One of the major concerns when you visit a country is if it’s safe to drink tap water in Costa Rica. This is one of the most common questions we get from our readers and friends that visit us because there are a lot of common misconceptions about it and you’ll hear different things from different people.
So in this article we’re going to talk about water quality in Costa Rica and whether it’s safe for visitors to drink it from the tap or not. Hopefully this will help clear up some confusion so you can be prepared for your trip to Costa Rica!
Is it Safe to Drink Tap Water in Costa Rica?
I grew up in a town call Los Lagos in the province of Heredia and I have never had any problems before with the water. However, I have been drinking tap water since I was kid. For locals and people who are used to the water, it’s not a problem.
For foreigners, it could be a different story but many of my friends from different countries have drank the tap water when they were here and haven’t had any problems either. Many of the expats you talk to will say the same thing.
But this does not mean that the quality of the water is the same in every part of the country so I put together a list of things to know about if the tap water is safe to drink in Costa Rica.
Check Where Your Water is Coming From
The biggest water company in Costa Rica is the AyA and they have a pipe system all over the country. They do a good job continuously checking the quality of the water so if your water provider is the AyA, your water quality should be very good.
There are other smaller companies around the country that provide water service so if you are moving to Costa Rica or renting a place for the period of time, check who your water provider is (ask your property manager or landlord). Most of the companies have high quality standards as well.
The thing you need to be careful about is if your water is coming from a well or a water tank. In some areas, people pump their water from the ground or store water for regular use. We have had a couple of bad experiences in some places where the main source of water was from a water tank and it was not well maintained.
Some hotels in Guanacaste or drier areas in Costa Rica do this due to the lack of water during dry season. Hotels will have a sign in your room saying if the water is drinkable or not because many times, the water is coming from their tanks instead of the AyA.
Check for pipes and taps
In some cases, people think that they are getting sick because the water is not drinkable, however the reason is because they have dirty pipes full of bacteria. Obviously if the pipes and taps aren’t checked and maintained, bacteria will grow so it’s highly recommended to check the conditions of the main pipes and taps often.
What You Can Do
If you have a sensitive stomach or are having some tummy issues, you have several options:
- Bring a water purifier or filter like SteriPEN. These will filter out the bacteria or prevent them from multiplying. Very useful for hiking or day trips too.
- Water purification tablets are also handy and small to carry. It only takes 30 minutes for them to clean the water and make it drinkable.
We don’t recommend buying bottled water since it’s a huge waste of plastic. Instead, bring a reusable water bottle (we use Hydroflask and they’re insulated so it keeps the water nice and cold for 24 hours) and a filter.
If you are traveling and moving locations every day, the best thing you can do to be 100% sure your water is safe to drink is to use the purifiers for everything. Bring diarrhea pills too just in case, as you never know what can happen and it’s better to be prepared.
Touristic locations are for the most part safe, but it also depends on the person as some people are more sensitive than others. You can check with the hotel how the tap water is in that area as some places are better/worse than others. It’s better to play it safe than get diarrhea or get sick during your trip!
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Sina says
Certain areas of Costa Rica do not have water treatment and actually use recycled tap water for showers and washing hands and toilet. If you drink this water, you will get violently ill. Our whole group was accidentally served this water in the area of Nosara Costa Rica. Because of this, we all were vomiting and had diarrhea for days and weeks. In general, do not drink local tap water ever when traveling, even if they say it’s safe. I’ve traveled many countries, and even in countries where they said the water was safe, travelers still got ill. For example, Mexico is another place where travelers frequently get ill, even though the locals drink the tap water sometimes.
Sammi says
The bacteria and minerals in the water here are different to other countries so that’s why the locals are fine because they are used to the water but travelers aren’t. That’s why I recommend bringing your own water filter if you have a sensitive stomach or are not used to drinking water from other countries. This happens a lot to tourists from the US because the treatment is different. So the water is safe in Costa Rica for the most part but if you are sensitive and not used to it, then it’s recommended not to. And unfortunately Nosara is still kinda rural so the water down there is not great. In general the water in Guanacaste is not as good as San Jose because the city has better water treatment and a lot of the water in Guanacaste comes straight from the ground.
Barbara Clothier says
Would it be an ok idea to bring one of those water bladder backpacks or would it be unnecessary (too much) and too touristy looking? My family likes to hike and we are frugal. We like to hike anywhere, along long beaches for a long time and would rather not stop to buy water or something like that, but I don’t want us to stand out either. Suggestions? Thanks, Barb
Sammi says
Hi Barbara, that would be totally okay! I haven’t seen many tourists with it but that’s because they all buy water bottles (which the plastic is so wasteful). I always recommend bringing an insulated water bottle but the bladder backpacks will work great, especially for hikes and at the beach. Yeison actually has one he uses for biking so I wouldn’t worry about standing out, they are normal here, especially for athletes.
Niki says
When in CR, I usually boil the tap water for a few minutes and put it in a pitcher in the fridge to cool. I bottle that up and bring to restaurants, or carry my SteriPen.
Sammi says
Smart!
Gerd Salomon says
Dear ” family”
I am very happy to get so many important and helpfull recommendations from you, a realy competent person, because Citizan from Costa Rica!!!
I am from Germany and have not many experiences about CR , but will next year finish my houseconstruction at the northwest beach of lake arenal and live there all year long!
So I will all time read eagerly each of your letters
Best Regards Salli
Sammi says
Hi Gerd! Thanks for reading our blog and glad you like it! How exciting about your house in Lake Arenal, congrats! 🙂
David says
For the green traveler or the quick two week traveler i would not dink the water. I’ve found as we travel around our stomachs have built up a lining to be able to drink the water. This has taken it’s time. So i guess you could say our bodies have adapted over time.
Steph of Big World Small Pockets says
A useful article, thanks guys. As you say, I drank the water throughout my time in Costa Rica no problems, but I guess upset stomachs can happen. I didn’t like buying plastic water bottles all the time either because of the waste they create. When I was in other Central American countries, like Nicaragua, you could small bags of filtered, safe water, which you could then empty into a recycled bottle. This was cheaper and also better for the environment. Can you buy little bags of filtered water in Costa Rica too or is it only bottles? In Nicaragua, they were found everywhere from small tiendas to street sellers – a great help for budget travellers!
Sammi says
I have never seen the bags in Costa Rica but it would be a good idea as long as it was filtered water (sometimes you never know). One thing you can do to limit the plastic bottle waste it to keep your bottles and bring it back to the store to exchange for new ones. Supermarkets will re-use the bottles and the new ones you get is cheaper.
Marilyn says
what kind of bags please?