{
  "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 can fly non-stop to Liberia in Guanacaste on select airlines, which puts you near Pacific beaches. You can also connect through Atlanta or Miami to reach San José, the capital and gateway to the central highlands and Caribbean coast. Choose Liberia for direct beach access and San José for volcano and rainforest trips."
      },
      "q1": {
        "question": "How long is the flight from Baltimore to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "From Baltimore, non-stop flights to San José are rare, so most itineraries require one stop and take 6 to 8 hours total. Flights to Liberia are similar, typically 6 to 8 hours with a connection, and westbound returns are often 30 to 60 minutes shorter."
      },
      "q2": {
        "question": "Are there direct flights from Baltimore to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "There are no year‑round non‑stop flights from Baltimore to Costa Rica. The most common one‑stop routings connect through hubs such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta or Panama City, with total travel times typically between 7 and 9 hours depending on the layover. Southwest and other U.S. carriers serve these connecting routes, often landing at San José or Liberia."
      },
      "q3": {
        "question": "Which airlines fly from Baltimore to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "From Baltimore to Costa Rica, Southwest offers nonstop seasonal flights. Connecting 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, April, and October, with the late-spring and fall shoulder seasons offering the lowest fares, while December, July, and November are the most expensive due to holiday and peak summer demand. For the best price, book about 11 to 14 weeks ahead, and aim for a midweek departure — Wednesday tends to be cheapest and Saturday the priciest — with early morning flights typically offering the lowest fares.",
        "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 (BWI) to Costa Rica, aim to book about 11 to 14 weeks before departure, when average fares drop to around $462.",
        "methodology": "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. Stop counts, connecting hubs, and per-airline prices are drawn from a large sample of the real fares Priceline users found on this route in the last 72 hours. We group those fares by number of stops, by the hub airport a connection routes through, and by operating airline, and report each group's share of the sample alongside its lowest and median price. The typical price, the lowest fare, a 'great deal' threshold, and how fares are spread across price bands are summarized from a large sample of the real fares Priceline users found on this route in the last 72 hours, with a small fraction of extreme outlier fares excluded from the range."
      },
      "q6": {
        "question": "What are the most popular cities to visit in Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "In Costa Rica, most visitors fly into San José for culture and a central base, then head to Arenal for volcanoes and hot springs, Guanacaste for Pacific beaches, Manuel Antonio for wildlife and the Caribbean coast near Puerto Viejo for laid-back vibes. Domestic flights or shuttles connect these areas easily."
      },
      "q7": {
        "question": "Do I need a visa to travel from Baltimore to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "U.S. citizens do not need a visa for tourist stays in Costa Rica of up to 180 days. No electronic travel authorization is required, but you must have a valid passport and proof of onward travel. Entry rules can change, so verify current requirements before your trip."
      },
      "q8": {
        "question": "Which airports in Costa Rica are best to fly into from Baltimore?",
        "answer": "From Baltimore to Costa Rica, your main choices are San José and Liberia. San José offers more flight options and is better for exploring the central highlands and Pacific coast, while Liberia is closer to Guanacaste beach resorts. Both have similar flight times around 5 hours nonstop when available."
      },
      "q12": {
        "question": "When is the best time of year to visit Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "For Costa Rica, December to April is the dry season with sunny weather, but it is also the busiest and most expensive. May to November is the green season with lower prices and lighter crowds, though expect afternoon showers."
      }
    }
  }
}