Renting a car at Costa Rica’s airports: SJO and Liberia (LIR)

Two international airports

Costa Rica has two main international airports, on opposite sides of the country's travel map. Juan Santamaría (SJO) sits just outside San José, in Alajuela, in the Central Valley. Daniel Oduber Quirós (LIR) sits outside Liberia, in Guanacaste, in the dry northwest.

Which one you fly into should depend on where you are spending most of your trip, not only on the price of the ticket. A cheaper flight into the wrong airport can easily cost you four or five hours of driving each way.

Juan Santamaría (SJO), San José

SJO is the bigger airport, with the most flights. It is the natural choice if your trip includes:

• La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano — around 3 hours.
• Jacó — around 1.5 hours, and Manuel Antonio — around 2.5 hours.
• Monteverde, the Caribbean coast (Limón, Cahuita, Puerto Viejo) and the southern Pacific.
• Time in San José and the Central Valley.

Leaving SJO, you are on the main highway within minutes. Traffic around San José is heavy at rush hour, so if you can, avoid landing into a 5 p.m. drive across the city.

Daniel Oduber (LIR), Liberia

LIR is smaller and calmer, and it puts you right next to the Guanacaste beaches. Fly into Liberia if your trip is mostly:

• Tamarindo, Flamingo, Conchal and the Papagayo Peninsula — between 30 minutes and about 1.5 hours.
• Rincón de la Vieja and the volcano parks of the north.
• The Nicoya Peninsula — Nosara, Sámara and, further south, Santa Teresa.

From SJO, Tamarindo is around 4.5 hours by road. From LIR it is a short drive, which means you can be on the beach the afternoon you land.

Pick the airport closest to where you'll spend most nights, not the cheapest ticket.

How airport delivery works

At many rental companies, picking up a car at the airport means finding a shuttle to an off-site office and waiting in line. We work differently: we deliver the car to you at the airport, at either SJO or LIR, 24 hours a day.

1. Send us your flight details when you book — airline, flight number and arrival time.
2. We confirm the meeting point with you on WhatsApp before you travel.
3. We meet you when you land, walk around the car with you, check the paperwork and hand over the keys.

Flights run late. If yours is delayed, just message us — we deliver 24/7, so a late arrival is not a problem. If you would rather start the trip from your hotel or Airbnb, we can deliver there too. Before you land, check what you need at handover so the paperwork takes minutes, not an hour.

Arriving at one, leaving from the other

A popular route is to land in San José, travel through Arenal and Monteverde, and finish on the Guanacaste beaches — then fly home from Liberia. That saves you the long drive back across the country on your last day. We lay it out leg by leg, with driving times, in our classic Costa Rica road trip.

You can pick up at one airport and return at the other, or at agreed points such as Tamarindo or La Fortuna. Tell us both locations when you request your quote and we include everything in the price before you confirm.

Your first drive out

After a long flight, keep the first day short. From SJO, a night in the Central Valley or a drive of an hour or two is plenty. From LIR, most beach hotels are close enough to reach before dark. The sun sets around 5:30–6:00 p.m. all year, and unfamiliar roads are far easier in daylight. For the rest of what those first days behind the wheel are like, read what nobody tells you before you drive off.

If your route includes gravel roads or rainy-season travel, read whether you need a 4x4 before you choose a car.