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.
Shabso says
Hello,
I am traveling to Costra Rica at the end of January 2017. I would prefer to get a Costa Rican SIM card rather than buying an international roaming plan, given the extra charges associated with the plan with CR being in a different zone.
My flight does not get into until 9:20 pm and I imagine we wont get off the plane and into the baggage area until around 10 or later on a Sunday. Does anyone know how late the kiosk is open in the airport? I would wait to get it the next day but I have to catch an early bus that morning.
yeison says
Hi Shabso, the Kioskos have a 8am to 6pm schedule, but no worries you can get sim cards on most of the cell stores and in some super markets you will have an area there they sell them.
Teresa says
Just went through the airport tonight and the tourist SIM card was $40 USD with some credit for calls and Internet. Once I realised that the price was in USD I didn’t look at it anymore. Will go searching in town tomorrow any suggestions at all for a good place to buy a cheap phone and SIM card. Thanks
Sammi says
If you go to any cell phone store, you should be able to buy a sim card (around $4) and then put as much credit as you’d like on it. Cell phones in Costa Rica aren’t cheap, but you can get one of those simple phones, not a smartphone for not very much.
Teresa says
Hi Sammi. Thanks for the message. Just wanted to let other readers know not to get caught purchasing the SIM card at the airport. Really it was a big rip off . Got one at the markets today
Sammi says
That’s good to know about that, I didn’t realize they were making people pay $40 for a sim card at the airport. Thanks for the heads up, glad you found one at the market instead
Xrak En says
I landed at SJO on Dec 31 and also saw the $40 “tourist SIM card” brochures at the Kolbe/ICE kiosk buth when I asked the person behind the counter he told me about another option to get a SIM card for US$ 2.00. I got that and my phone worked right away along with internet. I had a hard time figuring out what kind of an internet plan I was on and never did figure out during my entire trip. I did add another USD 5.00 at a grocery store and I used about 500MB on my one week trip and never had any issues with calling or internet access.
Sammi says
Hi Xrak! So it seems there are two options, they probably offer the $40 plan for people who aren’t sure exactly how much and don’t want to be worried about running out of credit. Glad to hear you can still get the $2 pre-paid sim card and put as much as you want on the go.
Todd says
Hi, I am going on a live aboard dive trip to Cocos Island. I have read that there is cellular service when the boat is near the island. I want to use WhatsApp to keep in touch with family while I am away. Which Costa Rican SIM card should I buy for Cocos?
Thanks, Todd
Sammi says
Kolbi is the most common one, but I’d also ask your tour provider as they should know for sure.
Pam says
Do you know which phone company works best on the Caribbean coast? I’ll be staying in Puerto Viejo.
Sammi says
Kolbi worked for us over there, I remember getting 4g in town.
Pam says
Thank you! I’ll reply when I return with how it worked.
Sammi says
Sounds great! 🙂
arnold Guillen says
I made a mistake on my first comment. it is not a Iphone5 but a Iphone 6 that I’m getting from the US and I want to know if I can use it in Costa Rica by Unblocking the phone or replacing the chip. It is currently being used with Verizon as the service provider.
arnold Guillen says
I’m getting an iphone5 from the US but I do not know what model other that my daughter is using Verizon. They tell me that that phone will not work her in Costa Rica due to the band that it is working on now. i’m using Kolbi here on a prepaid program. Can it be unblocked or simple replace the chip or order a chip from Kolbi?
Please let me know what are my options,
Thank you
Sammi says
Hi Arnold, we have friends who use an Iphone 6 from Verizon and they have been able to use a prepaid sim card. You may need to cut the chip (I forget if Iphone uses normal sim or nano), but they can set up the network when she gets her card but the phone needs to be unlocked.
Greg says
Thanks for the info. My daughter and her school are travelling Costa Rica tomorrow and I have been wondering how will I stay in contact. SIM purchase sounds simple enough. Hope they offer lots of data though because I am expecting a heap of facebook updates from her
yeison says
Hi Greg, just make sure she has an unlock phone, then she can put more credit that can use on date on almost every grocery store here.
Leonardo says
Hello friends, I’m from Costa Rica and I am working on a project in which we are evaluating the option of placing a shop at the airport, which would provide the rental services of mifi devices (mobile mini internet routers – hotspots) which will give to our customers an unlimited internet service up to 10 people with a single payment, so it would be helpful for families and people who want to have internet access wherever they go without having to have an unlocked phone or having to change SIM cards . The approximate cost would be $ 1.99 per day for unlimited internet.
I’d like to know your point of view on this project I’m undertaking and if you have suggestions about related services which could offer to make your stay more pleasant.
Greetings from Costa Rica.
Pura Vida!
yeison says
Price is good, what company are you planning to use (Kolbi/movistar/claro/japi/etc)?
Leonardo says
In this momment we are evaluating Kolbi, Claro, and Movistar, we are looking to have contracts with two companies (Kolbi/Claro) and Movistar to offer our customers both options and give them the best coverage area possible according to the place which they are thinking to visit.
Thanks for your reply.
yeison says
Great! Please let us know whenever you guys start providing your services. Good luck 🙂
Courtney says
Hello Leonardo,
When are you opening your shop? Is there one in LIB airport? Just hope you have one there in July.
Alan says
Please let us know if the mifi rental is already available. this is a great idea.
Recommendation
try offering devices that support dual sim. in that way the device can switch between networks base on best reception.
Base on my research Costa Rica data cell providers work in the following frequency. 2G GSM 850, 1800 | 3G UTMS 850, 1800 | 4G LTE 1800, 2600.
ATT operates in 850, 1900, 700, 1700, 1900, 2100, 2300. (Missing 1800 and 2600) (this does not mean that your ATT phone supports all these frequency’s)
T-mobile operates in 700, 1700, 2100
the problem with usa phones is that ATT and T-mobile do not work on all frequency’s so you may get 3G instead of 4G. the reason is simple your phone radio does not cover the frequency needed to get to the Costa Rica 4G.
reference information
wikipedia.org
EL says
Is good you guys have like 14 days or 30 days plan as well.. instead of usd1.99
Jane says
Thanks for the info regarding location of my pin for my Kolbi prepaid card!
Do you know why I can’t text to Canada?
iPhone 5S
Thanks!
Sammi says
Once you have a Costa Rican number, you need to add the country code and area code (if needed) because your number is Costa Rican.
Stephanie says
We are staying near the Sierpe River near Drake Bay, do you have any recommendations on the carrier with the best service in that area?
yeison says
Hi, Kolbi worked very well when we were there