Yes — you can smoke at Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) in the open air outside the terminal, on the landside curbside before security. The terminal interior and the entire airside are smoke-free under Costa Rica’s Ley 9028, so the outdoor curbside is the only place to light up.
Located near Alajuela, about 20 km northwest of San José, SJO is Costa Rica’s main international gateway and its busiest airport, handling most arrivals and departures for the Central Valley and connections onward to the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. It has a single passenger terminal, with arrivals on the ground level and departures upstairs.
Where to Smoke: The Landside Curbside
The one place to smoke is outdoors, landside, on the open-air curbside that runs along the front of the terminal — the same drop-off and pick-up frontage on both the departures level and the arrivals level below. There is no painted or signed smoking area; you simply step out through the doors into the open air.
Because the frontage is busy with taxi and shuttle queues, move well clear of the entrances, canopies, and pedestrian walkways before lighting up. Travellers report needing to stand roughly 10 metres out and away from anyone waiting, so aim for an open stretch of curb rather than the sheltered area right by the doors.
Inside the Terminal and Airside: Smoke-Free
There is no indoor or airside smoking room anywhere at SJO. Ley 9028 (2012), one of Latin America’s strictest smoke-free laws, permits no separate smoking area inside enclosed public buildings or transport terminals, so nothing exists past the security checkpoint — no lounge, no terrace, no sealed cabin.
Plan your last cigarette for the curbside before you pass through security. Once you are airside you cannot re-exit to smoke, so a departing passenger who has cleared the checkpoint is committed to a smoke-free wait until boarding.
Connecting Through SJO
For a pure airside connection there is no smoking option; you stay inside the sterile area with no way back out to the curb. If your itinerary has you clear immigration and re-check-in between flights, you can step outside to the curbside and smoke before returning through security. Budget time for the second screening if you do.
Vaping
Vaping is treated like smoking under Ley 9028 — e-cigarettes are not allowed inside the terminal or airside. Vape outdoors only, on the curbside outside the building, in the same open-air frontage where smoking is permitted.
Summary table
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor terminal | No | Smoke-free throughout under Ley 9028 |
| After security / airside | No | No smoking room or lounge; no re-exit once airside |
| Outdoor curbside (landside) | Yes | Open-air terminal frontage, before security — stand ~10 m clear of doors |
For Costa Rica’s airport smoking rules, vaping law, and how Liberia (LIR) compares, see our Costa Rica airport guide.