Cheap flights to
Costa Rica

We have a few tried and true tips for finding cheap flights, and booking within the Goldilocks Window is one of them. The Goldilocks Window is the period that’s not too far away but not too close to your desired departure date. That just-right time is 1-3 months before a domestic flight and 2-8 months before an international flight. If you plan to visit Costa Rica during a busy period or you don’t have flexible travel dates, start planning farther out.

January is a very popular time to visit Costa Rica. So if you hope to visit then, start looking for flights around July. It can seem far away, but it beats seeing price increases. In fact, last-minute flight deals are few and far between during high season, and fares usually increase 21 days, 14 days, and 7 days before flights. So start looking early if you can.

Even if you’re checking fares everyday months ahead of a flight, some routes never get any cheaper, especially during high season. In this case, try our Greek Islands Trick. That’s when you try to get as close to your destination as you can, then find a budget flight between there and your final destination. As you can imagine, it’s popular with the Greek Islands, but it can be used for all sorts of destinations.

If you’re not seeing any flight deals to Costa Rica, try looking for cheap flights to Miami instead. From there, look for a short, budget flight to Costa Rica. Additionally, if your final destination is a smaller airport in Costa Rica, like Nosara Beach, it may be a lot cheaper to book a ticket to San Jose and then book a cheap domestic flight (or take a car or bus) to get to your utlimate destination.

We see great deals from all sorts of airports every day, not only big airports like you might expect. If flights from your home airport are expensive, try searching alternative departure airports. If you live in Baton Rouge, for example, you’re probably used to looking for flights out of New Orleans. But what about Houston? Sure, it’s a 4-hour drive, but if you see a fare like a $125 roundtrip deal to Costa Rica, it could be worth it.

December–April is the busiest time to travel to Costa Rica, but the temperatures don’t fluctuate that much, and from June-August you can find amazing deals. It’s rainy season, but the temperatures are warm and the rain usually only lasts for a couple of hours in the afternoon, the perfect time to nap after a long morning of hiking in the rainforest.

Shoulder season, the period between high and low season, is also a great time to travel. For most of Costa Rica that’s October and November, or late April through May. If you’re set on a warm weather escape in February, there are still ways to find deals if you can be flexible. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays are usually the least expensive days to fly, for example. And if you can avoid traveling on Fridays or Sundays, the most expensive days to fly, you’ll likely find a cheaper flight.

Take it from us: Tracking fluctuating airfare is hard work! Luckily, technology can take the work off your hands. Set a fare alert for your Mexico itinerary, and you’ll get emails when fares drop into your price range or by a significant amount. If your dates are flexible, set a few alerts. And if you live near or can get to more than one airport, set alerts for all of them. Or, sign up for Going and we’ll monitor all flights from your home airport(s) and let you know when we find the best deals. Take these steps ahead of the Goldilocks Window we talked about to make sure you’re getting the best deals.

San Jose and Liberia are both well-served from the US, with more than a dozen cities offering direct flights to each. If you live on the East Coast, near Chicago, near Austin or Dallas, or near San Francisco or LA, you can likely reach Costa Rica directly. Elsewhere in the country, you can reach Costa Rica with just one stop.