I just wanted to add that Semana Santa (Holy Week) is a very busy time (big vacation time for Ticos) on the beaches and one of the most expensive times too. You may see prices increase during that time. If you have trouble finding something that week or notice prices are super high, it may be a good time to visit some places inland and then return back to the beach after Easter. Just an idea. 🙂

Have you thought about which beach area you prefer? Choose from the following: Guancaste, Nicoya, the Central Pacific coast, the South Pacific coast, or the Carribbean coast.

Guanacaste is the dryest area and the South Pacific and Carribbean are the wetest ones. Yet March and April are the end of the dry seaon in Costa Rica.

Your response was so helpful - thank you very much!

Just wanted to give a bit more info about costs... I have a colonoscopy schedueld for this weekend and it will cost $360 and a mamogram is about $70. A general office visit costs around $45 and I just bought an additional insurance for about $16 a month from INS (Instituto de Seguro Nacional) which should help reduce some out of pocket costs on some procedures. It is much more affordable to pay out of pocket in Costa Rica.

No, Costa Rica is not in the United States. It is located in Central America and borders Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Canadian Passport holders can travel to Costa Rica as tourists for up to a maximum 180 days, no visa is required.

You can find a lot more information on our Visa and Residency in Costa Rica page on the website: https://internationalliving.com/countries/costa-rica/visa/

Hi Matt,

No immunizations are required when entering Costa Rica from the US or Canada. However, there are some recommended.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has the following recommendations, classed as “routine vaccines”:

Chickenpox (Varicella) Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Flu (influenza) Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) Polio Shingles

Personally, I don’t get the flu vaccine, and having received the others when I was young don’t need to worry about those.

Other recommended vaccines by the CDC are:

COVID-19 Hepatitis A Hepatitis B Malaria Measles Rabies Typhoid Yellow Fever

I got a couple of Covid-19 shots, but I am not continuing with them; the only other two I have gotten are Hepatitis A and B. I don’t know anyone who has ever taken Malaria medicine before traveling to Costa Rica.

However, if you plan to spend time in very rural parts of the country, you may want to play it safe and get everything. Also, if you plan to travel to other Latin American countries from Costa Rica, be aware that some vaccines such as yellow fever and typhoid may be required.

For everything else you need to know about moving to Costa Rica, check out the dedicated page on our newly redesigned website.