$136 Find Cheap Flights from San Jose 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 Jose to Costa Rica departing on 2/8. 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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1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

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Cheap Flights from San Jose to Costa Rica

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
San José
San José2 stops$309
Liberia
Liberia2 stops$473
San José
San José2 stops$309
Liberia
Liberia2 stops$473

Book Cheap San Jose to Costa Rica Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from San Jose 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 Jose to Costa Rica

Tue, Jan 20 - Tue, Feb 3
American Airlines Logo
2:32 pm - 1:54 pm
SJC
-
SJO
21h 22m2 stops
American Airlines Logo
6:00 am - 9:29 pm
SJO
-
SJC
17h 29m2 stops
$309American Airlines
Fri, Jan 23 - Tue, Jan 27
Southwest Logo
6:50 am - 7:30 pm
SJC
-
SJO
10h 40m1 stop
Southwest Logo
9:40 am - 7:40 pm
SJO
-
SJC
12h 00m1 stop
$317Southwest
Sun, Feb 1 - Mon, Feb 9
Multiple Airlines Logo
6:00 am - 11:43 pm
SJC
-
SJO
15h 43m1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
6:38 am - 4:20 pm
SJO
-
SJC
11h 42m1 stop
$337Multiple Airlines
Fri, Jan 23 - Tue, Jan 27
American Airlines Logo
6:00 am - 11:43 pm
SJC
-
SJO
15h 43m2 stops
American Airlines Logo
1:43 pm - 9:24 am
SJO
-
SJC
21h 41m2 stops
$349American Airlines
Sun, Feb 1 - Mon, Feb 9
American Airlines Logo
2:32 pm - 10:30 pm
SJC
-
SJO
29h 58m2 stops
American Airlines Logo
4:02 pm - 9:29 pm
SJO
-
SJC
31h 27m2 stops
$355American Airlines
Sun, Feb 1 - Tue, Feb 10
Delta Logo
10:45 pm - 1:00 pm
SJC
-
SJO
12h 15m1 stop
Delta Logo
7:00 am - 9:20 pm
SJO
-
SJC
16h 20m1 stop
$363Delta
Mon, Jan 19 - Fri, Jan 23
Delta Logo
8:05 pm - 10:15 pm
SJC
-
SJO
24h 10m2 stops
Delta Logo
7:00 am - 8:32 am
SJO
-
SJC
27h 32m2 stops
$368Delta
Fri, Jan 23 - Tue, Jan 27
United Airlines Logo
8:40 am - 10:00 pm
SJC
-
SJO
11h 20m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
6:30 am - 8:56 pm
SJO
-
SJC
16h 26m2 stops
$376United Airlines
Mon, Mar 2 - Fri, Mar 13
Alaska Airlines Logo
8:00 am - 6:45 am
SJC
-
LIR
20h 45m2 stops
Alaska Airlines Logo
6:08 pm - 8:00 pm
LIR
-
SJC
26h 52m3 stops
$473Alaska Airlines
Wed, Mar 11 - Wed, Mar 18
Alaska Airlines Logo
10:16 am - 4:58 pm
SJC
-
LIR
29h 42m2 stops
Alaska Airlines Logo
7:40 am - 9:28 am
LIR
-
SJC
26h 48m2 stops
$479Alaska Airlines
Booking Insights

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

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

What is the cheapest month to fly from San Jose 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 Jose 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 Jose to Costa Rica is August, when tickets cost $391 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and April, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $848 and $702 respectively.

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

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

When flying from San Jose to Costa Rica, you should consider leaving on a Thursday and avoid Sundays if you are looking for the best rates. For your return to San Jose, you’ll find the best rates on Wednesdays and the most expensive ones on Mondays.

How far in advance should I book a flight from San Jose 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 Jose 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 Jose to Costa Rica, you should book around 1 week before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 24 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonOctober
Cheapest flight$166
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 39% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 8% lower on average.
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 from San Jose 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 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 from San Jose 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 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 from San Jose to Costa Rica up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Costa Rica

  • 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.

Reviews of the 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 11551 reviews
8.5Crew
8.1Boarding
7.0Entertainment
7.1Food
7.8Comfort
Airline reviews

Was notified the departure would be late. Later on it was suddenly on time. Traffic by LAX was horrendous, and I missed the flight.

2.0 MediocreAnonymous, Dec 2025
LAX - SFO
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

Was notified the departure would be late. Later on it was suddenly on time. Traffic by LAX was horrendous, and I missed the flight.

Flight delayed three times no explanation, left 5 hours after initial time, disrupted my job

The flights were all late and they would not refund my money

I wasn’t able to check in prior to arriving at the airport, I was told by the agent I may not get a seat on the plane as others were waiting for seats, I sat there for 2 hours before being assigned a seat, very stressful. The plane was delayed. Overall not a great travel experience for a 44 minute flight.

The seats were not very comfortable and there were no TV screens. Boarding was pretty fast because there were so few people on such a small plane and I appreciated that they still gave us our snack and drinks, however I really wish they would come up with a good gluten-free snack.

Comfort level was below par. Food selection was non-existent. Paying $35 for 1st bag is never appreciated. I will not fly them again. I am actually trying to change my return flight.

Flight was on time. Crew was helping & seat were comfortable.

Was late but $50 voucher was great benefit of the summit card.

See previous. It was the flight from Honolulu to Kapalua that was cancelled.

The flight attendants were excellent and I was in the back of the plane. Much much better than recent JetBlue experiences on that route and better than Delta on that route.

The boarding and seat assignment system no longer works for me, but I know it is being replaced. Otherwise, I am good with the overall experience.

The lead steward kept singing about "San Francisco" and hotel California---more annoying than humorous....needs work. Flight was smooth and on time.

San Diego airport is brand new, spacious, airy and very smooth checkin at SW baggage drop.

Crew could have been friendlier, maybe I'm spoiled by SW crews. In flight wifi was good. Would be nice to have more food offerings on a 4 plus hour flight

Ever since Southwest starting charging for bags, passengers don't want to pay to check their bags, so the gate agents have to beg people to check their roller bags now because there's "not enough space". This was a terrible business move by Southwest.

Sacrament staff are always polite and helpful. Airport is easy to maneuver and boarding is straightforward.

As always, the entire Southwest experience was wonderful, from online booking to flight to baggage retrieval. Very grateful.

The weather could have been better. There was a 40 minute ATC delay in SFO because of marine fog and a micro cell storm delayed landing and take-off at Nashville. The gate was changed 5 minutes from boarding from gate B3 to gate C23 at Nashville airport.

The cabin was quiet for the redeye flight. The area was clean. The staff was great. The 787 Max was in good condition. Drawbacks were that the seat widths were tight for some passengers. The seat padding was at best average and for a long flight uncomfortable.

Delayed flight. Nicest crew member was a SW pilot flying seated next to me who kindly move to seat the final passenger. Flight extra delayed. My cup of refreshment of ginger ale was so packed with ice it was literally 2 sips.

The flight was delayed for about 2 hrs. Other than it, it was good.

I am extremely disappointed that delta internal pilot manuals now refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “gulf of America”. You can bow down to the Orange turd on your own. I will never fly delta again

No lunch on a x-country flight scheduled for 10:50 am departure, arrived 5+ hrs later. That requires a black box label before you pay for the tickets. Worst, when I checked in online, it's specifically said that lunch was served on his flight for economy Plus passengers.

Our flight from SFO to MSP was right on time on 11/15/2025. No delays. As we approached MSP at about 8 pm, we circled in the air until 8:40 pm so I don't call that efficient for MSP. I think the captain should announce the delay and why. (as if we all don't know that we are just circling around the area, slowing down, speeding up, slowing down.) Thank you. Marilyn Fischer

Staff were friendly and happy. Delta could make sure passengers that don't have the app know of changes. Without Kayak I would not have known about the change of gate or the delay. Kayak was faster to notify me.

The flight used a B767 with a very old interior from before 2014. The entertainment system did not work at all during the flight despite attempts to reset the system. It was like they flew this route just to be competitive.

Delayed flight (1hour) plus a long layover after an overnight flight with no backup plane available.

Flight delayed for two and half hours and then canceled altogether due to mechanical issues. No mechanic onsite to fix so had to send one from LAX.

My husband upgraded our seats and I don't know if it was due to the type of planet was or if they didn't upgrade our seats. We were supposed to be in I believe comfort seats and they were just as tight as any other seat- no leg room and we are very tall people but at least it wasn't extremely cold. My husband did put in a complaint about our seating because he paid extra and if we would have known that the space and the tightness would have been the same, we just would have gotten the emergency row emergency row seats that we normally get. We love Delta but both our flights coming home we're not good. Oh I forgot to mention that on our flight to Hawaii our luggage wheels got broke and we had to purse new luggage on vacation then we never had this problem so we didn't know protocol and reported it after we got home only for them to tell is we only had 24hrs to report the damage. Not sure what was going on with Delta this vacation trip.

Crew was excellent. Comfort seats not as nice as other kinds of planes.

United airlines has the best customer experience from booking to arrival. I always fly United airlines. The mileage program is excellent

from SFO-> FRA flight, AVML meal was significantly less compared to regular meal, especially no Desert, no Bread, no sides.

This was an older airplane. The cabin was constantly warm to hot throughout the 10 hour flight and there were no vents to personalize air flow. Also since it was an older plane, the material and comfort of the chairs were very uncomfortable. I left my flight with major soreness on my tailbone.

Older aircraft, no meal, only food was for purchase. Not impressed United.

Not pleasant trip cross country when the entertainment and WiFi system not working. No entertainment for entirety of route. Staff was rather nonchalant in that they dismissed the problem due to age of plane. It would have been nice to know this up front so I could have come prepared to read or download movies before boarding Coincidentally or not, there was a similar issue with the entertainment system on my previous flight I took on my fist leg of the trip. There are no seat TVs, so you must rely on the app when it works. United can do better. Also, what use it it to pay for boarding group 2 when half of the passengers are in the same line as you?

My experience on this United Airlines flight was highly uncomfortable, primarily due to two issues: Cabin Temperature: The temperature on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was unacceptably high, feeling consistently around 80 degrees throughout the flight. This made sleeping impossible and significantly detracted from the experience. Seating Arrangement: Being stuck in a middle seat for a six-and-a-half-hour overnight flight compounded the discomfort. Moving forward, I will always purchase a seat assignment to avoid this situation.

Premium Plus is a really good idea for longer flights

Same as last comment. Food sucks. Quality. Not surprising most people have no clue about nourishment Clearly

The flight attendants were great, I joked with one I can’t remember her name, a blond, really sweet. I thought it was run well very professional. This was great i survived Spirit, I know for which I speak.

We were in business class. the angled seats in that class do not have a real window view & the placement of the controls are bad. But we knew that. But the food options were mediocre. The taste was fine, but the size was for a child. It’s just really feels like United is skimping on everything. Even when we were in the Polaris lounge they did not have diet sodas. They said they were out no Coke zero no Diet Coke, etc. I do not think the portion of nuts they serve on the plane could get any smaller. Really a minimal service and offer for what you’re paying for in business.

I requested a low sodium meal. Reason being, I take medicine for high blood pressure and I wear compression socks on long flights to help with leg swelling. Having less sodium in meals really helps me feel better on long flights. I received my initial low sodium meal after takeoff. Just before landing, the crew came through with the meal cart and offered me what was being served. I said no thank you and then noticed my low sodium meal in the meal cart, with my name and seat assignment on it. I motioned to the crew member, but he grabbed the meal cart and proceeded to move to the rear of the aircraft. He didn’t see me or other passengers who had attempted to get this attention. He was more concerned about completing meal service since we were due to land in under 45 minutes. I pressed the call light five times from my seat to receive help, but no crew member responded to me. So, I didn’t receive a second meal, one that I requested (the low sodium option). This led me to have a migraine from only eating one meal on an 11-hour flight. This is why I’m not a fan of flying US-based airlines overseas. The crew members continue to show the absolute worst customer service experience. I would not recommend flying American for overseas flights.

Not great. Booked Extra seats and got nothing extra at all. It’s basically a big budget airline.

Horrible. Both legs of my flight were delayed more than 6 hours. No compensation, no screens on the plane, and the plane was not clean.

The flight was smooth, the pilot kept us informed about delays and we arrived more of less on time

The flight was flawless and we even arrived between 20 and 25 minutes early!

Always seated jammed in rear of aircraft Admirals Club food at DFW terminal D was absolute worst food experience and I pay $600/year to eat this dried out junk

Mostly good. Flight was crowded but Airline personnel were very friendly & accommodating. It would be good to have savory snacks rather than just sweet Biscoff cookies.

It was a red eye flight, so no meals were provided, but it was fine with snacks. The seats felt cramped and almost too narrow.

Very crowded flight but what can you expect these days?? Crew was accommodating.

The seats in economy were appeared to be quite thin and lack sufficient cushioning to be comfortable. Perhaps it was my seating position but the plane seemed notably load.

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

Information on your arrival and departure airports