San José to the coasts: sodas, 4x4 roads, two wet seasons, and data that dies on a park trail on purpose.
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Costa Rica is a soda (the cheap lunch counter, not the drink), a national-park trail that will soak you, and a road that looks fine until the river crossing. San José is a working capital you will mostly use as an airport and a bus. The coasts and the cloud forest are the trip. Pura vida is a real phrase and also a t-shirt — use it as manners, not a personality.
Domestic hops and shuttles beat heroic self-drive if you are not used to gravel and rain. A compact rental is how you meet a river. Check the actual road, not the pin.
Two coasts, different weather. When the Caribbean is dripping, the Pacific might be kinder, and the reverse. Pack a dry bag like you mean it.
Essentials
Traveler tips
Real advice from people who have been to Costa Rica, curated by our team with links to the original sources.
The casado plate is the country's value. A beach-club menu is a different economy.
If the hotel says 4x4, believe them. A compact on a riverbed is a tow.
Do not pack one weather plan. The ridge in the middle is a climate machine.
Manuel Antonio and others cap entries. Book or go early. Midday heat is also the wildlife siesta.
Liberia serves the north Pacific. San José serves the rest. Landing at the wrong one is a six-hour shuttle, not a cute mistake.
SINAC
Manuel Antonio and several other parks sell timed entry on the SINAC system. Showing up at 10:00 in high season is how you photograph the parking lot. Parks really do close for lunch or at a posted hour — the ranger is not negotiating. SJO and Liberia are still different holidays; do not assume a same-day transfer between coasts after a late park exit.
View sourceSJO Airport
Juan Santamaría’s official airport taxis sell a ticket at a marked desk. Ride-hail pickup is a walk to the allowed zone, not the arrivals hug. Liberia (LIR) is a different coastline and a different transfer. Do not let a lobby cousin reload your bag into a private van whose price changes in the car. The 4x4 conversation starts after you leave the paved Interamericana.
View sourceTripAdvisor Forums
Third-party cover is mandatory at the desk. Collision cover is required unless you walk in with written proof your card is primary. The website rate that omitted both will jump when you land at SJO.
View sourceTripAdvisor Forums
You can do La Fortuna, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio without a car if you accept other people's clocks. Public buses work; they spend the holiday in terminals. Four people in one vehicle changes the maths. A solo traveller often should not rent.
View sourceFAQ
Only if Panama is listed. Sixaola is a border.
Parking lots sometimes. Trails often not. Offline maps and a told return time.
Desks exist. An eSIM has the shuttle chat live in arrivals.
Tourist belts take USD. Sodas and buses want colones. Keep both.
In San José and many towns, yes. Remote lodges: follow their advice.
eSIM plans
Shuttle WhatsApps, Waze on a gravel road and a lodge that sends the gate code by image all want data at SJO or LIR. A Costa Rica eSIM is online before you rent the wrong car because the map would not load.
If you add Panama or Nicaragua, read the list. The border parks are close. The SKU is not.