If you’re looking to plan a vacation in the tropics in 2023, now is the best time to do it: Flights to Costa Rica are as low as $308.
Many airlines are offering cheap fares to the Costa Rican cities of Liberia and San Jose from various US cities.
While there are some travel discounts in October and November, most of the best fares are from January to May next year. So you can book your tickets to Costa Rica now, but use the extra time to plan your trip.
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Maybe you’ll explore the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park in Liberia, Costa Rica, or check out the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica at the National Theatre, located in the country’s capital, San Jose – the options are endless.
Although most travel dates are within the next year, we recommend booking tickets to Costa Rica as soon as possible – such cheap fares can only last for a few days.
Trading Basics
Airlines: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and United Airlines.
Routes: Austin, Boston, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Phoenix, Washington, DC and other cities to Liberia and San Jose.
How to set: Use Google Flights to determine your ideal date, then book directly with the airline of your choice.
Date of department: There are a few available October through November, but January through August 2023 offer the most.
Thank you Scott’s Cheap Flights to flag this transaction. Web’s Senior members – comes with a 14-day free trial and costs $49 a year – offers discounts up to 90%. You can also upgrade to Elite MembershipSend notifications about economy, business, and first class deals.
Sample flights
Since most travel dates are next year, you’ll have plenty of time to plan your trip to Costa Rica. The agreement also includes a mix of major cities and smaller cities offering discounted routes to Liberia International Airport (LIR) and Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO).
Here are some flights we’ve flagged:
- American: Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) to SJO, starting at $308 (including Miami transfers).
- JetBlue: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to LIR, starting at $309.
- American: Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) to SJO, starting at $321 (including transfers in Miami).
- American: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) to SJO, starting at $336 (including Miami transfers).
- Delta: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) to SJO, starting at $350 (including Atlanta transfers).
- Avianca: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to SJO, starting at $366 (including transfers in Guatemala City).
- American: Indianapolis International Airport (IND) to LIR, Costa Rica, starting at $371 (including a stop in Miami).
When booking flights, we recommend using Google Flights to determine the best date for your trip. Then, book your flight tickets directly on the airline’s website. In the event that your flight is delayed, canceled or booked, airlines tend to be more reliable than third-party options for rebooking.
For your spring travel to Costa Rica in May departing from DCA, you have to get to the airport pretty early for these two Delta flight options. One at 6am for $350. There is another Delta flight that departs from DCA to San Jose at 7 a.m., but is a bit more expensive at $365.
To keep fares at $350, Delta has a round-trip flight that departs at 1:13 p.m. Both flights to and from San Jose are grounded in Atlanta.
This $350 fare is definitely a steal, as the cheapest tickets to San Jose typically start at $455, according to Google Flights.
While these fares to the Costa Rican capital are low, they only apply to basic economy seats, which can be limited in terms of perks. Delta’s basic economy class has no seat selection and does not allow passengers to make any changes. Passengers are also the last to board and are not eligible for an upgrade.
Delta Basic Economy allows you to bring your personal items and luggage for free. Checked baggage costs $30 each way, so you’ll have to spend an extra $60 if you check in.
Maximize your purchases
Make sure to use reward cards when buying airline tickets like Platinum Card® from American Express (5 points per dollar for airline tickets booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel), up to $500,000 for these purchases per calendar year, Citi Prestige® Card (5 points per dollar on airfare), Citi Premier® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve (3 points per dollar on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3 points per dollar on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel) or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2 points per dollar for travel). See this lesson for more on maximizing airfare purchases.
Citi Prestige Card information has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Key point
One of the best aspects of cheap flights to Costa Rica is flexibility and timing: Most travel dates are in 2023, so you have plenty of time to plan your outings. mine.
However, even though fares are cheap, keep in mind that they mostly apply to the underlying economy. This means there will be some restrictions or additional fees for features like seat selection or boarding.
