Go with a plan.
No major changes since yesterday.
Governments, one trip
What they're telling their own citizens about Costa Rica
The real score
The breakdown
See it from your perspective
Go with a plan.
The general Sketch Score, unweighted for any specific traveler.
Staying healthy
What to watch out for, health-wise
Active notices
- • Global Dengue
- • Chikungunya in Costa Rica
- • Global Measles
Tap water safe to drink: Yes
Vaccines
Required: Yellow Fever
Recommended: Chikungunya, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Malaria, Measles, Rabies, Typhoid
Source: CDC Travelers' Health →Getting in
What you'll need at the border
The visa policy of Costa Rica requires that any foreign national wishing to enter Costa Rica to obtain a visa from one of the Costa Rican diplomatic missions, unless they hold a passport issued by one of the 95 eligible visa exempt countries or if they fulfill the requirements for a substitute visa. Costa Rican visas are documents issued by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, which is part of the Ministry of Interior and Police, with the stated goal of regulating and facilitating m
Source: Wikipedia →Real, not invented
Terrorism
Although there’s no history of terrorism in Costa Rica, attacks cannot be ruled out.
Source: UK FCDO →Real, not invented
Cultural & legal notes
LGBT+ travellers
Costa Rica is generally welcoming of LGBT+ travellers. Read more advice for LGBT+ travellers .
Source: UK FCDO →From people who've been there
Local know-how
Staying safe
- •Travel to Costa Rica is common, with 2.6 million people visiting annually.
- •Costa Rica is often considered one of the safest countries in Central America.
- •Travelling alone is fine and generally safe in Costa Rica, but carefully consider what kind of risks (if any) you are willing to take.
- •Traffic: Traffic in Costa Rica, particularly around the capital, is dangerous.
- •Robbery: Don't leave valuables in plain view in a car or leave your wallet on the beach when going into the water.
- •Watch out for pickpockets.
Staying healthy
- •Costa Rica has one of the highest levels of social care in the world.
- •For information on the current COVID-19 situation in Costa Rica, see Costa Rica's COVID-19 webpage.
- •Generally, no vaccinations are needed to get into Costa Rica, but you should bring bug-repellent to keep away mosquitoes and other biting insects and prevent malaria and other similar diseases.
- •Tap water in urban areas of the country is almost always safe to drink.
- •All fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed.
Adapted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA — edited by travelers, not us.
Right now
In the news the last few days
Real talk
What travelers actually say
Costa Rica is currently grappling with a shifting reputation regarding safety. While travelers once viewed the country as uniformly tranquil, recent reports highlight specific incidents including home invasions in Tamarindo and robberies at gunpoint. Beyond crime, travelers face environmental hazards such as landslides that impact bus transit. While some tourists still perceive areas like Tamarindo as safer than Jaco, the reality is that the country no longer holds the same level of safety it possessed five years ago. Beyond physical security, travelers must also account for health risks like dengue fever. Navigating the country requires caution, particularly when choosing between private transport and public buses.
“I just read about a Canadian that was killed during a home invasion in Tamarindo. Which I found especially strange given how tranquil and safe I thought Tamarindo was supposed to be, especially over Jaco.
— r/travel
“I read on my country’s travel guidelines page that there are cases of robbery at gunpoint. Also read increase in dengue cases there. Just last week there was a landslide causing a bus to crash.
— r/travel
“What has caused Costa Rica to go from very safe to now not exactly having the same reputation it did 5 or so years ago it seems?
— r/travel
Pack this, know this
The little things that trip people up
Plug & voltage
A / B · 120V
Driving side
right
Emergency
police: 911 / ambulance: 911 / fire: 911
Tipping
Tipping is not customary in Costa Rica. Some higher-end establishments add an additional 10% service charge to the bill at the end, but otherwise, you are not expected to pay anything on top of the amount stated on the bill.
SIM / Data
SIM cards and frequencies: Bring an unlocked quad or multi band cell phone that works on the proper frequencies and get a SIM card, which can be bought on almost any corner. Costaricans refer to mobile phones as celulares (cell phones).
Cash vs. Card
The local currency is the Costa Rican colón (plural: colones) CRC named after Christopher Columbus (whose name was Cristobal Colón in Spanish) sometimes shown locally as ₡ and sometimes shown using the more commonly available U.S. cent symbol '¢' or ₵. Banknotes come in denominations of ₡1,000-, ₡2,000-, ₡5,000-, ₡10,000-, ₡20,000 and ₡50,000. Coins come in denominations of ₡10-, ₡25-, ₡50-, ₡100
Zoom in
One Costa Rica city on SKETCH.WORLD
Real, resident-submitted Numbeo crime data at the city level — the same national picture above, with crime swapped for what people who actually live there report.
Show the receipts (9 sources)
- us-state — observed 2026-09-09
- uk-fcdo — observed 2026-09-09
- ca-gac — observed 2026-09-09
- worldbank-political — observed 2026-09-09
- worldbank-policeTrust — observed 2026-09-09
- cdc-health — observed 2026-09-09
- wikivoyage — observed 2026-09-09
- reddit — observed 2026-09-09
- lgbtq-legal-wikipedia — observed 2026-09-09