$170 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 8/31. 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 José2 stops$394
Liberia
Liberia1 stop$368
San José
San José2 stops$394
Liberia
Liberia1 stop$368

Cheap Flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica

 
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

Mon, Aug 11 - Thu, Aug 14
Alaska Airlines Logo
10:07 pm - 3:53 pmSFO-LIR
16h 46m1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
10:00 am - 11:57 pmLIR-SFO
14h 57m1 stop
$368Alaska Airlines
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Mon, Sep 15 - Tue, Sep 23
Alaska Airlines Logo
4:30 pm - 6:23 amSFO-LIR
12h 53m1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
11:20 am - 8:37 pmLIR-SFO
10h 17m1 stop
$372Alaska Airlines
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Wed, Oct 8 - Tue, Oct 21
Alaska Airlines Logo
6:00 am - 5:28 pmSFO-LIR
10h 28m1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
10:00 am - 11:58 pmLIR-SFO
14h 58m1 stop
$374Alaska Airlines
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Wed, Sep 3 - Mon, Sep 22
Copa Airlines Logo
1:30 am - 9:51 pmSFO-SJO
19h 21m1 stop
Copa Airlines Logo
8:11 am - 11:39 pmSJO-SFO
16h 28m1 stop
$422Copa Airlines
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Wed, Sep 3 - Mon, Sep 22
Copa Airlines Logo
1:30 am - 4:52 pmSFO-SJO
14h 22m2 stops
Copa Airlines Logo
10:57 am - 11:39 pmSJO-SFO
13h 42m1 stop
$427Copa Airlines
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Thu, Jul 31 - Sat, Aug 9
Avianca Logo
2:30 am - 11:15 amSFO-SJO
7h 45m1 stop
Avianca Logo
9:35 am - 10:45 pmSJO-SFO
14h 10m1 stop
$430Avianca
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Tue, Aug 19 - Sat, Aug 23
JetBlue Logo
9:25 pm - 11:55 amSFO-SJO
13h 30m1 stop
JetBlue Logo
1:00 pm - 11:48 pmSJO-SFO
11h 48m1 stop
$432JetBlue
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Mon, Aug 18 - Fri, Aug 22
Southwest Logo
9:05 pm - 12:45 pmSFO-SJO
14h 40m2 stops
Southwest Logo
8:50 am - 11:10 pmSJO-SFO
15h 20m2 stops
$439Southwest
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Fri, Aug 22 - Sat, Aug 30
JetBlue Logo
9:25 pm - 11:55 amSFO-SJO
13h 30m1 stop
JetBlue Logo
1:00 pm - 11:48 pmSJO-SFO
11h 48m1 stop
$445JetBlue
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Tue, Sep 16 - Fri, Sep 26
Southwest Logo
7:50 am - 6:55 pmSFO-SJO
10h 05m2 stops
Southwest Logo
8:50 am - 10:40 pmSJO-SFO
14h 50m2 stops
$459Southwest
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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 Liberia, at $616 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 $631.

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 $1,239, 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 $483 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and June, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,002 and $667 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, Tuesday 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 Saturday, with Monday 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$170
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 18% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 63% 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 $742.

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.

Reviews of the 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
7.8Comfort
8.1Boarding
7.1Entertainment
8.5Crew
7.1Food
Airline reviews

fine. only problem,,,, for some,,,,was that many people started trying to exit from the back of the plane,, . lots of irate people. there should be a flight attendant mid plane..to be sure that doesn't happen. The crew up front had no idea what was happening. One big guy started it..then a bunch of others followed his lead. could have gotten ugly... One man stepped in and questioned those rule breakers.. nothing bad happened,,,but......

8.0 ExcellentLiz, Jul 2025SFO - SEA
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

fine. only problem,,,, for some,,,,was that many people started trying to exit from the back of the plane,, . lots of irate people. there should be a flight attendant mid plane..to be sure that doesn't happen. The crew up front had no idea what was happening. One big guy started it..then a bunch of others followed his lead. could have gotten ugly... One man stepped in and questioned those rule breakers.. nothing bad happened,,,but......

Big delay of over 7 hours on next leg of trip with Alaska. Would have been nice to have food or something

We were late so that was what was worst part

Flying on Hawaiian Airlines was good. But, getting a boarding pass was a hassle. I booked what I thought was an Alaska Airlines flight that was actually a Hawaiian Airlines flight. I couldn't check in online. I had to wait for the Hawaiian Airlines counter to open so I could get my boarding pass which was a requirement for me to get in The Club or the Centurion Lounge. (I had no check in luggage so I didn't expect to have to physically check in.) The Alaska Airlines staff blamed the FAA for the problem.

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.

Seats not reclining, no vegetarian food option, no snacks. 7.5 hr flight should have been more comfortable. Luggage limits are unusually small. Will never fly Copa again and will tell friends and family to avoid this airline.

We paid extra with copa for seats near one another The plane was changed and we lost our seats We were all Separated. We have not received a refund for our seats despite emailing and calling.

Tell people to remain in their seats during the meal/beverage distribution. Enforce boarding by group numbers. No one was checking. Tell people to turn their electronics speakers off. Bigger cups for drinks.

Placed us in the last rear row of the plane so could not recline seats because of the rear wall, and also made it more of a tight space when the passenger in front reclined their seat. While understand seat assignments, every passenger should be afforded a reclining seat. The odor control scent from the restrooms was overwhelming strong. My wife and I could not deal with it, and she suffered a terrible headache as a result. I kept getting hit by the crew since I was on the ilse seat. No apologies, nothing. They made me feel like I was supposed to take the beating for a 3 hr flight.

There was no individual at the front check in when I arrived. I waited for at least 15 minutes and walked around asking security/janitors if they could help and they did not have a solution. So I had to take my checked bag through security and they threw away some of my items. I ended up making it to the gate only a few minutes before it closed due to my waiting for an agent at check in.

The flight was delayed twice and I could not speak with anyone at the airport about checking in. The phone number to Copa - the customer service agents were polite. They are just limited at helping because they are not at the airport

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.

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

Horrific. They missed my connecting flight to San Diego. I didn’t get there until Monday at 9am when I had a mandatory court settlement conference scheduled at 6am since we had parties on the east coast. This caused many issues. All because United apparently forgot to hold the doors open until my flight landed that only had a 10 minute delay. This was the last flight to Southern California. So I couldn’t even rent a car to finish the trip. United cannot be trusted when traveling on specific days and times since weather didn’t have anything to do with the delays.

Very comfortable (upgraded to business class). The audio on my screen didn’t work, but I managed to play the audio through my phone while watching the screen.

Flight was late as pilot crew had to land at different airport in their previous flight. Passengers boarded and had to wait for pilots inside plane. Series of incomplete and unnecessary announcements by an annoying voice, rather than complete, informative announcements.

Breakfast was not loaded at SFO due to catering company change. Seems like a major airline at a major hub would have thought of something else or warned passengers to pick up food before boarding a 3 hour flight.

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.

AA re-routed flight from HNL to LAX due to delay. My group of 3 with reserved seats in row 9 was broken up, with one assigned to a middle seat, another in the last row of the plane. Not happy. No explanation to the delay. No apologies. No compensation. Would have been nice to be offered an Admiral Club admission or a voucher for the extra 3 hours of layover in LAX. Could not hear the boarding gate announcements in LAX. Adjacent gate was boarding at the same time. Loud speakers were competing against each other. Barely made my boarding group.

Almost a 6 hour flight and the only food option is a cheese plate… and chips. Also how is it there are no options for texting on American. I’ll be going back to delta and united.

Bad food, small seats that didn’t recline. I thought I was buying a quantas ticket so I feel like I got scammed

The chair cushions may need an upgrade. I have been noticing they are so worn out, thin so you’d sit in a dip 😄. Other than that, all was an enjoyable trip. Thanks AA!

Cramped seats. FAA should make airlines have more legroom, for even short people complain

Flight was full, and would have preferred an aisle seat, but due to getting a late ticket ,the seat I had was adequate. The flight crew were very help full and hard working. Food and drink were excellent for the 11hr flight. Overall I was pleased with flight, and would recommend British Airways again.

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.

Boarding was excessively slow. They do it by groups in a way that it doesn’t make sense. After business class , ppl that need assistance and any other priority group they should have ppl board from the back to the front. First rows 20+. Then 15+. Then 10, etc. having ppl sitting in the back board last makes no sense. The libe backame long as soon as ppl on rows 10 or so where told to board. The line went all the way up the ramp and tunnel for 25 mins.

Seats are very tight even in Plus, no complimentary snacks or beverage

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

Business class seats did not lie flat. There was only powdered milk for your coffee....in Business Class!! Food was good.

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.

Boarding was somewhat confusing in that the wrong messages were being displayed at the gate. It was somewhat annoying that I got off one flight and straight onto another (from the same gate), but in between they re-checked my hand luggage and made me get rid of my water (which they charge for on the plane). I was sitting in their 'Plus' seating, but the leg room was still too small to be able to sit square. The food options on the flights are pretty cheap quality (but not price). They got me from 'A' to 'B' on-time and for a relatively good price, but the experience itself was below average.

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.

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