Cheap flights from Manchester to San Jose

Demand peaks when UK schools break up and around Christmas, and Costa Rica's dry season draws extra visitors, so those windows fill early. June is the cheapest month on this route, and the priced months stretch from October through March, then May to July — worth scanning if your dates flex. Midweek departures usually undercut weekend ones, and booking well ahead of the northern summer matters because seats via Europe get scarce fast.

What the fare includes varies sharply: budget carriers like Easyjet and Jet2 typically sell you the seat alone, with baggage and seat choice as paid extras, while full-service lines such as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, Iberia, Lufthansa City Airlines and Helvetic Airways fold a checked bag and cabin service into the ticket. Since no airline flies the whole way nonstop, every itinerary connects — usually once through a European or North American hub, sometimes twice on the lower fares. Check what each ticket covers before comparing on price alone, because a cheap base fare with extras added can overtake a slightly dearer inclusive one.

You land at Juan Santamaria, the airport serving San Jose, and the drive into the city is short enough that you can be at your hotel well within your first hours in the country. Official taxis and shared shuttles wait outside the terminal, and local buses run to the city as a slower, cheaper option. Traffic around the capital can stretch a short transfer at peak times, so build in a buffer if you have a domestic connection or a same-day onward drive. Keep small local currency for the bus and have your accommodation address ready for the taxi driver.

Currency

CRC (₡)

Power sockets

Type A, B · 120 V

Language

Spanish

Emergency number

112, 911

Driving side

right

Calling code

+506

Internet domain

.cr

Population of San Jose

335 k (2025)

Time zone

UTC-06 (America/Costa_Rica)

Country facts: Wikidata

• Check Costa Rica's current entry rules for UK passport holders, including any onward-ticket or insurance requirements, before you pay.
• Confirm which Manchester departure your itinerary uses, since not every carrier on this route leaves from the same terminal.
• Read the baggage terms on low-cost fares, where a checked bag is often an add-on rather than standard.
• If yourConnection is on separate tickets, leave enough time between flights to recheck bags and clear security.
• Scan the price calendar across the priced months, since shifting by a few weeks from peak season can change the fare a lot.