also was able to spot thousands of turtles from the sky, the so called “Arribada” of the turtles in Costa Rica. It was quite amazing to spot whales and turtles from the sky.

This is how my flying adventure began. For years, I had heard about Pieter’s private airport in Costa Rica, but we never had the chance to visit together—until the winter of 2023. We decided to explore this fascinating Airpark project, and naturally, it all started with the most important question—the one everyone asks when booking a beach vacation:

Where to Stay at the Airport near me in Samara Beach?

The answer was simple: we were fortunate to spend our days and nights at the airport itself. We stayed at Casa Cavelon, a lovely and comfortable two-bedroom apartment right next to the runway. We enjoyed the tranquility of the greenery and the sounds of the birds. Since this holiday accommodation is located at Pieter’s airport, it was the perfect spot for our first visit.

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Fly with us by gyro-copter from Airport Samara

At this beautiful spot, I wrote my first articles about Samara while enjoying the view of the lovely pool and the lush runway. For days, I had been watching the small gyrocopters in the hangar, as well as during take-offs and landings. Almost every day, I saw tourists arriving a bit nervous and departing completely excited after their flight excursions. I felt a surge of excitement and was very curious to explore this small aircraft adventure.

A few weeks later, I got my first chance to fly with the most experienced pilot from Fly-With-Us to Nosara. I was fortunate because it was a beautiful, bright, sunny day, and the clear sky allowed me to see everything. After a quick safety briefing, we headed toward the runway. I must admit, I felt some anxiety and hoped that the aircraft would stay in the air. After a few minutes, my fear was replaced by excitement as the beauty of the country from the air was stunning.

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It was only a 20-minute flight, but I loved every second of it. We landed smoothly at Nosara Airport, where I had an hour to spend before we could fly back. The pilot took another tourist on a beautiful tour, and after that, he would take us back to Samara Airport.

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Landing and take-off Airport Nosara

I spent my time buying a cheap pair of sunglasses for the return flight—a smart tip if you also book a roundtrip with Fly-to-Us. The wind blew through my (extended) lashes, which wasn’t comfortable at all! 😉 Another tip is to use sunscreen, as the sun was blazing high in the sky. Fortunately, I was already wearing a comfortable long-sleeve shirt, which was perfect

The rest of the time, I visited a nice restaurant by the runway at Nosara Airport, ordered a cup of coffee, and enjoyed watching Sansa Airlines flights arriving and departing in the meantime.

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Arribada of Turtles spotting from the air

On the way back, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. First, we saw the incredible ‘arribada’—thousands of turtles in the ocean, already arriving at Nosara Beach to lay their eggs. It’s such a special event, and I was thrilled to witness it from the air. ‘Arribada’ means ‘arrival from the sea.’ Sometimes, the adult turtles travel long distances, but they always return to the same beach to lay their eggs— the very beach where they were born. How do they know that? I don’t know, and neither do the scientists.

Of course, you can see the turtles better from the beach, but watching thousands of them swimming in the sea towards the shore was truly a special moment.

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Whales spotting from the air swimming in the pacific ocean

I had just recovered from my breathtaking experience when the pilot told me we were heading towards some whales. For the first time in my life, I was able to see them up close, and it was incredible. I just couldn’t believe my eyes when I had this experience of amazing whales and turtles spotting from the sky. In that moment I felt like the luckiest person alive and very grateful.

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I couldn’t stop taking pictures and even filming. I’m excited to share this video with you:

After this spectacular event, I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I have to admit, I started crying.

But not for long—because soon, the next beautiful sights appeared beneath my feet. The Pacific coastline of the Guanacaste Peninsula was bright and breathtaking.

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Landing at Airport Samara

When I was back on the ground, I still couldn’t believe what I had just seen. On the cozy terrace of the flight company, four other pilots were sitting. They had just returned from their group tour to South America by gyro-copter, and they were genuinely happy for me. Of course, it’s not unusual to see whales from the air. On the contrary, the pilots always inform each other so they can watch for whales and turtles as well. However, they were quite impressed by my video of the whales, so I shared it with them. They joked that they were going to sell it to Discovery, and I took that as a compliment. If you want to experience a flight in a small gyrocopter from Samara Airport, just let us know! They fly almost every day of the year.

Please fill in the form if you want more information about flying with a gyro-copter from Airport Samara.