Return Ticket necessary for CR and South travel?
Looking for information about round trip/one-way travel to Central/South America and how to get around the "return ticket necessary to board" issue I've heard about
N Posts: 5
My partner and I will be heading down to Costa Rica in the middle of December and staying as long as we can on our limited funds (hopefully 6 mos.) We are planning to head south from there and don\'t know where we\'ll end up or from which country we\'ll be flying home from. Because I don\'t know how long we will be in Central/South America, i\'m hesitant to purchase round trip tickets. I\'ve considered purchasing tickets and then finding out what the fees are to change dates, but it seems like the fees to do this can be considerable and it would be cheaper to just buy a one-way flight both ways. However, i\'ve learned from other forums here (thanks travel bloggers!) that most airlines won\'t let you on the flight unless you have a return ticket. the flights i\'m looking at are through cheap ticket pages like orbitz and expedia, so they have multiple carriers, so it would be difficult to ensure each carrier would allow one-way passengers on board. I\'ve also heard that showing proof of a leaving the country by ground (like a pre-purchased bus ticket out of country) might work? Can anyone verify this?
Does anyone have any advice for getting around this? I know that people travel for months on end without a particular return date in mind, so it must happen all the time, but how do they do it?!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience! Reply to this
Does anyone have any advice for getting around this? I know that people travel for months on end without a particular return date in mind, so it must happen all the time, but how do they do it?!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience! Reply to this
B Posts: 24.4K
Hello Lauren 
Here is a thread which may help answer your question.
Return tickets from South America
Mel Reply to this
Here is a thread which may help answer your question.
Return tickets from South America
Mel Reply to this
N Posts: 5
Thanks, Mel... I had read this thread before and maybe was hoping to hear something different... y'know, exactly what i wanted to hear- like, someone bought a one-way, had no problems, crossed a bunch of borders and bought a return flight out of another country for cheap!
What about "proof on onward travel" like was suggested in that thread... is ground transportation proof enough for the airline in place of a return flight? Reply to this
What about "proof on onward travel" like was suggested in that thread... is ground transportation proof enough for the airline in place of a return flight? Reply to this
B Posts: 24.4K
Long term travel visa requirements
Check out ElAustralianos comments in this thread. Maybe he might also be able to comment about the airlines.
I think some airlines are not a bad as others about letting people on flights without return tickets.
Check out ElAustralianos comments in this thread. Maybe he might also be able to comment about the airlines.
I think some airlines are not a bad as others about letting people on flights without return tickets.
[Edited: 06:50 - Mell ]
Reply to this
N Posts: 9
Hi there
I had No problems coming into argentina from australia on just a one way flight...when entering other countries (all by land) also had no dramas and just bought a flight online out of colombia at the end of my stay.
You should be fine i will be doing it again when i go to central america next year. Reply to this