A message to your loved ones on arrival, an offline map to reach a lodge, a call to your hotel to warn of a delay: in Costa Rica, a connected phone makes the trip easier. A local SIM card, an eSIM or your operator’s plan: each solution has its advantages. Here is how to choose, and what to expect from the network.
In the last two cases, your phone must be unlocked: check with your operator before leaving.
Three operators share the mobile network:
In towns and the main tourist regions, all three offer satisfactory coverage. For a trip off the beaten track, Kölbi is the safest choice.
SIM cards are available in operator shops, shopping centers, many supermarkets and, generally, at the airport, at the exit of the arrivals area. Your passport is required for registration. Prepaid plans combine a data allowance with a validity period; rates change often: check the current offers on the operator’s website, for example kolbi.cr, or in store. Top-ups can then be bought in supermarkets, pharmacies or online. Buy your card at an official outlet, not from resellers who approach you at the airport exit.
4G covers San José, the Central Valley and the main destinations well: La Fortuna, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio, Guanacaste and the southern Caribbean coast. The signal becomes weak or absent inside some national parks, on the canals of Tortuguero and in much of the Osa Peninsula, especially around Drake and Corcovado. Isolated lodges usually have a Wi-Fi connection, sometimes slow.
Before leaving for these regions, download offline maps in your navigation app and let your loved ones know they will hear from you less for a few days. See our Osa Peninsula guide.
Most hotels, lodges and restaurants offer free Wi-Fi. Its quality varies: excellent in town, more irregular in forest lodges or during rainy-season storms. Wi-Fi is enough for those who only want to send news in the evening; for navigation during the day, a SIM or eSIM is preferable, especially if you drive.
A connection is useful to follow the route and check travel time. Our rental cars come with Wi-Fi access, which you can share among the family’s phones. See our car rental offer.
Costa Rica’s country code is +506. Local numbers have eight digits: mobile numbers start with 6, 7 or 8, landlines with 2. To call Europe or North America, messaging apps (WhatsApp, for example) are the most economical, with a data connection or Wi-Fi. That is also how most of our travelers reach us during their stay, on WhatsApp at +506 8327-9335.
Yes, recent phones are compatible with Costa Rican networks. Check the cost of roaming with your operator.
Often at the entrance, rarely deep on the trails. In Corcovado and on the canals of Tortuguero, rely rather on your lodge’s Wi-Fi.
An eSIM bought before departure, if your phone is compatible; otherwise a local SIM card bought on arrival.
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