[2024] How Much Does Food Cost In Costa Rica? - The Official Costa Rica Travel Blog

How Much Does Food Cost In Costa Rica?

Last updated on May 2nd, 2020 at 11:15 am

Written by Nikki Solano

Nikki is the CEO of Pura Vida! eh? Inc. (Costa Rica Discounts), and the author of the guidebooks Moon Costa Rica (2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 editions) and Moon Best of Costa Rica (2022 edition) from Moon Travel Guides. Together with her Costa Rican husband, Ricky, she operates the Costa Rica Travel Blog, created the online community DIY Costa Rica, built the Costa Rica Destination Tool, oversees the brand-new (summer 2023) Costa Rica Travel Shop, and designed the Costa Rica Trip Planning 101 E-Course. Also, Nikki wrote the Costa Rica cover feature for Wanderlust Magazine's sustainability-focused Travel Green List issue, showcased Costa Rica destinations and experiences on Rick Steves' Monday Night Travel show and podcast/radio show, and served as the Costa Rica Destination Editor for Essentialist, a luxury travel brand. Want to show your appreciation for her free article below? Thank Nikki here. ❤️️

You asked…

How much does food cost in Costa Rica? How much does it cost to go to restaurants in Costa Rica? How much does it cost to eat in Costa Rica? How much should I budget for food for my Costa Rica trip?

We answered…

Budgeting for food (ie. restaurant costs) depends entirely on the traveller. If you wish to eat economically, you can plan to eat at “sodas” during your trip. Sodas are local, inexpensive, family-type restaurants that are scattered throughout the country. They most often serve typical Costa Rican food (some sodas offer buffet-style dining so you can try a variety of “typical” dishes and side dishes) and a meal with a beverage usually costs less than $10. In popular tourist areas travellers will find many Americanized restaurants offering a variety of international meal options (albeit at more expensive rates). The cost would be similar to what travellers would spend dining out in Canada or the US–anywhere from $10 to $20 per person per meal, or more if a higher-quality restaurant is selected. When budgeting, most travellers will be able to avoid the cost of breakfasts as the majority of hotels include this meal with their room rates. Also, many tours (such as popular combo tours, canyoneering tours, rafting tours, and more) include a meal (sometimes two) with their tour rates, so the cost of lunches and/or dinners may also be able to be subtracted from the food/dining portion of your trip budget.

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This topic has 0 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 14 years, 10 months ago by Nikki Solano.

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January 14, 2018 at 8:03 pm #196454

kimberly Fallaw
Guest

We are a family of 5 and have traveled around the Gaunacaste region a few times. We are actually so in love with Costa Rica that we are now building a home there to spend portions of the year living there. We have found that one of the largest expenses we have when in Costa Rica is on food. We always rent a house so we can cook most of our meals. We have shopped at various markets small and large and have yet to figure out how the locals can afford the food prices. Are we missing something? Do you have any suggestions?
January 18, 2018 at 2:42 am #196455

Nikki Solano
Keymaster

Kimberly Fallaw –

What a great comment and an interesting question! 🙂

We travel around the country frequently, but the majority of our residential experience comes from building our business from the La Fortuna/Arenal region of the country (the heart of Costa Rican tourism) and having property and family in the Turrialba area of the country (which, despite its growing popularity, hardly caters to tourism). We have noted big differences between the two areas with respect to food pricing, so our first thought in response to your question is: perhaps your specific experience has something to do with the area of the country you are situated in. Whereabouts in Guanacaste are you referring to? I ask only because Guanacaste is home to the majority of the country’s all-inclusive resorts, and we wonder if that has something to do with the increase in pricing you have noticed.

Also, it may have something to do with the types of foods being purchased. The two of us have significantly different tastes, and if we ever each went grocery shopping on our own for ourselves, our bills would be very different. In general, a Costa Rican diet is quite basic and repetitive (at least compared to American and Canadian standards); foods like rice, beans, meat, and a handful of vegetables and fruits are what most Costa Ricans live on from day to day, with little extras and variety. When you mention that you have yet to figure out how the locals can afford the food prices, by “locals” do you mean born-and-raised Costa Ricans? Or people local to your area in Guanacaste? The Guanacaste area tends to attract a lot of foreigners, so our guess here would be that the influx has affected the area’s food pricing, at least it has affected the pricing of food items that are more often purchased by expats or foreigners who are frequently in Costa Rica. For born-and-raised Costa Ricans like Ricky, most of his food comes from small pulperias, is bought in bulk (for things like rice), or is supplied by his own family (it is not uncommon for Costa Rican families to have their own tilapia fish ponds, their own chickens for eggs, and/or to raise their own meat).

Pura vida! 🙂
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