Travelling to Costa Rica

To enter Costa Rica as a tourist, you need a valid passport. Make sure that you have checked how long your passport needs to be valid on the planned date of departure from Costa Rica. Children need their own passport. 

You also need proof that you are going to leave the country within the maximum number of days you are allowed to stay in Costa Rica. This proof is return flight ticket or another official travel booking with which you will leave Costa Rica. If you don't have that, for example because you want to go backpacking through Central America and don't have a fixed date or transport method for leaving Costa Rica, the Onward Ticket service might be something for you. I have no experience with this myself, but it is recommended by many travelers that find themselves in this kind of situation. With Onward Ticket you are able to make an official flight ticket reservation for an affordable fee. This reservation is valid for a limited amount of time, and it will expire automatically when you do not confirm the reservation. 

The entry requirements are also stated on the Visit Costa Rica webpage. If you travel to Costa Rica via the United States, an Electronic Travel Authorization (ESTA) is required. If you are traveling from Europe, there is a chance that your flight will have a stopover in the USA.

The first thing you need when travelling to Costa Rica is a flight ticket. Note that Costa Rica has two international airports: 

• The most common is Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) close to San José. This airport is recommended when planning to visit various regions in the country. 

• The second is Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR) close to Liberia, which is a worthy alternative when visiting Guanacaste and the Northern Zone of the country.

When you are planning for a round trip, both airports or a combination of both airports might be a good option. When it comes to searching for the most affordable flight tickets, you might therefor keep both options open. At the itineraries page, there are recommendations on building your itinerary with a map that shows both airports.

To search for flight tickets, I like to use kiwi.com, which compares prices from different airlines. This search engine is my favorite for a couple of reasons: 

1. You can easily set multiple departure and arrival airports

2. Filters are easy to set to allow searching according to your preferences. 

3. It instantly shows you the best, cheapest and fastest flights. Note that when you have a return flight the time displayed for the fastest flight is the cumulative time for both flights.

4. The best feature is when searching for return tickets, you can click on the option 'Pricing table'. This will show you a table with prices for dates before and after your selected arrival and departure date. Arriving or departing a day earlier or later might actually make a big difference in the ticket price.

5. You can set up a price alert to get notifications when prices drop.

Costa Rica is a tropical country, therefore before you travel, assess with your doctor or health institution whether it is advisable for you to get certain vaccinations. For example, DTP and Hepatitis vaccines are generally recommended. In some cases, Hepatitis B and Rabies vaccinations, and/or Malaria medication are recommended. A Yellow Fever vaccine is mandatory when travelling to Costa Rica from certain countries. 

When you use medication, check what you need to bring with you on your vacation and which documentation might be required to pass it through customs. Make sure you know which type of medication you are using (not the brand name) for whenever you need to get a replacement in Costa Rica, where they might have to use different brands. 

Diseases spread by mosquitoes such as Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika and Malaria occur in Costa Rica. It is therefore important to take precautions. The least you should consider is using an insect repellent. The brand name 'Off' repellent is widely available in Costa Rica and works great. In some cases, sleeping under a mosquito net, wearing long-leg pants and long-sleeved shirts in areas with a lot of mosquitoes might be advisable but depends on your personal preferences. 

Costa Rica has several climate zones, depending on the time of the year and the areas you are going to visit, activities you are planning to do, you will have to pack accordingly. There are also some things in general you might want to pack when visiting a country like Costa Rica. In the end it is also down to personal preferences, but hopefully the information on the Packing List page explains what to pack and why. The page also provides information on how to stay connected with an eSIM, and you can arrange this before you travel to Costa Rica.

Costa Rica has a departure tax of around $29. Previously, this tax always had to be paid at the departure tax desk at the airport, but nowadays, there are also airliners that have included this tax in the ticket price. Check in advance with your airliner whether the departure tax is included. If this is not the case, always pay at the official tax desk at the airport, because scams are occasionally reported involving people at the airport saying that the departure tax can be paid through them.

Last but not least, there are several reasons why you might want to consider travel insurance when traveling to Costa Rica. Travel insurance can help cover the costs of medical treatment, hospitalization, and emergency medical evacuation if needed. Costa Rica is a popular destination for adventure tourism, with activities such as zip lining, white-water rafting, and surfing. Travel insurance can provide coverage for any injuries sustained during these activities.  It can provide coverage if your trip needs to be canceled or interrupted due to unforeseen circumstances. Costa Rica is known for its natural beauty, but it is also prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. Theft and pickpocketing can happen anywhere. Travel insurance can provide coverage for lost, damaged or stolen items.