Puerto Rico (San Juan) vs. Costa Rica

Tropical week, no passport vs. tropical week with volcanoes and sloths.

Nature & adventure🗓 7 nights👥 2 adults✈ Round trip from Las Vegas📅 Checked October 2026

Flying from

Photos: San Juan: Nils Huenerfuerst, CC BY 4.0 · Costa Rica: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons · Photo credits

Heads up: every price on this page is a sample estimate, not live pricing or a quote. Ranges are based on published typical fares and rates plus our own assumptions (see sources below). Switch the departure airport above to recalculate. Use the buttons to check today's real prices.

San Juan

≈ $4,580

$3,220–$5,930

Roughly a wash: the midpoints are within about $350 of each other.

Flying from Las Vegas (LAS)

Sample estimate, not live pricing

Costa Rica

≈ $4,250

$3,070–$5,430

Aerial view of Castillo San Felipe del Morro on the tip of Old San Juan
US trip

Puerto Rico (San Juan)

Puerto Rico (USA) · SJU

All-in total, 7 nights for 2 adults, round trip from Las Vegas (LAS)

$3,220–$5,930

Midpoint ≈ $4,580 · ≈ $2,290 per person

Sample estimate, not live pricing
Cost breakdown (sample estimate, not live pricing)
ItemEstimate
Round-trip flights from LAS2 × $350–$550 per person$700–$1,100
Lodging7 nights × $180–$320 per night$1,260–$2,240
Food & drink7 days × $100–$170 per day$700–$1,190
Local transport7 days × $30–$80 per day$210–$560
Activities7 days × $50–$120 per day$350–$840
Total Sample estimate, not live pricing$3,220–$5,930
Flight time from Las Vegas
About 7.5–9 hr, usually 1 stop
Best time to go
Mid-April–June for value; December–March is peak (dry, pricier). Hurricane season June–November.
Entry
No passport needed for US citizens (US territory).
Watch for
Hotel room tax and resort fees in Condado/Isla Verde; rental car only needed if you leave the city (El Yunque, beaches).
Best for
History, beaches, no passport

Check today's prices for San Juan

Search flights Find hotels Book tours Travel insurance
The cone of Arenal Volcano rising above rainforest in Costa Rica
Abroad

Costa Rica

Costa Rica · SJO

All-in total, 7 nights for 2 adults, round trip from Las Vegas (LAS)

$3,070–$5,430

Midpoint ≈ $4,250 · ≈ $2,130 per person

Sample estimate, not live pricing
Cost breakdown (sample estimate, not live pricing)
ItemEstimate
Round-trip flights from LAS2 × $450–$650 per person$900–$1,300
Lodging7 nights × $120–$220 per night$840–$1,540
Food & drink7 days × $70–$120 per day$490–$840
Local transport7 days × $50–$90 per day$350–$630
Activities7 days × $70–$160 per day$490–$1,120
Total Sample estimate, not live pricing$3,070–$5,430
Flight time from Las Vegas
About 7–10 hr with 1 stop (San José SJO or Liberia LIR)
Best time to go
December–April (dry season). May–November 'green season' is cheaper, with afternoon rain.
Entry
Passport required; proof of onward travel may be requested.
Watch for
Mandatory rental-car liability insurance often doubles the advertised car rate; national park and tour fees; 13% tax + service on many restaurant bills.
Best for
Wildlife, volcanoes, adventure tours

Check today's prices for Costa Rica

Search flights Find hotels Book tours Travel insurance

Where the money goes

Midpoint of each estimate range, 2 adults, 7 nights, flying from Las Vegas (LAS). Sample estimate, not live pricing.

Round-trip flights from Las Vegas

San Juan ≈ $900
Costa Rica ≈ $1,100

Lodging

San Juan ≈ $1,750
Costa Rica ≈ $1,190

Food & drink

San Juan ≈ $950
Costa Rica ≈ $670

Local transport

San Juan ≈ $390
Costa Rica ≈ $490

Activities

San Juan ≈ $600
Costa Rica ≈ $810

The verdict

Roughly a wash: the midpoints are within about $350 of each other. (from Las Vegas, sample estimate, not live pricing)

These two land close together. Costa Rica's cheaper lodging and food are offset by rental-car insurance and paid tours, while San Juan's hotels cost more but you can skip the car. Pick on vibe: Old San Juan's history and beaches, or Costa Rica's rainforest-and-adventure itinerary. From LAX, Costa Rica pulls slightly ahead (roughly $400 cheaper) thanks to a nonstop to San José.

Sources, notes & assumptions

Flight ranges come from typical round-trip economy fares that fare-search sites (KAYAK, Google Flights, Priceline, momondo, Expedia, airline fare pages) published for each route from each departure airport we cover (currently LAS and LAX), viewed October 2026. Lodging uses published hotel averages where we found them (Engine's August 2026 US city averages; Budget Your Trip traveler averages abroad), adjusted to a mid-range room; otherwise it is an editor estimate. Daily food, local transport and activity budgets are editor estimates for a mid-range couple; where a Budget Your Trip average exists we set the range around it, but the range bounds are our own judgment and have NOT been verified against a single published source. Ski lift tickets use published 2025/26 (or 2026/27) resort prices; euro and yen prices are converted at editor-assumed exchange rates. Taxes, resort fees, baggage fees and tips may not be fully included.

Puerto Rico (San Juan)

Last checked: 2026-10-17

Transport range spans 'rideshare only' up to a few days of rental car.

Costa Rica

Last checked: 2026-10-17

Plan assumes splitting the week between two regions (e.g. Arenal + a Pacific beach) with a rental car.

Assumptions: economy fares, 1 mid-range room, 7 nights / 7 days of spending, 2 adults. Excludes passports, travel insurance, checked-bag fees and souvenirs unless noted. Found a better number? Tell us.

More matchups

Downtown Anchorage with the snowcapped Chugach Mountains behind
Colorful rooftops of central Reykjavík seen from Hallgrímskirkja, with Faxaflói bay beyond
vs Nature & adventure

Alaska vs. Iceland

Glaciers, big landscapes and long summer days, at home or across the Atlantic.

US Anchorage ≈ $5,860
Abroad Reykjavík ≈ $6,520

Cheaper: Anchorage · 7 nights, 2 adults, from Las Vegas Sample estimate, not live pricing
Beach walk and sand at Kāʻanapali Beach on Maui's west coast
Lisbon's Alfama hillside with the São Vicente de Fora monastery and the National Pantheon dome above the Tagus
vs Beach

Maui vs. Lisbon

Is Hawaii really cheaper than Europe? Once you add up the hotel bill, maybe not.

US Maui ≈ $6,770
Abroad Lisbon ≈ $4,090

Cheaper: Lisbon · 7 nights, 2 adults, from Las Vegas Sample estimate, not live pricing
Art Deco hotels and palm trees along Ocean Drive in Miami Beach
Aerial view of Cancún's Hotel Zone beach and turquoise Caribbean water
vs Beach

Miami vs. Cancún

Two beach cities, similar flight times. Which week costs less?

US Miami ≈ $4,490
Abroad Cancún ≈ $4,290

Close call · 7 nights, 2 adults, from Las Vegas Sample estimate, not live pricing

See all 21 matchups →