$133 Find Cheap Flights from Central America to California

1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

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Good to know

Low seasonFebruary
Cheapest flight$134
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 6% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 3% increase in price.
Flight from San José to Las Vegas

Flights from Central America to California: the best tips from KAYAK users

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from Central America to California 
AFlew with Copa Airlines
PTY
-
LAX
Jan 2026
Bring your own food and your own screen because you won’t have any for the next couple of hours.
LisaFlew with Copa Airlines
PTY
-
LAX
Mar 2025
You have to go through an additional security clearance at the actual gate, and there was a long line so I'd get to the gate right when it opens to avoid the additional long line.
RicardoFlew with Alaska Airlines
GUA
-
LAX
Mar 2025
BRING YOUR OWN SNAKS NOT MUCH HERE TO CHOOSE NONE OF THEM HEALTHY OPTIONS
RajFlew with Copa Airlines
PTY
-
SFO
Jan 2025
Pack your lunch or dinner with you either from airport restaurant.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
LIR
-
LAX
Nov 2024
The airport is expensive. I would not buy things there. You don’t need to take off your shoes for security. Have your passport ready for boarding
Verified travelerFlew with Avianca
GUA
-
LAX
May 2024
Bring something to drink or eat, at least sweets especially if traveling with children or are elderly.
Verified travelerFlew with Avianca
SAL
-
SFO
Mar 2024
Bring a pillow Bring phones charged Bring your own entertainment Be patient for luggage to get off plane.
JulioFlew with Avianca
GUA
-
LAX
May 2024
Check carry on status before. Check in online to avoid lines.
MayumiFlew with Avianca
SAL
-
LAX
Jan 2024
Eat well before boarding and bring your own entertainment.

FAQs for booking flights from Central America to California

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Central America to California?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Central America to California.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Central America to California?

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

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Central America to California?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly from Central America to California with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Central America to California?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying from Central America to California up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • Which airlines fly most frequently to California?

    Central America and California are connected by different airlines. The airlines that fly that route the most regularly are Avianca (87 flights per week), United Airlines (57 flights per week), and Alaska Airlines (51 flights per week).

  • How many airports are there in California?

    There are 29 airports in California. The busiest airport is Los Angeles Airport (LAX), with 39% of all flights arriving there.

  • Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in California?

    Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in California is Oakland Airport (OAK), with an average flight price of $258.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to California?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to California is Tuesday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $410. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Monday, where round-trip prices are $502 on average.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to California?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally in the afternoon, when round-trip flights cost $299 on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally at night, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $485.

  • What is the cheapest flight to California?

    The cheapest ticket to California from Central America found in the last 72 hours was to Los Angeles, at $180 round-trip. The most popular route is Belize City Philip S.W.Goldson Airport (BZE) to Los Angeles (LAX) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $180.

  • What is the cheapest month to fly from Central America to California?

    The cheapest month for flights from Central America to California is August, when tickets cost $545 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are June and November, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $717 and $671 respectively.

  • How far in advance should I book a flight from Central America to California?

    To get a below average price on the flight from Central America to California, you should book around 9 weeks before departure, which saves you about 23% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 11 weeks before departure.

  • How many cities have direct flights to California?

    From Central America, there are direct flights to California from 6 cities. The city with the most direct flights is San Salvador, with 179 direct flights each week.

  • How many direct flights to California are there each day?

    There are around 59 direct flights from within Central America to California every day. Most flights (52%) depart in the morning.

  • How many direct flights to California are there each week?

    Each week there are around 413 direct flights from within Central America to California. The most common day for departures is Saturday, with 17% of flights taking off on this day.

  • How long is the flight to California?

    An average nonstop flight from Central America to California takes 9h 01m, covering a distance of 2541 miles. The shortest route is Guatemala City (GUA) to Los Angeles (LAX) with an average flight time of 5h 04m.

  • How many long-haul flights are there to California each week?

    Each week, there are 96 long-haul flights (6-12 hour flight duration) and 317 medium-haul flights (3-6 hour flight duration) to California. There aren't any short-haul flights (up to 3 hour flight duration).

  • What are the most popular destinations in California?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is Los Angeles (56% of total searches to California). The next most popular destinations are Las Vegas (13%) and Ontario (11%). Searches for flights to San Francisco (10%), to San Diego (2%) and to San Jose (2%) are also popular.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Central America to California

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Central America to California? 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.
7.9
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 12198 reviews
7.0Entertainment
8.1Boarding
7.0Food
8.5Crew
7.8Comfort
Airline reviews

A solidly good experience, but would’ve appreciated more communication with regards to travel delays.

8.0 ExcellentCupcake, Apr 2026
SMF - SAN
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

A solidly good experience, but would’ve appreciated more communication with regards to travel delays.

I wasn’t aware that we needed to supply our own screens for entertainment

Alaska Airlines staff go out of their way to accommodate my fragile musical instrument, every time. They are unlike any other airline. I've experienced this can-do attitude on several flights with different staff, so this must be the culture of their company. I appreciate Alaska!

No issues and clear sailing. What a preferred to have sat in one of empty seats other than my assigned seat that would be my only complaint if it was to complain.

Perpetually delayed, flight out was delayed almost 2 hours, flight home was delayed an hour and a half. On the way back no refreshments as an option, yet they gave it out to 1st class. No apology or notice of the delay going out both ways. Seats are nice feature wise, but the adjustable headrests don't stay up anymore. Feels more like a budget airline

No blanket on a 6 hours red eye flight on business class. SHAME!!! Very unfair and uncomfortable especially considering how cold the aircraft was with the ac

The ticketing counter in SD was a mess. The lady handling the First-Class check-in seemed overwhelmed until a supervisor replaced her. It took almost 20 minutes to get once couple checked in, and then she started walking around the counters while 7 people just stood in line. Once her supervisor arrived, she announced she was going on break, never to engage with customers again.

It was a bumpy flight but the crew was very attentive and made it a safe and enjoyable experience.

Fine for a short flight. All went well. Snacks are lacking and I couldn’t hook up to wifi through the app, but it was fine.

Aircraft was freezing, cold air blowing on me the entire time and the individual fans were turned off.

Smooth flight. Easy boarding. Come early. Check in line is long

Quick boarding and check in.. but premium seats don’t recline.. very hard to relax. But overall, it was a Great a satisfying experience.. Thank You

If they listen to you especially when there’s a problem with a passport now I lost my tickets and also my seat money

The worst airline I have ever experienced. Terrible customer service. Absolutely disgraceful

Checking bags at the airport, very confusing they make lines for different flights but they don’t have any signs, so if you are on the wrong line be aware they will send you to the end of the correct line. No priority for check in even if you pay and no priority to disabled persons and elderly persons.

Despite all the negative reviews, I took Volaris with a family of 4 (including a toddler and infant in arms). The only compliant was they charged me $70 to gate check our wagon (which we use as a stroller) and then it was not available for pickup at the gate (which is the entire point), so we had to get through customs and the airport with our luggage and no way to push our kids :(

Après avoir manqué l’avion aucune aide de la part des agents à l’aéroport pour trouver un autre vol

Más comida no cobrar tanto por los asientos y comida food

Worst airline ever!! Delays in all my flights!!! Do not flight with Volaris!

The departures screens in the airport showed the flight as canceled for some weird reason, but when I got to the gate just to double check, it showed it as on time, and not canceled. This was confusing, but ultimately I was able to get to where I needed to go.

This airline always trick us so we end up paying again for the luggage’s. This airline is worthless and take advantage of travelers .

Now days most airlines flying to Central America have a really poor service, but if you buy first class they will treat you better. I miss those days when flying was fun.

Friendly staff at all very easy check in and organize process

Horrible airline, upgraded to sit on seats made of stone. Staff were rude and on top of it they charge an arm and a leg for luggage 🧳 never again

The seats are the worst I upgraded to premium big mistake and it seems like no one likes there job very unpleasant

they don’t have TV Seat to Type in space

Flight left on time, arrived early, pleasant staff provided water, coffee, etc. access to bathrooms was reasonable and were well maintained. blankets were available, lots of entertainment options. LUGGAGE SERVICE WAS GREAT. I got my one checked bag quickly and was able to make a bus connection for a 2 hour bus ride saving me from waiting another 1.5 hours.

Terrible, if possible won't be flying again anytime soon!

Wonderful in-seat entertainment with seatback screens and huge selection of quality movies. The ability to bluetooth connect headphones was amazing.

we did a return flight from Paris CDG to SFO. This trip was much better than the departing flight SFO to CDG. The food was better quality, the crew was nicer, and the interior of the plane seemed cleaner.

Horrible service no Wi-Fi connection on both leg of the flight and they are refusing to fix bad service

We got to get extended leg room in Econ plus that was great. It was nice having our own dietary needs met with our meals, and the connecting flights had it as well. Only negative were the seats my bottom was/is really sore after a ten plus hour flight. Those seats are horrible, understandable for as many people use them. So we are going to purchase a gel seat pad.

Flight to Japan was was better across the board than the return to USA. Entertainment: Movie selection was old and not to my liking. Way too many woke choices. Not enough selections for sports or drama. Service: some of the crew were great. Not all. I paid for business class. a premium. Some of the crew thought they 'had' t do there job instead of wanting to serve and be polite. Food: Way to Japan was good. Way back to USA bad. Boarding: Wat out did not offer Business only; had to go thru general. If you pay for business, you should get business perks. Suggest you look for other than United for travel to Asia

I will never fly ANA again. They lost one of my large pieces of checked luggage, the heaviest one with the most valuable items in it, and they said they will not send me an email unless they can't find it, even though the paper they gave me to track the status of my lost luggage requires a code from an email they are supposed to send me so I can do baggage tracing. They claim to be an international airline, but they also insist on calling a Japanese telephone number to confirm where to send the lost baggage if they find it. It is impossible to find an actual contact email address for customer support on their website, and their AI chatbot is unhelpful, directing you to a webpage that says it is for contact information but does not have any actual email addresses or phone numbers listed on it. My seat in economy did not recline at all, even though I was not sitting in an exit row nor the very back row. I had to sit in the fully upright position for over ten hours of international travel. Awful experience overall.

The head flight attendant made the trip excellent. He was very accommodating.

The economy seats on the 777 was not as cramped as I had feared, but the food was terrible.

Horrible experience with Avianca, they delayed their flight and when we arrived to NYC, AVIANCA took 1 hr y 30 mins to park the airplane and all passenger get off the plane, it made me lost all my trains to get back home and I came back to my place at 3 am instead of 12 am. On the top of that their plane seat are so uncomfortable and is not enough space and killed my legs and knees, Avianca used to be good when it was a Colombian company, now after Brasilian company bought them, their service quality is bad and their flights are delayed and oversold.

Provide free food and drinks on an international flight. Add updated head rests

The flight attendant smashed her beverage cart into my knee, causing significant amount of pain. The seats were extremely uncomfortable. No food or drink is offered unless you want to pay the ridiculous prices for it. The schedule of flying in the overnight hours is also very uncomfortable.

I handed in my suitcase in perfect condition at SAL Airport. And in MIA Airport I received it with one corner broken and the wheels bent.

I like the crew members they're very friendly. Clean plane. The flight was on time. I dont like the comfort my car seat its better that the plane seats. They charge for everything. This airline was very good. Now it's a low cost airline

No free snacks nor drinks on very short 30min flight. Entertainment system is over wifi to your own phone or tablet, which is good but often a show or movie just stops and refuses to continue

This low cost airline looks and fells more like a local bus. In a 6 hour flight not being able to recline a seat is torture. The only thing available with no charge is a glass of water provided by, mostly, rude staff. Our luggage didn’t arrive

6 hour flight and have to pay for everything 100 dollars to add a carry-on bag is insane

Usb plugs for charging your phone does not work in every flight. uncomfortable chairs even in higher categories.

The seats were uncomfortable and barely reclined at all. Very little leg room despite being business class. The crew was friendly and the food was good. Had to use my own phone for in-flight entertainment.

Everything you need to know for your flight to California

Cabin class types available on flights to Central America

Cabin classes available on flights to Central America. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability is not guaranteed.