Whether you’re planning to visit Costa Rica or move there permanently, it’s natural to want to do some research and learn more about Costa Rica and its airports. After all, you have to choose what airport you want to fly into. Welcome! You’re seeking precise information in the right place. I moved to Costa Rica from the U.S. almost a decade ago and have been here ever since, so you’ll be receiving advice straight from a Costa Rican local.
With that being said, many people are confused and conflicted about which airport to choose when traveling to Costa Rica. There are two international airports in Costa Rica. You have the Liberia International Airport (LIR) in the Guanacaste Province, also known as the Daniel Oduber International Airport, and you have the Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO Airport) in the San José Province, also known as the San Jose Airport.
In this article, we cover all you need to know about San Jose’s International Airport. But, don’t worry! We also have an article about Liberia International Airport, where it’s located, and the pros and cons of traveling to the Liberia International Airport compared to traveling to the SJO airport.
San José Airport Costa Rica – Informational Visitor’s Guide
Although there are two international airports in Costa Rica, the Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) is known as the primary airport or main airport as it’s in Costa Rica’s capital city, San José.
P.S.: the official language in Costa Rica is Spanish. However, a good amount of the population knows how to speak or understand English, and USD is accepted as a payment method in most stores. However, not every place accepts a credit card payment, so make sure you double-check whether or not a service will accept a credit card as a payment method.
Juan Santamaría International Airport – Location
The San José airport is in the San José Province, close to Alajuela city. The airport is located 12 miles (20km) west of San José – it’s right outside downtown San José. The «busy season» or «tourist season» annually is usually between the months of December and March.
The biggest pro of the location of the San José airport is that it’s located in central Costa Rica, which makes it a great arrival point if you want to explore or experience San José and all its surrounding cities – Cartago, Limón, Quepos, and Puntarenas.
If you’re heading to or from a remote area and traveling to the Juan Santamaría Airport to fly, you can expect a 45-minute to an hour drive commute depending on the location. Additionally, San José is in central Costa Rica, so it’s a little bit away from the ocean coast. The commute to the nearest beautiful beach city, Playa Jaco in the Puntarenas Province, is around 2 hours. There is even an airport shuttle and public bus that takes you directly from San Jose airport to Playa Jaco. However, Playa Jaco is not only known to be San José city’s closest beach, but it is also the most crowded and most visited. So, if you’re looking to relish in the beautiful beach and mountain nature that Costa Rica has to offer, we do suggest flying to the Liberia International Airport instead of the San José International Airport as the Guanacaste Province has less populated, untouched, and natural beaches.
The San José airport is also a great arrival or departure point if you’re visiting more countries (other than Costa Rica) in South America or Central America. Whether you’re starting your travels in Mexico, then making your way through Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua to Costa Rica, or starting in Costa Rica, then making your way through Panama City to Columbia to any of Latin America’s other countries, the SJO airport is a great touching base in the middle of South America.
SJO International Airport Facilities, Services, and Other Information
Juan Santamaría International Airport has all the expected and necessary facilities and services, like any other airport. To give you some peace of mind about the facilities and services SJO Airport provides, and show you that there’s still plenty to do between flights, we’ve made a quick list of what the airport offers:
Digital Services & Communication
- Public Phones
- Free WiFi
- General Information desk
- Tourist Information desk
- Lost Baggage desk
General Services
- Restaurants and Cafés
- Restrooms
- Duty-Free Stores
- Spa Services
- VIP Lounge Entry
- Medical Services & Pharmacy
- Luggage Wrapping Services
- Mail Drop Services
Transportation
- Car Rental Agencies
- Taxi Services
- Airport Shuttle
- Public Buses
Financial Services
- Money/Currency Exchange Booth (more than 30 currencies)
- ATMs
- A bank that provides banking services
Juan Santamaria Airport is a decent-sized airport so it’s not just an airport where you check-in, drop your bags off at baggage claim, then head to your gate or terminal to fly out. There’s plenty to do. All the services you would need while waiting to catch your flight or waiting out your extended layover are all available at the SJO airport.
The San José airport has a modern look and feel. You have the option to visit a few different shops, restaurants, and fast food places where you can grab a quick snack while you wait for your flight. Costa Rica’s largest coffee producer also has a café named Café Britt in the SJO airport, which you can visit to drink a good cup of coffee and buy souvenirs.
The San José Province – The Home of San José International Airport
San José City
So, you’re visiting Costa Rica and you’re trying to learn more about what international airport to fly to for your travels. The best way to choose what international airport you should fly to is by defining your top travel destinations and wants during your stay in Costa Rica. Do you want to be immersed in the culture of the city with local food and beautiful architecture or do you want to be submerged in Costa Rica’s stunning mountain ranges, national parks, and beaches? A good place for us to start is to tell you a little about the San José city and province!
First and foremost, San José city is the main urban center of Costa Rica and one of the youngest capital cities in Latin America and Central America. It’s the most developed city in the country and is located smack dab in the central part of Costa Rica. The city is surrounded by mountains and volcanos. San José city is known to be a broad mix of historical and modern architectural buildings filled with Costa Rican traditions. Local Costa Ricans know that San José city is a central hub to many touristic areas around the country and the central hub of commerce, art, and architecture in Costa Rica.
Must-See Museums, Attractions, & Activities in San José
Póas Volcano
Although the city of San José isn’t directly near the ocean coast, there are still a ton of fun activities and pleasurable cultural experiences to encounter while perusing the city. If being away from the ocean isn’t a dealbreaker for you, you can still visit a private club or recreational center in the city that has an outdoor pool to satiate the desire of being in a body of water while giving you the opportunity to take advantage of the city’s culture, tradition, and history.
Here’s a list of museums, attractions, and activities to take into consideration when visiting San José city:
Museums
- Museo Oro Precolombino (The Gold Museum) – A museum with an archaeological collection of 3,567 Pre-Columbian artifacts made up of ceramic pieces, gold objects, stone objects, jade objects, and glass objects.
- Museo de Jade (The Jade Museum) – A museum with a Pre-Columbian archaeological collection of 7,000 items from the 500 BC and 300 BC periods. You’ll find jade pieces of animals and depictions of the societal organization along with jade artwork and jewelry.
- Museo de los Niños (The Children’s Museum) – Perfect if you’re traveling with kids. It’s a children’s museum featuring interactive and educational displays describing everything from rainforests to Pre-Columbian village life. You can easily spend up to 3 hours here.
- Museo Nacional (National Museum) – Visit Costa Rica’s national museum to find a wide variety of exhibits and displays on the country’s history and culture from
Activities
- Teatro Melico Salazar (Melico Salazar Theater) – This theater is known as one of the most important art venues in the city. It always has a full schedule for top-notch shows, concerts, recitals, or plays. Since this theater always has a full schedule, you can probably find a show to go to at any point in your stay.
- El Pueblo, San José (The Town) – El Pueblo is a booming city mall center during the day and a clubbing district at night. There are a ton of bars, restaurants, art galleries, and shops to spend your time at and it’s within walking distance of a few popular hotels in the city.
Attractions
- Parque Zoológico Simón Bolívar (Simon Bolivar Zoo) – The Simon Bolivar zoo is a popular pick amongst attractions in Costa Rica. It’s perfect for families and individual adults alike. There’s a discovery area, a snake and reptile house, and exhibits with wildlife species like lions, jaguars, monkeys, raccoons, crocodiles, and some exotic birds.
- El Parque de Diversiones de Costa Rica (Costa Rica’s Theme Park) – This park is Costa Rica’s main theme park. It’s filled with numerous attractions, rides, and food for adults and kids!
Additionally, there are also a wide range of national parks and national landmarks you can visit if you’re looking for a bit more nature on your trip to San José, Costa Rica. Some honorable mentions would be Tortuguero National Park, Corcovado National Park, Arenal Volcano, and Póas Volcano.
San José Airport in Costa Rica – Juan Santamaría International Airport
A good general rule of thumb when you’re traveling to an airport you’re unfamiliar with would be to download a map of the airport from the airport’s official website. That way, even if you visit the busiest airport known to man, you’ll still have an easy time navigating to check-in, through security check, and to your gate.
Having a map of the Costa Rica airport that you choose to fly to will help you immensely in helping you find your terminal and gate. Just to give you some information about San José airport‘s layout, here’s some extra information about the terminals.
San José International Airport Terminals
Juan Santamaria Airport has two terminals where passengers can board arriving or departing flights.
Main Terminal
The main terminal serves all international flights at the Juan Santamaria Airport. The check-in desks for the main terminal are located on the right side of the ground floor. The security check sits directly across the check-in desks. Since the main terminal serves international flights, you can easily book a flight with connections to North and Central America, South America, Europe, and the Caribbean. The most popular departing flights leaving San José are to cities like Panama City, Houston, Miami, San Salvador, Mexico City, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, and Guatemala City.
Domestic Terminal
The domestic terminal only handles domestic flights. You can hitch a flight to any regional airport in Costa Rica (international airport or not). If you want to experience the best of both worlds in Costa Rica, you can book a domestic flight into the SJO airport, experience the city and fly out to the Guanacaste Airport or Liberia International Airport (also previously known as the Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport) to experience Costa Rica’s beautiful nature.
Transportation
Since San José is technically Costa Rica’s focus city, a lot of the airport amenities are executed at the SJO airport. This means you can get good transportation to take you anywhere from the airport.
The airport offers the following transportation systems:
- Public buses: the public bus system allows visitors to access most of the surrounding country and they provide 24/7 hour transportation. A bus will likely come by every 10 minutes. Specifically, the car ride to San José city is approximately 35 minutes from the airport.
- Taxi services: there are several taxi companies that provide 24/7 transportation to and from Juan Santamaria Airport. Most taxi companies will accept USD and the Costa Rican colón, but usually not any other currency.
- Car rentals: you can even rent cars at the airport. Renting a car is a good way to discover more about San José and the surrounding cities.
If you’re traveling to or from Juan Santamaria Airport for a direct flight from a rural or inaccessible area, you can rent a car at the airport (or from the area you’re leaving) to reach the airport. You may also be able to hitch a ride by finding shared shuttle bus services or a licensed taxi.
San José International Airport Airlines
To solidify your choice to fly to San José International Airport instead of Liberia International Airport, make sure that the airline you plan to fly with receives flights to Juan Santamaria Airport. Some airlines, like Sansa Airlines and Copa Airlines, only have flights within Costa Rica or Latin America (like Panama city), so you would be unable to fly with those airlines if you were traveling from the US or Canada. Alternatively, American Airlines travels to more than one Costa Rica Airport, so if that is your airline choice, you should feel comfortable that you can hitch a flight to San José or Liberia from anywhere in Central America, like Mexico City or Guatemala City.
Here is a list of International and Domestic Airlines that fly to and from Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría (Juan Santamaria International Airport):
- Aeroméxico
- Aeroméxico Connect (Seasonal)
- Air Canada
- Air France
- Air Transat (Seasonal)
- Alaska Airlines
- Albatros Airlines
- American Airlines
- Avianca Costa Rica
- Avianca Colombia
- Avianca El Salvador
- British Airways (Seasonal)
- Copa Airlines
- Costa Rica Green Airways
- Delta Airlines
- Edelweiss Air
- Frontier Airlines (Seasonal)
- Iberia
- Iberojet
- JetBlue
- KLM (Seasonal)
- Latam Perú
- Lufthansa
- Sansa Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- Spirit Airlines
- United Airlines
- Volaris
- Volaris Costa Rica
- WestJet (Seasonal)
- Wingo
If we were to measure whether San José International Airport or Liberia International Airport would be the busiest airport, Santamaria International Airport would definitely win. There are more passengers that fly through Santamaria International Airport compared to Liberia International Airport. And, depending on where in Costa Rica you’re heading, the travel time might be lesser if you choose to fly to the Juan Santamaria Airport instead of LIR.
