Getting Here
It takes between 3 and 7 hours to fly to Costa Rica from most U.S. cities, and as Costa Rica becomes more popular with North American travelers, more flights are available into San José's Juan Santamaria International Airport. In addition, Delta, American, U.S. Airways, United, and Continental all have regular nonstop commercial flights to the International Airport in Liberia from their hubs in Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston, respectively. Liberia is the gateway to the beaches of the Guanacaste region and the Nicoya Peninsula, and a direct flight here eliminates the need for a separate commuter flight in a small aircraft or roughly 5 hours in a car or bus.The Major Airlines--There are numerous airlines flying into Costa Rica. Be warned that the smaller Latin American carriers tend to make several stops (sometimes unscheduled) en route to San José, thus increasing flying time.
The following airlines currently serve Costa Rica from the United States, using the gateway cities listed. American Airlines (tel. 1-800-433-7300 in the U.S. and Canada or tel. 248-9010 in Costa Rica; www.aa.com) has daily flights from Los Angeles, Miami, JFK in New York, and Dallas-Fort Worth. America West (tel. 1-800-363-2957; www.americawest.com) has one daily direct flight from Phoenix. Continental (tel. 1-800-525-0280; www.continental.com) offers flights daily from Houston and Newark. Delta (tel. 1-800-241-4141; www.delta.com) offers two daily flights from Atlanta. Mexicana (tel. 1-800-531-7921; www.mexicana.com) offers flights from numerous North American cities, most connecting through the hub in Mexico City. United Airlines (tel. 1-800-538-2929; www.united.com) has daily flights direct from Washington, D.C., and from Los Angeles, and biweekly flights from Chicago O'Hare to Liberia. US Airways (tel. 1-800-622-1015; www.usairways.com) has direct flights from Charlotte. Grupo Taca (tel. 1-800-535-8780; www.grupotaca.com) is a conglomeration of the Central American airlines, with direct flights or connections to and from Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, New Orleans, New York, Miami, and Washington. Spirit Airlines flies from Ft. Lauderdale to San Jose, www.spiritair.com, Phone 1-800-772-7117, from Miami and Orlando, Martinair www.martinair.com 1-800-627-8462, and from Denver and Midwest, Frontier Airlines, www.frontierairlines.com, 1-800-432-1359.
