Going grocery shopping is essential to any trip to Costa Rica whether you need to pick up any items you forgot, are staying in a vacation rental with a kitchen or are staying for a long period of time. Shopping in another country can be intimating, especially if you don’t speak the local language but it’s quite easy in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica has a range of supermarkets with a variety of items and brands and you can find nearly everything you’d find at home in their grocery stores. However, there are a few things to know before you grab a shopping cart and dive in which you can read in the post below.
What You Need to Know About Grocery Stores in Costa Rica
Tax is usually included in the price tag
Don’t worry about calculating the tax because it’s usually included in the price tag. Costa Rica has a sales tax of 13%, you can check your receipt to see how much the tax is but it’s normally included.
Most grocery stores take USD and colones
Most grocery stores in Costa Rica take both USD and Costa Rica colones so if you don’t want to pay with your credit card, you can use cash.
If you use USD, they will use the exchange rate of the day (which should be posted somewhere at the front of the store, around 560 last time I checked December 2017) and give you your change back in colones.
This is a good way to get some Costa Rican colones without having to make an extra trip to the bank. Supermarkets will use the correct exchange rate, not the lazy 500 to 1 ratio and the ones that take USD are the ones in touristic areas like Playas del Coco, Tamarindo, Manuel Antonio, etc. Read more about handling money and Costa Rican currency here.
Not all supermarkets have the same quality, carry the same items or have the same prices
There are many supermarkets in Costa Rica but not all of them carry the same items and have the same quality or prices.
For example, Auto Mercado, a Costa Rican owned store is well known for being a high end supermarket with high quality items, a bigger range of foreign products and a wide selection of produce. They also have conveyor belts, air conditioning and misting machines, a few things that are not super common in other grocery stores in Costa Rica.
Pali, a supermarket chain owned by Walmart is a very basic market. The few times we have been to a Pali hasn’t been the most pleasant experience as they were messy and the workers were very slow. Maxi Pali, the bigger version of Pali has more items and is cleaner.
Then there are the middle-high range supermarkets like Mega Super or Mas X Menos (also owned by Walmart) which carries some American and foreign products, is usually pretty clean and has a decent selection of produce.
Not every supermarket chain carries the same items or have the same prices. What’s cheap in the Auto Mercado San Jose is usually more expensive in Auto Mercado Coco because Coco is a very touristic beach town.
You can find American and foreign brands but they are more expensive
The middle to high end supermarkets in Costa Rica do carry a good amount of American and foreign brands but they are more expensive.
For example, a bottle of Hawaiian tropic sunscreen is around 9,000 colones ($17) when in the US, you can buy it on Amazon for around $6 (which is why we recommend bringing sunscreen and mosquito repellent). Shampoo and face wash brands like Neutrogena and Dove are also more expensive. Toiletries are one of the things more expensive in Costa Rica.
This also goes for food. In the picture you see a bag of Doritos (the small bag, not the big bag) costs 2,750 colones which is a little less than $5). That’s pretty expensive when can find a big bag of these chips for usually half that price in the US.
Anything they have to import will be a lot more expensive because of the 13% sales tax and the import tax which depends on the item.
You can find local products for a lot of items like peanuts, pepper, ice cream, spaghetti sauce, rice and things like that which can be around half the cost of the imported products, so if you want to save money traveling in Costa Rica, then buy local brands.
No 24 hour supermarkets in Costa Rica
Most supermarkets in Costa Rica close by 8 PM. We have yet to find a 24 hour one.
Hard to find vegan/vegetarian friendly options…
…in some supermarkets. More grocery stores in Costa Rica are stocking vegan and vegetarian products.
Currently in Guanacaste, I haven’t been able to find tofurkey or vegan cheese in any supermarket except Auto Mercado. They also have tofurkey, vegan eggs and cheese and veggie burgers. So this is a good supermarket to go to if you are vegan. (Read more about eating vegetarian/vegan in Costa Rica here.)
Some common veg items you can find in most supermarkets are almond/soy/rice milk and box tofu. You may be able to find more options in the supermarkets in San Jose since it is the city.
You can also find gluten free items in Costa Rica, particularly at the Auto Mercado. My friend who has Crohn’s disease and is allergic to many things had a much easier time buying snacks and things to eat there. You can find gluten free items in other supermarkets but they don’t really have a whole aisle dedicated to it, they usually have just a few items.
You can find all basic cuts of meat in Costa Rica
For meat, you can find your basics: beef, pork and chicken and you can find all the normal cuts. Only some stores have a seafood section (or they have a frozen seafood section) and it’s hard to find things like ground chicken, ground pork and turkey. But you can get chicken breasts, wings, thighs, sirloin steaks, pork chops, marinated meats and more.
Remember that all the names of the cuts will be in Spanish so it will be handy to write them down if you’re looking for a certain one like lomo (tenderloin), costillas (ribs) and entraña fina (skirt steak).
Popular Grocery Stores in Costa Rica
Auto Mercado (throughout Costa Rica, mostly Central Valley, Jaco and Guanacaste)
These are popular grocery stores in San Jose and Northern Guanacaste.
BM (in Uvita and Costa Ballena area)
Main grocery store in Uvita and Dominical. Mostly in the South Pacific like Puerto Jimenez, Palmar and San Isidro de General.
Mega Super
Tons of locations in Costa Rica.
Vindi
A smaller grocery store chain under Auto Mercado. In San Jose, Heredia and Tamarindo.
Walmart (Liberia and San Jose)
Walmart is the most popular grocery store in Liberia now. It just opened in the summer of 2017 and has clothes, electronics and produce.
Fresh Market
Small market, good produce. Only in San Jose and Heredia.
Maxi Pali
You can find Maxi Palis and Palis all throughout Costa Rica.
Super Compro
You can find Super Compros in San Jose, Guanacaste and Monteverde. I personally don’t like these supermarkets very much, they are usually very slow and messy but they are a large chain.
Mas X Menos
This is the most popular grocery store in Jaco as it is right in downtown.
Perimercado (San Jose, Central Valley)
Popular supermarkets in San Jose.
Pricemart (a membership only store like Costco)
Only in San Jose and Central Valley cities like Heredia. You can’t use your Costco membership card at Pricemart since they are different companies (but you will feel like you were transported to a Costco in the USA).
Costa Rica Grocery Prices
Here is a list of how much groceries cost in Costa Rica. These prices are from the Mega Super/Auto Mercado in the Tamarindo area so they are generally a bit more higher.
This is just to give you an idea of how much basic items cost. On average, they may differ from 100-600 colones (or greater depending on the item).
For 2 people living in a touristic area of Costa Rica, groceries are usually the biggest chunk of our monthly budget. (You can read more about our $2000-2500 monthly budget in Costa Rica in this post.)
Prices are quoted in Costa Rican colones and USD and are an average.
Costa Rica grocery prices
1 kg sugar: 650 colones (~$1.15)
Yellow onions: 1800 per kg (~$3.10)
Can of OFF family mosquito repellent: 4920 (~$9)
1 loaf of white bread: 1600 (~$2.80)
1 liter of milk: 890 (~$1.50)
Tomatoes: 2000/kg (~$3.5)
.660 kg (~1.5 lbs) of ground beef: 4860 ($8.60)
A dozen jumbo eggs: 2000 (cheaper for regular size) (~$3.50)
15 regular eggs: 1500 (~$2.60)
6 rolls of toilet paper: 2000 (~$3.50)
1 Gillette mens razor: 4110 (~$7.20)
1 kg of white rice (local brand): 1270 (~$2.25)
~1.5 lbs of chicken breast: 4018 (~7.10)
1 123 ml Colgate toothpaste: 2600 ($4.60)
Tampons (10 pack): 2450 ($4.33)
500 ml Listerine: 3900 (~$6.90)
Local Turrialba cheese: 2675 ($4.70)
6 pack of Costa Rican beer: 4620 (~$8.10)
Gouda/smoked/other types of cheese: 2500 – 4500 ($4.50-8)
Grand Old Parr Whisky: 31,400 (~$55)
1 kg flour: 590 (~$1)
Special K cereal: 4080 (~$7.20)
24 pack of water: 8390 (~$14.85)
1750 ml of water: 1000 (~$.170)
1 L olive oil: 7495 (~$13.20)
Discounts and Deals
Some supermarkets have certain days where they offer really good discounts (up to 50%). Mega Super has Wednesday product deals and Auto Mercado has a deals section at the entrance.
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Sam says
Hi guys! We’re heading to Nosara after we fly into San Jose, and we’re wondering if it’s worth stopping in the city to buy the essentials – toilet paper, bread, etc.
Thanks!
Sam
Sammi says
Hi Sam, there are supermarkets in Nosara where you can buy essentials like that. Even though there isn’t a huge supermarket like the ones in San Jose, there are what we call “pulperias” and those are small markets with essentials plus snacks and some food.
Mary says
Hi Sammy,
Your blog has been so helpful in planning our trip. My family of 5 will be going to La Fortuna to start out our trip for a few days. We are planning to do a lot of hiking and exploring. I was hoping to stop by a grocery store after we pick up our car and pick up some items to keep in our room and pack in our day bags. Maybe even make some easy lunches. Which store would you recommend? Also is water always so expensive? What would you recommend to keep our Hydro Flasks full?
Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Mary! There are a lot of supermarkets in La Fortuna, each of them all carry the same thing pretty much. I wrote a small section about shopping in our guide here: La Fortuna
Water is always around those prices in all the supermarkets, my recommendation is that you can actually drink tap water in most places like the city (La Fortuna included) but if you have a sensitive stomach or don’t react well, we recommend purchasing the water filter tablets or a steripen which will sterilize water quickly and is super usefl.
Shawna Larade says
If flying into Liberia and driving to Coco Beach with a family of 6 (4 children and 2 adults) where to you suggest we grocery shop? Is it a good idea to bring things from Canada for the children in Costa Rica? What are car rental options like? Thank you for taking the time to create this blog. It is very helpful
yeison says
Hi Shawna, you can read about the four supermarkets in Coco in this post and the differences between them. We personally like Auto Mercado and Super Luperon as they are the biggest and cleanest with more selection. For car rentals, you have a lot of options whether you want to get the car from liberia Airport or to your place in Coco. We have a partnership with Adobe Rent a Car who offers free delivery to Playas del Coco and we offer up to 20% discounts and extra benefits for our readers. You can read more about renting a car in this post: https://mytanfeet.com/about-cr/renting-a-car-in-costa-rica-tips/ and get our discount here: https://mytanfeet.com/special-deals/get-real-discount-rent-car-costa-rica/
Vicki L Smith-Jones says
Your blog has been extremely helpful in planning our trip to Costa Rica this week. I have clicked on a few links (World Nomad) and hope that they are working as they should for you. Your tips have definitely made our trip smoother and we have not even gotten on the plane (Seattle like you) yet!!
Thank you.
Sammi says
Hi Vicki! I’m so glad it’s been helpful and thanks for clicks 🙂 Yay Seattle! I just got back actually, had a very nice summer there!
Kathy says
Enjoy your blog. Lots of good information. Do any of the stores sell non alcoholic beer? If so is there a particularly good one?
Sammi says
Hi Kathy! They do, Imperial sells one and the can is black. I’ve tried it (I don’t drink) and it’s not bad. I’m not sure if they sell it at every single supermarket but we have found it in a few.
Marita says
Hello!
Are there any grocery stores in Costa Rica, specifically Limon, that makes home deliveries ? Do they have any apps to buy from?
Sammi says
Hi Marita, unfortunately we don’t have that yet in Costa Rica 🙁
Kevin says
We just returned from the Osa Peninsula and found there was a surprising number of vegetarian “fake meats” and similar items in the cooler and frozen sections at BM market. More surprising was the very high cost, but it was a break from the local foods and something familiar for the kids.
Laura says
Hey Sammi, I’m moving to San José to work at one of the international schools in July and I’m coming from 4 years China. I’m not willing to give up my staple items such as rice noodles, soy sauce and hoisin, so can you reccomend any Asian grocery stores in San José, or any shops you know carry Asian staple items? I’m from Toronto so I’ll have no trouble sourcing those things at home and bringing it in, but when I run out I would love to have some options to restock.
Sammi says
Hi Laura, you can find basics like soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and some noodles (buckwheat soba, stir fry) at Auto Mercado and there is an Asian supermarket in San Jose. I forget the address but it’s not in “Chinatown” (there’s nothing there, just a big red gate) but if you ask any of the locals they’ll be able to give you directions. I live in Guanacaste so it’s a lot more difficult to find those items and I’ve never seen hoisin sauce anywhere so I bring it from home but hopefully they will have it in the Asian grocery store.
Mindy Duke says
What’s the average cost of wine, boxed or bottles? Do most grocery stores sell it? We’ll in CR for 2 weeks in August, SJ, La Paz, La Fortuna, Monteverde & Quepos.
Love your blog and thanks for the great information!
Sammi says
You can find wine in most of the supermarkets. You can find Costa Rica box wine for like… $6 (not very good) and then if you want like, nice wines, you will need to go to a liquor store or to a higher end supermarket like AutoMercado but good wine is definitely not cheap. They have wine in all the nice restaurants and in the supermarket, a nice bottle of wine maybe at least $30 or so.
David says
Yes I have learned so much in your blog
Thanks so much very informative
Been to CR three years in a row now and will return again and again
Looking forward to the growth in the Coco area with the water making its way there
Sammi says
Hi David, thanks for reading our blog and glad it’s helpful!
Pauli says
Hello! My friend and I are so excited to go to Costa Rica and we’ve been reading all your blogs! So helpful! Just wondering, is wal-mart in Liberia not 24 hours? We are getting in late and wanted to pick up just a few things before we head to Tamarindo.
Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Pauli, the Walmart in Liberia closes at 10 PM. There are several supermarkets in Tamarindo but most of them close by 8-9 PM. There aren’t really any 24 hour supermarkets in Costa Rica.
SANDIE says
Hi..,really enjoying your blog and it is making me so excited about our trip to Costa Rica in two weeks time .. you have answered so many questions for usc. We are hiring a 4×4,and travelling to Arenal , Monteverde , Samara , Jaco , Uvita and Sierpe .. 16 day trip ! We will need a rest when we get home ( England ) best wishes , SANDIE
Sammi says
Hi Sandie, I hope you have a wonderful time in Costa Rica and glad you like the blog!
Rebecca Coutant says
Such a great post! I write a blog about Belize – Ambergris Caye in particular – and I must admit…I visit your site for ideas and inspiration. Plus…it’s just good reading! Thank you guys so much 🙂
Sammi says
Hi Rebecca! That’s awesome – I’ve always wanted to go to Belize (hopefully after I get my scuba diving certification). It looks gorgeous and everyone says the diving there is spectacular! I’ll check out your site for inspiration 😀