Costa Rica Packing List: What to Pack For Any Destination, Any Time

What do I need to pack for Costa Rica? As one of the most common questions we get, this Costa Rica packing list post covers the essential items you need to bring.

Pack smart for your Costa Rica trip, no matter when you visit and where you visit.

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Costa Rica Travel Essentials: Do NOT Forget!

• Original passport. No photocopies, no color copies. Must be your original passport that is not expired and will not expire during your time in Costa Rica.
• Original valid driver’s license (if you are renting a car or driving). No temporary licenses, no photocopies, no paper copies. Cannot be expired or will expire while you are in Costa Rica.
• Physical no foreign transaction fee credit card. Bring a Visa since AMEX is not as widely accepted. Almost no places accept Discover Card. Apple Pay/digital cards are not widely accepted in Costa Rica.
• Your exit flight ticket out of Costa Rica. Can be printed or saved on your phone to show to immigration.
• Hotels, tours, car rentals, shuttle bookings and flight reservations. Can be printed or saved on your phone

Travel insurance: We personally never travel internationally without it. Our recommendations are Safety Wing (great for digital nomads) and World Nomads (ideal for adventurers). You can browse through various options to find one that fits your needs.

Costa Rica Packing List Essentials

These are the Costa Rica travel essentials you should pack.

• Lightweight + dry fast clothes
• Swimwear
• Passport
• Mosquito repellent and sunscreen
• Sunglasses and a hat
• Battery pack
• Mini medical kit
• Day pack
• Rain jacket
• Insulated water bottle

Want to see the gear we recommend for your trip to Costa Rica? Check our Amazon storefront to see the products we personally use and recommend.

Clothes for Costa Rica

Costa Rica doesn’t have a strict dress code so comfortable and casual is best for the entire country.

What to wear in Costa Rica at the beach: Shorts, tank tops, tshirts, swimsuit and flip flops. The coasts usually have the highest temperatures in the country.

What to wear in Costa Rica in the city: Closed toed shoes, long pants and a jacket or sweater. It can cool down at night to the 60s° F (15° C).

What to wear in Costa Rica in the rainforest: Dry fast, light weight clothing, outdoor or hiking clothes, closed shoes. It’s super humid in the jungle.

For mountain areas such as Monteverde, Bajos del Toro, Poas, San Isidro de Perez Zeledon, San Gerardo de Dota, long pants and a warm jacket are necessary. Night time temperatures can go down to the 50s° F (12° C).

For women, there is no real dress code. You can perfectly wear tank tops and show your shoulders. It is not common for local women to wear leggings as daily wear though.

Clothing for Costa Rica: Our Recommendations

The best clothes to wear in Costa Rica are those that dry fast and wick away moisture.

Our closet has a lot of Columbia, REI, Nike, North Face, Uniqlo, Craghoppers and Eddie Bauer with lightweight, moisture wicking, sun protection and insect repellent clothes.

Pants: For outdoor activities, I personally prefer hiking pants rather than leggings because of the humidity and insects.

We do not recommend wearing jeans in Costa Rica if you are visiting the beach and/or rainforest. Jeans are too hot and will take forever to dry in the humid climate.

Shirts: We wear a lot of sun shirts and dry fit shirts.

Women: I highly recommend microfiber bras/bralettes and seamless moisture wicking undies. Lightweight, incredibly comfortable for any activity, washes easy and dries quick.

Men: Yeison has a ton of these moisture wicking bamboo boxers and board shorts.

Rain Jacket

A waterproof rain jacket is an essential item if you’re visiting during Costa Rica’s rainy season (May to November).

Some places can still rain in the dry season months (December through April) due to their location and elevation, such as San Isidro de Perez Zeledon, La Fortuna, Bajos del Toro, Bijagua and Monteverde.

The Caribbean (Tortuguero and Puerto Viejo) follows a different weather pattern and it can rain at any time of the year.

Our recommendations: Get a lightweight jacket with zipper ventilation pockets to let air flow through. We love our The North Face Venture Jackets.

What Shoes to Bring to Costa Rica

The best shoes for Costa Rica depends on what activities you are going to be doing.

You do not need hiking boots, unless you will be doing the El Camino or Cerro Chirripo hikes.

Rather, a good sturdy walking, trail running or hiking shoe is perfectly fine for majority of the hikes in Costa Rica.

You also do not need to bring rain boots. If you need a pair, you can buy them for cheap at hardware stores. Some hotels borrow rain boots to their guests.

Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges requires completely closed shoes. If you don’t have them, they will make you sign a waiver. Rainforest Adventures Park requires completely closed shoes – no exceptions, no waivers.

Our Shoe Recommendations for Costa Rica

Ziplining, waterfall rappelling, white water rafting, white water tubing: Closed toed hiking sandals like KEEN. They dry fast, don’t smell and are more breathable.

Water shoes can also work for above activities. We have water shoes for hot springs, boating, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, and river adventures.

Hikes/walks in the rainforest and cloud forest: Sturdy walking or running shoes, or trail running shoes.

Corcovado National Park Sirena Station: We wore our hiking shoes and then rented boots at the station as we visited in June, during the rainy season.

For Samantha, KEEN hiking sandals, Merrell Moab 3 Waterproof Hiking Shoes, On Cloudtrax hiking shoes and a pair of flip flops.

For Yeison, a pair of flip flops, waterproof Salomon trail running shoes and Hoka Bondi 9.

We highly recommend a waterproof shoe or using waterproof spray, if you will be visiting during the rainy season and doing longer hikes.

Still not sure what’s best for you? Check our detailed guide for the best shoes for Costa Rica.

Mosquito Repellent: A MUST BRING to Costa Rica

You have to bring mosquito repellent for Costa Rica as they are present all year round.

Mosquitoes are not really found in high elevations above 1500 meters (4900 feet) but are very prevalent on the coasts and in the rainforest.

There are also other annoying little bugs that bite like gnats and no-see- ums.

Our Mosquito Repellent Recommendations

You can find mosquito repellent in all supermarkets in Costa Rica.

However, we recommend bringing your own as it is a bit more expensive here and there aren’t as many options for DEET alternatives.

We like this OFF! 20% Picardin and also Avon skin so soft which is DEET free and has SPF.

We do use Repel or OFF! when we’re in deep rainforest. In those situations, non DEET products don’t work well for me and mosquitoes love me.

Read about our favorite mosquito repellent products in this Costa Rica mosquitoes post.

Sunscreen: A MUST BRING for Costa Rica

You should bring sunscreen with a minimum of SPF 30. If you burn easily, SPF 50-70 is best.

Our Sunscreen Recommendations

If going into the ocean, we encourage you to either wear a swim shirt with SPF or use reef safe/friendly sunscreen such as Raw Elements, Stream2Sea, Blue Lizard and Project Reef.

If you’re surfing, get a mineral face stick sunscreen and wear a rash guard with SPF.

Don’t forget chapstick with SPF and after sun cooling lotion!

Can you buy sunscreen in Costa Rica? Yes, but we recommend to bring sunscreen. In Costa Rica, sunscreen is expensive with limited options for reef safe/reef friendly/vegan/sustainable.

Toiletries

You can find all toiletries in Costa Rica like shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothbrush, mouth wash, toothpaste and floss in the supermarkets.

We do recommend to bring tampons (not always readily available or very limited options), talc-free body powder, face wash (expensive), hair detangler spray, triple antibiotic ointment, non drowsy allergy medicine, band aids, wet wipes and face wipes.

Menstruation cups are becoming more available in high end/organic markets in Costa Rica but are not sold at all supermarkets and pharmacies.

If you wear contact lenses, bring a couple extra lenses, cases and contact lens solution. They sell contact lens solutions at most supermarkets and the pharmacy but it is expensive.

Medications for Costa Rica

If you are taking opioids or amphetamines, bring the original prescription and bottles. If you can, write down the active ingredients in Spanish for each prescription.

For over the counter medicines like Advil, Tylenol, Aleve, Claritin, Pepto Bismol, and Imodium, you don’t need to have them in the original box but it’s best to keep them in the packaging that has the name of the pills.

Some medicines are only sold at the pharmacy in Costa Rica and not the supermarket, such as anti nausea medicine and allergy medicine.

I bring non drowsy Dramamine because this brand isn’t available in Costa Rica. I also bring Claritin and Systane eye drops.

Day Bag & Backpacks for Costa Rica

For day trips, sight seeing and tours, bring a day backpack. Do not bring those flimsy drawstring gym bags.

Our recommendations: For sightseeing, I use my Sherpani Camden Convertible Backpack 21 L and Yeison has a North Face Router Everyday Backpack 40 L.

Then for rainy season or water activities, we use our Aqua Quest waterproof backpacks and IDRYBAGS.

For any water activities or if you are visiting during the rainy season, get a waterproof backpack or a rain cover.

If you are traveling with infants/babies, you must bring a child carrier. Most national parks, reserves and hiking trails do not allow or are not suitable for strollers.

Photography Backpacks

For photographers, Yeison has a Shimodo Explore V2 which is an absolutely fantastic travel photography backpack. He also has a WANDRD PRVKE 31 L backpack with a rain cover.

I have the women’s version Shimoda Action x30 with a rain cover and it is amazing!

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Insulated Water Bottle

For most places, you can drink tap water in Costa Rica. However, there are some rural places where you cannot.

Many hotels have filtered water filling stations so bring your insulated water bottle to always have fresh cold water with you.

We both have 40 ounce Hydro Flasks and it keeps our water nice and cold for up to 24 hours. I recommend to get the boot for your water bottle because it will get banged around.

Many national parks do not allow single use plastics inside, including plastic water bottles.

Micro Fiber Towel

A micro fiber towel is awesome for wiping sweat off or to wrap your stuff in if it starts raining.

For surfing, I am in love with my microfiber surf poncho. So convenient for changing out of your swimsuit after a surf session.

Sunglasses and Hat

I recommend bringing 2 pairs of sunglasses: your normal pair and a cheap pair. You will want to bring one cheap pair so that you won’t cry if it gets lost in the ocean.

A hat or visor is also essential to bring to Costa Rica.

Swimwear

Bring at least two pairs of swimsuits.

Ladies, if you’re visiting popular beach towns like Tamarindo and Jaco, you can buy some super cute locally made bikinis.

Cameras

If you want to capture all those awesome adventures, an action cam is the best, like GoPro and DJI Action 5.

If you’re a photographer, bring a telephoto lens, at least 300 mm, for birds and wildlife.

Our Camera Recommendations

Make sure to bring the correct accessories for your action camera to attach it to helmets, surf boards, etc.

For Go Pro, most tour companies will have the part that attaches to the helmet but you need to bring the other part. A chest mount is highly recommended.

Also, bring plenty of SD cards as it is difficult to find Class 10 SD cards and mini SD cards. Bring a universal power adapter if you need to as they’re not super common to find here.

Costa Rica’s power is 110 Volts, the same as US.

Flashlights or Head Lamps

I always bring a small pocket flashlight with me.

When walking at night, many streets do not have any street lights or are very dimly lit. Furthermore, there aren’t really sidewalks so you have to walk on the road.

Anti Theft Travel Bag

I have an anti theft travel purse which I absolutely LOVE. I use it all the time, including our international travels.

The brand is Sherpani and many of their travel backpacks are convertible for two or three styles, has RFID protection, a chain look system, exterior lock system and are water resistant. Some have slash proof material.

I also have a RFID wallet which I highly recommend.

Battery Pack

I always have a fully charged battery pack with me, since I use my phone a lot when we’re sightseeing.

If you are working while you travel, I highly recommend this USB C Travel Power Strip. Older or cheaper hotels have very few outlets so this is super handy to charge multiple devices at once.

I also have 10 feet charging cables because some hotels have sockets in weird places.

Waterproof Phone Case/Pouch

These waterproof phone cases are super useful. You can wear it around your neck and use it during light water activities like tubing, canyoning, etc.

This is also really nice alternative if you don’t want to spend $500 USD on a GoPro.

But remember, these are not recommended to take scuba diving or anything like that, just light water activities.

Extras to Add to Your Costa Rica Packing List

Here are some other items that will be useful.

• Ziplock bag for holding electronics, toiletries, zipping up wet clothes
• Laundry bag
• Laundry detergent sheets to keep your luggage smelling clean even with dirty clothes
• Reusable shopping bags
• Carbon monoxide detector
• Collapsible cooler. Super useful if you have a baby, take medication that needs to be kept cold, planning several beach days or just want cold drinks/food.
• Lots of silk hair ties and clips
• Travel hair dryer. Cheaper hotels sometimes don’t have them.
• Ear plugs. I love my Loops.
• Car cell phone holder. Not every single rental car has Car Play or Android Auto. Planning to rent a car? Get our Costa Rica car rental discount and extra freebies here!
• Spanish dictionary or guide. Download our free survival Spanish pocket guide.
• National Geographic Costa Rica map. Nat Geo maps rock.
• Binoculars
• Master Lock. This is especially useful if you are surfing. Get the XXL size to that it’s big enough to fit an electronic key.

Things NOT to Pack for Costa Rica

• Expensive jewelry and designer clothes.
• High heels/stilettos. Costa Ricans sidewalks (when there are any) commonly have pot holes and cracks. Choose cute flats or sandals instead.
• Expensive purses. Better to have a more low key travel purse or practical day bag.
• Every single credit and debit card you have. Just bring the ones you’re using.

Luggage Recommendations

I personally use the hard shell Beis The Carry On Roller Bag. Yeison uses a soft shell Columbia Carry On Roller Bag.

We also have several Amazon Basics 24 inch and the Amazon Basics 28 inch. Basic, but affordable.

Costa Rica Rainy Season Packing List

Rainy season is generally from May through November in Costa Rica.

The rainiest month is October for most of the country, except for the Caribbean coast.

If you’re coming in rainy season, add these to your list:

• Rain jacket/poncho.
• Waterproof backpack or rain cover/waterproof spray.
• Sweaters/jackets.
• Long pants and long sleeve shirt.
• Hiking shoes. Waterproof preferable.
• Lots of mosquito repellent.

We have a complete Costa Rica rainy season packing list with more information.

Destination Specific Packing List for Costa Rica

Our recommendations for popular tourist destinations in Costa Rica.

Arenal and La Fortuna

In La Fortuna, it is hot and humid during dry season with day time temperatures in the high 80s° F (29° C). You can perfectly wear shorts and t shirts during the day.

At night, it cools down to low 70s° F (22° C) so a long sleeve shirt, light sweats or sweater will be good.

Mistico Hanging Bridges Park requires completely closed shoes. For volcano hikes, best to have shoes like running, walking or trail running shoes.

Ziplining: No flip flops or loose shoes.

Activities such as canyoning and white water rafting require adventure sandals (back and front strap) or water shoes.

Monteverde

Monteverde sits around 1500 meters (4900 feet) in elevation so it is a lot cooler up there.

Dry season day time temperatures are around high 70s° F (25° C) and at night, it gets down to the high 50s° and 60s° F (14° C). You need to bring a warm sweater/jacket and long pants for Monteverde.

Also expect to run into spring showers during the dry season months of March and April. It can also be very windy up in Monteverde.

Hiking the cloud forest reserves: Bring a rain jacket and wear good walking shoes or hiking shoes.

Osa Peninsula (Corcovado National Park, Puerto Jimenez, Drake Bay) and Costa Ballena (Uvita, Dominical, Ojochal)

The Osa Peninsula and Costa Ballena are very humid all year long. Trail shoes or hiking shoes are a must for Corcovado National Park.

If you are bringing camera equipment, you need waterproof gear. Bring 100% waterproof backpacks and dry bags.

Other must bring items: A microfiber towel, a hat, a flashlight, good pair of hiking shoes, water shoes, mosquito repellent, battery pack, insulated water bottle, and quick dry moisture wicking workout clothes.

The same goes for Sarapiqui. This area is super humid!

Jaco and Manuel Antonio

Both Jaco and Manuel Antonio have similar weather and are hot and fairly humid. Bring all your beach clothes, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, sunglasses, a hat and swimsuit.

Guanacaste (Coco, Tamarindo, Conchal, Samara) and Nicoya Peninsula

The Guanacaste province is hot and dry, with a longer dry season. Day time temperatures are consistently in the low 90s° F (33° C) throughout the year.

At night, it goes down to about low 80s° F (27° C) in the dry season. In the rainy season, it goes to high 70s° F (25° C) with high humidity.

You must bring tons of sunscreen, mosquito repellent, sunglasses, hat and after sun gel.

Rio Celeste (Bijagua)

The Tenorio Volcano National Park where Rio Celeste is rains often so bring a rain jacket, even in dry season.

When we visited in April, it rained almost all 3 days we were there.

Bring clothing and gear for rain, any time of the year you visit.

Tortuguero and Puerto Viejo (Caribbean)

Since The Caribbean coast can rain during any time of the year, go prepared. The summer month is October.

It’s extremely humid in Tortuguero and Puerto Viejo so fast drying clothes is necessary.

Free Costa Rica Packing Check List (Printable)

Click here to get our FREE packing checklist with an abridged version of the notes above so you can print it out and refer back to it while you’re preparing for your trip!

Check our Amazon storefront to see all the items we use and recommend.

Costa Rica Vacation Checklist

• First time to Costa Rica? Read our First Time in Costa Rica guide.
• Not sure how to move around Costa Rica? Read our How to Get Around Costa Rica guide to find the best transportation method for you.
• Check our Costa Rica destinations map and Costa Rica restaurant map
• Do not forget to purchase Travel Insurance for your trip to Costa Rica.
• Stay connected by purchasing a prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica.
• Save money with Mytanfeet Deals for tours and hotels and our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount.

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