10 Secrets to Booking Cheap Airfare to Costa Rica

Costa Rica is fast gaining a reputation as a tropical paradise, a playground for nature enthusiasts, ocean lovers and spring breakers from all over the world.  In fact, more than 20 million people visit this little Central American nation without an army every year.  Even the national saying, “Pura vida,” or, “Pure life,” expresses the attitude of this sunny, happy place where coastal towns have more surf boards than cars.

A vacation to Costa Rica is always time well spent, but airfare can be one of the biggest expenses of your trip.  The good news is that it only takes 3 to 5 hours to fly to Costa Rica from almost anywhere in the U.S., and many flights are direct, so with a little bit of searching and know-how, you can find an inexpensive flight and be on your way.

Here are 10 secrets to finding cheap airfare to Costa Rica:

1. Reverse searches:
If you are flexible with which days you can travel, a lot of cheaper airfares may open up for you. There are several travel search engines that will allow you to search by destination without putting in a hard date.

Adioso.com
Flexible searches based on dates, locations, and connections.
 
AirfareWatchdog.com
You can see the top 50 fares for different destinations.

Kayak.com
Search where you can go anywhere in the world based on  certain budget, continent, or even what activities once you get there.

2. Travel off-season.
Costa Rica, like many countries in tropical climates, doesn’t have set winters and summers like up north. Instead, they have a dry season from approximately late November through April, and a rainy season from May to November. If you don’t mind some clouds and a little rain mixed in with sunshine, it can actually be cooler (but still plenty warm) and far less crowded, meaning cheaper flights, hotels, etc. I actually love traveling during the rainy season, but watch out for October, where it can rain all day every day!

3. Search flights into different airports.
Costa Rica is a small country with both a Pacific and Caribbean coast for vacationers, and there are a couple of airports to fly into. 

The biggest international airport is San José's Juan Santamaría International Airport  (airport code: SJO). San José is the main city, and a central hub if you want to hit the beach in Manuel Antonio or Jaco, the Central Pacific coast, Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast, or the Southern zone closer to Panama.

A few years ago the small city of Liberia in Guanacaste Province undertook a huge expanision for the Daniel Oduber International Airport (airport code: LIR), and this shiny international gateway now offers a world of convenience for those flying into the northern Nicoya Peninsula, to places like Tamarindo and Play Coco. In the old days everyone had to fly into San Jose and take a puddle-jumper to Liberia, or endure a hot, sweaty bus ride through the mountains. With direct flights to Liberia from New York, Miami, Houston only taking 2-3 hours, you can literally escape to the beach in Costa Rica for a long weekend!

You can even search for cheap flights to Managua airport, at the capitol of Nicaragua to the north, and spend a few days in charming Granada and sunny San Juan del Sur before easily taking a safe, inexpensive tourist bus across the border south into Costa Rica.  

4. Let your search engines do the work.
There are some great internet search sites out there who will do all of the work for you. Even better, register a search to a certain destination or below a certain price and they will give you automatic email alerts.  I like:

CheapOAir.com

Kayak.com

FareCompare.com

BudgetAir.com

5. Know your airlines.
Search engines are great, but also search directly on the airlines’ websites. They often offer private deals or promotions that the search engines can’t access. Increasingly they are running cheap deals on social media sites like Facebook, so it’s worth it to Like their page and check in.  But act fast – these promotions sometimes only last a day or even a few hours!

These are airlines flying direct to Costa Rican airports, from U.S. or international destinations:  

American  (Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami)

Air Berlin (Dusseldorf)

Air Canada (Toronto)

Continental (merging with United) (Newark, Houston)

Delta (Atlanta, Minnesota/St. Paul, and Los Angeles (seasonal))

Frontier (Denver)

Iberia (Madrid)

JetBlue (New York, Orlando)

Spirit Air (Ft. Lauderdale)

Thomson (London)

United (Chicago, Newark, Houston)

US Airways (Charlotte, North Carolina)

These are some other airlines flying to Costa Rica that may have cheap fares:

Copa

Aeromexico

Avianca

WestJet

Condor

TACA

---

6. Timing is everything.

The best time to search for tickets.

Did you know there are up to 10 different ticket prices on the same flight? So how do you get one of the cheap seats? Timing is everything.

Airlines release their new weekly fares on Mondays, so at Tuesday by 3 pm their competitors have released their deals, making it the exact time to search.  

Studies show that the cheapest time to book is 49 days before your departure, or 81 days ahead of time for international flights. Interestingly, flights booked 200 days or more in advance are more expensive, and last minute flights may be cheaper, but the seat availability is extremely limited.

If you are flying during the holidays, start searching 10 weeks ahead of time. If you’re headed to a non-vacation destination, shop on a weekend - it will save you 5%.

The best time to fly.

The majority of air travelers want to fly on a Friday or Sunday, so you’ll find the best deals available for flights on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday.  

Flights at the crack of dawn, at dinnertime, or red-eye flights over night are cheapest.  

7. Get social.
Almost every airline has a social media page, at least on Facebook and Twitter these days, and often release specials and limited time deals that aren't publicized elsewhere. Like or follow a few airlines ahead of time so you can track their updates. Don't be afraid to reach out to them via social media and ask questions, turning yourself into a perfect social media marketing tool!  

Here is an example of JetBlue's social media presence on Facebook and Twitter.

8. Book a package deal

Booking a package usually drops your airfare into the leisure travel category, saving you money. Arranging a ticket for your hotel, rental car, and airfare together may give you access to lower prices on internet search engines, and travel agents can be helpful when it comes to these bargains. 

Contact any organizations, like AAA, AARP, unions, or Veterans groups that you belong to because they may be able to get you a discount.

9. Frequent flyer miles and points:
Always register to earn frequent flyer miles and keep track. Confirm with the booking agent and at the check-in counter to make sure they credited you your miles, and once you get home check to make sure they were registered.

Use a credit card that offers award points of frequent flyer miles. Some of them are great but only give you miles on one airline. I have a Chase Sapphire card that allows me to accumulate points for all flights, hotels, rental cars, or even restaurant meals. I run all of my bills through it but pay it off every month, and the result is that I get at least two free flights every year.

10. Two important questions to ask the airlines:
When booking a flight, ask about their luggage policy. Slightly cheaper tickets for your family does no good if you are paying $50 each for baggage. According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, airlines make over $3 billion in baggage fees alone every year!

After you book your flight, call back the next day, within 24 hours, to check if the fare went lower. Most airlines have a policy where you could cancel and re-book for the lower fare within 24 hours without penalty.  

***

If you want 3 more great tips how to save you money on your vacation to Costa Rica, email me and I’ll  be happy to share those with you.  

-Norm :-)

---

If you want to read more about Costa Rica as a vacation destination, check out these articles:

30 FUN Facts About Costa Rica.

25 CRAZY Facts About Costa Rica.

The 3 Great Costa Rican Lies.

---

Or read South of Normal, the Amazon.com best-selling, controversial insiders look at an expat living in Costa Rica. 

Warning: It's not for the feint of heart! 

For a video preview, click here.

Read South of Normal, the Amazon.com best-selling, controversial insiders look at an expat living in Costa Rica. 

Warning: It's not for the feint of heart! 

For a video preview, click here.

---

If you want to read more about Costa Rica as a vacation destination, check out these articles:

30 FUN Facts About Costa Rica.

25 CRAZY Facts About Costa Rica.

The 3 Great Costa Rican Lies.