Round-trip flights to Costa Rica from multiple U.S. cities, starting at $296
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
With Labor Day unofficially heralding the end of summer, you may be dreading the cold weather. Or, maybe you've now started contemplating your next big summer trip.
Rather than enduring chilly temperatures or putting off the trip planning for the next summer, you can book a flight to Costa Rica now, with round-trip fares from multiple U.S. cities starting at $296.
Fly to Costa Rica's capital, San Jose, and visit the city's historic cathedrals and theaters. You can also fly to Liberia, Costa Rica, to tour the rainforests and hot springs.
The deal is only for basic economy fares and is available for the next one to two days. The travel dates are in October and extend through the winter and summer.
Deal basics
Airlines: American Airlines, Avianca, Delta Airlines, JetBlue and Copa Airlines.
Routes: Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, Austin, Washington, D.C., Boston, New Orleans, Baltimore and many cities across the U.S. have routes to the San Jose International Airport (SJO) and Liberia International Airport (LIR).
How to book: Find your best availability through Google Flights, then book directly through the airline.
Travel dates: Some availability in October, but mostly from January 2023 through July 2023.
Book by: Within the next two days.
Scott's Cheap Flights bookmarked this deal. You can sign up for the site's Premium membership, which costs $49 a year with a 14-day free trial and has discounts of up to 90%. Upgrade to Elite Tier membership for $199 a year to receive Premium deals and premium economy, business-class and first-class deals.
Sample flights
This deal has many options with a variety of price points — all are still significant discounts, though. Of the many cities offering flights to Costa Rica, flights from Austin to San Jose and flights from Washington, D.C. to Liberia, Costa Rica were the cheapest. The majority of these flights also include a layover.
These are a few notable flights to San Jose and Liberia, Costa Rica:
- American: To San Jose, departing from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), starting at $296.
- Delta: To Liberia, departing from Ronald Reagan Washington International Airport (DCA), starting at $299.
- Delta: To Liberia, departing from Dulles International Airport (IAD), starting at $299.
- American: To Liberia, departing from LaGuardia Airport (LGA), starting at $324.
- American: To San Jose, departing from Philadelphia International Airport, starting at $336.
- American: To San Jose, departing from Newark Liberty International Airport, starting at $339.
- American: To San Jose, departing from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), starting at $344.
When planning your trip to Costa Rica, use Google Flights to determine availability and then book directly through the airline. If there's a flight cancellation, delay or booking change, airlines tend to be more dependable than third-party options.
Also, keep in mind that prices on Google Flights may differ compared to those advertised on airlines' websites because of third-party booking sites.
A flight from June 28-July 5, 2023 to San Jose from Philadelphia comes out to exactly $335.40 when booking directly with American Airlines.
The fares are only for basic economy — American's basic economy option makes you pay to select a seat and check bags. Passengers in basic economy are also the last to board.
To select a seat under basic economy, American Airlines can charge anywhere between $9 and $84. The more expensive seats tend to have more legroom and are toward the front of the aircraft.
You have the option to select four seats since there's a layover in Miami both to and back from San Jose.
We highly recommend you act fast on this deal because, at the time of publication, a $336 fare to Costa Rica from Philadelphia was available from June 28-July 3, 2023, but the dates and discounts changed only moments later.
Maximize your purchase
When booking your flights, use a card that earns bonus points on airfare purchases, like The Platinum Card® from American Express (5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), Citi Prestige® Card (5 points per dollar on airfare), Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees), 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 the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2 points per dollar on travel). Check out this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.
The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom line
With this deal, you can already start making plans for that winter or summer trip you've been wanting to take in 2023. Or, you can book a quick getaway in the fall to soak up Costa Rica's warmer temperatures and beaches fringed with towering palm trees by clear blue seas.
Since you can choose from 59 U.S. cities, this deal is fairly flexible. However, there is a lot of variation in the discounts and dates available, so be sure to book your trip to Costa Rica within the next couple of days.