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Find cheap flights to Costa Rica from $48

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from the United States to Costa Rica departing on 5/14. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
0 bags
Mon 5/27
Mon 6/3

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Best Costa Rica Flight Deals

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours

San José
San Josénonstop$139
Liberia
Liberianonstop$258

Good to know

Low season

September

High season

March

Cheapest flight

$48
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 23% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 14% increase in price.
Flight from Newark Liberty Airport to San José

FAQs - booking Costa Rica flights

  • Which airport should I fly to if I want to visit the National Park of San Jose?

    National Park of San Jose is a famous attraction in Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose. The best way to access it is by booking a flight that lands at SJO. A TUASA-operated bus provides the most convenient means of travel between these two points, covering the 12 miles (19.1 km) stretch in about 30 minutes. The coach departs every 10 minutes from the airport to its terminal in Sabana.

  • Which Costa Rican airport provides easy access to Nicaragua?

    Nicaragua borders Costa Rica to the north. If you are planning to connect to this neighboring country after your excursion in Costa Rica, consider booking a flight that departs from Juan Santamaría International Airport, and lands at Sandino International Airport (MGA) after approximately 3h 10min.

  • Which Costa Rican airport is closest to the Sacred Heart Cathedral?

    Sacred Heart Cathedral is a religious landmark found in Puerto Limón. As such, the best way to access it is to fly into Limon International Airport (LIO). Taxis provide the quickest connection between these two destinations in about 7 minutes. Still, the distance is walkable if you do not have heavy luggage.

  • Are there hotels near major airports in Costa Rica?

    Most of the airports in Costa Rica are located close to a wide range of accommodation options, leaving no cause to worry if you are planning to arrive late. Normally, such facilities offer courtesy shuttles to and from the airport, an essential service if you have heavy luggage.

  • Which airport should I fly into for a trip to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca?

    Because Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is a popular destination, there are a handful of ways to get there. One of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to get to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is by flying into San Jose Airport and taking the 4.5h bus that departs from the Terminal Atlantico Norte.

  • Do I need a visa to enter Costa Rica?

    US nationals do not require a visa to stay in Costa Rica for less than 90 days. What you will need is a valid passport and a ticket for your flight departing from Costa Rica (back to the US or onward to another country) within the 90-day timeframe.

  • Can I exchange USD into Colones at Costa Rica airports?

    USD is widely accepted in tourist areas of Costa Rica, but Colones are the way to go if you’re going out of heavily tourist-centric areas. USD can be exchanged for Colones at the airports in San Jose and Liberia, but you can often get a better exchange rate if you simply make purchases with USD and receive your change in Colones, which is common practice.

  • Which airline should I take for a nonstop flight to Costa Rica?

    There are a handful of different airlines that offer nonstop flights to Costa Rica from the US, and each flies out of a different hub city. There are nonstop flights to Costa Rica from Fort Lauderdale and Orlando with Spirit Airlines, from Miami with American Airlines and from Orlando with jetBlue.

  • How long is the flight to Costa Rica?

    An average nonstop flight from the United States to Costa Rica takes 6h 11m, covering a distance of 2065 miles. The most popular route is New York - San José with an average flight time of 5h 19m.

  • What is the cheapest flight to Costa Rica?

    The cheapest ticket to Costa Rica from the United States found in the last 72 hours was $53 one-way, and $138 round-trip. The most popular route is New York John F Kennedy Intl to San José Juan Santamaria Intl and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $218.

  • Which airlines fly to Costa Rica?

    American Airlines, United Airlines & Spirit Airlines fly the most frequently from the United States to Costa Rica.

  • What are the most popular destinations in Costa Rica?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is San José (72% of total searches to Costa Rica). The next most popular destination is Liberia (28%).

  • How does KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a given destination and date is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Costa Rica

  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest Costa Rica flight deals.
  • The choice of your arrival airport when booking your flight to Costa Rica depends on which part of the country you’re intending to tour, whether it’s military museums in the capital city or the pacific beaches in the west-southwest of the city of Liberia. Nevertheless, Costa Rica has two main international airports located in San Jose (SJO) and Liberia (LIR).
  • If you’re planning to visit multiple cities in Costa Rica, consider reserving a flight that arrives at Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO), which serves the country’s capital, San Jose. As the main getaway and the busiest airport in Costa Rica, it offers numerous connections to other destinations, and you are thus sure of getting a flight that fits your itinerary.
  • Are you planning to spend your time in Costa Rica touring east-central Costa Rica? In that case, it might be convenient to book flights that arrive at Cartago, which is one of the popular cities in this region. The town hosts Tobías Bolaños International Airport (SYQ).
  • Travelers looking to explore the north-central part of the country might have Heredia as a possible destination. To this end, consider reserving a flight that lands at an airport that serves this region. Juan Santamaria International Airport is one such facility, as it lies about six miles away.
  • Flights with one-stop layovers from New York to San Jose usually make layovers in their respective capitals. For instance, Copa Airlines makes a stopover at Tocumen International Airport Panama (PTY) in Panama City, while Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL) is a major focus port for Spirit Airlines.
  • For most destinations throughout Costa Rica, flying into San Jose (SJO) is going to be quicker and more affordable than other airports. However, if you happen to be flying into Costa Rica specifically to go to the beaches in Guanacaste and the surrounding areas, it will be more convenient to fly into Costa Rica’s other international airport: Liberia Airport (LIR).
  • If you’re only traveling to Costa Rica, a flight into one of the major airports is the best option. However, if you’re looking to experience multiple cities, including the beaches in northern Costa Rica, it can be a good idea to fly into Managua, Nicaragua, and take the inexpensive bus to Liberia.
  • For travelers heading to the forest preserves in Monteverde, it can be confusing on whether to fly into San Jose or Liberia. Since Monteverde lies nearly an equal distance from both, it would be more convenient to fly into whichever city is closest to the other attractions on your Costa Rica itinerary.
  • There are many festivals that last several days in Costa Rica, and flight prices can skyrocket during these festivals. One of the most popular festivals is the Limón festival, which takes place over 2 weekends from October 11th through the 22nd. Unless you’re traveling specifically for the festival, you can save money by avoiding flights to Costa Rica during these weekends.
  • If you’re heading to Tamarindo, Costa Rica, you may be tempted to book a connecting flight from San Jose or Liberia Airport to the regional Tamarindo airstrip. A less expensive alternative to getting to the Tamarindo area from Liberia Airport is to take one of the shuttle buses that goes directly from LIR to Tamarindo.
See more tips

Top 5 airlines flying to Costa Rica

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from the United States to Costa Rica? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
7.6
JetBlueOverall score based on 4606 reviews
7.5entertainment
7.2food
7.9comfort
7.8boarding
8.3crew
Airline reviews

Great. Loved that there was WiFi on flight to keep in touch and excellent service of beverages and snacks.

10.0 ExcellentAdelaide, Apr 2024DTW - JFK
Read more about JetBlue reviews

Great. Loved that there was WiFi on flight to keep in touch and excellent service of beverages and snacks.

Business class is great. New airplane, very comfortable, better than some of the major airlines I am used to

Terrible. Flight was cancelled due to the weather in the east and sout east(florida). Did not get any compesation of any kind. According to them, it was not under their control so I lost all the money paid for the 2 fairs from Raleigh, NC to Orlando, Fl.

great flight. Pilot was communicative, flight attendants were excellent. Really nice experience except my tv didn’t work.

Overall, the flight was better than the flight I took to go to Florida, which had a bunch of problems. The crew is really nice and the plane was new so it had a small problem when we were on the runway, but the flight itself was great. They even made some time back up, which is always a good thing.

at the time for boarding the lady just call Group A and no other goups and everybody from A to F go inside without the right turn,and when we get in theres no more spsce for carry on , the ones that get in at not correct group from the back occupy our space !!!!! a mess !!!!

There were multiple delays but JetBlue tried to make the boarding and departure process as quick and efficient as possible. The crew was as detached from reality as could be, meaning: not very friendly and just doing things by the numbers.

I had back trouble prior to my flight and everyone was great about helping me.

Jetblue needs to improve on Onboarding as it seems to always be behind on departing. It never leaves on time. I would recommend to have an earlier Onboarding in order to leave on time and respect your customers time as well.

40 minute delay before take off after boarding flight. Bright lights throughout night flight due Issues with light panels. In flight Entertainment nonfunctional

No water for a 5 hour flight entertainment not working seats with little room for knees when person in front of me reclined kept bumping my knees.

I don't think anyone actually reads these comments, so I won't spend much time on this submission. If you want to talk, you know how to reach me. The D/FW manager of Avianca (self-identified), Juan Calderon, insisted I buy an onward ticket from San Salvador even though I have diplomatic status in El Salvador and live here. It cost me $1,393 and Mr Calderon would not let me make the ticked flexible so I could get a refund. He went out of his way to be rude to me. He gave me seat 32K -- windowless window seat in the last row and did not offer to let me upgrade even though there were plenty of seats. I have flown well over a million miles in my life and this is the worst experience I have ever had. I would like a refund on the ticket I was forced to buy. Just awful!

This is the Spirit of Latino travel. And don’t even get me started on customer service.

Awful. I checked in online and there was no option to pay for baggage, at the airport when I checked in my baggage was received and Iwas not charged. When I got to LA during the boarding process I was told I didn't pay for baggage, the crew resolved I was let in the plane. When I got to my final destination my baggage was not there. It took me two days to receive my baggage. Bad service ever!

There was no food or drink service, couldn’t even get a glass of water for free. It was a long and expensive flight to not offer food or beverage on the plane.

It is better at the jfk than my home country. It was very easy and everything was on time.

There is no food. There is no in-inflight entertainment. The seats are cardboard. The airline is a living hellscape.

My experience was amazing! They helped my elderly mother board on early through a wheelchair and were accommodating to have us sit together since our seats were in different locations. When landing at the airport in GUA they were very helpful with full of hospitality.

No complimentary snacks food, beverage (not even water), pillow and blanket on a 6 hours long flight (including economy comfort). A low form of nickeling an diming. Lost a recurring passanger over a soda. Avianca never again.

Flight departure late. Got late in Colombia making us take a different flight next day. Avianca airport crew messed up my ticket so when a I got in Brazil I didn’t have a ticket for my destination. Had to buy a new ticket out of my pocket.

Nothing beats ANA customer service on my opinion. Maybe because of their Japanese culture (and food). Arigatō

So so. Terrible aircraft choice for that leg of the flight.

Due to one crew member not showing up to work, our flight was significantly delayed causing us to miss our connecting flight in Houston to Mississippi causing us to be delayed by more than 6 hours and missing our event all together. Very disappointing. All because ONE crew member called in sick. United did grant us a $15 meal voucher, which was a small but appreciated concession that I wasn’t able to use because I ordered my lunch and paid for it before applying the concession, and the staff said it was too late to use it. Ugh! We also had a TWO delay coming back from Mississippi, but that was on American Airlines and it was due to weather, so not their fault. Anyway, not at all impressed with United’s handling of our flight and the HUGE disappointment of missing our important family event for our 90 year old mother. All that money and all that stress and emotions for nothing. Having to wait the hour to bring an employee from LAX seemed like something that should not have happened. Why don’t you have a local back-up? Santa Ana is not a little airport in a rural area.

Flight delayed from Cape Town to Washington then got diverted to miami and in miami we had to fend for ourselves , im still trying to get to Shreveport now

delay several times and wait extra long to board. no entertainment service because there are problem for some rows. always encounter some delays for the last flight of the day.

I just wrote a text which was supposed to be for the flight from Denver to spokane not Frankfurt to Denver.

On time every leg of the journey and exceptional staff at counter, gate, and on board. I haven’t travelled in US for a long time and was genuinely surprised how pleasant this was.

Hated every minute of it. This flight should have only taken 1.5hrs but was delayed over 10hours. Now I am being told I cannot be compensated or refunded my ticket price or extra leg room, which I purchased but did not receive, because the airline is throwing the blame on the 3rd party I purchased tickets through and 3rd party putting the blame on airline. No one wants to help. They received their money and that's all they care about. Im going on 3 days of still trying to get to my final destination, had to cancel car rental, car insurance and hotel. Currently staying in airport until hotels open up. Thank you Lufthansa, Kayak, Underpricer and United for making this trip the worst ever.

The delays (5 hrs) were a comedy of errors, and the multiple safety issues encountered were very concerning.

flight delays, staff only communicating when pushed, food service lasting a grand total of 7 minutes, stuck in seat from 45mins into flight until landing

I think the seats on some of their planes are uncomfortable. You can be ok on a short flight of two hours but no more than that. The delays, and also the refreshments on the plane were not enough.

Flight delayed over an over all day until it cancelled at 1:30am. Would not repeatedly delay that late. Offer hotel rooms and rebook early. Very difficult for families with small children

Not sure why JAL partnered with American Airlines because their service is no where near similar. Flight attendants were not friendly and didn’t smile. Food was horrible…

this is starting to seem like an american airlines standard. delayed flights and fake apologies… getting tired of it

Terrible boarding , Business class seats are sub standard. As usual crew will miss your food too

Just get Economy Plus for international flights, so worth it the extra room, bigger seats…

This flight is frequently delayed. The connections seemingly are more frequently delayed. I’ve missed connections as a result twice on the same route to charlotte then Charleston. Final destination arrival has been the next day, twice in a row. No pilots, no crew. Too many excuses. Unfortunately, my days with American are over.

Entertainment was okay not because anything was wrong but it is a short flight so having no wifi is annoying but understandable. Crew was outstanding as usual

It was spectacular. I had basic Economy and was given so much space and their seats lean back so far. Staff was superb, food was superb, everything was superb, Finnair is Fantastic.

Those seats were way too narrow. I had the middle seat, one person was a very skinny person and we still couldn’t avoid touching each other anytime one of us moved. The other person was larger and we were basically sitting in each others lap the entire flight. There was zero entertainment. The flight was long enough to justify tvs, but no. Gotta sit there in your infant seat and twiddle your thumbs.

Not much seat room, but that was unexpected. But the seat headrest was very uncomfortable.

First the good, everyone was friendly and efficient. Flight was smooth and plane was very clean and new. Now the bad, seats have almost no padding on your behind. I was in exit row so I had tons of leg room for a 6' 2" bean pole with long legs. Everything was extra - water, soda, snacks everything besides oxygen. Ya get what you pay for, and my flight was cheap as you could ever want it, so no worries.

First the good, everyone was friendly and efficient. Flight was smooth and plane was very clean and new. Now the bad, seats have almost no padding on your behind. I was in exit row so I had tons of leg room for a 6' 2" bean pole with long legs. Everything was extra - water, soda, snacks everything besides oxygen. Ya get what you pay for, and my flight was cheap as you could ever want it, so no worries. They dont really bother you about carry-on size, I brought a descent sized backpack and they didnt even check.

Spirit canceled the flight in March and never notified me!

Seats suck, not enough room, overcrowded planes, hectic situation all together.

Pretty good. Would’ve been excellent if we would have left on time and the crew wasn’t late.

I do not like the customer service, I had an emergency and needed to cancel a pet reservation right after I had booked it and they would not do anything but issue a credit. I haven't flown in years as I have 7 kids and don't have spare time. I want my $125 back on my card please

Spirit airline tries to screw you at every opportunity. Spirit wanted 65$ for an extra pound in the suitcase Made me open the suitcase at the counter to remove 1 pound. Staff very cold and rude Will never fly spirit again and will recommend same to family and friends

Delayed..4 times...completely disorganized boarding. After 5 hours they scrambled to move ppl off plane bc they overbooked. Then they didn't have a cabin crew. WiFi on plane didn't work. Zero amenities. Once we boarded we sat on tarmac for an hour. Explore all alternate options including purchasing a pair of hiking boots and walking to your destination instead of flying spirit.

what I like about Spirit is that the pilot and crew are good communicators. The plane itself - well, its a budget airline and you get what is expected, But I generally just feel safer, somehow, when I know more about what is going on - and Spirit has always done a good job of telling me what is going on: why the delay, why the turbulence, why this and that... and that means a lot to me.

Book Cheap Costa Rica Plane Tickets

Recent round-trip flight deals

5/21Tue
1 stopSpirit Airlines
5h 17mMCO-SJO
5/25Sat
nonstopSpirit Airlines
3h 21mSJO-MCO
$164
5/21Tue
1 stopSpirit Airlines
5h 17mMCO-SJO
5/28Tue
nonstopSpirit Airlines
3h 21mSJO-MCO
$165
10/8Tue
1 stopAvianca
9h 55mJFK-SJO
10/15Tue
1 stopAvianca
10h 05mSJO-JFK
$202
5/15Wed
2 stopsAvianca
7h 45mMIA-SJO
5/21Tue
1 stopAvianca
5h 05mSJO-MIA
$204
6/9Sun
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 15mEWR-SJO
6/13Thu
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 23mSJO-EWR
$218
5/10Fri
1 stopAmerican Airlines
10h 33mLGA-SJO
5/14Tue
1 stopAmerican Airlines
7h 44mSJO-LGA
$231
5/10Fri
1 stopAmerican Airlines
10h 33mLGA-SJO
5/13Mon
1 stopAmerican Airlines
17h 28mSJO-LGA
$232
5/11Sat
nonstopJetBlue
5h 37mLAX-LIR
5/18Sat
nonstopJetBlue
6h 01mLIR-LAX
$258
5/12Sun
1 stopUnited Airlines
18h 06mLAX-LIR
5/18Sat
nonstopUnited Airlines
6h 00mLIR-LAX
$263
6/9Sun
1 stopJetBlue
13h 19mJFK-SJO
6/16Sun
nonstopJetBlue
5h 11mSJO-JFK
$279

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Recent one-way flight deals

5/14Tue
1 stopSpirit Airlines
14h 46mEWR-SJO
$48
5/21Tue
1 stopSpirit Airlines
14h 33mEWR-SJO
$60
5/15Wed
2 stopsAvianca
8h 45mMIA-SJO
$85
5/27Mon
1 stopAvianca
7h 45mMIA-SJO
$86
6/1Sat
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 15mEWR-SJO
$93
4/29Mon
1 stopUnited Airlines
8h 59mLGA-SJO
$97
5/10Fri
nonstopJetBlue
3h 14mMCO-SJO
$130
5/14Tue
nonstopJetBlue
5h 20mJFK-LIR
$131
5/14Tue
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
9h 05mJFK-LIR
$134
5/11Sat
1 stopAmerican Airlines
9h 35mJFK-LIR
$136

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Last minute flights to Costa Rica

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

5/1Wed
multi-stopFrontier
14h 34mMIA-SJO
5/9Thu
multi-stopFrontier
13h 33mSJO-MIA
$221
5/1Wed
multi-stopFrontier
14h 34mMIA-SJO
5/9Thu
multi-stopFrontier
13h 33mSJO-MIA
$222
4/30Tue
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
7h 55mJFK-SJO
5/7Tue
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
13h 14mSJO-JFK
$232
5/1Wed
multi-stopUnited Airlines
13h 37mLGA-SJO
5/4Sat
multi-stopUnited Airlines
11h 04mSJO-LGA
$232
5/1Wed
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
9h 44mLGA-SJO
5/8Wed
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
11h 44mSJO-LGA
$233
4/30Tue
multi-stopAvianca
10h 55mMIA-SJO
5/7Tue
multi-stopAvianca
17h 20mSJO-MIA
$244
4/30Tue
multi-stopAvianca
6h 30mMIA-SJO
5/7Tue
multi-stopAvianca
17h 20mSJO-MIA
$249
4/27Sat
nonstopJetBlue
5h 36mJFK-SJO
4/30Tue
nonstopJetBlue
5h 03mSJO-JFK
$268
4/27Sat
multi-stopUnited Airlines
8h 25mEWR-SJO
5/2Thu
multi-stopUnited Airlines
8h 57mSJO-EWR
$290
4/27Sat
nonstopJetBlue
5h 31mLAX-LIR
5/8Wed
nonstopJetBlue
6h 03mLIR-LAX
$314

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Flights to Costa Rica

Return flight deals:

Costa Rica - United States

Cabin classes:

$893
$551
$1,154
$110

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