Before you land

Costa Rica is one of the easiest countries in Latin America to travel — but it rewards a little preparation. The tips below come from years of guiding first-time visitors around the country: what actually matters, and what people worry about but shouldn’t. Read once before you fly, and you’ll spend your trip watching wildlife instead of solving logistics.

1. Choose your season on purpose

Costa Rica has two seasons, and they shape the whole trip:

• Dry season (December–April): reliable sun, easier hiking, peak wildlife visibility at watering holes. It’s also peak tourist season — book lodges and tours 2–3 months in advance.
• Green season (May–November): daily afternoon rain, empty trails, discounts of 20–40%, and the best time for herpetology and reptiles. Bring rain gear; expect one soaked afternoon in five.

Photographers usually pick May or September–October: fewer people, greener forests, dramatic skies. If it’s your first visit and you only want easy weather, go February.

2. Money: bring dollars, spend colones

The local currency is the colón (₡), but US dollars are accepted almost everywhere — hotels, restaurants, taxis, tour operators. That said, always carry some colones for small vendors, tips, and rural areas. ATMs are widely available in cities and towns; they dispense both currencies.

Cards: Visa and Mastercard work in most restaurants and hotels. Amex is spotty. Notify your bank before traveling to avoid frozen cards.
Tipping: a 10% service charge is legally added to most restaurant bills — extra tipping is appreciated but not expected. For guides, $10–20 per person per day is a fair range.

3. Rent a 4×4 — or don’t drive at all

Costa Rican main roads are paved and well-signposted, but the second you turn off toward a lodge, an eco-reserve, or a beach, the road becomes gravel, potholes, or river crossings. A regular sedan can get you between San José and Arenal, but not up to Monteverde or Nicoya’s remote beaches.

Two solid options:

• Rent a 4×4 SUV (Daihatsu Bego, Toyota RAV4, Suzuki Jimny). Budget $60–90/day plus mandatory insurance (~$25/day). Highly recommended.
• Use private shuttles (Interbus, Grayline). About $50–65 per person between major destinations, door-to-door.

Uber works in San José only. Waze is more accurate than Google Maps for driving.

4. Pack for two climates at once

Costa Rica in a single trip can mean humid rainforest at sea level (32°C) and cloud forest at 1,700 m (12°C at night). Pack layers.

The non-negotiables: lightweight rain jacket, quick-dry pants (not jeans), sturdy trail shoes or boots, headlamp, insect repellent with DEET or picaridin, reef-safe sunscreen, a wide-brim hat, a refillable water bottle. If you’re doing wildlife walks, add binoculars — 8×42 is the classic all-rounder.

Leave at home: heavy jeans, formal clothes (nobody dresses up), and full-size toiletries (available everywhere).

5. Wildlife etiquette isn’t optional

Costa Rica takes its wildlife seriously. Three unwritten rules that separate respectful travelers from the ones who ruin experiences for everyone:

• Don’t feed monkeys. Not even a piece of fruit. Fed monkeys become aggressive and eventually get relocated or worse.
• Keep at least 5 meters from any wild animal. Sloths, iguanas, coatis — no touching, no baiting for photos.
• Never buy anything made from wild animals (shells, feathers, turtle eggs). It’s illegal and it fuels the trade.

If your guide breaks any of these rules, find a better guide.

6. Learn “Pura Vida”

The national motto — literally “pure life” — is greeting, goodbye, “thanks,” “you’re welcome,” “everything’s fine,” and a philosophy of not rushing. Use it. Costa Ricans (Ticos) light up when foreigners use it correctly.

Beyond that, five phrases go a very long way: “buenos días” (good morning), “por favor” (please), “gracias” (thank you), “la cuenta, por favor” (the check, please), and “con permiso” (excuse me). Most people in tourist zones speak some English; a smile and the phrase in Spanish always land better.

7. Eat like a local at least once a day

Skip the expensive tourist restaurants and hunt down a soda — small local diners serving traditional food for $6–10 a plate:

• Gallo pinto: rice and beans, breakfast staple, usually with eggs and plantain.
• Casado: the lunch classic — rice, beans, salad, plantain, and your pick of protein (chicken, fish, beef, or veg).
• Ceviche: fresh fish “cooked” in lime juice with onion and cilantro. Especially good on the Pacific coast.
• Tres leches: the dessert. Try it once.

Food safety is generally excellent. Tap water is safe to drink in most of the country except very remote areas — ask your lodge if unsure.

8. It’s safer than most people expect

Costa Rica has one of the lowest violent-crime rates in Latin America. Your realistic risks are petty theft (unattended bags on beaches, phones on visible restaurant tables) and rental-car break-ins at trailheads.

Standard precautions: keep valuables in the hotel safe, never leave anything visible in a parked car, don’t wander unlit areas at night in San José. Solo travelers — including women — routinely have great experiences here.

9. Health: easy, but plan the basics

No vaccines are required for entry from the US, Canada, or Europe (yellow fever certificate is required only if you’re arriving from a country where it’s endemic). Recommended: hepatitis A and typhoid if you’ll eat outside major hotels.

Pharmacies (farmacias) are everywhere, well-stocked, and much cheaper than the US — most common medications don’t require a prescription. Private clinics in tourist zones are excellent and affordable. Travel insurance is worth it — mostly for evacuation coverage in case something happens on a remote trail.

10. Connectivity: better than you think

Wi-Fi is available in every hotel and most cafés, even remote lodges (though speeds drop in the jungle). For a local SIM card, Kolbi (state-owned) has the widest coverage — around $10 for 5 GB of data. eSIMs from Airalo or Holafly work if your phone supports them.

Don’t over-plan the WhatsApp side: half the joy is losing signal for two hours while a howler monkey troop passes overhead.

The single most important tip

Slow down. Costa Rica is small on the map but slow to drive, and the best moments — a resplendent quetzal at dawn, a sloth’s slow arm reaching for a leaf, a red-eyed tree frog at eye level — happen when you stop moving and let the country come to you.

Two destinations done well beat six destinations rushed.

Want a guide for your first trip?

Our small-group Costa Rica expeditions are built around exactly the kind of unhurried, nature-first travel this article describes. Handled logistics, expert naturalist guides, and time to actually see things. Limited spots each season. See upcoming Costa Rica tours →