Costa Rica Travel Checklist: What to Do Before You Go

For most visitors, the Costa Rica travel checklist comes down to six things. Bring a passport valid for your whole stay and proof you’ll leave. Book flights, popular lodges and rental cars early for December to April and holidays. Buy travel insurance with medical evacuation coverage, since it isn’t required but an air ambulance can cost $50,000. Check CDC vaccine advice about a month or two out. Bring a card and some small U.S. bills. Sort out data, an adapter if you need one and offline maps before you fly. Families with a Costa Rican-citizen or resident child also need an exit permit.

This guide is for first-time and returning visitors planning a Costa Rica trip. It gives you a countdown timeline, then the details behind each item: entry rules, insurance, health, money, transportation, tech, traveling with kids and emergency prep.

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Costa Rica travel checklist	At a glance
Passport	Valid for your entire stay; must be undamaged
Visa	None for U.S., Canadian, UK, EU and Australian citizens; up to 180 days, set by the officer
Proof of exit	Return or onward ticket required
Insurance	Not required; strongly recommended with evacuation coverage
Vaccines	None required unless arriving from a yellow fever country; see the CDC for recommendations
Money	Colones and U.S. dollars; cards common; bring small bills
Driving	Home license valid for your permitted stay
Emergencies	Dial 911

Timeline

Costa Rica Travel Checklist: Countdown Timeline

Three months or more before

• Check every passport’s expiration date. It must be valid for your whole stay. U.S. routine processing takes about 4 to 6 weeks plus mailing time, so renew now if it’s close.
• Book international flights into San José (SJO) or Liberia (LIR). See our guide to choosing an airport.
• Book popular lodges if you’re traveling around Christmas, New Year’s or Holy Week (Semana Santa), when rooms and rental cars sell out first.
• Sketch the route. Pick regions and a rough order. Our best time to visit by region guide helps match places to your dates.

Two months before

• See a travel-health provider about vaccines and malaria advice for your route. Some vaccines need more than one dose.
• Buy travel insurance, ideally soon after your first nonrefundable booking so cancellation coverage applies.
• Finalize the itinerary. Drives take longer than maps suggest because of mountain roads and traffic.

One month before

• Book remaining hotels, at least for the first few nights.
• Reserve a rental car and confirm the total price including mandatory liability insurance.
• Book domestic flights on SANSA or Green Airways if you’re flying between regions. These are small planes with strict baggage limits.
• Book limited-capacity tours, such as Corcovado, Caño Island or turtle tours, and buy timed park tickets where required.
• Refill prescriptions to cover the trip plus a few extra days.

Two weeks before

• Buy an eSIM or plan where you’ll buy a local SIM.
• Get small U.S. bills and tell your bank and card issuers you’re traveling, if they ask.
• Download offline maps and the Spanish pack for Google Translate.
• Install Waze, WhatsApp and Uber. Waze is the go-to for driving, and hotels and tour operators often use WhatsApp.

The week before

• Save your onward ticket where you can show it at immigration.
• Save copies of your passport photo page, bookings and insurance card on your phone and in your email.
• Enroll in STEP if you’re a U.S. citizen, so the U.S. Embassy can reach you in an emergency.
• Share your itinerary with someone at home.
• Pack, using our Costa Rica packing list.

Travel day

• Passports, plus any exit permit or consent letter for children
• Onward ticket and first-night address
• Insurance details available offline
• Phone charged and a power bank in your carry-on
• A card and some small bills

Documents

Documents and Entry Requirements

• Passport: valid for the whole stay and in good condition. Damaged passports can be refused. Airlines sometimes apply stricter validity rules than immigration, so check yours.
• Length of stay: citizens of the U.S., Canada, the UK, the EU, Australia and other “Group 1” countries can stay up to 180 days without a visa, but the officer decides the exact number. Check the date stamped in your passport before you leave the airport.
• Onward ticket: you need proof you’ll leave within your permitted stay.
• Funds: officers can ask for proof of about $100 per month of your stay. A bank card or statement usually covers it.
• Cash over $10,000: must be declared when entering or leaving.
• Departure tax: $29 when flying out, usually included in the airfare.
• Carry a copy of your passport photo page and entry stamp. Police can still ask for the original.

Overstaying brings a fine of $100 for each month over, and unpaid fines can lead to an entry ban. See our passport and entry guide.

Insurance

Travel Insurance for Costa Rica

Insurance isn’t required for entry, but go without it only if you can comfortably pay a large medical bill. An air ambulance flight can cost around $50,000 and usually has to be paid up front. Costa Rica can also stop travelers from leaving the country with unpaid bills, including medical bills.

• Medical and evacuation coverage
• Coverage for the activities you’ll do, such as surfing, rafting, ziplining or ATV tours
• Trip cancellation and interruption
• The insurer’s 24-hour assistance number saved in your phone

You can compare policies with these features on Squaremouth. Our guide to health care and insurance in Costa Rica covers how visitors pay for treatment.

Health

Health and Vaccines

• Required: nothing, unless you’re arriving from a country with yellow fever risk. Then you need proof of vaccination.
• Recommended by the CDC for most travelers: routine vaccines including MMR, plus typhoid.
• Recommended for some travelers: hepatitis A and B for the unvaccinated, rabies depending on your activities, and others based on age and length of stay.
• Malaria: the CDC advises prescription prevention medicine for certain areas of the country. Ask a travel-health provider about your route.
• Dengue: there’s no travel vaccine, so use insect repellent and cover up at dawn and dusk.
• Medications: pack them in original labeled containers, with enough for a few extra days.

Tap water is safe to drink in most of the country; see our guide to Costa Rica’s drinking water for the exceptions.

Money

Money: Cards, Cash and Tipping

• Currency: the colón, at roughly ₡450–460 to the dollar. U.S. dollars are widely accepted in tourist areas, and change usually comes in colones.
• Cards: accepted at most hotels, restaurants and tour operators. Bring two from different networks.
• Cash: useful for small sodas (family-run restaurants), markets, parking, tips and rural areas. Small, clean bills are easiest; some businesses won’t take $100s or torn notes.
• Restaurant bills: most include a 10% service charge and 13% tax.

See our guides to the best currency to bring and tipping in Costa Rica.

Getting around

Transportation: Car, Shuttle, Bus or Flight

Option	Best for	Watch for
Rental car	Several regions, flexible plans	Mandatory liability insurance raises the advertised price; some areas need a 4×4 in rainy season
Shared shuttle	Two or three main hubs	Fixed schedules, hotel pickups
Public bus	Tight budgets	Slower, with transfers on some routes
Domestic flight	Long distances, such as the Osa Peninsula	Small planes, strict baggage limits

Your home license is valid for as long as your permitted stay. Read our Costa Rica driving guide before you pick up a car, and our guide to rental car insurance before you book.

Tech

Phone, Power and Apps

• Data: a tourist eSIM, or a local SIM bought with your passport. See our SIM card and eSIM guide.
• Power: U.S.-style Type A and B outlets at 120V. Visitors from outside North America need an adapter; see our power outlet guide.
• Apps: Waze, WhatsApp, Google Maps with offline areas, Google Translate with Spanish offline, Uber and your airline’s app.

Kids

Traveling to Costa Rica With Kids

• Foreign children visiting as tourists follow the same entry rules as adults: their own passport and an onward ticket.
• Children who are Costa Rican citizens, including dual citizens, need an exit permit from Costa Rica’s immigration authority before they can leave. Foreign children with Costa Rican residency may need one too. Apply well before your flight.
• One parent traveling alone: a notarized consent letter from the other parent isn’t required for foreign tourist children, but it’s a sensible document to carry.
• Car seats: required by law for children under 12 who are shorter than 1.45 meters. Reserve them with the rental car or bring your own.
• Insect repellent: for children over 2 months, use products with no more than 30% DEET.

Traveling with an infant? See our guide to Costa Rica with a baby.

Emergencies

Emergency Prep

• 911 reaches police, fire, ambulance and traffic police, with English-speaking call-takers.
• U.S. Embassy in San José: +506 2519-2000; after hours +506 2220-3127.
• Insurance assistance line saved in your contacts.
• A copy of your passport stored separately from the original.

Our list of Costa Rica emergency numbers covers the rest.

Avoid

Common Mistakes First-Time Visitors Make

• A passport that expires mid-trip, or one that’s damaged.
• No onward ticket at check-in or immigration.
• Skipping insurance on an adventure-heavy trip.
• Trusting the rental car’s online price before adding mandatory insurance.
• Packing too many stops into too few days.
• Forgetting the exit permit for a Costa Rican-citizen or resident child.
• Bringing only $100 bills.

For more planning advice, see our Costa Rica travel tips.

FAQ

Costa Rica Travel Checklist: FAQ