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Find cheap flights from San Jose to Costa Rica from $186

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 Jose to Costa Rica departing on 5/21. 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
Tue 6/4
Tue 6/11

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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 José2 stops$317
Liberia
Liberia1 stop$517

Good to know

Low season

October

High season

December

Cheapest flight

$186
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 6% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 62% increase in price.
Flight from San Jose to San José

FAQs - booking Costa Rica flights

  • What travel documentation should I know about before I board my flight to Costa Rica?

    Any traveler making a trip to Costa Rica for a great vacation does not need to get a visa so long as you don't plan on staying for more than 90 days, but you will need to show the immigration authorities your return plane ticket. You will also need a valid passport when flying to Costa Rica, and your passport needs to be valid the entire time you are in Costa Rica.

  • I am planning on renting a car in Costa Rica. What are the child car seat laws I should know about when driving here?

    Every child traveling in a car in Costa Rica that is up to 12 months old needs to ride in a car seat that faces to the rear. If they are between 12 months and four years old, the car seat needs to face forward. After that, children up to 12 years old need to travel in a booster seat or a booster cushion.

  • Is there any way for me to get freshened up at the San José Juan Santamaria International Airport after a long flight?

    This airport offers showers inside of the terminal building that are free of charge to travelers and make a great way to get freshened up after a long flight.

  • Are there any hotels that have a location right at the San José Juan Santamaria International Airport?

    There are several hotels that have a location right at the entrance of the airport property, and some of them include the Hyatt Place San Jose Airport and the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott San Jose Airport.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from San Jose 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 Jose to Costa Rica.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Costa Rica from San Jose 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 Jose 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 to Costa Rica with an airline and back to San Jose with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from San Jose 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 to Costa Rica from San Jose up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Costa Rica

  • Morning departure is around 17% cheaper than an evening flight, on average*.
  • When people want to fly from San Jose to Costa Rica, they often fly to the San José Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO). Choosing this route, you will find one-stop flight offerings aboard United Airlines and Delta Airlines from San Jose Airport (SJC).
  • One of the most convenient ways to get to the San Jose Airport from downtown San Jose without having to drive your own car is to travel aboard the bus and train lines operated by Santa Clara VTA, which offers service from downtown to the airport in around 12 minutes.
  • If you're looking for a comfortable place to wait for your flight to Costa Rica at the San Jose Airport, consider one of The Club SJC locations at the airport that not only offers plenty of comfortable seating but also quite a few food and beverage options as well as some entertainment options.
  • For travelers planning on driving their to the San Jose Airport and looking for parking options, the airport offers quite a few different choices, with several lots right at the airport terminal building. A more cost-effective solution is to choose Economy Lot One that offers a much lower rate on a per day basis and has a shuttle service to the airport terminal buildings.
  • For nursing mothers traveling from the San Jose Airport, you'll be happy to know that this airport offers five different nursing room locations at gates 8, 18, 21, 24, and 26. Each of these rooms has a very comfortable chair as well as a changing station, power outlets, and a sink.
See more tips
*Average of the lowest prices shown in KAYAK’s search results for departures within the next 30 days

Top 5 airlines serving from San Jose to Costa Rica

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from San Jose 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 9134 reviews
8.2Boarding
7.9Comfort
7.3Food
8.6Crew
7.3Entertainment
Airline reviews

Boarded the plain and had to wait 1 hour for crew Captain to arrive from another flight

4.0 OkayRandy, May 2024SFO - SEA
Read more about Alaska Airlines reviews

Boarded the plain and had to wait 1 hour for crew Captain to arrive from another flight

The space for legs in coach is better than other Airlines you can even cross your legs!!

Comfortable seat, plenty of leg room which is so rare, overhead bin comfortably accommodated my carry-on bag. Deli box was tasty, service was good, bathrooms were clean. Uneventful flight, which I appreciate. Departed on time and landed early.

Honestly, there was not much they could do. Due to wind, the flight was delayed for several hours because we had to be diverted to San Jose where we needed to refuel before departing to Hawaii. Wish they had offered some snacks during the delays/diversion because we had to wait such a long time to finally get our food served during the flight after leaving California.

They canceled the flight 30 minutes prior to departure without any heads up.

All parts were excellent, especially staff at bag tag printing and inflight crew. Just the normal differences from past air travel could be improved but we’ve learned to accept those—cramped seats, minimal food/beverage, etc.

Better organizing of entry and exit onto the plane regarding all of the baggage people haul on. There should be a better system so those with no baggage can get in and out more quickly. The baggage haul-on situation is absurd.

Attentive crew. Best of all was the empty seat between me and my rowmate.

We had a very scary attempted landing in Palm Springs and were redirected to Ontario. It was a stressful flight.

Every thing means , crew, service, timing, boarding is very good.

There was a loud squeaky sound the whole time we were flying.

I didn’t not like that I could not select my seat and ended up with the worse seat.

The landing was bad and the hostess came two times and i was sleeping but when she served the person that nexts to me I woke up and she didn’t even asked me if I need any drink or snacks two times!!!!

Plane was late because of a mechanical malfunction and the food listed as available was not. Flight attendants seem over worked and under paid. They just done seem happy. And that can be seen in their faces.

Waited 3 hours on a plane to de-ice due to manpower issues. Waited another hour and a half once we landed because of a gate issue. Missed my connections. Created. A total of 13 hours of delay.

Great, on time departure, friendly and accommodating crew, great leg room, Smith flight

Plane was turned around due to fog half way into the flight, Delta did not properly direct passengers to stay on same flight and instead failed to properly rebook on Alaska

Honestly, I didn’t expect that I will experience this long time wait during the check in. There was only one person who was taking care of the passengers for the economy class and it took us to wait about one hour to do our check i. As a result we barely get to the airplane as the gate was at the end of the airport. That is totally not professional where one crue is working at the registration desk with economy and 3-4 crues are helping for the business class.

Like most domestic flights in the US, you are basically on your own with this airline when it comes to food, so be sure to purchase meals and drinks ahead of time or expect to arrive starving and dehydrated (like I was).

You need to be a hacker to get the (Free) WiFi

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.

I paid $380 for my one-way ticket from California to Minnesota. The fair did not include online check-in. I received instructions from their app to check in at a kiosk. At the kiosk, the boarding pass would not print until an actual person came to verify that I had a personal item and not a carry-on item, On the plane, the person next to me was drunk and allowed to continue to order alcohol. United is garbage I’d rather fly spirit.

Do not like the feeling of being in the basic economy. Everyone should feel good no matter what.

Terrible! The plane was old and you are required to connect your own device to their Wi-Fi rather than have entertainment options in the back of the seat in front of you. The Wi-Fi went out during the flight and there was only one plug for the devices every two seats. Three out of five surrounding my family did not work. The seats and spaces under them were so small I could not fit my backpack, which I’ve always brought on flights and fit before no problem. The crew were unpleasant and patronizing.

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.

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.

Crew was great and did their best to make us comfortable and captain came out at the beginning to announce why the flight was delayed, weather situation up ahead, and kept us updated throughout the flight.

United WiFi is consistently unusable (it can take 10 mins to load a single web page). If you need Wifi to do work, be prepared to lose half a day of productivity.

Awful. I got stuck next to a person carrying a dog and behind someone with a dog. People need to board these dogs downstairs. The cabin is crowded enough with your pets

Packed in like sardines, very uncomfortable. Sitting the aisle my shoulder was rammed into numerous times by rushing flight attendants. Also flight was very cold.

the head jack on my seat didn't work and the power outlet didn't work for my seat

Horrible - they lied to me about baggage & boarding, even though I specifically spoke to their agents the day before my flight about my issue. When I showed up they did not let me board and stranded me at my airport until I bought a new flight with money I did not have to spend.

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…

The experience was great and much better than the flight going out. of course I was in first class but the service was excellent

Comfort of seats, ease of boarding. Food selection could be better

Food options were limited which is absolutely embarrassing for a Flight of this size The staff did not come around as much and I am not accustomed to such poor service from American Airlines Drinks I believe were limited to soda and water

Crew were attentive and friendly. Flight was smooth and early! I enjoyed the less crowded plane. Thank you!

We are gluten free, there were not any available complimentary gluten free options.

No meal on a cross country flight? SFO-MiA is pretty much the definition of a coast to coast flight. No meal provided. Sky high wi-fi rates too. Stop nickel and diming your customers.

The staff was unprofessional and didn’t communicate very well. The boarding process was very disheveled, potentially due to a power outage the previous day but there was no contingency plan to properly get passengers boarded the following day. Once boarded the aircraft stayed on the tarmac for over 45 minutes due to high winds. The communication was sporadic but an announcement was finally made an additional 30 minutes later that the flight was cancelled but we couldn’t get off the plane. Prior to deplaning one of the gate agents came on the plane and made an announcement for everyone to pickup their checked bags and take a card to rebook a new reservation because they didn’t have adequate staff. Flights were missed, passengers went to different airports and there was little to no assistance from AA.

You cancelled my flight by email then made it very difficult to get in contact with you. Then put me in a flight with a long layover in Mexico returning to the wrong airport in uk. Mind blowing my stressful. I missed see my grand dad because of you.

Book cheap flights from San Jose to Costa Rica

Recent round-trip flight deals

6/3Mon
2 stopsSpirit Airlines
10h 18mSJC-SJO
6/10Mon
2 stopsSpirit Airlines
20h 52mSJO-SJC
$317
6/3Mon
2 stops
10h 18mSJC-SJO
6/10Mon
3 stops
29h 14mSJO-SJC
$318
7/7Sun
1 stopUnited Airlines
12h 26mSJC-SJO
7/12Fri
1 stopUnited Airlines
17h 34mSJO-SJC
$408
6/2Sun
1 stopUnited Airlines
12h 26mSJC-SJO
6/9Sun
1 stopUnited Airlines
17h 24mSJO-SJC
$422
5/26Sun
2 stopsDelta
37h 13mSJC-SJO
6/11Tue
2 stopsDelta
32h 30mSJO-SJC
$428
5/27Mon
1 stopAmerican Airlines
15h 04mSJC-SJO
6/3Mon
1 stopAmerican Airlines
15h 37mSJO-SJC
$470
5/26Sun
1 stopAmerican Airlines
15h 04mSJC-SJO
6/11Tue
1 stopAmerican Airlines
11h 51mSJO-SJC
$473
9/30Mon
2 stopsDelta
17h 38mSJC-SJO
12/16Mon
1 stopDelta
12h 21mSJO-SJC
$481
9/25Wed
1 stopAlaska Airlines
10h 10mSJC-LIR
9/29Sun
1 stopAlaska Airlines
24h 18mLIR-SJC
$517
8/3Sat
1 stopAlaska Airlines
24h 30mSJC-LIR
8/13Tue
1 stopAlaska Airlines
22h 15mLIR-SJC
$551

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Recent one-way flight deals

5/21Tue
2 stopsSpirit Airlines
39h 06mSJC-SJO
$186
7/27Sat
2 stopsDelta
21h 21mSJC-LIR
$201
9/17Tue
1 stopUnited Airlines
19h 42mSJC-SJO
$201
9/17Tue
2 stops
24h 20mSJC-SJO
$217
6/22Sat
1 stopUnited Airlines
10h 03mSJC-SJO
$239
9/17Tue
3 stops
22h 20mSJC-SJO
$289
6/1Sat
2 stopsCopa Airlines
17h 00mSJC-SJO
$348
5/17Fri
1 stopAlaska Airlines
12h 30mSJC-SJO
$378
5/20Mon
2 stopsCopa Airlines
14h 27mSJC-SJO
$403
5/22Wed
1 stopAlaska Airlines
24h 08mSJC-SJO
$1,293

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Last minute flights from San Jose to Costa Rica

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

5/9Thu
multi-stopUnited Airlines
16h 35mSJC-LIR
5/18Sat
multi-stopUnited Airlines
19h 15mLIR-SJC
$686
5/9Thu
multi-stopUnited Airlines
19h 50mSJC-LIR
5/18Sat
multi-stopUnited Airlines
30h 41mLIR-SJC
$696
5/9Thu
multi-stop
36h 35mSJC-LIR
5/18Sat
multi-stop
26h 27mLIR-SJC
$3,107
5/10Fri
multi-stop
29h 00mSJC-LIR
5/18Sat
multi-stop
28h 52mLIR-SJC
$3,827
5/9Thu
multi-stop
36h 35mSJC-LIR
5/14Tue
multi-stop
28h 52mLIR-SJC
$6,384
5/10Fri
multi-stop
29h 00mSJC-LIR
5/14Tue
multi-stop
28h 52mLIR-SJC
$6,634

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San Jose - Costa Rica Flights

Departure:

San Jose (SJC)United States

Return flight deals:

Costa Rica - San Jose

Cabin classes: