{
  "response": {
    "Key": "SFO-CR",
    "orig": {
      "code": "SFO",
      "type": "airport",
      "city": "San Francisco",
      "fullCity": "San Francisco, California",
      "airport": "San Francisco Intl Airport"
    },
    "dest": {
      "code": "CR",
      "type": "country",
      "country": "Costa Rica"
    },
    "faq": {
      "q0": {
        "question": "Which cities in Costa Rica can I fly to from San Francisco?",
        "answer": "Non-stop flights from San Francisco land at Liberia in Guanacaste, ideal for Pacific beaches. With one stop you can also reach San José, the central hub for volcanoes, cloud forests and Caribbean coast connections. Choose Liberia for resort stays and San José for broader exploration."
      },
      "q1": {
        "question": "How long is the flight from San Francisco to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "Non-stop flights from San Francisco to San José take about 6½ to 7 hours southbound and are slightly shorter heading north. One-stop routes to Liberia, including a connection, typically range from 8 to 10 hours total travel time."
      },
      "q2": {
        "question": "Are there direct flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "Yes, there are non-stop flights from San Francisco to Costa Rica. Alaska Airlines and United Airlines operate direct flights to Liberia in the Guanacaste region, while United also flies non-stop to San José. Flight time is about 6½ hours southbound and slightly longer northbound. If a non-stop does not suit your schedule, common one-stop options connect through hubs like Los Angeles, Houston, or Miami, with total travel times typically between 8 and 11 hours."
      },
      "q3": {
        "question": "Which airlines fly from San Francisco to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "From SFO to Costa Rica you can fly nonstop with United, Alaska, or Avianca. One-stop options include American, Delta, Copa, and JetBlue via their hubs."
      },
      "q4": {
        "question": "When is the cheapest time to fly from San Francisco to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "The cheapest months to fly from San Francisco to Costa Rica are May, April, and October, while December and the summer months of July and March tend to be the most expensive. For the best fare, book about 9 to 11 weeks ahead, and aim for an early morning departure on a Monday — midweek (Monday through Wednesday) is generally cheaper than flying Thursday through Sunday. Peak summer and major holidays like Christmas push prices noticeably higher, so traveling in the spring or fall shoulder seasons offers the best value.",
        "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 San Francisco to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "For San Francisco to Costa Rica, the optimal booking window is about 9 to 11 weeks before departure, when fares average around $761.",
        "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. Airlines and weekly frequencies are compiled from our flight-schedule database, which combines published airline timetables, U.S. government schedule data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), and observed flight operations from the EUROCONTROL/OpenSky Open Performance Data Initiative (OPDI). We count each operating carrier's scheduled weekly departures and the days it flies; where there is no nonstop service, connecting carriers are identified by linking scheduled nonstop segments through common hub airports. Where a median fare is shown for a carrier, it reflects the real fares Priceline users found on this route in the last 72 hours."
      },
      "q6": {
        "question": "What are the most popular cities to visit in Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "Top destinations in Costa Rica include San José for culture and as a hub, the Arenal area for hot springs and adventure, the Pacific beaches of Guanacaste, and the Caribbean coast around Puerto Viejo for wildlife and laid-back vibes. Most are reachable by short flights or drives from the international airports in San José and Liberia."
      },
      "q7": {
        "question": "Do I need a visa to travel from San Francisco to Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "U.S. citizens do not need a visa for tourist stays in Costa Rica of up to 90 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 the latest requirements before your trip."
      },
      "q8": {
        "question": "Which airports in Costa Rica are best to fly into from San Francisco?",
        "answer": "From San Francisco to Costa Rica, Juan Santamaría International Airport in San José is the primary gateway with the most flight options and best connections for onward travel by bus or rental car. Liberia Guanacaste Airport is ideal for beach resorts on the Pacific coast, especially in Guanacaste, and offers a shorter transfer to popular destinations like Tamarindo."
      },
      "q12": {
        "question": "When is the best time of year to visit Costa Rica?",
        "answer": "December to April is Costa Rica's dry season with sunny weather, but prices peak around holidays. May to July offers a green season with afternoon showers, lower rates and fewer tourists, especially in San José and Liberia."
      }
    }
  }
}