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Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO): arrival & transit guide

What to expect landing at Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica: the arrival flow, transit rules, and onward transport.

Juan Santamaria International Airport sits in Alajuela, about twenty kilometers from downtown San Jose, not in the capital itself, which is worth knowing when planning onward transport. The main terminal handles every international arrival; a separate, smaller building nearby is for domestic flights only.

Every passenger, regardless of nationality, goes through immigration on arrival, so there is no visa-free fast lane that skips the counter, even for the many nationalities that do not need a visa at all for an ordinary tourist stay. Officers commonly ask about your length of stay, your first destination in Costa Rica, and your departure plans, and an onward or return ticket is treated as a normal part of entry. Baggage claim and a customs check, run on a random-selection basis, follow before the exit.

Costa Rica has no airside international transit area at Juan Santamaria, so a connecting passenger clears the same immigration and customs process as anyone ending their trip there, then re-checks in for the next flight rather than staying airside.

Outside the terminal, taxis, ride-hailing, and pre-arranged shuttles are the standard way into San Jose or onward to other parts of the country, and public buses also serve the airport.

All passports for Costa Rica