Rare1 stop · 12h
IST to YULCanada
Montreal
$462
usually $775
−40%
Most monthly lows $690–$798. Cheaper than every other month on record (8).
Flights · IST → SJO
Istanbul to San José
Best fare, round trip
$865
−35%
below its usual $1,325
you keep $460
GreatFound
- Depart
- Wed 21 Apr
- Return
- Mon 10 May
- Stay
- 19 nights
- Flight
- 3 stops · 17h
- Airline
Tarom
Most of this route’s monthly lows fall between $978 and $1,334. The drop beats 84% of measured fares on the board, over 12 observed months.
Cached fare — the booking search re-prices live before you pay.
Costa RicaSan JoséNobody comes for the capital — they come for two coasts, volcanoes and cloud forest, all within four hours.Best windowDec–AprAirportsJuan Santamaría (SJO)Every route into San JoséFare seasonality
When this route gets cheap.
Fares bottom out in April around $865 and peak in March near $1,445, 67% dearer, across the 12 months we track. The cheapest itinerary we are tracking makes 3 stops and takes about 17 hours outbound, on a 19-night trip — ticketed under Tarom, which on a connecting fare need not operate every leg. At $865 for 11,149 km each way, that works out to about $39 per 1,000 km flown. That is below the $42 per 1,000 km typical of ultra-long-haul fares here. Across the 19 departure cities we track at a similar distance from San José, this fare ranks 6th — 33% above the $650 from Madrid. For context, the middle fare among the 27 routes of similar length we watch out of Istanbul is $851. The best time to be in San José: Dec–Apr.
Cheapest day in the next 4 months: 20 Jan '27, $932
Press a day to compare its fares
The median cached fare across this calendar is 7% higher than when tracking began on 8 Aug — $1,242 then versus $1,326 now, across 18 recorded snapshots. This is a calendar-level trend, so an individual deal above can be lower. The lowest single day we have seen here is $865, on 21 Apr '27.
October 2026
1314151617181920Wednesday 21 October: $1.4k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.22Friday 23 October: $1.4k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Saturday 24 October: $1.5k, above the usual price. Compare fares from this day.2526Tuesday 27 October: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Wednesday 28 October: $1.6k, above the usual price. Compare fares from this day.2930Saturday 31 October: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.
November 2026
123Wednesday 4 November: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.56Saturday 7 November: $1.6k, above the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Sunday 8 November: $1.5k, above the usual price. Compare fares from this day.9101112131415Monday 16 November: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.17Wednesday 18 November: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Thursday 19 November: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Friday 20 November: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.2122Monday 23 November: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.24252627282930
December 2026
12345678Wednesday 9 December: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.1011121314151617Friday 18 December: $1.7k, above the usual price. Compare fares from this day.1920212223242526Sunday 27 December: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Monday 28 December: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Tuesday 29 December: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Wednesday 30 December: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Thursday 31 December: $1.4k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.
January 2027
123Monday 4 January: $1.5k, above the usual price. Compare fares from this day.56Thursday 7 January: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.8910Monday 11 January: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.121314151617Monday 18 January: $1.3k, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.19Wednesday 20 January: $932, the cheapest day in view. Compare fares from this day.Thursday 21 January: $1.1k, below the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Friday 22 January: $935, below the usual price. Compare fares from this day.232425262728293031
CheapestBelow usualUsualAbove usualCached fares · checked 13 Oct 2026 · bands from 132 tracked fares
Cheapest in Apr, around $865
35% below the $1,325 typical fare
$1296Oct, around the usual price. Compare October fares.$1256Nov, below the usual price. Compare November fares.$1323Dec, around the usual price. Compare December fares.$932Jan ’27, below the usual price. Compare January fares.$978Feb, below the usual price. Compare February fares.$1445Mar, above the usual price. Compare March fares.$865Apr, the cheapest month. Compare April fares.$1234May, below the usual price. Compare May fares.$894Jun, below the usual price. Compare June fares.$1419Jul, above the usual price. Compare July fares.$1360Aug, around the usual price. Compare August fares.$1333Sep, around the usual price. Compare September fares.
CheapestBelow usualUsualAbove usualPress a month to compare its fares
Cheapest round-trip fare found each month, Istanbul to San José, from cached prices.
Route facts
- Airports
- Istanbul (IST) · Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) ↔ Juan Santamaría (SJO)
- Flight time
- ≈17 hours outbound
- Distance
- ≈11,149 km each way
- Typical price
- $1,325 round-trip (seasonal median)
- Airlines on the board
- Tarom
- Itineraries
- Connections on current fares
- Best months to visit
- Dec–Apr
Good to know
IST → SJO, answered.
Is $865 a good price for Istanbul to San José?
Yes — the seasonal median for this route is around $1,325 round-trip. At $865 you're 35% below that, which we rate great for this route.
What is the cheapest month to fly from Istanbul to San José?
Across 12 months of cached-fare history, Apr comes out cheapest on this route. The best months to actually be in San José are Dec–Apr — when those overlap, that's your window.
How far in advance should I book IST → San José?
We do not publish a number for this, because we cannot measure it yet. Answering it honestly means watching the same departure date on this route over many weeks as it approaches, and that archive is still filling up — so any "book N days ahead" figure here would be borrowed from somewhere else rather than measured. What we can measure is which month is cheap: across 12 months of cached fares, Apr comes out lowest on this route. Our guide Why flight prices change covers what does move a fare.
Are there nonstop flights from Istanbul to San José?
The current cheapest fares involve a connection, ticketed under Tarom. We hold no nonstop fare on this route right now, which does not mean none flies — search your exact dates to see what does.
Are these prices guaranteed?
No — these are cached fares found on real searches (this one on 17 October). Airlines reprice constantly, so the booking search re-checks the live price before you pay. Fresher finds are far more likely to still be available.
Next step
Sleeping in San José?
Lock the flight first — then compare stays for 21 Apr '27 – 10 May '27 · 19 nights.
Browse hotelsMissed it?
Cached fares expire. This route has a feed of its own — follow it and the next IST → SJO drop reaches you as soon as we find it.
Follow this route’s feedKeep browsing
Related routes on the board.
GreatNonstop · 1.5h
IST to ATHGreece
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$69
usually $110
−37%
Most monthly lows $94–$121. Cheaper than every other month on record (11).
GreatNonstop · 3.5h
IST to HAMGermany
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Most monthly lows $130–$247. Cheaper than every other month on record (7).
Rare1 stop · 7h
NYC to SJOUnited States
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$249
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Most monthly lows $302–$492. Cheaper than every other month on record (5).
Good1 stop · 4.5h
MIA to SJOUnited States
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$423
usually $545
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Most monthly lows $530–$647. Cheaper than every other month on record (4).
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$837
usually $1,020
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Most monthly lows $963–$1,216. Cheaper than every other month on record (5).
