Finding out which of the two international airports in Costa Rica into is the first step in planning your Costa Rica trip.
In this guide, you will learn about the two main international Costa Rica airports and which international airport in Costa Rica you should fly into.
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Costa Rica International Airports
The main international airports in Costa Rica are Juan Santamaría International Airport (also known as San Jose International Airport) and Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (also known as Guanacaste Airport, formerly named Liberia International Airport).
The airport code for Juan Santamaría International Airport is SJO. The airport code for Guanacaste Airport is LIR.
Costa Rica’s airports, LIR and SJO are 210 km (130 miles) apart.
Which of the two Costa Rica International Airports to fly into?
We get this question a lot. Which Costa Rica airport is best to fly into?
Of the two international Costa Rica airports, which one you fly into will depend on mainly your itinerary and a couple of other factors. Here is what you need to know about Costa Rica airports.
San Jose International Airport (Juan Santamaria International Airport)
Juan Santamaria International Airport is the biggest and busiest airport in Costa Rica with the most gates and international flights. The airport code is SJO.
Juan Santamaría International Airport is actually not in the capital city of San Jose. This airport is in the Alajuela province, about a 30 minute drive to downtown San Jose.
The San Jose domestic airport servicing Costa Rica’s domestic airlines is right next to the international airport.
You should fly into Juan Santamaría Airport if you are going to the Caribbean, Central Valley Region, Central and South Pacific, Osa Peninsula, North Zone and South Zone
Juan Santamaría International Airport is the closest airport to many destinations and natural attractions in Costa Rica.
These are places such as Puerto Viejo, Tortuguero, Sarapiqui, Jaco, Manuel Antonio, Grecia, San Ramon, Cartago, Turrialba, Uvita, Dominical, San Vito, La Paz, Bajos del Toro, San Gerardo de Dota, Puntarenas, San Isidro de Perez Zeledon, Drake Bay and Osa Peninsula.
Major Airlines That Offer Flights to Juan Santamaría International Airport
Major airlines have direct flights to Costa Rica such as American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta, United Airlines, Jet Blue, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Aeromexico, Volaris, Arajet, Air France, Air Canada, Avianca, British Airways, Condor, Copa Airlines, Edelweiss, Iberojet, Iberia, Latam, KLM, Southwest Airlines, Lufthansa and Wingo.
You can find direct flights from North America, Latin America (Central America and South America) and Europe from countries such as United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Spain, England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Guatemala.
What to know about flying into Juan Santamaría International Airport
- Flights to Costa Rica to Juan Santamaría International Airport can be a bit cheaper than Guanacaste Airport. Make sure to check both international airports in Costa Rica when looking for flights to Costa Rica to comparison shop.
- Taxis and Ubers are available.
- For Uber, you will need to either walk down to the main road or meet your Uber at departures if you are calling from an arrival.
- For car rentals, you will take a shuttle to the car rental agency’s office to pick up the car.
- Private shuttle drivers will wait for you directly outside the exit terminal.
- For shared shuttles, you will need to taxi to the Denny’s Restaurant or Rostipollos restaurant down the street for pick up.
- To catch the bus, walk down to the main street and you will see the bus stop.
- Due to all the mountains, flying into San Jose generally has intense turbulence when landing.
- There are a ton of airport hotels by San Jose International Airport with free airport shuttle.
- The traffic in San Jose is very bad and driving is not as easy as Guanacaste Airport. If you’re planning to rent a car, drive carefully and be prepared for traffic if landing at rush hour or during the popular holidays like Christmas, New Years and Easter.
- Immigration and customs in Juan Santamaría International Airport takes much longer than Liberia. Many flights land at the same time, especially on the weekends. Have patience when waiting in line for immigration.
- Best to arrive 3 hours early to San Jose Airport for departures.
- This airport has a VIP lounge for Star Alliance VIP Passengers and a VIP Lounge for BAC Credomatic American Express, Mastercard or visa cardholders.
San Jose Domestic Terminal
Next to the international airport is the domestic terminal. This other airport is ONLY for domestic flights, with the main two domestic airlines: Green, Carmonair Charter and Sansa Air.
They receive flights to and from destinations in Costa Rica such as La Fortuna, Quepos, Drake Bay, Golfito, Tamarindo, Puerto Jimenez, etc.
It is possible to land at Juan Santamaría International Airport and take a connecting flight to your final destination via a domestic flight.
Make sure to check domestic airlines schedules that you have a long enough layover to go through immigration and customs at the international airport and then check into the domestic airport.
For domestic flights, you need to arrive at the terminal 1 hour before departure.
Guanacaste Airport
Guanacaste Airport is the second of the two international airports in Costa Rica although it is not as big. It is about a 15 minute drive from Liberia, the capital city of Guanacaste and offers easy access to the beaches on the Northern Pacific coast .
The Guanacaste Airport is the hub for Guanacaste, Nicoya Peninsula and Northern Lowlands.
Both of Costa Rica’s airports are constantly undergoing renovations and expansions to accommodate more and more tourists every year.
You should fly into Guanacaste Airport if you are going to Gulf of Papagayo, Conchal, Tamarindo, Langosta, Flamingo, Brasilito, Las Catalinas, Avellanas, Grande, Negra, Playas del Coco, Ocotal, Hermosa, Panama, La Cruz, Curubande, Santa Teresa, Dreams Las Mareas, Bijagua, Liberia, Tilaran, Nuevo Arenal, Samara, Ostional, Junquillal, Punta Islita, Nicoya or Nosara.
Airlines Flying into Guanacaste Airport
Airlines that offer flights to Guanacaste Airport are American Airlines, Air Canada, Air Transat, Alaska Airlines, Copa Airlines, Delta, Edelweiss, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, Sunwing, Tui, United Airlines and Westjet.
You can find direct flights from North America (USA and Canada), Latin America and Europe.
What to know about flying into Guanacaste Airport (Liberia International Airport)
- There are not many airport hotels around. The Hilton Guanacaste Airport Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton Guanacaste Airport are the two hotels, just a 2 minute drive away with a free airport shuttle.
- The closest beach town (Playas del Coco) is only a 25 minute drive away
- Liberia does not have a separate terminal for domestic flights. They depart from the same international terminal.
- For those renting a car at Guanacaste Airport, you will take the agency’s shuttle to their office to pick up the car.
- Private shuttles will wait right outside the airport exit terminal.
- Shared shuttles need to taxi to the Hilton Garden Inn Guanacaste Airport down the street.
- For the public bus, it will depend on which bus you are taking. There is a bus stop right outside the airport for some routes like Tamarindo and Nosara.
- For other routes that don’t pass by the airport, you will need to walk around 30 minutes to the main road to the bus stop.
- Recommended to arrive 2-3 hours before departure.
You Can Fly to Either Airports for These Destinations
Since the travel time between the two is about the same from both San Jose and Liberia, you can fly into either international airport for these destinations. You can pick the airport and itinerary that works best for you.
I personally recommend to fly into Guanacaste because it’s much easier to drive from there than San Jose. But if you fly into San Jose, you can take the Puntarenas Paquera ferry over to Paquera/Tambor/Montezuma/Santa Teresa.
Best Flight Deals to Costa Rica
Here is our guide to finding cheap flights to Costa Rica. Below are some quick tips.
Get a travel credit card and learn how to utilize it to pay for flights and hotels with points. I am no expert in this but I have the Chase Sapphire credit card that gets a lot of points when I use it to spend on food, gas, etc.
Avoid visiting during peak travel times such as Christmas, New Years, Easter Week and summer vacation. Pick travel dates during low season such as May, June, September and October. This is a great tip for saving money when traveling to Costa Rica.
Sign up for flight deal subscriptions such as Going or Dollar Flight Club. They alert you to flight deals, last minute deals and cheap flights.
Put a Google Alert for your desired flight on Google Flights. That way you can know immediately when the price has dropped.
Try to be flexible. Sometimes just leaving one day earlier or arriving one day later can save you a ton of money!
Costa Rica Vacation Checklist
- First time to Costa Rica? Read our First Time in Costa Rica guide.
- Not sure how to move around Costa Rica? Read our How to Get Around Costa Rica guide to find the best transportation method for you.
- Click the link to get our detailed Costa Rica Packing List so you know what essential items to bring.
- Check our Costa Rica destinations map and Costa Rica restaurant map
- Do not forget to purchase Travel Insurance for your trip to Costa Rica.
- Stay connected by purchasing a prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica. Get 10% off your Airalo eSIM package with our promo code “mytanfeet”
- Save money with Mytanfeet Deals for tours and hotels and our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount.
Jemma says
Hi Sammi,
Thank you so much for such an informative blogpost! I have a question about AC in Liberia Airport as I am a bit sensitive to heat. You mentioned that there is no AC in the airport baggage claim area – what about the rest of the airport, is there AC everywhere else? Or is there only AC in the immigration/custom area? Thank you very much!
Sammi says
There is AC inside the airports at the gates and immigration area, no ac in the main airport terminal (they only have huge fans) where you check in or the baggage claim. The times when we flew out during the busiest and hottest part of the of day at noon when the airport was full, even with the ac, it didn’t feel very cool inside the airport terminal at the departure gates, because there were so many people.
Pamela says
Hi, we are going to fly a Hermosa north of Santa Teresa. We have always used SJO but are very interested in trying the Liberia airport. Our car rentals the same price from either place? Is the road reasonable from that airport down and around over to Santa Teresa? Thank you very much.
Sammi says
Hi Pamela, it’ll be a bit easier to drive from LIR Airport to Santa Teresa as it’s shorter and there normally isn’t very much traffic, you may run into some getting out of the airport but that’ll be about it. As long as you drive around the peninsula, the road is fine but a high clearance is recommended.
Haidee says
Good day!
If we plan to stay at La Fortuna, which would be the closest airport?
Thank you!
Sammi says
Either international airport is roughly the same, about 3 hours.
REV. DR. FLOYD W JOHNSON JR ThD. says
What airport is the closest to Herradura?
Sammi says
The Juan Santa Maria international airport (airport code SJO)
Patty says
What airport should we fly into if we are staying at the playa Hermosa in Costa Rica? And does the playa Hermosa have pick up at the airport for people who are staying at that resort?
Sammi says
Liberia International Airport
Patty says
If we are staying at the playa Hermosa in Costa Rica, how close are we to the rainforest and the volcano? And do they have zip lining in the rainforest
Sammi says
Arenal Volcano is 4 hours away
Toni Rydon says
Hi we have discovered that from the UK it is about £500 cheaper to fly into Liberia. We were originally going to fly to San Jose stay 2 nights onto Arenal Volcano – 4 nights, Monteverde 3 nights and Manuel Antonio 5 nights. Was only planning 2 nights in San Jose as we felt we should explore the capital. Is Manuel Antonio too far from Liberia or is there a similar beach/national park closer to Liberia that we should explore. Many thanks for your time – loving the website has been very helpful so far.
Sammi says
There isn’t anything exactly like Manuel Antonio close to Liberia, it’s a long drive (over 5 hours) so if you have to fly in/out of LIR, leave the day before to stay the night before your flight near the airport
Tara says
First, your site is amazing.
Second, debating between the two airports. Surprisingly, Liberia is much cheaper so looking to fly there instead of SJO. But, had been planning to go to Manuel Antonio, for among other things, to see lots of monkeys. Are there alternative locations to seeing them (in abundance) near Liberia? Thank you!!!
Tara
Sammi says
Yes, La Fortuna is a great place for wildlife (its rainforest and volcano).
Vera says
Thank you for this information!!!
Is it safe to drive from Liberia Airport to the Hilton Garden Inn? My flight arrives at 6:30pm (after dark) and we’re renting a car from Vamos.
Sammi says
Hello Vera, you can see what the drive is like in this post: Driving Guanacaste to Arenal
We do not recommend to drive long routes at night so its best to stay by the airport and then leave early the next morning
Sammi says
There is a estuary at Conchal actually, if you walk all the way down to the Puerto Viejo end of the beach, you will walk past the estuary.
Pami Lally says
are there waterfalls and forests in and close to playa conchal?
Michelle says
Is it best to book transportation from the airport to the hotel, directly with the hotel? Also, how far is the distance between Liberia and The Westin Playa Conchal?
Sammi says
You could check around prices, the distance from Liberia to Westin is around a 1 hour drive and a private shuttle costs around $90-110 one way for 1-6 people generally.