{
  "response": {
    "Key": "PDX-CR",
    "orig": {
      "code": "PDX",
      "type": "airport",
      "city": "Portland",
      "fullCity": "Portland, Oregon",
      "airport": "Portland Intl Airport"
    },
    "dest": {
      "code": "CR",
      "type": "country",
      "country": "Costa Rica"
    },
    "faq": {
      "q0": {
        "question": "Which cities in Costa Rica can I fly to from Portland?",
        "answer": "From Portland you will likely connect through a U.S. hub to reach Costa Rica's two main international airports: Juan Santamaría in San José and Daniel Oduber Quirós in Liberia. San José is the capital and a gateway to the central valley and Pacific coast, while Liberia serves the Guanacaste beach resorts. There are no non-stop flights from Portland. Most itineraries involve one stop in cities like Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles or Miami. Choose San José for culture, volcanoes and access to the Caribbean side, or Liberia for faster transfers to Pacific beaches and dry tropical forests."
      },
      "q1": {
        "question": "How long is the flight from Portland to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "There are no non-stop flights from Portland to Costa Rica. Connecting itineraries to San José typically take 8 to 10 hours, and Liberia is often 9 to 12 hours. Eastbound flights tend to be slightly shorter than westbound returns due to prevailing winds."
      },
      "q2": {
        "question": "Are there direct flights from Portland to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "There are no non-stop flights from Portland to Costa Rica. The most common one-stop routings connect through hubs such as Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas or Mexico City, typically taking between 8 and 12 hours total travel time depending on the layover. Airlines like United, American and Delta offer frequent connections via their U.S. hubs."
      },
      "q3": {
        "question": "Which airlines fly from Portland to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "From Portland to Costa Rica you can fly Alaska nonstop to Liberia, or connect via hubs on United, Delta, American, Southwest, or Copa."
      },
      "q4": {
        "question": "When is the cheapest time to fly from Portland to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "The cheapest months to fly from Portland to Costa Rica are typically May, October, April, and September, with fares rising sharply in December, June, and July. Booking about 6 to 9 weeks ahead tends to get the lowest prices, while peak summer and the December holidays are usually the most expensive times to travel. Midweek departures and early-morning or late-night flights often offer better value compared to weekend and midday options.",
        "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."
      },
      "q5": {
        "question": "How far in advance should I book flights from Portland to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "For flights from Portland to Costa Rica, the optimal booking window is roughly 6 to 9 weeks before departure, with the very lowest fares appearing around 45 days out at about $502.",
        "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."
      },
      "q6": {
        "question": "What are the most popular cities to visit in Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "In Costa Rica, most travelers start in San José as the main hub, then head to Arenal for volcanoes and hot springs, Monteverde for cloud forests, Manuel Antonio for beaches and wildlife and Guanacaste for coastal resorts."
      },
      "q7": {
        "question": "Do I need a visa to travel from Portland to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "U.S. citizens do not need a visa for tourist stays in Costa Rica of up to 90 days, but you must have a valid passport and proof of onward travel. No electronic travel authorization is currently required, though entry rules can change, so verify requirements before departure."
      },
      "q8": {
        "question": "Which airports in Costa Rica are best to fly into from Portland?",
        "answer": "From Portland, you will connect through another U.S. city to reach Costa Rica. Juan Santamaría International Airport near San José handles most long-haul flights and is the best choice for onward travel by bus or rental car to the rest of the country. Liberia Guanacaste Airport is ideal if your focus is Pacific coast beaches and resorts in the northwest, with nonstop flights from several U.S. hubs. There is no train network, so plan on road transport."
      },
      "q12": {
        "question": "When is the best time of year to visit Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "For Costa Rica, the dry season from mid-December to April offers the most reliable weather, but it is also the busiest and priciest. The green season from May to mid-November brings afternoon showers, lower prices and fewer crowds, with a drier break in July."
      }
    }
  }
}