Wi-Fi, Devices, And SIM Cards In Costa Rica: Tips For Tech-Savvy Travel

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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. ❤️️

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How technologically advanced is Costa Rica?

To state the obvious, Costa Rica is more technologically advanced than it used to be. Gone are the days when you’d need to visit an internet cafe to work online or connect with loved ones, when phone cards were purchased for a set number of minutes as opposed to quantities of data, and when hotels would charge guests for internet access. Although these archaic-sounding practices were the norm when I first lived in Costa Rica in the mid-2000s, and you might assume they’re still the norm given that Costa Rica is a developing nation, the past 10-15 years have seen Costa Rica modernize to the point where it’s relatively easy to stay connected regardless of where you go (save for very remote areas), paving the way for tech-savvy travel.

That said, Costa Rica isn’t as technologically advanced as most first-world countries, including the US and Canada, so there may be moments during your trip when you find yourself confused or frustrated. To help you identify and best prepare for these moments, we’ve compiled a list of tech-related recommendations and tips to make your Costa Rica vacation run as smoothly as possible. Continue reading below to learn about Wi-Fi in Costa Rica, the process of purchasing a SIM card in Costa Rica, the use of electronic devices in Costa Rica, and other helpful tips for embracing technology while traveling in Costa Rica.

The internet in Costa Rica

Before we get to explaining ways of connecting to the internet in Costa Rica, we’ll say this: The internet is nearly everywhere in Costa Rica. Several of my businesses (Pura Vida! eh? Inc. and DIY Costa Rica), as well as my work as the author of Moon Costa Rica (the Costa Rica guidebook published by Moon Travel Guides), keep me on the road and send me all over the country, yet on very few occasions, and usually only when I’m holed up in a remote destination or making my way through a relatively uninhabited mountainous area, do I find myself without access to the internet. Fortunately, the majority of Costa Rica’s popular tourist destinations provide internet access, including:

• San Jose and destinations around the capital city in the Central Valley
• Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Cahuita, Tortuguero, and other destinations on the Caribbean Coast
• La Fortuna, Monteverde, and other destinations in the northern inlands
• Rincon de la Vieja and other destinations in the Guanacaste inlands
• Playas del Coco, Tamarindo, and other destinations on the northern Pacific coast
• Nosara, Samara, Montezuma, Santa Teresa, and other destinations on the Nicoya Peninsula
• Jaco, Manuel Antonio, Dominical, Uvita, and other destinations on the central Pacific coast
• and even Puerto Jimenez and parts of Drake Bay on the far-flung Osa Peninsula

Suffice to say, the internet isn’t something you need to seek out in Costa Rica; stick to visiting the destination hubs and the internet will surely find you.

Public Wi-Fi service

Wi-Fi internet (i.e., wireless internet) is readily available in Costa Rica. For the most part, Wi-Fi access is free. A few public places in Costa Rica provide open (i.e., unsecured) Wi-Fi signals that you can tap into using your electronic device, such as a cell phone, including:

• both international airports (SJO and LIR)
• several city parks
• a few shopping centers

To minimize the chance of getting hacked, limit the amount of time that your device is connected to open Wi-Fi signals, and avoid logging into private accounts, such as your online banking account, or sending or opening confidential documents while connected to open Wi-Fi signals.

Private Wi-Fi service

Private, secured Wi-Fi service is also readily available in Costa Rica, but you’ll need a password to access it. This type of Wi-Fi is offered by several types of Costa Rican businesses, including:

• Most hotels, although hotels in remote areas of Costa Rica may only provide Wi-Fi signal at their reception and not in their hotel rooms
• Some restaurants, which invite patrons to connect to the in-house Wi-Fi signal
• Some tour operator offices, which invite tour participants to connect to the in-office Wi-Fi signal
• Some shared shuttle service companies and private transfer service companies, which have Wi-Fi-equipped vehicles

Data plans and cell phone SIM cards in Costa Rica

In today’s digital age, most people rely on cell phones with data plans to stay connected to the internet. Although you can connect to the internet in Costa Rica without having a data plan by tapping into Wi-Fi signals wherever available, if you’d appreciate having access to the internet at times when public Wi-Fi isn’t offered or when you don’t have the password for a private Wi-Fi signal, a SIM card purchased in Costa Rica can provide you with that luxury.

10 steps to getting a SIM card in Costa Rica

The concept of using SIM cards in Costa Rica to stay connected to the internet is a simple one, but a few hiccups commonly encountered throughout the process of getting and installing a SIM card complicates things. Below, we walk you through the 10 steps involved with getting and operating a SIM card in Costa Rica.

Step #1: Unlock your cell phone

Most cell phones nowadays are unlocked. If yours isn’t, you’ll need to get the cell phone unlocked (typically by your cell phone service provider) prior to coming to Costa Rica. Unlocked cell phones are phones that aren’t tied to the cell service of a particular provider. In other words, unlocked cell phones have the ability to connect to any cell service provided by any service provider in the world.

Step #2: Adjust your cell phone settings

Prior to landing in Costa Rica, turn off your cell phone’s data and roaming settings. Although different models of cell phones have different names for these settings, on our Samsung phones, they’re called “Mobile Data” (found under “Data Usage” within “Connections”) and “Data Roaming” (found under “Mobile Networks” within “Connections”). If you don’t turn off both of these settings, the moment you land in Costa Rica and your cell phone starts pinging off the local cell towers, you’ll start racking up some hefty foreign data usage and roaming charges.

Step #3: Locate a SIM card provider

SIM card providers are scattered around Costa Rica, but far-flung offices aren’t much help if you’ve just arrived at a Costa Rican airport and want a SIM card ASAP. At one time, both of Costa Rica’s international airports (SJO and LIR) provided booths that sold SIM cards, but those sources have grown unreliable; their operating hours don’t always align with flight arrival times, and sometimes the booths are closed entirely, as, historically, their turnover rate has been high. If you get lucky and spot an operating SIM card booth at the airport (look for it near baggage claim), great! If not, don’t fret. SIM cards can be purchased outside of the airports.

If you’re flying into Costa Rica’s biggest and busiest airport, the SJO Airport near San Jose, a good place to get a SIM card is at City Mall, a large, modern shopping center that’s only a five-minute, 1.5-kilometer drive or taxi ride northwest of the airport. At the time of writing this article, the mall housed stores for all three of Costa Rica’s largest cell phone service providers: Kolbi, Claro, and Liberty (formerly known as Movistar). You can get a SIM card through any one of these three providers; our personal preference is Kolbi.

Step #4: Decide on a data plan

Cell phone data plans can be one-time purchases in Costa Rica; you do not need to commit to paying monthly or sign a yearly contract to get a SIM card in Costa Rica. These types of data plans, called prepaid plans, are sold by Kolbi, Claro, and Liberty and provide a set amount of data in terms of gigabytes. Some prepaid plans also impose expiry dates, requiring you to use (or lose) the data within a particular window of time (typically one or two weeks following purchase). The going rates for prepaid data plans through each of Costa Rica’s top three cell phone service providers are:

SIM cards through Kolbi

• Approximately 5,000 colones ($10 USD) for two gigabytes
• Approximately 8,000 colones ($16 USD) for four gigabytes

SIM cards through Claro

• Approximately 2,000 colones ($4 USD) for one gigabyte
• Approximately 4,500 colones ($9 USD) for three gigabytes

SIM cards through Liberty

• Approximately 2,000 colones ($4 USD) for one gigabyte
• Approximately 4,500 colones ($9 USD) for two gigabytes

You can find more information about the prepaid data plans on the service providers’ websites: Kolbi, Claro, and Liberty. Look for data plans described as prepago (prepaid); plans described as postpago are designed for locals and not typically purchased by visitors.

Step #5: Purchase the SIM card with your chosen data plan

Once you’ve decided which service provider you’ll purchase a SIM card from and you’re at one of their stores, ready to make a purchase, be prepared to wait. Like transactions at Costa Rican banks, SIM card transactions seem to take forever. To help speed up the process, plan to pay in cash (Costa Rican colones or US dollars) and have your passport with you; the cell phone service provider will request to see your identification when issuing you a SIM card.

Step #6: Install the SIM card

It isn’t a requirement to install the SIM card on the spot, at the service provider’s store, but it’s a good idea to do so if you don’t have a small metal pin (the sharp end of an earring also works) that can pop open your cell phone’s SIM card cartridge; most Kolbi, Claro, and Liberty stores have one to lend. When you install the Costa Rican SIM card, make sure you store your cell phone’s preexisting SIM card (provided by your home cell phone service provider) in a safe place in your luggage while you travel so you can reinstall it after you return home; you’ll need it to regain access to your home cell phone service.

Step #7: Activate the SIM card

The easiest way to activate the SIM card is to have the store attendant activate the card for you. Alternatively, you’ll need to follow a set of instructions, provided in Spanish, over the phone or text. Save yourself the hassle of trying to navigate those steps by getting the SIM card activated while you have the attention of the service provider’s representative (i.e., the person who sells you the SIM card). That way, you can be sure that the SIM card and data service are set up correctly and functioning before you set out on your trip.

Step #8: Readjust your cell phone settings

With your Costa Rican SIM card newly installed, undo the steps you took above to turn off your cell phone’s data and roaming settings. If you skip this step, the Costa Rica SIM card won’t work. Turn on the “Mobile Data” (found under “Data Usage” within “Connections”) and “Data Roaming” (found under “Mobile Networks” within “Connections”) settings on your cell phone, and ensure that “Airport Mode” is turned off (you may have turned that feature on while flying to Costa Rica).

Step #9: Record the phone number associated with the SIM card

Take a moment to record the telephone number that’s associated with the SIM card you receive. This number is not written on the SIM card itself, it’s provided by the store employee. Even if you don’t plan on giving the number to others or using your cell phone for incoming calls, you’ll need to know the telephone number if you run out of data and want to purchase more. Keep a written copy of the telephone number with your travel documents, or better yet, take a photo of the number with your cell phone so you have a copy of it on hand at all times.

Step #10: Purchase additional data (if desired)

In the event that you use all of the data that you purchased or your data expires while you’re still in the country, you can purchase additional data to top up your prepaid data plan. To do this, you don’t need to purchase another SIM card; you simply need to purchase more data to be assigned to the SIM card that you already have. Although you can top up your SIM card by visiting a store operated by your chosen service provider (i.e., Kolbi, Claro, or Liberty), the easiest way to purchase more data is to visit a grocery store in Costa Rica. Most grocery stores can accept payments on behalf of cell phone service providers; simply provide the grocery store attendant with the phone number that’s associated with your SIM card, pay the grocery store attendant the amount of money that you’d like to apply to your SIM card/data plan, and within minutes, you’ll be able to access the newly purchased data. (Note that your cell phone will receive a text message that confirms the purchase shortly after it is processed.)

Electronic devices and accessories

Like countries around the world, Costa Rica hosts loads of visitors who travel with electronic devices in tow. Cell phones and cameras are common sights, as are laptops and tablets. Here are some other electronic devices, accessories, and gadgets that we travel with on the regular, and that you may wish to bring to Costa Rica too:

• a camera and accessories, including accessories for use during adventure tours (e.g., a head strap or waterproof case) and nature tours (e.g., a tripod)
• camera batteries and battery chargers
• memory cards, either for use inside cameras or inside cell phones, so you have ample space for collecting vacation photos
• a memory card adapter and/or a multiport adapter, if required to connect memory cards to your laptop or tablet so you can back up and store your vacation photos while you travel
• earphones, including at least one set of wired earphones for use on flights to/from Costa Rica, and an adapter cable that connects earphones to audio ports on cell phones, tablets, or laptops if you wish to watch or listen to entertainment on your personal electronic devices while flying
• all necessary cables for operating your electronic devices

For a complete, detailed packing list for Costa Rica, don’t miss our related blog post What To Pack For Costa Rica (And What Not To Pack)

Secondary power sources and storage sources

Moving around Costa Rica sometimes requires long travel days, and unanticipated delays, like car accidents, fallen trees, swollen rivers, road construction, mudslides, and street protests can make those days even longer. Travel with a secondary power source, such as a power bank, and make sure it’s fully charged at all times, so if your phone runs out of battery along a route, you have a way to repower it.

It’s also important that you protect your hard-earned vacation photos while you travel. (Could you imagine losing all of those? How tragic!) Back up your vacation photos at the end of each day, either onto an external hard drive or to cloud storage, to avoid losing them entirely if your camera breaks, gets lost, or is stolen.

Electrical sockets and plugs

Most Costa Rican properties utilize the same 120V 60Hz electrical sockets that are found in the USA and Canada, accepting two-prong flat connector plugs as well as three-prong connector plugs with an earth connector. Some older properties offer two-prong sockets only; however, newer and renovated builds typically provide at least one three-prong socket. Strangely, three-prong sockets are almost always provided in bathrooms, so look for them there if you don’t spot them in the bedroom.

Additional best practices for tech-use in Costa Rica

Lastly, a few other tips worth sharing:

• Enable your cell phone’s “Find My Phone” or “Find My Mobile” setting. In the event that you lose your cell phone in Costa Rica, the feature may help you locate it.
• Ensure your cell phone has a secure password or PIN for entry. In the event that you lose your cell phone in Costa Rica, this protection will help prevent others from gaining access to your personal content and information.
• Prior to coming to Costa Rica, download any content that you want to be able to access without an internet connection, either while flying to/from Costa Rica or traveling throughout Costa Rica, such as Netflix shows/movies, Spotify songs, maps, and other documents.
• Prior to coming to Costa Rica, download, install, and familiarize yourself with the communications app WhatsApp. Several Costa Rican businesses use this app, so having it will make communicating with them quick and easy. Downloading and installing the app on your cell phone before coming to Costa Rica means that the app will, conveniently, work from the moment you get your new, Costa Rican SIM card.

Pura vida!

Do you have questions about the use of electronic devices, Wi-Fi, cell phones, or SIM cards in Costa Rica? No problem! When you’re ready, make an appointment here to communicate with me (Nikki) privately and we can discuss these and other topics to get your questions answered fast and your Costa Rica trip poised for success. Pura vida, amigos! 🙂

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