After our first local flight from Tamarindo to San Jose, the idea of driving 5 hours one way makes my shoulders slump in despair. It’s a lot of time in the car to travel 258 kilometers (160 miles)!
Flying is a great way to get around Costa Rica if budget is not a huge factor for your trip. You save a ton of time, get incredible views and it is quite an experience! So if you’re visiting for a short trip, definitely consider flying to your destinations.
You can read about our experience flying from San Jose to Quepos airport (Manuel Antonio) below.
Flight Time
The flight from San Jose to Quepos is 17 minutes. Driving time is around 3 hours so this saves a whole lot of time. Since we had passengers on our flight who were going to Drake Bay and Puerto Jimenez, the route wasn’t direct from San Jose to Quepos.
We went San Jose –> Puerto Jimenez –> Drake Bay –> Quepos. It actually worked out for us because we got to see the whole Osa Peninsula and South Pacific coast from the air!
Because we had to make two extra stops, the entire flight took roughly 1.5 hours since they had to land, deplane, board and take off. However, it didn’t take longer than 10 minutes at each airport so we weren’t waiting around very long.
Here are some of the photos from the flights. This route of the South Pacific and Osa Peninsula has some gorgeous views of the coastline and jungle!
San Jose to Puerto Jimenez
This flight takes about 45 minutes. We flew in September so we couldn’t get a clear view the entire time but we did get to see a lot. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining (September is one of the rainiest months) but it was pretty cloudy.
Puerto Jimenez to Drake Bay
This flight took about 15-20 minutes and we crossed the entire Osa Peninsula, just north of Corcovado National Park. Unfortunately it was cloudy for most of our flight but we did get to see some of the rain forest.
Something to note about the Drake Bay airport is that it’s seriously in the middle of the jungle and since it had been raining so hard, the rivers were extremely full. In fact, there was a huge river right next to the airstrip!
Drake Bay to Quepos
This leg of the flight was my favorite because you go up the coastline the entire time. If the time is right, you can even get a view of the whale’s tail at Marino Ballena National Park!
Many of the beaches you see during this flight are not accessible by car or foot, only by boat so you can really see how untouched this part of Costa Rica is with miles of beaches completely undisturbed.
Landing in Quepos
We landed in Quepos Airport, which is 5 minutes driving from Manuel Antonio. There is an extra $5 fee USD each passenger has to pay to the airport once you land (and you pay this if you’re flying out of the airport too).
Once you get to Quepos, you pick up your rent a car (companies can deliver the car to the airport) when you arrive or take a taxi to your hotel. So you can skip driving the long, bumpy routes and enjoy the short scenic drives in Costa Rica!
Plan Your Trip to Manuel Antonio
Below you can find our posts about Quepos and Manuel Antonio to help you plan your trip.
Things to do in Manuel Antonio with kids
Things to do in Manuel Antonio
Also check out our Manuel Antonio and Quepos tours discount to save some money on excursions.
Erin says
Hi, Looking to book a flight from Quepos to SJO to connect with an international departure in mid-October. How much time do you recommend to allow in between flights? How reliable are the flights leaving Quepos in your experience?
Sammi says
You should be at the airport for your international flight at least 2-3 hours before, so whichever schedule allows you to do that. Do note October is our rainiest month despite that its a drier rainy season this year, a tropical wave or storm could still pass through and cause delays/cancellations so it is best to choose the domestic departure with enough time as possible or the day before. Contact the domestic airline in case you see weather warnings and see what their policy is
Vanessa Tawil says
Hi
I was wondering how small of a plane it is from quepos to San Jose and it seems like there are direct flights yes?
Sammi says
They use Cessna Grand Caravans which has up to 14 seats
Kendall says
I would caution those wanting to fly from San José to Quepos to allow a LOT of time between your international flight and your Quepos departure. I thought 1 hour 45 minutes would be enough, but even with being allowed to “cut the line” a bit in immigration, we missed our flight. With no options other than standby (which we tried, but couldn’t get on) or stay overnight in San José, we had to eat the cost of the tickets. Luckily, Adobe had a car in San José and we drove. Planning for a smoother return tomorrow!
Sammi says
hi Kendall, thank you for your feedback and I hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Costa Rica and hope everything goes smoothly.
Sammi says
Hi Emily, Nature Air is not operating anymore.
Emily Flippin Maruna says
Inspired by your post, I started looking for a flight from San Jose to Quepos through Nature Air and couldn’t find any no matter what dates I put in. Do they still do this flight? TIA