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.
tex says
When you purchase a sim card at the airport and put it in your smartphone are you able to access uber immediately ?
Sammi says
Yes if you already have the app on your phone and you get data on your card, that’s all you need to use Uber.
Rich says
Does the Kolbi sim allow for tethering?
Sammi says
Hi Rich, that will depend on your phone you have and the plan. You can normally tether with any sim card but only certain phones or plans have tethering.
Christine Byl says
Hello,
I’m kind of a dunce about phones, so sorry if this is an obvious question. If we put a CR SIM card into my husband’s iPhone, will that erase all of his current contacts, data, etc? We are not using it for international calls right now but are using it for WhatsApp texts and iMessages that come in on WiFi. I assume that will all disappear if I switch to the new card. Thanks for any input!
Christine
Sammi says
Hi Christine, I know that as long as you don’t re-register the new phone number, your Whatsapp will stay the same, that is what someone told me.
Jon says
Sammi you’re correct. I used Whatsapp while I was in CR recently and when I first opened it, it asked me if I wanted to use a local CR number or keep my existing one.
Jon says
Recently returned from trip to Costa Rica and purchased a Kolbi SIM when I got there. My biggest tip would be to double check that your phone actually is unlocked. My iPhone and my wife’s iPhone’s were both supposedly unlocked.
I purchased the SIM at San Jose for $10 and it gave an error of some type. Kolbi rep I bought it from said phone must not be unlocked, also tried card in my wife’s phone also with same result. Kolbi rep tried it in hers and it worked fine. At this point she said unfortunately she couldn’t take the card back being it had been sold and registered to me.
Ended up doing a chat on WiFi with AT&T on wife’s phone, Kolbi SIM was in my phone. Chat rep stated also that my phone was supposedly unlocked. After going through some back and forth and finally about defeated, I had the AT&T rep add the international (or whatever it’s called) package added to my phone. At the last second I looked over at my phone again & low & behold the top now said Kolbi on it!! I had the AT&T rep cancel their package and the Kolbi worked fine from that point on.
So I’m not sure exactly how you’re supposed to double check that your phone is unlocked before getting there (short of contacting provider), but do it somehow or you may be in for a surprise when you go to activate your Kolbi card!
Hardtac says
Use a sim card from one of your friends phone(from a different company) to test if a phone is unlocked.
Shantell says
This is a bit late but might be helpful in the future for someone else with the same inquiry:
Someone mentioned that they weren’t sure how to check for certain if their phone was for certain “unlocked” through ATT. This link allows you to check your status to clarify that.
https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/?#/
Good luck!
P.S. Yes also, if your phone isn’t paid off (as in you’re still making monthly payments on your phone) they won’t unlock it for you 🙁
Kathi McGraw says
Hi – Great article and comment section!
We arrive at SJO on Saturday, January 26 (2pm) and need to activate phone service after we deplane, so I guess we’ll be visiting the Kolbi stand in the airport. We’ll be staying in Santa Ana for 2+ months and I’m bringing our Moto G5 Plus (4G, dual SIM, unlocked international version). We need to arrange for an Uber ride to the condo and to contact the landlord enroute to gain entry & check in. We’re not cell phone users back in the US, so we’re rookies with understanding how to best use cell service, but the G5 Plus has worked well for the 3 months we’ve been in Portugal (using Vodafone service). We rarely used the phone while on the road in Portugal (rental car), mostly making WIFI calls from the apartment.
While in Costa Rica, we will have WIFI at the apartment. However, we won’t be renting a car, using Uber several times each week, mostly for grocery stores and my husband going to the golf course. This trip is not for vacation/tourist activities, but as a trial run to see if we want to spend winters in CR.
Finally my question – What is the best Kolbi option/plan for using cell service mostly for local calls and the Uber app while away from the apartment?
As you’ve mentioned we can’t use a credit card for adding service as needed at local grocery stores, I’d like to buy what’s needed at the airport using the credit card, unless I can add service on the Kolbi website using a credit card.
Sammi says
Hi Kathi, I would recommend to check the Kolbi website to see what prepaid plans they have available and you can also ask the person at the Kolbi counter when you purchase it what they offer. They have a lot of different plans with minutes, texts and data and you can decide what you think you need. They have weekly, monthly and daily plans so check their website to see the details which will help you decide.
Regan says
Flying into Libera and heading to Nicaragua the next day. It seems like claro is the best sim card for nicaragua but not sure a claro sim card from CR would be the same as in nica. Or if I would have to buy a different sim in nica.
Sammi says
I would recommend Movistar, they have chips that work all throughout Central America and I find their internet to be much better, they have way more signal than Claro.
Brandy says
Hi!
Thanks so much for your very informative blogs!!! Love!!
Question about having a sim card. I understand that if I get a sim card in CR, my number changes. And that if I call back home to the US, it uses up a big chunk of my data bought on my sim…. I’ve also read that its free and doesn’t use up my data if someone from the US calls my phone while in CR ….BUT, does that cost the US caller anything to call my phone with a now CR number from a US phone?
Thanks so much for any advise. I’m coming in a couple of weeks for 10 days for my 40th bday!!!! First trip, super excited!
Brandy
Sammi says
Hi Brandy, yes so the person who calls your CR phone from the US will have to pay an international calling charge since they are calling an international number. Where you bought your phone doesn’t matter, it is the sim card that’s inside the phone because it changes the phone number and network.
Glad the blog is helpful, have a great time here!
Chan says
I recommend you and your friends use Whatsapp. First activate Whatsapp on your with your usual cell phone number, and same goes for your friends. Then when you travel to other countries, take out your usual SIM and put in the foreign SIM . As long as you don’t re-register your phone number against your Whatsapp account, your friends can still reach you via Whatapp (voice, text and even video).
That’s how I communicate with friends and family back home during vacation. Hope that helps.
Katherine says
If I primarily want access to Waze for driving directions, what would be the best plan to support this? I assume some type of data plan but I don’t have any idea how much that would require – we’ll be driving maybe 5 days. Thank you!
Sammi says
You can do the pay as you go (prepaid) and it’ll take away credit as you use data or you can sign up for a plan. You can check with the stand you’re purchasing the card from what plans they have. With Waze, if you set your route using Wi-Fi before you go, then it won’t take up more data since it already downloaded and has the route when you were on Wi-Fi (you have to keep the app open, don’t close it). For 5 days, I would put maybe like 5000 colones or see if they have any good data plans available.
Chan says
With Kolbi, I recommend activating a data package with the prepaid plan; instead of paying the default per-kb prepaid rate out of your prepaid credit. The default rate is currently 0.008588C per kb (8.588C per MB). As a heavy data user, I went with “En Todas y más” that provides 2GB data at 4000C, which is 2C per MB.
There are other data packages available.
Reload the phone at a store to ensure sufficient balance, then dial *888# to enter menu, and select “3 – Internet Movil”, “1 – Paquetes EN TODAS”, “5 – En Todas y Mas” (or another package shown), “1 – Aceptar”.
Hope that helps.
Larry Sy says
Hi, I will travelling to CR for the first time in about 2 weeks time, landing in San Jose. I need a local sim card with data so I can use Uber to get to my AirBNB.
In this post about the sim card, you mentioned “It is also best to pay in Costa Rican colones, not USD or credit card.”
In your post on exchanging money, you mentioned “You can also exchange at the airport. Both the Liberia International and San Jose International Airport currency exchange is right when you exit customs and at baggage claim. You don’t get the best exchange rate so if you can wait until the bank, I would.”
What is your suggestion if I just got out from the plane and don’t have any colones with me? Try to get some colones at the airport or just pay with USD?
BTW, thanks your your very informative blog. I might rent a car through you during my stay,
Larry
Sammi says
Hi Larry, you can get a sim card at the airport and those ones take credit card/USD which is best way to pay for it. If you want, you can exchange to get some CRC but if you have time or have the chance to go to a bank, I would go to the bank to get colones instead. But when you are recharging your sim card like at the grocery store/cell phone store, all prices are in colones so it’s best to pay in Costa Rican colones.
Chan says
We just came back from our trip and here’s our experience: we arrived late at night and the Kolbi booth was closed. The next day we went to the Adobe office to pick up an extra car seat (I asked for two but only gave us one at the hotel) and I asked the staff there about the SIM card. To my surprise, they gave us one for free. This SIM is pre-activated; I just had to put it in my phone and worked right away.
Later on I needed an extra SIM card for my wife’s phone. I hunted around for one and one store sold me one; however, it has big bold words in Spanish stated that the “SIM card is not activated”. I took it to the hotel lobby, in which the front desk staff called and helped me to get activated. The staff had to read off some information from my passport as part of the activation process.