I watch people arrive at the airport with far too much, and it is always the same too much. Here is what actually gets used on this coast.
The short version: fewer clothes than you think, quick-dry everything, three pairs of shoes, reef-safe sunscreen, a rain jacket if it is green season, and a reusable water bottle. You can buy almost everything else here.
First, when and where are you going?
Packing for Costa Rica is really packing for a region and a season, because the country contains several climates. The tourism board splits it into regions for good reason.
| What to expect | |
|---|---|
| Guanacaste, dry season | Hot, dry, dusty. Sun protection is the whole game. |
| Guanacaste, green season | Hot, humid, heavy afternoon rain. Quick-dry everything. |
| Central Valley, any time | Seventies, cooler evenings. A layer for the evening. |
| Southern Pacific / Caribbean | Hot, humid, wetter year round. Rain gear regardless. |
| Monteverde and highlands | Genuinely cool and often wet. A proper warm layer. |
That last row catches people out constantly. Visitors pack for a beach holiday, go up to a cloud forest, and are cold.
Which season you are in matters too, and the month by month guide covers that properly.
Clothes
Bring less than you think. Laundry is cheap and easy, and you will wear the same four things.
- Lightweight, quick-dry tops. Cotton takes days to dry in humidity. Synthetic or linen.
- Shorts, two or three pairs.
- One pair of light long trousers. For evenings, mosquitoes, and rural areas where shorts read as beachwear.
- Swimwear, two sets, so one is always dry.
- A light long sleeve. Sun protection and dusk mosquito cover, which is more useful than repellent alone.
- A warm layer only if you are going to the highlands.
- A rain jacket in green season. Light, packable. Not an umbrella, which is useless in wind.
- One nicer outfit. Costa Rica is casual. Nowhere you are going needs a jacket and tie.
Shoes
Three pairs, and no more.
- Flip flops for the beach and everyday.
- Trainers or trail shoes for walking, towns and anything active.
- Sandals you can get wet, with a strap. Waterfalls, rivers, boats.
Hiking boots only if you are genuinely hiking. They are heavy and you will resent them.
Sun and bugs
Reef-safe sunscreen, high factor, and more than you think. The sun near the equator is stronger than the temperature suggests. Sunscreen is available here but costs more than at home, so this is one thing worth packing properly.
A hat with a brim and sunglasses. Not optional in Guanacaste.
Insect repellent. One bottle to start. It is easy to buy here. Repellent plus long sleeves at dusk beats repellent alone.
Aloe or after-sun. Someone in your party will need it.
Health and medication
- Prescription medication for the whole trip, in original labelled packaging, plus a copy of the prescription. Do not assume a specific brand is available.
- A small first aid kit: plasters, antihistamine, painkillers, rehydration salts, motion sickness tablets if you are boating.
- Travel or expat medical insurance. Visitors are not covered by the Caja, the public health system, which is for residents. This is the one thing people skip and should not.
Tech and documents
- Universal or US plug adapter. Costa Rica uses the same 120V two-pin plugs as the US, so Americans need nothing. Everyone else does.
- Portable battery pack. Green season power cuts, long travel days.
- Dry bag, genuinely useful for boats, waterfalls and afternoon downpours.
- Passport, and carry it when you drive: your entry stamp is what makes your foreign licence valid, as explained in driving on a foreign licence.
- Proof of onward travel. Airlines check this before you board more often than immigration checks on arrival.
- A card with no foreign transaction fees, plus some cash.
Leave at home
- Heavy clothing, jeans, anything that does not breathe.
- More than three pairs of shoes.
- A hairdryer and a travel iron. Accommodation has the first, nobody needs the second.
- Most toiletries. Shampoo exists here.
- Expensive jewellery and watches.
- Anything you would be devastated to lose. Petty theft from cars and beaches is the common crime.
If you are moving rather than visiting, the list of things not to ship is longer and more surprising: see 8 things to leave behind.
A reusable water bottle. Tap water is drinkable in most of the country, it is hot enough that you will drink constantly, and buying bottled water twice a day for two weeks is both expensive and a lot of plastic for a country that takes its environment seriously.
If you are coming to look at moving
Pack differently. Bring the rain jacket even in dry season, bring shoes you can walk a rough road in, and bring a notebook. You are not on holiday, you are doing research, and the useful version of that trip involves supermarkets, banks and driving the road to a house you might live in rather than a canopy tour.
The area guides cover which Guanacaste towns are worth your days, and if you would rather have someone tell you where to spend the week, book a call.
