How to Book a Domestic Flight in Costa Rica
Hey there! Thank you so much for checking out my Costa Rica blog series. I don’t have to keep reminding you of the serious crush I have on this country, do I? My last visit to Costa Rica ended with an ungodly amount of content to share. It’s just so darn photogenic everywhere you look!
If you came from one of my previous Costa Rica articles, keep checking back for the next release. Many of you know we live in Asheville, NC. The devastation of Hurricane Helene put my blogs on a major hold for a while. Now I am slowly starting back and anxious to finish. I also have several travel guides in the works to help you plan an incredible trip with a flawless itinerary!!
This diverse country may be small, but covering distance on the ground takes longer than you think due to road conditions and the varied topography. Let’s discuss how to book a domestic flight in Costa Rica—an absolutely BREATHTAKING experience.
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS IN COSTA RICA
There are two international airports in Costa Rica. You must known which one you will fly into before booking domestic flights.
1. Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) of the Alajuela province in the Central Valley Region is the largest. SJO is a convenient 30-minute drive from the capital of San Jose.
There are private shuttles, taxis, a nearby bus stop, and free hotel/airport shuttles available at this airport. The domestic terminal is a separate building but located on the same grounds. It takes less than 5 minutes to walk between the two. Many locals are waiting outside of the airport to assist with transportation. They are friendly and eager to help…for a fee of course. I recommend having arrangements in advance.
It has always been cheaper for us to fly into SJO when traveling from the East Coast of the United States. Another perk is that many hotels are available within close proximity to this airport. Here are the closest hotels to SJO with free airport shuttles.
2. Daniel Oduber International Airport (LIR), often referred to as “Liberia International Airport”, is located in the Northern Pacific region of Guanacaste. Papagayo is only a 30 minute drive from LIR. There are airport shuttles between the only two hotels located near LIR, Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton.
I do not have first-hand information to share about LIR since I have never used this airport. My research suggests arranging a private shuttle or rental car in advance. You can also walk to a nearby bus stop or catch a taxi from LIR. The website linked above provides transportation booking links and additional information.
The domestic terminal is located inside LIR airport.
DOMESTIC AIRLINES IN COSTA RICA
There are two major airline carriers offering domestic flights in Costa Rica, also referred to as “puddle jumpers”.
1. SANSA Airlines is the largest domestic airlines in Costa Rica and the company we used for our flights. You can either book online or call and make flight reservations over the phone.
| SANSA Airlines Flight Destinations |
|---|
| Bocas del Toro‚ Panama – (BOC) |
| Drake Bay – (DRK) |
| Golfito – (GLF) |
| La Fortuna – (FON) |
| Liberia – (LIR) |
| Managua‚ Nicaragua – (MGA) |
| Nosara – (NOB) |
| Puerto Jimenez – (PJM) |
| Puerto Limon – (LIO) |
| Quepos (near Manuel Antonio) – (XQP) |
| San José – (SJO) |
| Tamarindo – (TNO) |
| Tambor – (TMU) |
| Tortuguero – (TTQ) |
When I booked online, my payment was rejected. This seems to be a normal occurrence for their website when accepting foreign payment, so no need to be alarmed. Send an email to reservations@flysansa.com with the reservation number and passenger names. They took my card information via email and completed the final step for me. This may seem sketchy to some, but I am familiar with this process when booking other foreign travels like our seaplane transfer in the Maldives. I personally had no issues.
If paying online or via email is not an option for you, call +(506)2290-4100 for customer service.
I will absolutely fly with SANSA again. They were helpful, caring, and professional. I have a story below involving their customer service when we faced adversity during our travels.
I highly recommend the early morning flight to see the sun rising over the valleys and mountains… it was stunning! We also enjoyed the aerial views of the ocean and the Whale Tail. I have a video posted at the very end of this blog if you would like to see some of the footage. It was like an excursion in itself!
2. Costa Rica Green Airways is a newer and smaller company offering domestic flights in Costa Rica. I have never used Green Airways; therefore, I can’t share firsthand experience with them.
| Green Airways Flight Destinations |
|---|
| Cobano (CO1) – Nicoya Peninsula/Puntarenas Province |
| Nosara (NOB) – Nicoya Peninsula/Guanacaste Province |
| Puerto Jimenez (PJM) – Osa Peninsula/Puntarenas Province |
| Quepos (XQP) – Manuel Antonio/Puntarenas Province |
From SJO airport, Green Airways offers 6 daily flights to Cobano, 2 daily flights to Quepos, and 2 daily flights to Puerto Jimenez.
From LIR airport, Green Airways offers 2 daily flights to Nosara.
LUGGAGE RESTRICTIONS FOR DOMESTIC FLIGHTS
If you plan on taking a domestic flight during any part of your trip in Costa Rica, you really need to be diligent in regard to packing. The airlines strictly adhere to the rules for baggage. The planes are very small with limited storage space, and the weight limit is non-negotiable to ensure a safe flight.
Here is the link for SANSA luggage policy. Some travelers, including myself, find their measurement suggestions to be confusing. I emailed SANSA airlines to verify how they define their measurements. This is the exact response that I received from their costumer service.
“Our allowed measurements for checked luggage are: 45 inches long x 13 inches wide x 26 inches high.”
Here is the link for Green Airways luggage policy. Theirs appears to be is quite different than SANSA, so if anything is unclear, always email for clarification before you risk showing up with luggage that isn’t permitted on the flight.
You will be weighed while holding your luggage at the check-in counter which is customary before boarding a domestic flight in Costa Rica. If your luggage is over the limit, you could either be charged a fee or not allowed to fly depending on the flight’s capacity.
DOMESTIC FLIGHTS SCHEDULING RECOMMENDATION
The recommended time between landing in Costa Rica from an international flight and scheduling your domestic flight is at least 2 hours. This was verified by SANSA customer service. It applies to SJO and LIR airports. You need time to get through customs and immigration before transferring between terminals.
It is recommended arriving to the airport at least 1 hour in advance when arriving to the domestic terminal from a hotel. Our experience getting through the domestic terminal of SJO was a breeze!
There are several hotels with free shuttles to/from SJO airport. We unexpectedly had to stay nearby at The Hilton Cariari DoubleTree San Jose after missing our SANSA flight. It was a perfectly nice hotel offering the convenience of a free airport shuttle. Now, I can attest to the importance of a 2-hour buffer from an international flight!! Read more about this and our experience with SANSA customer service below if interested.
Our American Airlines flight (AA 1209 if any readers experienced this chaos too) was delayed due to a cracked toilet seat… you read that right.
We were just about to taxi when a passenger seated right in front of me asked to quickly use the restroom. He later informed flight crew of a cracked toilet seat which led to us being deplaned, told we would have to take another plane, then re-boarded and waited for over an hour on a new toilet seat to replace it. Who knew it was a biohazard and serious enough to ground a full flight?!
SANSA was pretty great to work with during this situation given it wasn’t their fault we missed a flight with them. I didn’t even waste my energy arguing with American for a refund, they have been so terrible to fly with the last couple of years. On the contrary, SANSA was so helpful and compassionate. They quickly replied to my emails and phone calls to guide me while I was waiting on our delayed airplane.
Our missed connection with SANSA was the last of the day, so we ultimately had to spend the night near the airport. SANSA re-booked us for the earliest flight the following morning at half price. I found that to be more than fair and generous given they were at no fault for our missed connection.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about domestic flights in Costa Rica from my little blog! Remember that I am actively working on a travel guide for Osa Peninsula, lodging in Corcovado National Park, and our repeat road trip across the Pacific Coast.
As always, feel free to email or comment below with any content suggestions, questions, or thoughts!
-Amanda Kendler 💗
Share with a friend if you find this post helpful!
Follow me on Instagram!
Leave a Reply