Costa Rica’s Guanacaste airport in Liberia will receive its first nonstop flights from the Washington, D.C. area this December, giving travelers from the U.S. capital region a direct route to Costa Rica’s Pacific coast during the busy holiday season. United Airlines will operate daily flights between Washington Dulles International Airport and Guanacaste Airport from December 17, 2026, through January 4, 2027.
The route will use a Boeing 737 MAX 9 with 179 seats, including 20 in business class. Flights will leave Washington Dulles at 8:51 a.m. and arrive in Guanacaste at 12:50 p.m. The return service will depart Liberia at 2 p.m. and reach Washington at 7:35 p.m.
The schedule gives travelers from Washington, Virginia and Maryland a nonstop option to Guanacaste during one of Costa Rica’s busiest tourism periods. Dulles also provides connections from cities throughout the northeastern United States and United’s wider international network.
Marcos Borges, executive president of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, said the route strengthens air access from the United States, Costa Rica’s largest source of international visitors. He added that increased service to Guanacaste can support tourism businesses, employment and economic activity in nearby communities.
United already flies between Washington Dulles and Juan Santamaría International Airport near San José. The new Guanacaste service will allow passengers heading to northwestern Costa Rica to avoid connecting through San José or another U.S. airport. The flight will also complete United’s network between Guanacaste and its seven main U.S. hubs. The airline currently operates nonstop service to Liberia from Newark, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston and Chicago.
Washington Dulles will become the seventh, making United the only airline offering nonstop flights between the U.S. capital region and Guanacaste. Tom Kozlowski, United’s senior manager of network planning for Latin America, said the seasonal service is aimed at East Coast travelers looking to visit Costa Rica’s beaches and warm-weather destinations during the winter holidays.
The route is expected to be especially useful for those heading to popular destinations including Playas del Coco, Tamarindo, Flamingo, Nosara and the Gulf of Papagayo. Guanacaste Airport is also the closest major international airport for many resorts and vacation communities along Costa Rica’s northern Pacific coast.
The Washington service will initially operate for less than three weeks, covering Christmas and New Year travel. United has not announced whether the route will return for a longer period during future high seasons. This new roll out, nevertheless, adds capacity from a major U.S. metropolitan area at the point in the year when hotels, rental car companies, tour operators and beach communities in Guanacaste typically experience their strongest international demand.
