$74 Find Cheap Flights to Central America

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from the United States to Central America departing on 12/1. 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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Cheap Flights to Central America

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
San Salvador
San Salvador1 stop$114
San José
San José1 stop$220
Guatemala City
Guatemala City1 stop$185
Panama City
Panama Citynonstop$276
Liberia
Liberianonstop$250
Managua
Managua2 stops$239
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sulanonstop$116
Flores
Flores2 stops$399
Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro2 stops$577
David
David1 stop$296
San Pedro Town
San Pedro Town2 stops$629
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa1 stop$463
Placencia
Placencia1 stop$695
San Salvador
San Salvador1 stop$114
San José
San José1 stop$220
Guatemala City
Guatemala City1 stop$185
Panama City
Panama Citynonstop$276
Liberia
Liberianonstop$250
Managua
Managua2 stops$239
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sulanonstop$116
Flores
Flores2 stops$399
Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro2 stops$577
David
David1 stop$296
San Pedro Town
San Pedro Town2 stops$629
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa1 stop$463
Placencia
Placencia1 stop$695

Book Cheap Central America Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights to Central America 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 to Central America

Tue, Sep 23 - Fri, Sep 26
Volaris El Salvador Logo
2:37 am - 4:57 amIAD-SAL
4h 20mnonstop
Volaris El Salvador Logo
6:37 pm - 12:54 amSAL-IAD
4h 17mnonstop
$191Volaris El Salvador
Find Deal
Fri, Oct 24 - Mon, Nov 3
Volaris El Salvador Logo
2:37 am - 4:57 amIAD-SAL
4h 20mnonstop
Volaris El Salvador Logo
6:36 pm - 11:43 pmSAL-IAD
4h 07mnonstop
$192Volaris El Salvador
Find Deal
Mon, Sep 22 - Thu, Sep 25
Avianca Logo
4:05 am - 6:30 amIAD-SAL
4h 25mnonstop
Avianca Logo
10:05 pm - 4:20 amSAL-IAD
4h 15mnonstop
$193Avianca
Find Deal
Mon, Dec 1 - Mon, Dec 8
Avianca Logo
3:05 pm - 7:05 pmJFK-SAL
5h 00mnonstop
Avianca Logo
10:40 pm - 4:20 amSAL-JFK
4h 40mnonstop
$193Avianca
Find Deal
Sat, Jan 24 - Thu, Feb 12
American Airlines Logo
5:25 am - 11:55 amJFK-SAL
7h 30m1 stop
American Airlines Logo
6:40 am - 9:00 pmSAL-JFK
13h 20m1 stop
$230American Airlines
Find Deal
Sat, Nov 1 - Wed, Nov 12
American Airlines Logo
9:30 pm - 2:28 pmJFK-SAL
18h 58m2 stops
American Airlines Logo
3:31 pm - 7:45 amSAL-JFK
15h 14m2 stops
$234American Airlines
Find Deal
Thu, Oct 23 - Wed, Nov 5
Copa Airlines Logo
1:46 am - 8:40 pmLAX-SAL
17h 54m1 stop
Copa Airlines Logo
5:00 am - 10:34 pmSAL-LAX
19h 34m1 stop
$245Copa Airlines
Find Deal
Tue, Sep 16 - Sat, Sep 20
Copa Airlines Logo
2:19 am - 12:36 pmJFK-SAL
12h 17m1 stop
Copa Airlines Logo
5:04 am - 12:46 amSAL-JFK
17h 42m1 stop
$249Copa Airlines
Find Deal
Sat, Sep 13 - Mon, Sep 15
United Airlines Logo
10:57 pm - 4:48 amLAX-GUA
4h 51mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
6:15 am - 6:07 pmGUA-LAX
12h 52m1 stop
$265United Airlines
Find Deal
Tue, Sep 23 - Wed, Oct 22
United Airlines Logo
10:50 pm - 4:50 amLAX-SAL
5h 00mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
2:00 am - 6:19 amSAL-LAX
5h 19mnonstop
$265United Airlines
Find Deal
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to Central America

Get data-powered insights and trends for flights to Central America to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest flight to Central America?

These are the best round-trip prices found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.

The cheapest ticket to Central America from the United States found in the last 72 hours was to San José, at $98 round-trip. The most popular route is Atlanta (ATL) to San Salvador (SAL) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $106.

What is the cheapest month to fly from the United States to Central America?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights from the United States to Central America, 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 the United States to Central America is February, when tickets cost $363 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and April, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $988 and $677 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from the United States to Central America?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights to Central America, 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 the United States to Central America, you should book around 5 weeks before departure, which saves you about 31% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 10 weeks before departure.

Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in Central America?

Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in Central America is Managua Augusto C Sandino Airport (MGA), with an average flight price of $132.

Good to know

Low seasonSeptember
Cheapest flight$74
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 14% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 44% increase in price.
Flight from New York John F Kennedy Airport to San Salvador

Flights to Central America: the best tips from KAYAK users' own experiences

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew to Central America 
Verified travelerFlew with United AirlinesIAH-XPLDec 2024
There is not enough room for carry on when your on group 4 or more . Hsve a basic bag for emergencies in case the take your carry on to the final destination
CarmelFlew with Alaska AirlinesLAX-LIRJan 2025
Know that flights are very unreliable so pad your days/plans.
Verified travelerFlew with AviancaLAX-GUAJan 2024
Be sure to have you immigration declaration filled out before landing. We weren’t given documents, but the staff was helpful in setting us up with a QR code and assisting us along the way.
LannyFlew with American AirlinesMIA-SJOJan 2024
Bring a book or tablet to connect to entertainment to keep you occupied. This leg of our trip met our expectations. Much better job than our first leg of our trip.

FAQs - booking Central America flights

  • Do I need a visa to fly to Central America?

    American citizens are not required to have a visa to fly to countries in Central America. Countries including Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. All these countries apart from Nicaragua, allow US Citizens to stay for up to 90 days visa-free. If you plan to extend your stay, you’ll need to get a visa.

  • What are the entry requirements to Central America for US citizens?

    With the visa waiver, US citizens are required to have a passport valid for at least six months that they should carry all the time while in Central America. In addition, countries like Panama, Honduras, and El Salvador will require them to also have a tourist card that is valid for up to 30-90 days. If you plan on visiting Kuna Yala in Panama, you’ll need a yellow fever vaccination certificate because the country has a risk of yellow fever.

  • Can I fly non-stop to Liberia, Costa Rica from the United States?

    Yes. From airports in the US like Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) aboard Delta Airlines, New York John. F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) aboard Jet Blue Airlines, or Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) aboard Alaska Airlines to Liberia Guanacaste International Airport (LIR). All these airlines offer specialized services to their passengers to help them relax and cater to their flight needs during long flights.

  • What is the best airport to fly in and out of Central America?

    Tocumen International Airport (PTY) in Panama City is the biggest and busiest airport in Central America. It connects Panama and several cities and states in the US. Moreover, it acts as a hub for several airlines giving flyers the chance to choose the best airline. It’s also known for clean terminals, efficiency, great customer service, and accessible services.

  • Which airlines have the cheapest prices from the United States to Central America?

    Among the airlines that provide either direct or layover flights to Central America, the cheapest airlines are Frontier Airlines, Copa Airlines, and Spirit Airlines. All these airlines have layover flights that are affordable alternatives to their non-stop flight counterparts.

  • Can I fly non-stop to Managua from the United States?

    Yes. From Fort Lauderdale International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, you can fly directly to Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport (MGA) in Managua, Nicaragua aboard Spirit Airlines. From Miami International Airport (MIA) in Miami, you can fly directly to Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport in Managua aboard either Avianca Airlines or American Airlines. From George Bush International Airport (IAH) in Houston, you can fly directly to Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport aboard either United Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Avianca Airlines, or American Airlines.  

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from the United States to Central America?

    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 the United States to Central America.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from the United States to Central America 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 the United States to Central America?

    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 the United States to Central America 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 the United States to Central America?

    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 the United States to Central America up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to Central America?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to Central America is Tuesday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $485. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Saturday, where round-trip prices are $547 on average.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to Central America?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to Central America is generally in the morning, when round-trip flights cost $325 on average. Morning departures are around 34% cheaper than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to Central America is generally in the afternoon, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $500.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Central America

  • Looking for cheap airfare to Central America? 25% of our users found round-trip tickets to Central America for the following prices or less: From New Orleans $191, from Newark $452, from Houston George Bush Intcntl $525
  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest Central America flight deals.
  • Central America has many major countries and cities known for their architectural and historical attractions. When traveling to Central America you can get non-stop flights to most of these cities from Miami, Orlando, Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, or Chicago aboard several airlines including American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Avianca Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Delta Airlines.
  • Alaska Airlines is one of the most popular airlines along this route that offers non-stop flights from cities in the US like Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas, and Palm Springs to San Jose International Airport (SJC) in San Jose, Central America.
  • If you’re looking for cheap flights to El Salvador from Newark, opt for the layover flights by Spirit Airlines that have a layover in Fort Lauderdale that will give you a five-hour window to explore locations near Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL).
  • The Mayan Ruins of Tikal and Antigua in Guatemala are some of the most famous archaeological attractions in Central America. American Airlines has non-stop flights from Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Boston to Guatemala La Aurora City Aiport(GUA). From there, you can either take public transportation or take a flight to Mundo Maya International Airport in Flores to easily find your way to the Mayan Ruins of Tikal and take a taxi from GUA to Antigua.
  • Carnaval is a major annual festival that happens in Panama between February and March that lasts up to a week and attracts visitors from all around the world. Get on a non-stop flight from Miami on either American Airlines, Delta Airlines, or United Airlines to Panama City Tocumen International Airport (PTY).
  • Traveling within Central America on a budget requires you to fly into countries that are centrally located like Guatemala and Panana where you can access both public and private shuttle buses to other cities and to nearby countries to help save on transport costs.
  • Guatemala is served by two international airports namely Guatemala La Aurora City Airport and Mundo Maya International Airport (FRS). If you plan to visit towns in Guatemala like Flores, Santa Elena, and San Benito, fly on layovers into FRS which gives you direct access to these towns.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines flying to Central America

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from the United States to Central America? 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
DeltaOverall score based on 7972 reviews
7.9Comfort
7.9Entertainment
8.2Boarding
8.5Crew
7.3Food
Airline reviews

Delta made it easy, comfortable and timely. The crew was fantastic.

10.0 ExcellentDonna, Sep 2025CVG - LGA
Read more Delta reviews

Delta made it easy, comfortable and timely. The crew was fantastic.

This route with Delta always has delays or is cancelled. Aircrafts seem smaller and older. I fly Delta quite a bit - haven’t had issues with the international flights. But this route has always been the troublesome one

Nothing special. The crew never went out of their way for anything.

Three seats in first class were broken and while they were able to still acommodate us it was looking very touch and go and they had others they could not acommodate

Mechanic delay in addition to a 2 hour change in takeoff time was frustrating.

Delayed due to thunderstorms and no in-flight service due to rough weather — both of which are out of Delta’s control. Flight was good overall.

The flight attendants in SLC were rude. I arrived 40 minutes early to gate. Ticket said I needed check in for seat assignments and tried check in and attendants said they weren’t doing it. And proceeded to never call me to give me a ticket so when time to board I received the very last seat. Please relay to employees to do their job better..,

On this flight I felt the food offering was not as complete as on previous flights. The tomato salad was a bit off and there was nothing additional such a bread or butter. The breakfast was only one option, so you either ate what they had or ate nothing. The crew was efficient, but most seemed frustrated throughout the flight. The flight arrived early and was obstacle-free, so I’m overall quite happy, but the shine in the rest of the experience just wasn’t there.

The seats got pretty uncomfortable pretty fast. The armrests are bigger than on other planes, so I had less room in the actual seat. My butt hurt by the end of the flight. :/ comfort was the primary issue. The crew were fantastic!

I believe that a four-hour trip should have a meal. Delta had none.

Cops Airlines is fantastic! The level of care and professionalism provided by the entire crew was top rate.

I selected first class expecting excetional service. It was mediocre at best. The food service was cold, meal choices was poor and on one leg they did provide dessert. I did enjoy the lay day seat but the movies were old and nothing current. Boarding the plane is always hot. So boarding is quite warm until your in the air. I took a small personal air fan. Update the meals and movies.

Very happy with my flight. I would definitely recommend it.

Did upgrade, travel in business it was great (more room I could sleep)

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.

It was ok. However, the food was quite poor since I don't eat pasta.

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.

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.

IAD with the archaic people movers is just a place to be avoided.

Great service on board. Boarding a bit slow due to process. Food was pretty average.

Tastless food and too obvious lack of enthusiasm for service in the economy vesus business class

All of the United employees I interacted with were professional and courteous. The aircraft was clean, the food on the flight was good. No complaints here.

I had no checked baggage but was required to hand over carry on baggage at the door of the plane. There was a lot of overboard space in the plane and I was one of the last ones. I ran to get my carry on but it was gone. I was given back at the plane door in Toronto, so the wait was not as long as it would have been at the carousel.

Armrest controller on my seat 35D and nextbooennseat 35E did not work right. Hard to press buttons to recognize and 35D had constantnpressure either upmost down somit was nearly impossible to make selections. .

I flew with my dog and had already purchased my dog’s ticket. Even that morning I had called costumer service to insure that my husband and I had seats together since the website was giving me an error when choosing our seats and the representative mentioned our dog. I showed up early to the airport and when I got to the gate and we started boarding I was help back and told that I was supposed to have a yellow tag and that I should have checked in at the counter for them to give me that tag. I was not aware of this, the representative on the phone did not say anything. Nor did I see it anywhere in the checking process online, so if you travel with a pet and are not checking in luggage, just know that you still have to go to the check in counter when arriving at the airport unless you want to be the last one to board and not have room for your carry on in the overhead bins. Other than that, I had a great experience.

Once we got in the air the pilot made up some of the time of the delay. So that was really nice.

We had a layover from YVR to Denver. We bought 4 bottles of Absolut Vodka at the YVR Duty Free for $116.20, after going through security and American Customs Pre Clearance at YVR, Vancouver. When we landed in Denver, United put us behind the American Customs as well as TSA again for some reason. We were forced to go through American Customs and TSA again. TSA confiscated our rightfully owned Duty Free Absolut Vodka bottles. Because United incorrectly forced our flight behind American border and TSA again, we missed the connecting flight. After United put us on a later flight, we eventually arrived in Chicago very late, with hardly any sleep. I am looking for compensation from United for our incorrectly confiscated Absolut Vodka bottles worth $116.20, as well as compensation for incorrectly putting us behind American Customs and TSA again, causing us to miss our connecting flight, making us arrive extremely late in Chicago.

From the first moment you interact with United Airlines, you can expect nothing less but extreme frustration. The baggage handler at the bag drop seems completely unbothered by the presence of customers waiting in line. No help was extended to load the baggage whatsoever. And if any of your bags is overweight by 0.01 pound they will make you re-distribute everything in your suitcase just to play power trip. When it was time to board no help was extended to customers to locate their seats. Moreover. It was a chaotic mess at the gate when it was unclear who should board first and everyone just bunched up, trying to get on the plane. I am sure the crew was doing their best to perform their jobs while being paid their wages however it shouldn’t be that hard to smile once or twice when you’re in the business if serving customers. It is a shame for the United States of America to have a flagship carrier of such low caliber. Our flight was also delayed by about an hour and a half due to further delays prior to our inbound flight. Being someone who has travelled for both business and leisure in Asia, Europe, and South America I have never experienced such poor quality of service.

Don’t know they cancelled the flight day before I was to leave. They sent a email at 9:00 pm at night saying they cancelled. That is the smooth way to say we don’t want your business! I think they didn’t have enough people booking so they cancelled the flight! It’s all about the money anymore there is no honesty in business.

Having to reschedule flights a day later, they loaded by luggage on the wrong plane from Little rock now I have to HOPE they deliver it to where im staying like they said would. International flight crew was very disgruntled and not very friendly.

We will be writing a long, detailed letter to corporate about our awful experience with American airlines.

It took way too long to diagnose and solve the problem of a broken crew member cabin seat. Though compensation for the volunteer who left the flight was very kind.

The entertainment package was vast and the selections were very current. Keep updating it was great.

The seat was so hard my tailbone was aching The crew was kind of a b**** because I made a joke that I didn't care if they close the door I total c*** when she was trying to f****** act like she was mad at me because I said that The flight was bumpy. Sure you didnt have control over that.

Our bags took a long time to get unloaded once we landed.

Boarding: Boarding was a bit of a mess. Our tickets indicated "BC" for Business Class, but we and many others were confused as that was not indicated anywhere in the airport, so we didn't know when we're supposed to board. The airplane: The airplane was nice. However, we sat near the back of the business class cabin and the flight attendants and passengers from other cabins would constantly move the curtain (which was very loud), preventing me from fallling asleep on my 8 hour flight. The flight crew: Amazing, generally. However, they nearly forgot to serve breakfast to me. The flight food: I was able to select my meal for dinner, which was really good. Breakfast was a bit of a mess, however. The crew forgot to serve me breakfast until the last minute. Very little was available by the time they remembered. The entertainment: Paltry, underwhelming, and dated. Not one new movie was available. Bottom line: For the money, you might want to consider other options for your international business class flights.

We fly American Airlines quite a bit. And we always fly business class when traveling internationally. We were a bit disappointed with the comfort of this particular plane as well as the entertainment options.

Flight was delayed not sure why no explanation given and no apologies either. Otherwise the flight was fine

Boarding, crew were excellent, food was ok and entertainment need to improve

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.

Very uncomfortable planes , poor service on the plane , take your own water so you don’t dehydrate , in a 6 hs flight they sold one time food and beverage . 1 plane was delayed 6 hs , I lost a connecting flight . Then in the way back they announce a delay of 2 hs so I had to take a different flight to arrive on time for my connecting flight . Avoid this airline .

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

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.

Everything you need to know for your flight to Central America

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.

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