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.
Cirillo Bianchi says
Prepai card kolbi is useful also for gps navigation with googlemaps?
Sammi says
Yes, just make sure you put enough credit on there.
Kat says
How much credit would you recommend purchasing for 2 weeks of travel requiring constant GPS?
Sammi says
At the very least, around 10,000 ($20). You can always recharge it when you run out. I also recommend downloading the maps/route when you have Wi-Fi.
Brandi says
I’m really enjoying all the wonderful information you’ve made available, thank you! We will be visiting CR this summer, and I’m concerned about taking my cell phone with me and using a SIM card. On one hand, I’m concerned about my phone getting stolen, and am considering buying a cheap phone at the airport. On the other hand, if I bring my own smartphone we’ll be able to use the phone’s camera and not have to worry about bringing a separate camera, which would be another device I’d worry about getting stolen. Do you have any recommendations one way or the other? If it makes a difference, we’ll be in Heredia for a week, then Samara for a week.
Sammi says
You can use your smartphone, I use mine and pretty much everyone I know who visits does since it’s how most people take pictures now. Just use your common sense, don’t leave it out on the table at a restaurant, don’t leave it at the beach while you go swimming, etc. Always have an eye on it and keep your belongings close to you.
Seb says
Hi, i have a kolbi sim card with 2gb data. But i use 1.5gb. How can i get more data ? In store its just for recharged crédit to call ? I just need more data.. thx.
Sammi says
Hi, you just need to add more credit. You can do this at a supermarket at the cash register.
Steve says
My first trip to Costa Rica. I plan to use my unlocked iPhone and purchase a Kolbi SIM card at the kiosk at San Jose airport. I’m getting conflicting information. I would prefer to purchase the sim card with US Dollars (cash), or with a US credit card or do you have to use colones?
Sammi says
We always used colones to purchase the SIM card but we always bought it at the cell phone store. Keep in mind that when you recharge your card at the supermarket or wherever, you have to pay in colones. But at the airport, it might be different, they may take dollars (I’d assume they would).
Young says
Do you know which service has the best data service in Jaco? We’re going at the end of the month for a week and want to have the flexibility of a pre-paid SIM while there. Thanks!
Young
Sammi says
We both use Kolbi and it works great, I get service everywhere with it. I’m not sure the exact price of data (you can probably find the price on their website)
Linda says
Any recommendations on where to purchase a MoviStar SIM card for my iPhone6 before we head to Costa Rica? I’ve gone to their website but I am at a disadvantage not speaking much Spanish.
yeison says
Hello Linda!
Samantha used to have a moviStar Sim Card and the problem we had was that in some areas there was no signal, same happened to my sister. They are good companies but just if you go to the popular areas where more population live. I used Kolbi and I 99% of the times I get good reception. Let us know if you have questions of if there is something we can help.
Linda says
So, then do you know where in the U.S. or from Costa Rica you can order and have shipped to you?
yeison says
You don’t need to do that you can find them every where and is very easy to get it, you just have to bring your phone and a picture ID Kolbi even have a Kiosk at the airport. the sim card cost like $2 and then you can put as much money as you want.
Maria says
Hi,
I have$10 Kolbi SIM card for 2 weeks now. How do I find out how many minutes I have left?
Maria
Sammi says
Hi Maria, send a blank text to 1150 and they’ll send a text back with your balance
NickC says
That doesn’t work (at Sept 11, 2015). I received a message saying “Lo sentimos, codify invalido. Ahora podes consultar el saldo llamando al *888*1*1# “, which I believe means that messaging 1150 was invalid and that you must dial *888*1*1# for your credit amount. It then gets displayed to you (but not sent as a message)
PS. I wonder why nobody reads your answers to the questions asked before they go and ask exactly the same questions
Sammi says
Hi Nick, you need to type *1150# and you’ll get a message pop up of our balance (tu saldo). This is just for Kolbi, I believe the other companies have a different code.
Guy says
Where can I see the data plains and prices ?
Thanks !
Sammi says
Hi Guy, you should be able to see them on the website. Just Google “Kolbi ICE Costa Rica” or “Movistar CR” and they should have them on there.
Michael says
Flying into Liberia to spend a week on the Nicoye peninsula, was planning on getting a Kolbi sim, is there a kiosk at LIR?
Sammi says
Hi Michael, yes there is a sim card kiosok right before you leave the airport
Abbie says
OOPS! didn’t see this reply here regarding LIR and a Kolbi SIM! Glad I kept reading, AUG 2015 is current enough! 🙂
lora says
This is really helpful info. as we will be in CR in a few days. When you get a sim card in an iPhone (Verizon) do you lose access to your regular phone number since I understand you get a CR phone number? Also, how do you stop using the sim card at the end of the trip? Do we stop at the Kolbi stand both arriving and leaving San Jose?
thanks for the help!
yeison says
Hi Lora,
You need to have an unlock phone in order to use any Costa Rica Sim Card like Kolbi. Yes you will lose access to your regular phone because you are using a CR sim card (if you want to keep getting calls as you do in the US/Canada you should ask for roaming). At the end you just have to stop using it is a prepaid sim card, they have one stand at the airport but if it is close you can find the sim cards in many cell phone stores in Costa Rica. Have a nice trip