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Find cheap flights to Central America from $42

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from the United States to Central America departing on 10/6. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
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Sat 6/15
Sat 6/22

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Best Central America Flight Deals

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours

San Salvador
San Salvadornonstop$121
San José
San Josénonstop$165
Guatemala City
Guatemala Citynonstop$88
Panama City
Panama Citynonstop$297
Liberia
Liberia2 stops$294
Managua
Managuanonstop$128
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sulanonstop$162
Coxen Hole
Coxen Hole2 stops$361
Flores
Flores2 stops$287
David
David2 stops$535
Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro1 stop$595
San Pedro Town
San Pedro Town2 stops$1,555
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa1 stop$432
La Ceiba
La Ceiba1 stop$472

Good to know

Low season

September

High season

December

Cheapest flight

$42
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 11% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 37% increase in price.
Flight from Los Angeles to Guatemala City

FAQs - booking Central America flights

  • Do I need a visa to fly to Central America?

    American citizens are not required to have a visa to fly to countries in Central America. Countries including Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. All these countries apart from Nicaragua, allow US Citizens to stay for up to 90 days visa-free. If you plan to extend your stay, you’ll need to get a visa.

  • What are the entry requirements to Central America for US citizens?

    With the visa waiver, US citizens are required to have a passport valid for at least six months that they should carry all the time while in Central America. In addition, countries like Panama, Honduras, and El Salvador will require them to also have a tourist card that is valid for up to 30-90 days. If you plan on visiting Kuna Yala in Panama, you’ll need a yellow fever vaccination certificate because the country has a risk of yellow fever.

  • Can I fly non-stop to Liberia, Costa Rica from the United States?

    Yes. From airports in the US like Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) aboard Delta Airlines, New York John. F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) aboard Jet Blue Airlines, or Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) aboard Alaska Airlines to Liberia Guanacaste International Airport (LIR). All these airlines offer specialized services to their passengers to help them relax and cater to their flight needs during long flights.

  • What is the best airport to fly in and out of Central America?

    Tocumen International Airport (PTY) in Panama City is the biggest and busiest airport in Central America. It connects Panama and several cities and states in the US. Moreover, it acts as a hub for several airlines giving flyers the chance to choose the best airline. It’s also known for clean terminals, efficiency, great customer service, and accessible services.

  • Which airlines have the cheapest prices from the United States to Central America?

    Among the airlines that provide either direct or layover flights to Central America, the cheapest airlines are Frontier Airlines, Copa Airlines, and Spirit Airlines. All these airlines have layover flights that are affordable alternatives to their non-stop flight counterparts.

  • Can I fly non-stop to Managua from the United States?

    Yes. From Fort Lauderdale International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, you can fly directly to Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport (MGA) in Managua, Nicaragua aboard Spirit Airlines. From Miami International Airport (MIA) in Miami, you can fly directly to Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport in Managua aboard either Avianca Airlines or American Airlines. From George Bush International Airport (IAH) in Houston, you can fly directly to Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport aboard either United Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Avianca Airlines, or American Airlines.  

  • How long is the flight to Central America?

    An average nonstop flight from the United States to Central America takes 4h 58m, covering a distance of 1934 miles. The most popular route is Los Angeles - San Salvador with an average flight time of 4h 50m.

  • What is the cheapest flight to Central America?

    The cheapest ticket to Central America from the United States found in the last 72 hours was $23 one-way, and $111 round-trip. The most popular route is from Los Angeles to San Salvador and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $154.

  • Which airlines fly to Central America?

    United Airlines, Avianca & Copa Airlines fly the most frequently from the United States to Central America.

  • What are the most popular destinations in Central America?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is San Salvador (36% of total searches to Central America). The next most popular destinations are San José (28%) and Guatemala City (15%). Searches for flights to Panama City (13%), to Liberia (5%) and to Managua (2%) are also popular.

  • How does KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a given destination and date is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Central America

  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest Central America flight deals.
  • Central America has many major countries and cities known for their architectural and historical attractions. When traveling to Central America you can get non-stop flights to most of these cities from Miami, Orlando, Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, or Chicago aboard several airlines including American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Avianca Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Delta Airlines.
  • Alaska Airlines is one of the most popular airlines along this route that offers non-stop flights from cities in the US like Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas, and Palm Springs to San Jose International Airport (SJC) in San Jose, Central America.
  • If you’re looking for cheap flights to El Salvador from Newark, opt for the layover flights by Spirit Airlines that have a layover in Fort Lauderdale that will give you a five-hour window to explore locations near Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL).
  • The Mayan Ruins of Tikal and Antigua in Guatemala are some of the most famous archaeological attractions in Central America. American Airlines has non-stop flights from Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Boston to Guatemala La Aurora City Aiport(GUA). From there, you can either take public transportation or take a flight to Mundo Maya International Airport in Flores to easily find your way to the Mayan Ruins of Tikal and take a taxi from GUA to Antigua.
  • Carnaval is a major annual festival that happens in Panama between February and March that lasts up to a week and attracts visitors from all around the world. Get on a non-stop flight from Miami on either American Airlines, Delta Airlines, or United Airlines to Panama City Tocumen International Airport (PTY).
  • Traveling within Central America on a budget requires you to fly into countries that are centrally located like Guatemala and Panana where you can access both public and private shuttle buses to other cities and to nearby countries to help save on transport costs.
  • Guatemala is served by two international airports namely Guatemala La Aurora City Airport and Mundo Maya International Airport (FRS). If you plan to visit towns in Guatemala like Flores, Santa Elena, and San Benito, fly on layovers into FRS which gives you direct access to these towns.
See more tips

Top 5 airlines flying to Central America

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from the United States to Central America? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.0
DeltaOverall score based on 10673 reviews
7.9Comfort
8.6Crew
8.2Boarding
8.0Entertainment
7.4Food
Airline reviews

A regional sized plane was used for a cross country flight with no overhead bin space. I had to "pink check" my laptop and my medications. I was NOT pleased!!!!

4.0 OkayReginald, May 2024MCI - LGA
Read more about Delta reviews

A regional sized plane was used for a cross country flight with no overhead bin space. I had to "pink check" my laptop and my medications. I was NOT pleased!!!!

Absolutely nothing flight was cancelled and delayed for 2 days. Barely a heads up I want a full refund

The plane from SNA wouldn’t start after 5 tries. The team gave me an option of flying direct from LAX and giving me a Lyft ride there! Perfect!

Best airline! Always friendly and welcoming. Skyclub was great and loved the fast free wifi on board. I also love that you can pre-order your meal on the app!

Atlanta boarding crew at gate were filled with arrogance and were disrespectful. In flight crew showed indifference to the needs of passengers. This is about the flight from ATL to BDL.

The plane was FREEZING SEATS UNCOMFORTABLE Otherwise smooth Thank you

Boarding was chaotic. I didn’t finish dinner because I went to bed early. Breakfast omelet was overcooked and tasteless but croissant was better than usual. Plane was dirty—crumbs in every seam and lavatory was poorly maintained (paint peeling, etc.) and toilet paper had not been refreshed before takeoff. No cubby for storage in first and seat was narrow.

Boarding was somewhat chaotic. Unable to evaluate crew or food/drink because captain kept them seated due to turbulence. Have no idea if entertainment was offered.

West Jet has a horrible boarding process and the seats have no cushion.

Everything went smoothly. I didn’t like that when I booked in the main cabin my wife and I weren’t seated together. One would think when booking on an option that allows picking your seat. They would put you and your travel partner together. Had to call to get it sorted. They did fix.

No water for a 5 hour flight entertainment not working seats with little room for knees when person in front of me reclined kept bumping my knees.

I don't think anyone actually reads these comments, so I won't spend much time on this submission. If you want to talk, you know how to reach me. The D/FW manager of Avianca (self-identified), Juan Calderon, insisted I buy an onward ticket from San Salvador even though I have diplomatic status in El Salvador and live here. It cost me $1,393 and Mr Calderon would not let me make the ticked flexible so I could get a refund. He went out of his way to be rude to me. He gave me seat 32K -- windowless window seat in the last row and did not offer to let me upgrade even though there were plenty of seats. I have flown well over a million miles in my life and this is the worst experience I have ever had. I would like a refund on the ticket I was forced to buy. Just awful!

This is the Spirit of Latino travel. And don’t even get me started on customer service.

Awful. I checked in online and there was no option to pay for baggage, at the airport when I checked in my baggage was received and Iwas not charged. When I got to LA during the boarding process I was told I didn't pay for baggage, the crew resolved I was let in the plane. When I got to my final destination my baggage was not there. It took me two days to receive my baggage. Bad service ever!

There was no food or drink service, couldn’t even get a glass of water for free. It was a long and expensive flight to not offer food or beverage on the plane.

It is better at the jfk than my home country. It was very easy and everything was on time.

There is no food. There is no in-inflight entertainment. The seats are cardboard. The airline is a living hellscape.

My experience was amazing! They helped my elderly mother board on early through a wheelchair and were accommodating to have us sit together since our seats were in different locations. When landing at the airport in GUA they were very helpful with full of hospitality.

No complimentary snacks food, beverage (not even water), pillow and blanket on a 6 hours long flight (including economy comfort). A low form of nickeling an diming. Lost a recurring passanger over a soda. Avianca never again.

Flight departure late. Got late in Colombia making us take a different flight next day. Avianca airport crew messed up my ticket so when a I got in Brazil I didn’t have a ticket for my destination. Had to buy a new ticket out of my pocket.

Not a fan of the diagonal partially enclosed business class seats or how they have to be converted to beds manually by crew. I prefer more isolation and user control for switching to lie flat.

No lounge access with “United First” ticket. False alarm about late flight, jeopardizing connection. Wrong meal. Loose power socket would not hold plug, could not charge device. In-flight access to text messaging did not work. Toilet seat on plane would not stay up.

We ended up with seats in the very back. So they did not recline. Have no idea why, we reserved and checked in very early. The isles were very narrow and the seats had very little leg room. But they did give us water, and a snack.

Energetic crew - flight full of swiftied going to Taylor's opening show in Paris! Long lines for bathroom made out kind of suck though

Check in etc was very good. As for on the plane, it was like flying in a freezer. It was so cold, i have flown for years and never been so cold on a plane. Staff on board said its always cold when flying which is a load of rubbish. They wouldnt put any heating on and now i have the flu because of this .

I’ve had a couple flights this week on United that were delayed by an hour or more

Flight was delayed 2.5 hours - a big deal on an overnight when you plan to sleep.

I feel like they have upgraded the app since I last flew United and I found it to be super helpful. I had stopped flying United unless absolutely necessary and my experience on this trip indicates they have been working hard to improve their services.

Surprisingly easy! I was hesitant to try this, but the cost swayed me. I actually felt like I had less stress than all the taxiing and possible delays that occur with short regional flights where you spend less time in the air than getting to and from the plane..

This flight was delayed multiple times and eventually canceled around 2-3ish. Original take off time was around 10:30am. By 3, there were no other options out of Houston, so stuck in Houston for from 3pm - 11am the next day.

Tray table was filthy when I sat down. I needed to have someone come clean it because there was food and stains on it WiFi didn’t work after paying for in flight WiFi Food was terrible and was not filling at all Chicken was rubbery Flight attendant had an attitude, interrupted me and wasn’t able to answer basic questions about the food selection such as “does the chicken have red sauce in it”. If your flight attendants are not going to know what is in the meals so we can make an educated decision based on dietary restrictions, they shouldn’t be on the plane. My 1.5 year old niece was sleeping and dropped her binkie. I went on the ground under the chairs looking for it. It was at that time that she came up to me as I’m CLEARLY on all 4s with a flashlight and said “I need to get by”. I said one moment please I’m getting something from under the seat (while my head was literally under the seat). Her reply was “no you need to move now” and proceeded to almost push me out of the way. I looked up and all I saw was her toes under my eyes. When I looked in front of me, her private parts were inches away from my face. I then made a comment “you couldn’t waited 2 seconds?” and her response was, “no I need to use the bathroom”. I understand that and would never want to be the reason someone couldn’t get to the bathroom but I was under the seat. She could’ve gone around the other way instead of harassing me, basically placing her private parts on my head and borderline pushing me out of the way. You don’t pay (especially this much) for this deplorable experience. This was by far the worst experience I have ever had on American. I will be absolutely thinking twice and thrice about flying American Airlines again. I would rather pay more to fly delta because at least I know their WiFi will work and their flight attendants won’t have a terrible attitude for no reason, nor will they act the way this woman did. Unacceptable.

Tray table was filthy when I sat down. I needed to have someone come clean it because there was food and stains on it WiFi didn’t work after paying for in-flight WiFi. Food was terrible and was not filling at all Chicken was rubbery Flight attendant had an attitude, interrupted me and wasn’t able to answer basic questions about the food selection such as “does the chicken have red sauce in it”. If your flight attendants are not going to know what is in the meals so we can make an educated decision based on dietary restrictions, they shouldn’t be on the plane. My 1.5 year old niece was sleeping and dropped her binkie. I went on the ground under the chairs looking for it. It was at that time that she came up to me as I’m CLEARLY on all 4s with a flashlight and said “I need to get by”. I said one moment please I’m getting something from under the seat (while my head was literally under the seat). Her reply was “no you need to move now” and proceeded to almost push me out of the way. I looked up and all I saw was her toes under my eyes. When I looked in front of me, her private parts were inches away from my face. I then made a comment “you couldn’t waited 2 seconds?” and her response was, “no I need to use the bathroom”. I understand that and would never want to be the reason someone couldn’t get to the bathroom but I was under the seat. She could’ve gone around the other way instead of harassing me, basically placing her private parts on my head and borderline pushing me out of the way. You don’t pay that much for this deplorable experience. This was by far the worst experience I have ever had on American. I will be absolutely thinking twice and thrice about flying American Airlines again. I would rather pay more to fly delta because at least I know their WiFi will work and their flight attendants won’t have a shitty attitude for no reason, nor will they act the way this woman did. Unacceptable.

Liked - nothing. Disliked - delayed 35+ min sitting on the plane. Caused me to miss my connection in Charlotte. American Airlines is the worst US Air Carrier company with atrocious customer service.

Worst situation ever! I booked my tickets for this trip on Alaska Airlines. I guess AA is a partner and we flew nonstop from Eugene to PHX on an AA jet. I had to pay for luggage from PHX to EUG. And this was an Alaska Airlines reservation paid for with Alaska airlines credit card! Got to the PHX airport and was not able to check bags because of some weird issue with the AA software. My reservation had to be the-entered by the agent. I will never pick another American Airlines flight on the Alaska Airlines website. While on vacation, I tried to upgrade our seats for the trip home. The request just buffered and never went through. I tried four times and was charged four times on my credit card. The card was charged but the seats were never changed. What a wreck!

Left from gate 30 minutes before flight. Never been late to a flight ever. It says 15 minutes before explicitly on the ticket.

I like the boarding process, it was fast. The seat doesn’t have a TV for a long flight and food wasn’t served, just snacks.

Use planes with TVs on flights over 4 hours. The free entertainment was a cheap in between solution for a very long flight that you don't even bother providing meals or decent snacks.

Even though we left CMI late, we mostly made up the time.

Delayed almost 4 hours for a 45 minute flight with no explanation.

Again, multiple delays and I eventually just canceled and drove!

Never been on this flight as i had missed it due to delayed connecting flight

Horrible. Delays, no customer support and fake promises and everything. i am suffering to help as due to connecting flight getting missed no support on ground and customer support window is closed and we are sitting o ground without anything

Missed our departing flight due to poor baggage drop staff. At the airport with 2 & 1/2 hours to spare and waited in bag check in until 15 minutes prior to gates closing before baggage staff asked us to move to the front of the line. We weren’t the only passengers that missed the flight. Poor organizational operations by Spirit staff. Otherwise , the return trip was fine.

My experience with Spirit was perfect. Did not expect it to be this good

Worst airline experience ever. Lost my IPad going thru security. Charged for my dog carriage at the gate not at ticket counter. Gave away my seat 6D. Expressed I wanted my seat back after charging me 99 for dog carriage. Should have thrown it out. Had a 16 yr old Yorkie heading to Boston after being a snowbird. Seats small. Very bad experience. Still don’t have my IPad. Horrible

My mother was HARASSED AND ACCOSTED by the gate agent for her bag. I pre purchased the bag fee and the gate agent made my 78 year old mother board, deplane, re pay for her bag fee and board again. The gate agent made my mother pick up her own bag and REFUSED to help her, she is an older woman who wasn’t bothering anyone on a flight that had maybe 30’total passengers. I am going to sue this airlines for their HORRIBLE customer service and treatment of my mother, and all this occurred the day after Mother’s Day!!!

The boarding gate was moved so many times that I missed my flight. No attendants would help me. The wrong gate was even on my boarding pass. I had to repurchase everything. I’ll never fly again. Really a terrible day as I had planned to see a former student who is dying in Louisville Never ever will I forget that day. Your airline is totally uncaring.

Horrible, first flight delayed. They switched my connecting flight while I was en route and even though I was originally supposed to be on the flight going back home to boston, refused to let me board and told me I would have to wait for next flight that was 14 hours later. Ended up renting a car and driving 6.5 hours back home. Still getting messages about flight and it is now showing that the other flight they put me on is now canceled and I would have to wait 24 hours for the next one. I will never book with spirit again

Hated it I would not use Kayak or Spirit ever again.

They stuck us with multiple extra fees. I will never fly spirit again

Book Cheap Central America Plane Tickets

Recent round-trip flight deals

9/30Mon
nonstopVolaris
4h 51mLAX-GUA
10/5Sat
nonstopVolaris
4h 56mGUA-LAX
$88
9/12Thu
nonstopVolaris
4h 51mLAX-GUA
10/4Fri
nonstopVolaris
4h 56mGUA-LAX
$104
9/18Wed
1 stopAvianca
11h 10mLAX-GUA
9/20Fri
nonstopAvianca
5h 15mGUA-LAX
$140
9/18Wed
nonstopAvianca
4h 40mLAX-GUA
9/20Fri
nonstopAvianca
5h 15mGUA-LAX
$141
10/19Sat
1 stopSpirit Airlines
7h 39mIAH-SAL
10/21Mon
1 stopSpirit Airlines
8h 06mSAL-IAH
$150
9/4Wed
1 stopSpirit Airlines
9h 37mIAH-SAL
9/17Tue
1 stopSpirit Airlines
8h 06mSAL-IAH
$152
9/30Mon
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 00mLAX-SAL
10/13Sun
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 19mSAL-LAX
$153
8/26Mon
1 stopUnited Airlines
17h 56mLAX-SAL
10/15Tue
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 19mSAL-LAX
$176
9/19Thu
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
16h 19mLAX-SAL
9/30Mon
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
19h 38mSAL-LAX
$203
8/31Sat
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
16h 23mLAX-GUA
9/7Sat
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
19h 15mGUA-LAX
$244

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Recent one-way flight deals

10/6Sun
nonstopVolaris Costa Rica
4h 51mLAX-GUA
$42
10/22Tue
nonstopVolaris
5h 02mLAX-SAL
$42
9/17Tue
1 stopSpirit Airlines
9h 40mIAH-SAL
$47
8/7Wed
nonstopAvianca
4h 40mLAX-GUA
$51
8/29Thu
1 stopAvianca
6h 50mLAX-GUA
$52
9/17Tue
2 stopsSpirit Airlines
9h 44mIAH-SAL
$52
9/12Thu
nonstopUnited Airlines
3h 03mIAH-SAL
$60
8/16Fri
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 04mLAX-SAL
$63
8/7Wed
1 stopAmerican Airlines
12h 52mLAX-GUA
$72
5/19Sun
1 stopAmerican Airlines
15h 55mJFK-SAL
$75

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Last minute flights to Central America

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

5/18Sat
nonstopVolaris
4h 51mLAX-GUA
5/22Wed
multi-stopVolaris
22h 29mGUA-LAX
$179
5/20Mon
nonstopDelta
4h 41mLAX-GUA
6/7Fri
nonstopDelta
5h 11mGUA-LAX
$187
5/18Sat
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
18h 26mLAX-SAL
5/25Sat
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
20h 03mSAL-LAX
$208
5/19Sun
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
12h 15mLAX-SAL
5/24Fri
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
20h 03mSAL-LAX
$212
5/20Mon
multi-stopAvianca
10h 15mIAD-SAL
9/25Wed
nonstopAvianca
4h 15mSAL-IAD
$226
5/21Tue
nonstopAvianca
4h 20mIAD-SAL
9/25Wed
nonstopAvianca
4h 15mSAL-IAD
$231
5/18Sat
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 52mLAX-GUA
5/24Fri
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 08mGUA-LAX
$248
5/21Tue
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 52mLAX-GUA
6/3Mon
multi-stopUnited Airlines
21h 45mGUA-LAX
$257
5/20Mon
multi-stopSpirit Airlines
9h 36mIAH-SAL
5/29Wed
multi-stopSpirit Airlines
8h 33mSAL-IAH
$263
5/20Mon
multi-stopSpirit Airlines
7h 21mIAH-SAL
5/24Fri
multi-stopSpirit Airlines
21h 22mSAL-IAH
$287

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Flights to Central America

Return flight deals:

Central America - United States

Cabin classes:

$759
$551
$149
$47

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