How Far in Advance Do Travelers Book Costa Rica Trips?
We analyzed 96,533 valid leads across 2024 and 2025, plus 82,000 completed itineraries spanning two decades, to map exactly how Costa Rica travel bookings behave from first inquiry to departure — and what that means for travelers and agencies alike.
The question sounds simple: when do people decide to visit Costa Rica? The answer is not a single moment but a distribution — a spread of human behavior across weeks, months, and years of planning that has been shifting steadily for two decades and accelerated dramatically after the pandemic.
This report draws on proprietary booking data from a Costa Rica-based travel agency to answer that question with precision. Rather than relying on surveys or industry estimates, the analysis is grounded in the actual behavior of 96,533 verified leads across 2024 and 2025, and 82,000 completed itineraries going back to 2006. The results challenge several assumptions about last-minute travel, reveal which customer segments drive the most revenue, and offer a clear picture of where the Costa Rica travel market is heading.
The 162-Day Traveler
The most important single number in this report is 162 days. That is the revenue-weighted average booking window for Costa Rica travel in 2024–2025: the point, measured backwards from arrival, at which the average revenue dollar was generated. In plain terms, the typical trip to Costa Rica — weighted by what it contributes to the business — begins with an inquiry made roughly five and a half months before departure.
This figure matters because it is not the same as the median booking window, which sits closer to 112 days for initial inquiries. The gap between the two reveals something important: the travelers who book furthest in advance also spend the most. The 180+ day segment generates an average booking value of $12,026 — nearly 47% higher than the 0–30 day segment’s $5,806. Planning further ahead and spending more are not coincidental behaviors; they reflect a distinct traveler profile.
“The average revenue dollar from Costa Rica travel comes from an inquiry made 162 days before arrival — not 30 days, not 60 days. Five and a half months out.” — Costa Rica Travel Agency Research Team, February 2026
The Six Booking Windows: A Tranche-by-Tranche Analysis
| Booking Window | Inquiries | Bookings | Conv Rate | Quote Open | Avg Booking Value | Revenue Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 – 30 days | 13,597 | 1,093 | 8.0% | 45.0% | $5,806 | 6.9% |
| 30 – 60 days | 15,625 | 1,618 | 10.4% | 54.6% | $6,683 | 11.7% |
| 60 – 90 days | 13,058 | 1,555 | 11.9% | 58.9% | $7,663 | 12.9% |
| 90 – 120 days | 10,809 | 1,272 | 11.8% | 60.9% | $8,888 | 12.2% |
| 120 – 180 days | 16,099 | 1,930 | 12.0% | 62.8% | $9,644 | 20.1% |
| 180+ days | 27,345 | 2,781 | 10.2% | 62.3% | $12,026 | 36.2% |
| TOTAL / AVERAGE | 96,533 | 10,249 | 10.6% | 58.1% | $9,019 | 100% |
The Last-Minute Traveler (0–30 Days)
The shortest-window segment is smaller and weaker than it appears. After removing records where inquiry, arrival, and departure dates were all identical — a data artifact representing non-website inquiries with missing date fields — the 0–30 day tranche holds 13,597 genuine last-minute inquiries. Its conversion rate of 8.0% is the lowest of any window and its average booking value of $5,806 sits well below the portfolio average.
The Sweet Spot: 120–180 Days
The most commercially efficient segment in the entire dataset is the 120 to 180 day window. Inquiries arriving here convert at 12.0% — the highest rate of any tranche in both 2024 and 2025 — and carry a quote open rate of 62.8%. Average booking value reaches $9,644, and the segment’s revenue share (20.1%) exceeds its inquiry share (16.7%).
The Long-Range Planner (180+ Days)
Travelers who inquire more than six months before arrival produce the highest average booking value ($12,026) and the highest total revenue ($33.4 million over 24 months). The trade-off is cancellation risk: at 1.44%, the cancellation rate is four times that of the 0–30 day segment, and each cancellation carries an average loss of approximately $12,000.
2024 vs. 2025: Year-on-Year Comparison
Comparing the two most recent full years reveals a quality-over-quantity shift. Overall inquiry volume declined 7.3% from 50,096 to 46,437, and bookings fell from 5,345 to 4,904. But average booking value rose from $8,811 to $9,246 (+5.0%), and quote open rates increased in every single tranche in 2025. The 2025 pipeline appears to be attracting better-qualified leads even as total volume softened.
Five Years of Shifting Lead Times
Zooming out to the five-year window from 2021 through 2025 reveals the post-COVID recovery arc in full detail. The median quote-to-travel window compressed to just 85 days in 2021 as the industry reopened, then climbed steeply to a peak of 121 days in 2023 before a moderate pullback to 110 days in 2025. The 5-year pooled median lands at 112 days quote-to-travel and 98 days sale-to-travel — a stable 14-day gap that reflects a consistent consideration window between first contact and commitment.
Twenty Years of Shifting Forward
The 20-year view places the current market in its full historical context. Analysis of 82,391 completed itineraries from 2006 through 2025 reveals that the median quote-to-travel window grew from 69 days in 2006 to 110 days in 2025 — a 59% increase. The data reveals four distinct behavioural eras, each driven by different macro forces and each creating a new baseline that the next era would build upon.
That is how much the median Costa Rica trip inquiry lead time has grown between 2006 and 2025 — from 69 days to 110 days. The structural shift reflects a fundamental change in how travelers research, plan, and commit to international travel, accelerated by digital discovery channels and post-pandemic demand patterns.
Seasonality: When to Book, Month by Month
December arrivals carry the longest lead times of any month: a median of 137 days from inquiry to arrival, pooled across 2021–2025. November follows at 128 days. Both months align with Costa Rica’s peak dry-season period, when demand is highest and availability in preferred lodges is most constrained. August arrivals, by contrast, sit at just 94 days — and this pattern has barely changed over 20 years, gaining only eight additional planning days between 2006 and 2025.
January has seen the most dramatic transformation. In 2021, the median lead time for January arrivals was just 54 days. By 2025 it had grown to 117 days — a 63-day shift, the largest structural change of any month in the dataset. Early-year travel to Costa Rica has shifted from a relatively spontaneous decision to a highly planned one.
- 162 days is the true commercial center of gravity. The revenue-weighted average booking window sits at 162 days — not the commonly cited 30–60 day window — because higher-spending travelers plan further ahead.
- The 120–180 day window converts best. This tranche delivers the highest conversion rates (12.0%), the highest quote engagement (62.8%), and above-average booking values ($9,644).
- Long-window travelers spend 47% more per booking. The 180+ day segment generates an average booking value of $12,026, compared to $5,806 for 0–30 day inquiries.
- Planning lead times have grown 59% over 20 years. The median inquiry-to-arrival window expanded from 69 days in 2006 to 110 days in 2025. The biggest structural leap came in 2013.
- December trips require the most advance planning; August the least. December arrivals carry a median 137-day inquiry lead time. August arrivals sit at just 94 days — and this pattern has barely changed in two decades.
- 2025 saw higher quality at lower volume. Despite a 7.3% decline in total inquiries, average booking values rose 5.0% and quote open rates increased in every single tranche.
Booking window analysis: 119,762 raw CRM records with inquiry dates in 2024–2025. Records where inquiry date = arrival date = departure date excluded (22,745 records, 19% of raw). Clean dataset: 96,533 records with booking windows 0–730 days.
Conversion definitions: Closed Won = Lead Stage “6. Sold”. Cancelled = Lead Stage “7. Cancelled”. All other stages = Closed Lost. Revenue from Invoice.Amount for Closed Won leads only.
Historical analysis: 82,391 itineraries with arrivals 2006–2025 (negatives and >730d outliers excluded). Quote-to-Travel = datecreated to arrivaldate; Sale-to-Travel = datesold to arrivaldate. All figures reported as medians.
Data source: Proprietary CRM data from a Costa Rica-based travel agency. All data is aggregated; no personally identifiable information is included.