Tips for Flying From Seattle to Costa Rica: Best Itineraries and Cheap Airline Tickets

I grew up in Washington state so when I began visiting Costa Rica, SeaTac was the airport I flew out of. SeaTac is a big airport but unfortunately not a hub to Central America. It’s a great option to Asia or Hawaii but flying to C. America is not so straightforward because there aren’t any direct flights.

The one good thing is that there are many different ways to fly from Seattle to Costa Rica but it does take a lot of research to find a good flight at an awesome price. If you’re lucky and are consistently checking, you can snag one for a good price with a fair layover.

*All prices are in USD. There are affiliate links in this post.*

LIR or SJO airport?

Costa Rica has 2 international airports: San Jose International Airport (SJO airport code) and Guanacaste Airport (LIR airport code). SJO is located in the Alajuela province, about 30 minutes outside San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica. LIR is in Liberia, the capital city of the Guanacaste province. To find out which airport you should fly into, check our Costa Rica airports guide.

The first time I flew by from Seattle to SJO, Costa Rica was in December 2010 and it was one of the worst itineraries I’ve ever booked. I was new to traveling on my own, on a tighter budget as a college student and back then, there weren’t very many good options. I paid a little under $1000 USD for an itinerary that had a 24 hour layover in Dallas. Luckily, I have family in Dallas so I used that time to hang out with my cousin but for an itinerary with a crazy long layover, it was SO expensive. The itineraries with a shorter layover were over $1500 USD!

When it comes to prices, flying from Seattle to Costa Rica used to be a lot more expensive. Back in 2012 when I first moved to Costa Rica, tickets from Seattle to Guanacaste Airport were about $200-300 more expensive than flying into San Jose International Airport because there weren’t as many flights.

Now, prices are about the same for both airports since there are more flights to Guanacaste Airport. Sometimes SJO Airport is still cheaper but definitely check both airports to compare prices.

The key is the time of year you fly. Many dates are way more expensive than others so if you can, be flexible. Usually the most expensive dates are Christmas, New Years, February, March, April and July.

Best Itineraries for Flying from Seattle to Costa Rica

Flying from Seattle to Costa Rica requires one layover since there are no direct flights. I’ve had layovers all throughout the country and here are the best itineraries I’ve been on.

You can fly to both SJO and LIR Airports from Seattle. The main US airlines: Delta, American, and United have multiple flights going to both everyday throughout the year. Other airlines like Jetblue, Southwest, Alaska Air, Frontier and Spirit also have flights but not everyday 365 days a year. Some airlines only fly from specific destinations on certain days of the week and certain months of the year.

**Update!! Starting on December 21, 2024, Alaska Air will now operate a flight from Seattle to Liberia! It ends in May so they will only have this option during the high tourism season but it’s the very first direct flight from Seattle to Costa Rica! ONLY Guanacaste Airport.**

Seattle –> Houston –> Liberia Airport

You have to fly with United Airlines for this itinerary since their hub is in Houston. United has multiple flights from Houston to LIR (vice versa) every day.

Seattle to Houston is about a 4.5-5 hour flight and Houston to Liberia is about 3.5 hours as well so flight times are not too bad at all. If you get an itinerary with a 2 hour layover, you’re looking at a 10 hour travel day which is excellent. 2 hours will be enough time to get through immigration, customs and security and grab a bite to eat. 1 hour will be too tight.

This itinerary is the best in terms of flying time. United also has multiple flights to Houston everyday, even in the low season and they are fairly reasonably priced. I have bough tickets from LIR – SEA one way for $300 USD before.

Seattle –> LAX –> Liberia or San Jose

Alaska Air runs this itinerary and I’ve flown this route dozens of times to/from both LIR and SJO. As mentioned earlier, Alaska Air, starting on December 21, 2024, will operate a direct flight from Seattle, landing at Guanacaste Airport through May. This will be the only direct flight from Seattle to Costa Rica.

Seattle to Los Angeles is around 3 hours and LAX to Costa Rica is about 5 so it is a tad longer than flying into Houston. However, I love Alaska Airlines! They provide great service and itineraries. I also love that at LAX, you get out and depart from the same terminal. Sometimes my gates will be right next to each other, sometimes it’s even the same one. So you don’t have to spend time running to another terminal if your layover is a bit short. I found that 2 hours is the perfect amount of time for a layover to get through immigration, customs, security and get food.

Delta sometimes flies the same itinerary and offers very competitive rates for SEA – LAX – LIR/SJO. They opened it during the high season so I don’t believe it’s year round.

If your airport is an Alaska Air hub like SEA, PDX or ANC, I highly recommend the Alaska Air credit card. You get a free check in and you can earn points to use on their airline and partners. They also give you the annual companion fare which is awesome. Buy a ticket on Alaska Air and get a second companion fare for taxes and fees, once a year.

Seattle –> Dallas –> San Jose

American Airlines has a lot of flights from Dallas to SJO and I used to fly this exact itinerary quite often back in 2010-2012. Seattle to Dallas is around 4 hours and Dallas to Costa Rica is around 4 hours so it’s a very comfortable flight. Many times, layovers are either 1.5 hours – 3 hours.

Some Other Itineraries

I have also flown from Seattle to Miami, Miami to Costa Rica. This isn’t my preferred itinerary at all. Seattle to Miami is about 6 hours, Miami to Costa Rica is 3. I’d much rather fly 3.5 hours to Houston! This itinerary is usually with American Airlines.

I’ve also flown Seattle to Atlanta, Atlanta to Costa Rica with Delta. This is a no-go for me too as this was also very long. (5.5 hours first leg, 3.5 hours second leg) but sometimes I can find really good prices for this itinerary.

Prices

Back in 2010, I paid almost $1000 for a ticket over the Christmas holiday flying into San Jose with American Airlines. This itinerary had a 24 hour stopover in Dallas. If I wanted one with a shorter layover, like 2-3 hours, the price was over $1500 USD. In 2016, I paid a little over $400 flying from LIR airport with Delta in the beginning of December. So you can see it really does depend on when you fly and when you buy your ticket.

The time of year like I mentioned earlier is key to finding cheap airline tickets. The beginning of December was relatively cheap but travel past the 21st, it jumps up incredibly. Beginning of January after the New Year holiday sees cheaper prices, sometimes you can find really good deals for those couple weeks after the New Year.

If you are really on a budget, choose basic economy and pack light, you can save even more money on flights.

Now in 2024, flight prices are I guess you can say, “normal” now after COVID. I’ve been able to find more reasonably priced flights to Costa Rica since so many more airlines have these routes. Average prices for flights from Seattle to Costa Rica are around $700 USD but as mentioned, this can vary a lot depending on the time of year you’re visiting and when you buy your tickets. I’ve had to buy last minute tickets on Alaska Air for almost $900 when I had to go back for a family emergency.

Do Your Research

Thanks to new flights opening up, flying from Seattle to Costa Rica is not too bad.

I always use Google Flights as they have a calendar where you can see the prices and I sign up to their alerts. Also check how much it’d be to buy separate 1 way tickets instead of round trip, ours were cheaper buying separate in December.

We always suggest signing up for subscription flight finder websites like Going or Dollar Flight Club. They find error fares, cheap flights and extra promos which is really awesome if you have your eye on one destination or if you’re flexible in dates.

Lastly, get a travel credit card and start saving up your points for reward travel. I especially recommend this if you’re traveling with your family as buying multiple flight tickets alone is a huge chunk of money. I have the Alaska Air credit card and the Chase Sapphire for reward travel. There are some great bloggers and Youtubers who provide fantastic advice on travel hacking.

More tips for traveling to Costa Rica

Best time to visit Costa Rica

Tips for saving money in Costa Rica

Entry requirements for Costa Rica

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