$173 Find Cheap Flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from San Francisco to Costa Rica departing on 8/19. 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.
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Best Costa Rica Flight Deals from San Francisco

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
San José
San José1 stop$355
Liberia
Liberia1 stop$418
San José
San José1 stop$355
Liberia
Liberia1 stop$418

Cheap Flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica (SFO-CR0)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from San Francisco to Costa Rica

Tue, Oct 14 - Thu, Oct 23
Avianca Logo
12:05 am - 11:15 amSFO-SJO
10h 10m1 stop
Avianca Logo
5:05 am - 12:35 pmSJO-SFO
8h 30m1 stop
$355Avianca
Find Deal
Wed, Oct 15 - Thu, Oct 23
Avianca Logo
2:20 pm - 8:40 amSFO-SJO
17h 20m1 stop
Avianca Logo
9:35 am - 10:45 pmSJO-SFO
14h 10m1 stop
$365Avianca
Find Deal
Mon, Aug 11 - Wed, Aug 13
Alaska Airlines Logo
6:40 pm - 11:30 pmSFO-SJO
27h 50m2 stops
Alaska Airlines Logo
12:50 am - 11:59 pmSJO-SFO
24h 09m2 stops
$391Alaska Airlines
Find Deal
Tue, Aug 12 - Thu, Aug 14
Alaska Airlines Logo
11:00 am - 11:30 pmSFO-SJO
11h 30m1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
12:50 am - 11:59 pmSJO-SFO
24h 09m2 stops
$393Alaska Airlines
Find Deal
Sun, Aug 10 - Tue, Aug 19
JetBlue Logo
9:25 pm - 11:55 amSFO-SJO
13h 30m1 stop
JetBlue Logo
12:55 pm - 11:36 pmSJO-SFO
11h 41m1 stop
$450JetBlue
Find Deal
Mon, Aug 11 - Thu, Aug 14
JetBlue Logo
9:25 pm - 11:55 amSFO-SJO
13h 30m1 stop
JetBlue Logo
12:55 pm - 11:36 pmSJO-SFO
11h 41m1 stop
$460JetBlue
Find Deal
Fri, Jun 6 - Fri, Jun 13
American Airlines Logo
11:50 pm - 1:20 pmSFO-LIR
12h 30m1 stop
American Airlines Logo
1:59 pm - 12:12 amLIR-SFO
11h 13m1 stop
$631American Airlines
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Sat, Jun 7 - Fri, Jun 13
American Airlines Logo
6:47 pm - 11:45 amSFO-LIR
15h 58m2 stops
American Airlines Logo
3:40 pm - 9:44 amLIR-SFO
19h 04m2 stops
$635American Airlines
Find Deal
Sat, Jul 12 - Sun, Jul 20
United Airlines Logo
12:30 am - 12:10 pmSFO-LIR
10h 40m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
3:25 pm - 11:59 pmLIR-SFO
9h 34m1 stop
$730United Airlines
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Sat, Jul 19 - Sun, Jul 27
United Airlines Logo
9:40 am - 5:03 pmSFO-LIR
6h 23mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 12:44 pmLIR-SFO
6h 44mnonstop
$740United Airlines
Find Deal
Useful Info

KAYAK's insights & trends for San Francisco to Costa Rica flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest San Francisco to Costa Rica flight route?

The cheapest price for flight routes found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks for round-trip flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica.

The cheapest ticket to Costa Rica from San Francisco found in the last 72 hours was to San José, at $621 round-trip. The most popular route is from San Francisco (SFO) to San José (SJO), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $621.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from San Francisco to Costa Rica?

The average round-trip price for all non-stop flights, flights with one layover, and flights with two layovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

No, with an average price for the route of $1,204, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

What is the cheapest month to fly from San Francisco to Costa Rica?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica is September, when tickets cost $437 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and November, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,000 and $655 respectively.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from San Francisco to Costa Rica?

The average price of all round-trip flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

For San Francisco to Costa Rica, Wednesday is the cheapest day to fly on average and Saturday is the most expensive. Flying from Costa Rica back to San Francisco, the best deals are generally found on Friday, with Tuesday being the most expensive.

How far in advance should I book a flight from San Francisco to Costa Rica?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from San Francisco to Costa Rica, you should book around 2 weeks before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 6 weeks before departure.


Good to know

Low seasonSeptember
High seasonDecember
Cheapest flight$173
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 18% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 64% increase in price.
Flight from San Francisco to San José

FAQs - booking Costa Rica flights

  • If I have made plans to travel from San Francisco to Costa Rica, will I need to have a valid passport and do I need to obtain a visa before I make my trip?

    Travelers that are making the trip to Costa Rica will need to have a valid passport and you need to make sure that your passport will be valid for your entire length of stay in Costa Rica. It is also important to remember that your passport needs to have at least one blank page for an entry stamp. While you will not need a visa to stay in Costa Rica for up to 90 days, the immigration service in Costa Rica will expect you to present a return airline ticket upon your arrival.

  • If my flight from San Francisco International Airport will be landing at San José Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), what type of public transportation is available to travel from the airport to downtown San Jose?

    There is a bus service available, operated by TUASA, that will make the trip from the airport to downtown San Jose in around 30min. The fare for this trip is around CRC 642 (USD 1).

  • If I'm looking for a lounge to wait for my flight to Costa Rica, will I find one at San Francisco International Airport (SFO)?

    There are several lounges provided by both United Airlines and American Airlines at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). These lounges are often used by passengers making the trip to Costa Rica from this airport since both airlines offer one-stop service to airports in Costa Rica.

  • If I will be bringing children on my trip to Costa Rica and I plan on renting a car at the airport, what should I know about car seat laws in Costa Rica?

    When traveling with children in a car in Costa Rica, all children under the age of 12 months must ride in a rear-facing car seat and children from 12 months old to four years old must ride in a forward-facing car seat. Children from four years old to six years old must ride in a booster seat and those from six years old to 12 years old must ride on a booster cushion.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica?

    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 San Francisco to Costa Rica.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from San Francisco to Costa Rica?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from San Francisco to Costa Rica 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 San Francisco to Costa Rica?

    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 San Francisco to Costa Rica 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 San Francisco to Costa Rica?

    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 San Francisco to Costa Rica up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to Costa Rica?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to Costa Rica is generally in the afternoon, when round-trip flights cost $486 on average. Morning departures are around 9% more expensive than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to Costa Rica is generally at night, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $726.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Costa Rica

  • A good way to get from downtown San Francisco to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is via the train service offered by Bay Area Rapid Transit, which makes the trip to the airport in around 30min for a cost of about $9.
  • If you are going to be driving yourself to the airport before your flight to Costa Rica, San Francisco International Airport has two different international garages that are just a few steps from the terminal building. For the ultimate convenience, the airport also offers a valet parking service.
  • If you are bringing kids along with you on your trip to Costa Rica, San Francisco International Airport has Kids' Spots play areas in terminals 1, 2, and 3 of the airport.
  • For any travelers with disabilities that will be bringing a service animal along with them to San Francisco International Airport, you'll be glad to hear that there are several animal relief areas located throughout the terminals, including one in the International Terminal near the A Gates.
  • If you want the most convenient way to travel out of San Francisco International Airport, you might consider using the airport's Airport Butler service that provides travelers with a dedicated staff member to guide them through every step of their journey through the airport.

Top 5 airlines serving from San Francisco to Costa Rica

Need help choosing which airline to fly with from San Francisco 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.
8.0
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 10000 reviews
8.5Crew
8.2Boarding
7.1Food
7.9Comfort
7.1Entertainment
Airline reviews

Great, overall. Thicker seat cushion would be nice. My butt hurt the whole flight.

8.0 ExcellentAnonymous, May 2025SFO - JFK
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

Great, overall. Thicker seat cushion would be nice. My butt hurt the whole flight.

Thicker seat cushion would be nice. My butt hurt the whole flight.

All good! No entertainment on this new plane yet but ok for this short flight. Great on time flight! Thanks

No non-alcoholic drinks available except water and small apple juice cans.

The flight was delayed over two and a half hours thus causing me to miss my best friend’s funeral. All because the flight crew had to get more rest. That was the reason stated. I understand however very unfortunate. Glad everyone is well rested and resting in peace.

All good except both the outbound and return flights were delayed about 1 1/2 hrs.

Not great. My flight was canceled due to a mechanical problem and I could not get rebooked for the same day. I needed to get to my destination yesterday, not today. I was able to book with another airline but it was a layover and ultimately a 1 hour flight took me 12 hours. Normally I like Alaska much more than Southwest, but Southwest came through with a not terrible price for same day.

The plane was late arriving. The Alaska people did a great job of turning it around quickly and getting us off. We took off about 35 minutes after it reached the gate.

I liked the flight attendant named Tyler. He was charismatic and genuine. I like the pilot in my second flight, he was considerate to everyone’s feelings. I liked the people I sat beside. I like the plane size. I like Alaska airlines

Flight delay was inconvenient and exhausting getting in at 1 am. However the crew and lounge was very comfortable.

My flight delayed and i misss the connection they send me to orlando no to tampa i have to pay a uber to my house

It would have been better if they don't separate families in seating. We were seated in the aile row in the middle of a family of four. It would have been better if they they seat the family of four together than separated.

I upgraded myself to Business Class at the last minute so I had a DREAMS window seat. Seeing as I've never flown Business before everything was novel and fun for me and it made the 7 hour flight much more enjoyable for sure.

No headphones given for inflight entertainment. I missed my flight from the previous day and the customer service agent tried to extort an additional $100.00 US from me for missing my flight. Really?!

The flight was delayed about 4 hours without any explanation. No wifi or entertainment at all on planes. Had to pay for checked bags I was allowed according to reservations.

It was good, plane is a bit older so seats are somewhat flat

Well the airline was fine. The only thing is I was charged for a checked in luggage. But when I reserved the ticket it showed a check in bag allowed. Who can I get in contact with for reimbursement.? The airline said I had to speak to whoever I booked ticket with.

I loved my experience. Very safe, Very informative and very friendly.

At JFK the Security line was extremely long and few checkpoints open.

Check in person said there would be lunch. We were first class passengers and lunch was chips.

Boarding seemed to be organized bedlam. For what ever reason, preboarding took longer than 20 minutes. Made the plane 20 minutes late taking off. Luckily we arrived on time. Flight crew seemed very friendly. Only slight turbulence.

They hired a new catering company the same day of my flight. They botched the job by not delivering the right carts and after THREE HOURS waiting, the flight crew timed out (flight was 19 hours long and FAA rules state crew can’t work more than 14 hours long). So they CANCELED OUR FLIGHT!! Worst experience ever. Avoid UAL at all costs.

The personnel were professional and friendly. The Boeing 737 Max 9 is too claustrophobic and was very warm at both airport gates, and still warm in the air.

While the staff was pleasant and helpful, the following observations are for your awareness. There was some delay on the tarmac on take off and landing. The paid lunch/food offerings were limited. Entertainment was only available on WiFi at a cost.

get E+, a must for 5 hours flight if you are tall

Liked fold flat bed. Didn’t like having no window. Didn’t like poor choice of food and being served dinner very late, hours after take off of a 7:40pm flight. Servers not friendly. Food horrible in business class.

Everything is good except the dinner and breakfast. The sandwich is very delicious. Toilet is clean, I only use one of them. Flight attendants are very nice. 👍👍

Compared with other carriers business class for an overnight was not worth the extra expense.

Easy to board. Flight was super crowded though so I didn't sleep well on that cross country red-eye flight. The aisles seem ot have gotten narrower and the seat smaller whn luggage and people are getting bigger so it would be AWESOME to have more space and breathing room in general ;)

Pilot Erika DeLong made us feel safe and at ease in a frankly scary time to be flying. Her warm smile and greeting and excellent command of the aircraft in foggy bumpy weather helped us all to calm our nerves and get us home safely.

Eventless. It was a good flight and good crew. Can’t complaint.

Very helpful ground crew after an earlier flight delay and being rebooked on a different flight.

British Airways staff are very polite and willing to help.

The plane was late and then sat on the runway for almost 45 minutes before taking off.

We kept being told that the flight was full and that all overhead compartments were full and therefore had to check in our hand luggage. We were some of the last people to board and noticed that there was still sufficient space in the overhead compartments. We were obliged to check in hand luggage when there was space and so had to wait at luggage retrieval which took a while to then noticed damage to our luggage - not a great experience!

Worst seats I’ve ever had !!! The seats were very narrow and uncomfortable and misaligned with the seats in front of mine leading to bottom of the seat in front of mine pressing on my legs for 15.5 hours !

This was an overnight flight. There was no meal service in first class, just a simple snack basket was offered along with beverages. There should have been some type of continental breakfast prior to arrival in PHL. As an Executive Platinum American Airlines Advantage member, I received no name recognition from the first class flight attendant. When disembarking at PHL, the flight attendants were more interested in their cell phones than saying "thank you" to the passengers as they disembarked.

The flight was quick and to the point. The crew just did their job w/o excessive talking and everything was just perfect.

Awkward carry on process. Forced to check all carry on. No overhead space of worthiness. Left delayed, but made up the time. Crew was amicable.

Amazingly comfy flight - I had upgraded for a reasonable price and it was worth it. The food also was good.

I receive a service for what I pay, so it is fair.

Terrible, We had to stay in Bogota for two days due to weather but the airline did not provide for the same day flight. Only two days later

Purchased a business class ticket and got a economy seat with center seat blocked they call it business. 3100usd ticket on a flight where economy costs 500usd The biggest scam insult have had on a regular airline. Avianca should be in the low cost category and kicked out of Star Alliance. I want the difference to be credited. Ets see what Avianca does. No reply so far. Avianca = low cost airline. Beware

The seats were very uncomfortable. I would have upgrade or got different flight if I knew. I usually sleep in the plane but I couldn’t sleep at all. Very uncomfortable. Also no food or drink everything was to purchase, and that’s u usual for international flight.

There isn't much space in-between seats and even water needs to be paid for during the flight.

We did not know about the bag fees until check in. They are way too high. It’s insane. We also had a huge delay and everything costed extra which was very annoying.

Lounge for business was closed. Boarding was rush and stand by. Seat for business is just the middle seat blocked and some more leg room.

Flew with our two children. Paid $380 to check two bags (one was overweight). They then left the bags behind on Sunday, December 21st, with all our family’s clothes and family Christmas presents. When we arrived at our destination they told us the bags had not arrived, and they thought (but didn’t know) they were still in Boston, but that there’d be a flight the next day and the bags would arrive the next day. The next day we found out there was no flight, now we’re hoping we get our bags before we fly back out. Meanwhile, trying to get any engagement or accurate information is a waste of time. The folks at the call center are just gatekeepers, who can’t connect with any departments that actually do things to solve a problem. Getting information is made deliberately difficult. My biggest regret is that I’ve had a number of awful experiences with Avianca traveling between the US and Colombia, and still let myself get suckered into buying these tickets because the schedule was great. Never again.

We were not aware carry-on bags cost extra until we arrived at the airport so, we were charged $240.00 for two small carry- on bags! There was a substantial fee for drinks and snacks. No wifi, or other entertainment was available. Waiting areas were crowded and uncomfortable.

So so, you feel like you have to pay for everything each time

Everything you need to know for your flight from San Francisco to Costa Rica

Information on your arrival and departure airports

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