Conditions of entry and passport:
For the vast majority of European and North American nationals, a passport valid for at least 3 months is sufficient to enter Costa Rica. Upon arrival in San José or Liberia, you will receive a free 90-day tourist visa, which can be renewed for the same duration if you leave the country for at least 3 days.
Official entry requirements:
For additional information, feel free to contact us or check your Embassy website.
Apart from the above regarding yellow fever, there are no vaccine requirements to enter Costa Rica.
However, we strongly recommend you make sure your regular immunizations are up to date: rubella, mumps, measles, diphtheria, tetanus and polio.
The following vaccines are also recommended – check with your doctor before traveling: typhoid fever and hepatitis A and B.
Malaria is currently being eradicated in Costa Rica. Minor forms may however still be present on the Caribbean coast (Limon and Tortuguero provinces), but there is no need to take a chloroquine-based preventive treatment. You should however take precautions to avoid mosquito bites which may transmit other diseases (dengue, or even chikungunya or the Zika virus), especially if you plan to travel in the wet season and hike in the tropical forest.
To prevent mosquito bites, it is best to wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts. Make sure you pick a DEET-based repellent designed for tropical environments. To protect your hotel room, remember to bring mosquito nets if there are none on site or if you are particularly sensitive.
As a rule of thumb, to avoid any inconvenience associated with “Montezuma’s revenge”, avoid drinking tap water. Drink water from a sealed bottle. Always check that meat and fish are cooked through. The vast majority of restaurants and hotels in Costa Rica adhere to strict rules when handling food and cleaning fruit and vegetables, but please exercise caution and feel free to ask us for advice.
It’s best to keep your luggage lightweight and easy to carry.
Our tip: consider packing a few items of clothing in your cabin baggage, just in case your bags get stuck somewhere and arrive a few days late. If this happens, leave your phone number and hotel name upon arrival at the airline’s airport counter.
This is what the ideal bag should contain:
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