Do you know someone who is going to Costa Rica and want to get them a little something for their trip? This gift guide will help! Costa Rica is a bucket list country for many people so if a family member or close friend is finally getting to tick it off the list, it’ll be nice to give them a small gift.
Some of these ideas are for fun, some are practical so no matter which one you get, they’ll be sure to love it and it’ll come handy for their trip. Here are our favorites gifts for people traveling to Costa Rica.
Sarong
For the ladies going to Costa Rica to have the ultimate beach vacay, they’re going to be busting out their summer wardrobe. There will be no need to bundle up at the beach in Costa Rica, instead they’ll be jumping around in their bikinis, sundresses and sunglasses.
If there’s any piece of clothing the future female Costa Rica traveler has to bring, it is a sarong. They can use it as a skirt, cover up, dress, towel and even beach blanket. Multi purpose, cute, fashionable and easy to wash – what’s more to love? After I bought my first sarong, I can’t ever imagine going to the beach without it.
Action Camera
An action camera is an absolute must for Costa Rica. There’s no doubt that everyone who visits does at least an adventure activity or two, whether it’s ziplining, white water rafting, scuba diving or something else exciting. An action camera is the only one that can capture all those amazing adventures!
GoPro is a popular action cam but we love our Sony Action cam, the stabilization in that thing is stunning. We’ve used it mountain biking, horseback riding, white water rafting and ziplining and it is incredibly stable. It also comes with a watch so you can see what you’re filming. Compared to GoPro, the Sony action cam has better stabilization, is faster and doesn’t heat up like the GoPro does.
Make sure to bring the appropriate accessories too. A helmet mount is the most common one you’ll need but a pole is also super useful for selfies and scuba diving. Anti-fog inserts are also super useful as it’s very humid here and a helmet mount is necessary to take videos while ziplining, white water rafting, canyoning, horseback riding, etc.
Dry Bag
Our dry bags have saved our equipment so many times, we would have lost our cameras and phones without them! They’re especially useful in rainy season but they are also handy in dry season to protect your phones and cameras from sand, humidity and water. We especially love this one: Aqua Quest Cooler Cat dry bag because it’s not just waterproof, it’s thermal! So that means you can put cold drinks (aka beer) in there, take it out for a day at the beach or boating and it’ll stay nice and cold.
This is one of the best gifts we have received, we’ve enjoyed many fun boating tours with them and everyone is always envious of our nice cold drinks.
Costa Rica Photo Book
Who doesn’t like looking at pretty pictures to get excited for their trip? We love the Costa Rica From Above photo book, full of stunning aerial pictures of the country. Check out all the places you’re visiting from above!
And if you want to give the ultimate gift for travel photography, spring for a Phantom drone. Costa Rica has so many beautiful places to capture from above!
Costa Rican Dictionary
A pocket Spanish dictionary is super useful for learning a bit of Spanish and in case of emergencies. Even though many Costa Ricans speak English, it is always good to know some Spanish and a pocket dictionary is easy to bring.
Waterproof Map of Costa Rica
I always love picking up a map and figuring out where we were going, it’s just so different from looking at Google maps on your phone. Not only that but it is helpful to have a physical Costa Rica map as a backup in case you do get lost without a direction guiding system or internet.
This map is durable, waterproof and plus it also has information about popular activities on there. If your traveler is flexible on time, they can take a look and decide what to do from it. Great for the adventurous explorer!
Costa Rica Wildlife Field Guide
Perfect for the avid birder, wildlife enthusiast, fisherman or animal lover. Costa Rica has an huge amount of wildlife and nature so if you are hoping to see some wildlife during their trip, a field guide is a nice gift so they can look up what animal they just spotted.
Bird lovers will want a bird specific field guide, Yeison bought this for me for Christmas and I love it! I’ve been slowly going through, checking off all the birds I’ve seen.
Hammocks
The best gift I ever gave myself and Yeison was a double nest ENO Eagles Nest hammock and the ENO atlas straps. The hammock is super compact (it folds into itself) and light, yet very durable and the straps make it so easy to set up. It literally takes 1 minute to set up your hammock and enjoy a relaxing beach day. Best money I ever spent!
A Good Pair of Hiking Sandals
We love our KEEN hiking sandals but no matter the brand, it’s important that your traveler has a high quality, sturdy and durable pair of hiking sandals. I recommend sandals instead of shoes or boots because it’s really hot in Costa Rica during dry season and it gets incredibly stifling. They won’t really need a pair of hiking boots anyways unless if they are planning to hike 10+ miles a day, a pair of good hiking sandals will do the trick and be even better!
It’s more comfortable to wear sandals which lets your feet breathe, plus you can use them for both water and land and all kinds of activities.
Not sure if your traveler will like them? We wrote a review of our KEEN sandals.
Rash Guard
Most surfing places will let you borrow a rash guard when you rent a board but it’s better to bring your own, you don’t even want to think about how many people wore it before you! If your future traveler is planning on catching waves or snorkeling, get them a rash guard to protect their skin.
We also wear our rash guards when we’re surfing, snorkeling or boating. During some times of the year and certain places in the ocean are the hilo de oros, a stinging jellyfish. Won’t kill you but it is painful when you get stung and it gets quite annoying! The rash guard prevents them from stinging you and most have at least SPF 50 so it also helps prevent sunburns.
Adopt a Sloth
For the animal lover, you can “adopt” a sloth from The Sloth Institute for them and get cute memorabilia in return, including an e-certificate with their name. You’ll be helping the sloths of Costa Rica and giving a nice gift at the same time!
Costa Rica cookbook
It’s fun to mix it up in the kitchen once in awhile and for those who like to cook, a Costa Rican cook book is a great gift. This is the one they actually sell in souvenir stores but in case they don’t get one, this one is a great one.
Fun Bonus Gifts for Costa Rica Travelers
A Costa Rica flag watch. How cool is this? I want to get this for Yeison!
A Costa Rica futbol jersey – after the World Cup 2014, watching Costa Rica futbol matches at the bar is a must and they’ll need to be dressed appropriately to fit in. Great way to make instant friends with local Ticos 🙂
So there you have it, ten awesome items to get for your future Costa Rica traveler. Hope they enjoy them and gets them excited for their upcoming trip!
And if you are visiting Costa Rica and want to bring back gifts, here are our favorite authentic Costa Rican souvenirs.
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