{
  "response": {
    "Key": "BWI-CR",
    "orig": {
      "code": "BWI",
      "type": "airport",
      "city": "Baltimore",
      "fullCity": "Baltimore, Maryland",
      "airport": "Thurgood Marshall Intl Airport"
    },
    "dest": {
      "code": "CR",
      "type": "country",
      "country": "Costa Rica"
    },
    "faq": {
      "q0": {
        "question": "Which cities in Costa Rica can I fly to from Baltimore?",
        "answer": "From Baltimore you will most often connect through a major hub to San José or Liberia. San José serves the Central Valley and Pacific Coast, while Liberia is closer to Guanacaste beaches. Choose San José for culture and volcanoes, Liberia for beach resorts."
      },
      "q1": {
        "question": "How long is the flight from Baltimore to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "From Baltimore to San José, one-stop flights typically take 7 to 9 hours total including the layover. Flying into Liberia on the Pacific coast is similar, usually around 7½ to 9 hours with a connection. Non‑stop options are not currently available from BWI."
      },
      "q2": {
        "question": "Are there direct flights from Baltimore to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "There are no non-stop flights from Baltimore to Costa Rica. Most one-stop itineraries connect through a southern U.S. hub like Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami or Fort Lauderdale, with a total travel time of about 7 to 10 hours depending on the layover."
      },
      "q3": {
        "question": "Which airlines fly from Baltimore to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "From Baltimore to Costa Rica, Southwest flies non-stop to San José and Liberia seasonally. One-stop options include American, Delta, United, and Copa via their hubs."
      },
      "q4": {
        "question": "When is the cheapest time to fly from Baltimore to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "The cheapest months to fly from Baltimore to Costa Rica are May, October, April, and September, with May typically offering the lowest fares. For the best price, book about 11 to 14 weeks ahead, aim for a Wednesday departure, and choose an early morning or midday flight. Peak summer and major holidays like December are the most expensive times to travel.",
        "methodology": "This 'good deal' estimate shows a representative best price for each departure date across roughly a 12-month window (about 3 months back and 9 months forward). It is built from real flight prices found by Priceline users searching this route, accumulated into a price history for each departure date. Rather than weighting all of that history equally, we apply exponential time decay so recent prices dominate — a price seen yesterday counts almost in full, one from about a month ago roughly a third, and prices from a few months back very little — giving a figure that tracks today's market instead of a stale long-run average. Clear price outliers are removed before any calculation, departure dates with no observations are filled in from nearby dates, and the resulting curve is lightly smoothed so it reads as a clean seasonal trend rather than day-to-day noise. This booking-window guidance is built from the same real flight prices found by Priceline users searching this route, re-grouped by how many days before departure each price was seen (from the departure day out to about 180 days ahead) across the route's price history. At each booking lead time we report the 25th-percentile price — the cheaper end of what travelers were quoted, rather than the rock-bottom minimum (which can be a fluke) or the average (which is pulled up by expensive last-minute fares). The buy-or-wait advice then applies a risk premium that grows as departure approaches, since seat availability shrinks and prices become less predictable; using that adjusted curve we flag windows where waiting is likely to save a meaningful amount (at least $20 or 5%) versus windows where booking now is the better call. Isolated single-day recommendations are filtered out, so the advice only reflects a window that holds for several days in a row. The cheapest day of the week and time of day to depart are drawn from the same large sample of real fares Priceline users found on this route in the last 72 hours, grouped by the day of the week and by the time-of-day window of the outbound departure, with the lowest and average price reported for each."
      },
      "q5": {
        "question": "How far in advance should I book flights from Baltimore to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "For flights from Baltimore to Costa Rica, the best time to book is typically 6 to 12 weeks ahead, as fares tend to be lowest in that window and rise sharply within three weeks of departure."
      },
      "q6": {
        "question": "What are the most popular cities to visit in Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "Travelers to Costa Rica often visit San José as the gateway, then head to the Arenal area for volcanoes and hot springs, the Pacific coast around Tamarindo for beaches and surfing, and the Monteverde cloud forest for wildlife and adventure."
      },
      "q8": {
        "question": "Which airports in Costa Rica are best to fly into from Baltimore?",
        "answer": "From Baltimore to Costa Rica, San José’s Juan Santamaría International Airport handles the most U.S. flights and is the natural choice for exploring the Central Valley and connecting to domestic flights or shuttles. Liberia’s Daniel Oduber Quirós Airport is better for Pacific beach resorts like Tamarindo and Papagayo."
      },
      "q12": {
        "question": "When is the best time of year to visit Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "For Costa Rica, the dry season from December to April offers the best weather, but it's also the busiest and most expensive. The green season from May to November sees fewer crowds and lower prices, with sunny mornings and afternoon showers, especially in September and October."
      },
      "q13": {
        "question": "How do I get to Thurgood Marshall Intl Airport from the city center?",
        "answer": "From downtown Baltimore, the fastest and most popular way to reach BWI is the MARC train, which takes about 30 minutes from Penn Station to the BWI Rail Station, followed by a free shuttle to the terminal. Public transit options also include the MTA Light Rail (around 30–40 minutes) and MTA Commuter Bus 201. Ride‑share services like Uber and Lyft, taxis, and rental cars are readily available, with driving taking roughly 20–30 minutes via I‑295 and parking options ranging from hourly garages to long‑term lots. The Light Rail is the most affordable, while ride‑share and taxis are the costliest.",
        "toolsUsed": [
          "article_lookup"
        ],
        "references": [
          {
            "url": "https://bwiairport.com/to-and-from-bwi/transportation/regional-destinations/washington-dc",
            "title": "Washington, DC | BWI Airport",
            "time_published": "2024-12-30T17:00:30Z"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://bwiairport.com/flying-with-us/flights/air-traffic-map",
            "title": "Air Traffic Map | BWI Airport",
            "time_published": "2026-02-05T14:00:15Z"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BWI_Marshall_Airport_Shuttle",
            "title": "BWI Marshall Airport Shuttle",
            "time_published": "2025-05-30T22:29:49Z"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BWI%20Marshall%20Airport%20Shuttle",
            "title": "BWI Marshall Airport Shuttle",
            "time_published": "2025-05-30T22:29:49Z"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://bwiairport.com/to-and-from-bwi/transportation/regional-destinations/washington-dulles-international-airport",
            "title": "Washington Dulles International Airport | BWI Airport",
            "favicon": "https://bwiairport.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/logo1.png",
            "time_published": "2024-12-30T17:00:44Z"
          }
        ],
        "methodology": "Airport details are drawn from the sources listed with this answer, primarily the airport operator's official website along with airline, lounge-operator and transit-authority pages, collected by our research process and refreshed periodically. Only information found in those sources is used; where a source does not cover a topic it is left out rather than guessed."
      }
    }
  }
}