A few years ago, I went travelling through Costa Rica, Panama, and Cuba - it was incredible. Costa Rica was easily our favourite, with its lush landscapes and endless things to do (you’ll see a few photos from our trip above). I've since been back and its even better, the people were incredibly friendly, and the food was amazing.
Back then, eSIMs hadn’t really evolved into what they are today - convenient, cost-effective, and ubiquitous. When we arrived, we had to hunt down a mobile store and hope we weren’t being ripped off (or worse, scammed). We eventually found a Claro shop and bought a physical SIM.
Those days are well and truly over.
Now, whenever I travel, I buy my travel eSIM before I even leave home. It’s just easier. In the past, when I’ve bought local SIMs, I’ve often run into issues - subscriptions that were hard to cancel, SIMs that didn’t work properly, or no real customer support when something went wrong. The last thing I want to do on a trip is waste time trying to get connected.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about using a travel eSIM in Costa Rica.
Our Recommendation
When travelling to expansive countries, where your covering lots of ground, we always recommend choosing an eSIM that connects to multiple local networks. Remember, your eSIM relies on local operators to provide coverage - more networks usually means better reliability.
With that in mind, our top picks for Costa Rica are Ubigi, EasySim, and Roamify. Many other providers also offer access to multiple networks, which you can confirm by clicking the Plan Details on the Plan.
All three are easy to install and offer solid customer support if you need help. If you’re looking for an unlimited plan, we’d recommend Roamify - it offers particularly good value for money. Below are a few options suitable for trips of a couple of weeks or up to a month, we've got thousands of plans for Costa Rica so be sure to use our Search tool to tailor options for you.
| Provider | Price | Capacity | Validity |
| Roamify | $17.10 USD | 10GB | 15 Days |
| EasySim | $19.54 USD | 10GB | 30 Days |
| Ubigi | $20 USD | 10GB | 30 Days |
See our Best 15 Day Plans or Best 30 Day Plans for Costa Rica.
What’s the Cheapest Plan for Costa Rica?
You might come across free or trial eSIM plans for Costa Rica that include a small amount of data. While these can be useful, we always recommend checking what happens once the trial ends - some providers have higher plan rates when you want to buy data.
The cheapest option really depends on how long your trip is. Here are a few examples to give you a rough idea:
| Provider | Validity | Capacity | Price |
| Roamify | 7 Days | 5 GB | $9.50 USD |
| Ubigi | 7 Days | 10 GB | $18.00 USD |
| EasySim | 30 Days | 10 GB | $19.54 USD |
| GigSky | 30 Days | Unlimited | $23.19 USD |
See our Cheapest 7 Day Plans or Cheapest 30 Day Plans for Costa Rica
Overseas Data Roaming Plans
If you’re visiting Costa Rica from the UK or Europe, your home SIM provider will usually place you in a “Rest of World” roaming zone. If roaming isn’t included in your plan, costs can add up very quickly.
Even if roaming is bundled, your provider may restrict speeds or data usage. For example, O2 in the UK caps speeds at just 2Mbps on some travel plans. That’s barely enough for video calls or reliable navigation.
It’s always worth checking your home network’s roaming charges. Calls and SMS are often expensive, so using WhatsApp, iMessage, or FaceTime is usually the smarter option - again on O2 these can be as high as £3 PER MINUTE for Costa Rica!!! Now thats crazy.
If you specifically need a local phone number with your eSIM, you can use the filters on RoamCompare to find plans that include calls and texts - just note that these are still relatively limited in many countries.
Where to Buy an eSIM for Costa Rica?
If you decide to buy a local SIM, you’ll find stores at the airport and in most towns. Prices can be very competitive - for around $10 USD (£8 GBP), you can get around 5GB of data valid for 30 days, plus some local minutes and texts.
Keep in mind that you may be required you to show your passport when purchasing a SIM in Costa Rica.
How to Activate Your eSIM in Costa Rica?
If you’ve installed your eSIM before you travel, you can activate it the moment you land. You can also purchase and activate one after arrival, just remember you'll need to be connected to WiFi. If you’re new to eSIMs, take a look at our guide on how to activate an eSIM on iOS for step-by-step instructions.
Will My Phone Be Compatible with eSIMs in Costa Rica?
Most modern smartphones support eSIMs and work perfectly in Costa Rica. Just make sure:
1) Your device is unlocked: Some carriers restrict phones to their own SIMs. If you’re unsure, check with your home provider.
2) Your device supports eSIM: You can confirm this using our Compatibility Checker.
Note: iPhones purchased in mainland China generally do not support eSIMs (with the exception of the iPhone Air).
Useful Things to Know About Costa Rica eSIMs
Local Mobile Networks
Costa Rica has three main mobile operators: Kolbi, Claro, and Liberty (formerly Movistar). Depending on the eSIM you choose, you’ll connect to one or more of these networks. Your phone may show the eSIM provider’s name, but the underlying connection is through a local operator. You can also by SIMs directly from these local networks.
Kolbi: Government-owned, with the widest coverage - especially good in rural or remote areas.
Claro: Strong general coverage, particularly in San José, Jacó, and other built-up areas.
Liberty: Similar to Claro, with especially strong coverage in Guanacaste.
For real-time coverage information, we recommend using nPerf.
WiFi Access in Costa Rica
WiFi is widely available in populated areas, hotels, cafés, and restaurants. In rural areas, coverage can be limited, and we found that connections could occasionally be unreliable during heavy rain or storms. Overall though, WiFi availability is generally good.
How Much Data Do You Need?
How much data you’ll need really depends on what you’re doing and where you’re going. We recommend using our Data Estimator, which is based on usage patterns from thousands of travellers.
As a general guide:
Low use: Emails and light browsing
- 7 Days - Between 2 - 5GB
- 14 Days - Up to 5 GB
- 30 Days - Up to 10 GB
Medium use: Social media, emails, browsing
- 7 Days - Up to 10B
- 14 Days - Up to 15 GB
- 30 Days - Up to 20 GB+
High use: Streaming, video calls, navigation, gaming
- 7 Days - Up to 20 GB
- 14 Days - Between 20 GB - 40 GB
- 30 Days - Unlimited
Most plans come in 1–5GB increments, then jump to 10GB, 20GB, 30GB, and sometimes unlimited. Keep in mind that “unlimited” plans often have daily caps or throttling after a certain usage level. You can check this by clicking Plan Details on any plan.
Travel eSIM Pros & Cons for Costa Rica
Pros
Convenience: No passport checks, no SIM ejector tools, and no hunting around for mobile shops after a long flight. You can buy, install, and activate your eSIM before you even leave home and be connected as soon as you land.
Price & Choice: You’ll find plenty of providers, data sizes, and validity options, making it easy to pick a plan that suits your trip and budget.
Customer Support: Most travel eSIM providers offer support through apps, live chat, or email. If something goes wrong, it’s usually much easier to get help compared to dealing with local SIM providers in-country.
Cons
Data caps: Some plans throttle speeds after heavy usage. Most travellers won’t hit these limits, but it’s worth checking.
Limited network access: Some eSIMs only connect to a single local network, which can affect coverage in certain areas.
Pricing: eSIM prices change frequently - it’s always worth checking for the latest deals.
Buying a Local SIM vs Travel eSIM
Local SIMs in Costa Rica are competitively priced, and from a cost perspective, they can sometimes be cheaper. Occasionally, you’ll even find free data promotions. However, most local plans cap out at around 5GB over 30 days, and topping up can be inconvenient. Travel eSIMs from providers like Roamify and Ubigi often cost under $20 USD and are far more convenient.
From our experience local providers in Costa Rica often use physical SIMs – so you’ll need to dig out a paper clip or SIM ejector tool. You may also need to show your physical passport, so don’t forget that! Navigating their Spanish-language websites can also be tricky if you don’t speak the language.
If you'd like to explore local options, here are a few links to prepaid plans:
Note to our readers:
Our articles are written by real humans with real travel experience. We do genuine research and do our best to keep everything up to date.