Sit on the Right side of the plane for the best views on flights from Toronto to San Jose. The right side wins overall because the landing approach into San Jose delivers the most dramatic and sustained scenery — the Central American volcanic chain and the Talamanca highlands are genuinely spectacular from the right seat. The left side at Toronto is good but the right side payoff at SJO tips the balance.

During takeoff from Lester B Pearson International (YYZ), sit on the Left side for the best views. Pearson typically departs east on runway 06L/06R or west on 24L/24R. On eastbound departures, the left side gives you the Toronto skyline and Lake Ontario as the aircraft climbs and turns south. On westbound departures, the left side still captures the city core and the lake shoreline as you bank toward the flight path. Notable sights include: Toronto downtown skyline with CN Tower, Lake Ontario shoreline, Toronto Islands, Hamilton and Burlington Bay to the west.

When landing at Juan Santamaria International (SJO), sit on the Right side for the best views. Juan Santamaria airport sits in the Central Valley and typically uses runway 07 for arrivals from the northwest, meaning the aircraft approaches from the northwest heading southeast. The right side on this approach faces southwest toward the Talamanca mountain range and Poas and Irazu volcanoes, which are the dominant visual features of the approach into San Jose. Notable sights include: Volcan Irazu (3,432m), Volcan Poas (2,708m), Central Valley urban sprawl of San Jose and Alajuela, Talamanca mountain ridgelines to the south.

The flight from Lester B Pearson International (YYZ) to Juan Santamaria International (SJO) takes Approximately 5 hours 30 minutes to 6 hours.

The flight tracks south-southwest over Lake Erie, then crosses the Appalachian ridges of West Virginia and Kentucky, continues over the Gulf of Mexico after passing the Yucatan Peninsula, crosses over Cuba or the western Caribbean depending on routing, then passes over Nicaragua and into Costa Rica. The Gulf of Mexico crossing is the longest over-water segment. The Yucatan Peninsula and the mountainous spine of Central America through Nicaragua are the most visually interesting mid-flight features.