Getting a prepaid SIM card in Costa Rica is very easy and not that expensive. We recommend getting a Costa Rica SIM card so you can have a local phone number and data which is very useful in case of emergencies.
In this article you will learn all about getting prepaid SIM cards in Costa Rica.
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Where Can I Get a prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica?
You can buy a prepaid SIM card at any phone store, supermarket or computer store in Costa Rica.
At the San Jose International Airport, there is a Claro (name of the phone company) stand left of baggage claim 5 where you can purchase a SIM card.
It is open from 6 AM to 9 PM and sometimes to 11 PM on weekends. They’ll help you insert the SIM card and set up your phone to use it.
Claro offers a couple plans. 15 days for $60 USD and $30 USD for 7 days. They have a vending machine that you can just buy the card from and then you can ask the agent for assistance to insert it into your phone.
In the Country
You can go to any of the phone companies’ offices in Costa Rica. Additionally, you can get a prepaid SIM card at most cell phone or computer stores in Costa Rica.
Some supermarkets sell prepaid SIM cards that come with a prepaid plan (already have a set amount of credit on them).
Which SIM card to get in Costa Rica?
For tourists going to popular tourist destinations in Costa Rica, we recommend to get a Kolbi SIM card. Kolbi is the government cell phone network company and has the widest coverage in Costa Rica. You can buy prepaid SIM cards at any of their branches.
There are Kolbi offices throughout the country and close to the airports. Search for the closest one to you in Google Maps or Waze. Just look for the office with a big green frog on it that says Kolbi.
Do keep in mind that most offices close from 5-7 PM. If you fly into Guanacaste Airport, there is a Kolbi office in Liberia 15 minutes away by car where you can get a SIM card.
Car Rentals and SIM Cards
Our partnership with Adobe Rent a Car includes a free Costa Rican SIM card with 1000 CRC preloaded that you can put in your unlocked phone for the duration of your car rental booking.
This way, you can have a Costa Rica number in case of emergencies and you can recharge it if you need to. 1000 CRC gives you about 30 minutes of local minutes.
Requirement to get a SIM card in Costa Rica
To buy your own prepaid SIM card in Costa Rica, you must have your original passport or photo ID (passport works best) and cash.
You have to fill out a short form and present your photo ID to purchase a prepaid SIM card in Costa Rica which costs around 2000 colones or (~$3.50 USD).
It is also best to pay in Costa Rican colones, not USD or credit card. When you purchase your SIM card, you can then load as much credit on there as you want.
Additionally, your smartphone must be quad band, it must use a physical SIM card and it has to be unlocked.
The type of phone doesn’t matter. It can be an iPhone or Android, Samsung, HTC, Blackberry, whichever, as long as it fits those three requirements.
Make sure you call your home provider to see if your phone it unlocked and can accept international SIM cards before you leave.
Once you purchase a SIM card in Costa Rica, you can’t return it if you find out your phone is still locked.
Prepaid SIM cards typically expire after 90 days of no use.
Costa Rica Cell Phone Companies
The 3 major phone companies in Costa Rica are: Kolbi, Liberty and Claro. With these companies you can buy the SIM card for 1-2000 colones (around $2-4 USD) and they will give you the same amount for phone credit on the SIM card itself.
Some prepaid SIM cards already have a plan and credit loaded. You will see signs like this at the supermarket for them:
This is an option if you’re not sure how much credit you want to put. However, most people like to do the pay as you go and then recharge when needed.
Our Recommendations for Costa Rica Prepaid SIM Cards
Kolbi is best for nationwide use, especially if you plan to stay in the city and main destinations. However, Claro also has good coverage nationwide, but more for rural areas.
For example, Kolbi does not have as good coverage down in the Osa Peninsula. Instead, Claro worked well there.
When we visited Pavones, Kolbi had 0 service but Claro had 3g. In Guanacaste, Liberty tends to have a teeny bit more coverage than Kolbi.
Using T-Mobile in Costa Rica
Samantha used to use her US phone with T-Mobile in Costa Rica. T-Mobile offers plans with free international data and calling/text included.
No set up required so you don’t need to switch your SIM card or take it out. Just keep your T-Mobile SIM card in your phone.
On their Go5g plan, they don’t charge roaming fees and offer high speed data abroad in over 200 countries, including Costa Rica. Depending on which Go5g plan you have, it’ll be either 5gb of high speed data or 256 kbps on the basic plan.
If you plan to use your T-Mobile plan in Costa Rica, when you land in Costa Rica, take your phone off airplane mode and turn on data, T-Mobile will send you a text message.
It’ll say something like “Welcome to Costa Rica!” and then detail what exactly is included in your plan (how fast your internet is, costs of calls, etc.) They will also include a link in case you want their International Pass for $5 USD a day.
TMobile Plans
The T-Mobile Go5g Next, Go5g Plus and Magenta MAX and Plus gives up to 5GB of high speed data, unlimited texts and calls at $.25/min. The T-Mobile Go5G, Magenta & ONE plans only gives 256Kbps.
I used to have the Go5g Next plan that has up to 5gb of high speed data. The high data works decently in the cities, but in more rural areas, it’s sometimes OK, sometimes only 3g and slow.
It worked well enough for simple emails, Whatsapp texts and Google Maps/Waze but anything more like downloading/uploading or streaming on Youtube, opening heavy websites (surfing the web) or watching videos on Instagram, it was pretty slow.
If you need high speed Internet throughout your whole trip, I recommend to get their International Pass or rent a wifi hot spot.
ur partnership with Adobe Rent a Car gives an extra benefit for wifi hot spots, get more details here about our Costa Rica car rental discount and benefits.
How to Recharge Your prepaid SIM Card in Costa Rica
You can recharge your prepaid SIM card at the supermarket, convenience store, cell phone stores or the phone company’s office.
Business will have a sign with the phone company’s logo to indicate they can recharge SIM cards.
To add more credit, you must pay in cash in local currency (Costa Rican colones). Just tell the cashier Me puedo recargar mi X (Kolbi/Libery/Claro/etc.) and tell them how much or give them the cash.
Or just hold out your phone and say the name of the company.
You will also need to give them your phone number. Your phone number will be on your original receipt. There’s a good chance you’ll throw it away so I recommend taking a photo of your phone number.
How Much Credit Should I Put On My SIM Card in Costa Rica?
This depends on what you plan to use it for and how long you’re in Costa Rica. For one week in Costa Rica, we recommend to put 5000 colones on your prepaid SIM card (~$10 USD) at first and then you can recharge it later if need be.
This is usually a good amount to start with for those just using it for email and occasionally surfing the web.
Remember that uploading and watching videos will suck up your data on your SIM card fast so do that on Wi-Fi only.
If you plan to be uploading and using Instagram and Youtube a lot, I recommend to add more than 5000 colones to begin with because those apps suck up a lot of data.
With Kolbi, if your SIM card has not been used, recharged or have any activity, the card will expire after 90 days.
How to Check Your Balance (Kolbi)
For Kolbi customers, type *888# and then select option 1 to check your balance. You can also send a text to 888 with the word SALDO.
eSIM
Many of the latest phones have eSIM which you can use in Costa Rica. eSIMs are actually very practical and convenient as you do not have to have a physical SIM card anymore.
The app will present you options of various international packages that you can choose from. Once you choose the package you want and purchase it, they’ll show you the steps on how to activate the eSIM which is fairly simple.
Then you can upgrade your package, purchase another one or modify it right within the app. There is no need to purchase any physical SIM card for eSIMs.
Our iPhone 14s uses eSIMS. We have used two different eSIM providers when we travel abroad. Both of them have plans in Costa Rica: Airalo and Holafly.
Get 10% off your Airalo eSIM package with our promo code “mytanfeet” and use our promo code MYTANFEET to get 5% off Holafly. Holafly has plans with calls, text and data. Airalo is mostly data only.
Get ready for Costa Rica with these other posts!
Guide to finding accommodation in Costa Rica
Immigration and customs in SJO and LIR Airport
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.
- Click the link to get our detailed Costa Rica Packing List so you know what essential items to bring.
- Check our Costa Rica destinations map and Costa Rica restaurant map
- Do not forget to purchase Travel Insurance for your trip to Costa Rica.
- Save money with Mytanfeet Deals for tours and hotels and our Costa Rica Car Rental Discount.
Tom Teece says
Hi Yeison and Samantha, firstly thank you for all your useful information, it’s really helped me in preparation for my first visit to Costa Rica! I am looking to get local SIM card for my time in Costa Rica, I am arriving in Liberia international airport, do you know if there is a shop I can use there to get this or whether there is a way to get this on the internet beforehand?
Thanks,
Tom
Sammi says
Unfortunately the SIm card stand in LIR was taken out, you can check the mini mart if they sell one. If not, you’ll have to go to a phone/computer store or supermarket in town to get one.
Julie Chorneyko says
Hi both! First, I really appreciate your site, there has been a lot od useful information, especially the border crossing to Nicaragua. The specifics really help for the first run!
I have a question in regards to using my Costa Rica Sim card in Nicaragua. Is it best to just keep the plan i pay here and add the roaming service with the nicaraguan charges added onto it or is it better to purchase a Sim card in Nicaragua and buy a plan there? We are going to be in Nicaragua for two months. Thank you!
Sammi says
I believe MOvistar offers plans for all of Central America, you should check with them to see what they offer
Darrin says
Hi! I followed all of the requirements of making sure my Samsung Galaxy S9 phone was unlocked and went to purchase a Kolbi plan in Uvita. I was facing network errors that asked for an unlock code I thought I could resolve with my carrier and reading web articles only to find out that my phone isn’t compatible with the Kolbi SIM card…
For hours I’ve been doing online research to find any info about my S9 phone and compatibility with Claro or Movistar and not having any luck…do you have any advice or suggestions to understand phone compatibility with the local phone carriers?
Sammi says
Hi Darrin, to be honest I don’t know, that would be something you would have to check with your home carrier because I have a Samsung galaxy note s9 and I use a Kolbi prepaid SIM card in it as my backup phone here and it works fine. It sounds like something to do with your home carrier.
Rebecca P says
Hi! Do you have any information on eSIMs in Costa Rica? Thanks!
Sammi says
No sorry 🙁
Hamer says
It is easier to switch to an eSIM for your US plan and save the physical SIM for travelling.
Chelsea says
We are flying into SJO late December 2021. We plan on taking off to La Fortuna/Arenal for the majority of our trip using public transit. I am curious if using T-mobile would allow us to rely on uber to get around within La Fortuna/Arenal. Can uber app be used using a SIMs card?
Sammi says
as long as you have internet on your phone in Costa Rica you can use Uber
Britney says
Hi Sammi,
Is there a Kolbi store in the airport? I am seeing mixed answers. If not, where is the closest one to the SJO airport that stays open late– arriving at 930pm. Thanks.
Sammi says
There is a Claro store inside SJO Airport but I’m not sure how late they stay open now. No SIM card inside LIR Airport unfortunately.
There won’t be any SIM card stores or even supermarkets open at 930 PM, you’ll have to get one the next morning.
Emil Nassra says
Hey Britney , could you update us if there is a kolbi at the airport?
Sammi says
There isn’t a Kolbi stand in SJO Airport, only Claro. No SIM card stand in Liberia AIrport. If you want a Kolbi SIM card, you’ll have to go to their store or a cell phone store to pick one up.
Conan says
Just to add to this – I flew into Costa Rica, San José today (10th Dec 2020), and the Claro store is still there at the luggage collection area.
SIM card costs 10,000 colones (roughly $20 US), and has 5gb data, and unlimited Whatsapp.
Sammi says
Perfect thank you for confirming, I was just updating the post to verify it!
Mary says
Your blog has been SO helpful to us while planning our trip to Costa Rica. We arrived in SJO last night (9:30pm) and found that Claro has a small booth on the left side of the baggage claim where you can purchase a SIM card. It was 26 usd for the card with 5Gs of data.
Just wanted to pass this information along to other people like me who like to plan every detail out beforehand haha. Thank you so much again for all of your posts!
Sammi says
Thank you so much for the feedback Mary! I’m glad to hear there’s finally a new SIM card stand there now.
Peter says
Finally I found out myself 😉
The easiest way is not to go through the *888# Menue, but to send an SMS to 8888 with „1GIGA“ for 1 GB and „2GIGA“ for 2 GB. There is a table with the activiations Codes on the kolbi Website.
John says
Thanks for the information. I bought a SIM card and the 2 Gig plan at the Kolbi store. The Kolbi rep set if all up for me. Is there a way to check my Data Balance? I haven’t figured it out yet?
Sammi says
For Kolbi customers, type *888# to check your balance.
Peter says
Hi,
I purchased a Kolbi SIM card. I used all the data, Went to a store and put another 4000 CRC on the number. At this Point however, I dont know how to „recharge“ my Data Plan. Its still at 0 MB, even though i put the money on the Account. Do I need to Go in the *800# menu? If yes, I now almost spend an hour translating and Findling my way through it. What menu options do I need to Go to (2-1-2 etc)?
Thanks
Peter
thanks for the work you put in this Blog. We use it every day for our Costa Rica Trip! 🙂