The quick answer
Costa Rica is one of the more settled countries in the region and is visited by large numbers of people every year without incident. The two things that actually hurt visitors are the sea and opportunist theft, in that order, and both respond well to ordinary precautions.
This page carries no emergency telephone numbers and no advisory level. Numbers should be read from a source that is current at the moment you need them, and advisory levels change without notice. Save the correct number to your phone on arrival and check your own government’s advice shortly before you travel.
The sea
Rip currents are the leading cause of death among visitors to Costa Rica, and they catch strong swimmers as readily as weak ones. Most Costa Rican beaches have no lifeguard. Some of the most attractive and most photographed beaches have the strongest currents, and there is often nothing on the sand to tell you which.
Ask locally before you swim, every time, at every beach. If you are caught in a current, do not swim against it: it is pulling you out, not under. Swim parallel to the shore until you are out of it, then come in. Do not swim alone, do not swim after drinking, and treat a river mouth as a current whatever it looks like.
Theft
The common crime against visitors is opportunist and non-confrontational: bags from beaches, valuables from parked cars, phones from cafe tables and daypacks from luggage racks. Rental cars are recognizable and are targeted at trailheads, beach parking and viewpoints.
The habits that work are dull and effective. Leave nothing whatever in a parked car, including in the trunk. Take only what you need to the beach and never leave a bag unattended while you swim. Keep your phone out of your back pocket and off the table. Use the hotel safe. Carry a photocopy of your passport and leave the original secured. And withdraw cash inside a bank rather than at a street machine at night.
Robbery with force is much rarer but does happen, particularly in parts of San José after dark and in some coastal towns. If it does, hand things over: nothing you are carrying is worth contesting.
On the road
Road traffic is a bigger practical danger than crime. Do not drive at night outside the main corridors, be alert to motorcycles, and expect pedestrians and animals on unlit roads. If you are walking at night in town, take a taxi instead.
Wildlife
Nothing here is out to get you, and the sensible rules are about not creating the situation. Do not feed animals, particularly monkeys and raccoons at beaches and picnic areas, which is how they become aggressive and how they end up killed. Keep your distance from crocodiles at river mouths and estuaries and do not swim where there are signs or local warnings. Watch where you put your hands and feet on trails, and shake out shoes left outside overnight. Snakebite is rare and is treated in hospitals, so if it happens, get to one rather than attempting anything else.
Volcanoes and parks
Costa Rica’s volcanoes are active and access to them is officially controlled. Sectors and whole parks have been closed for extended periods on scientific advice, sometimes at short notice. Do not assume a crater is open because a tour sells it, and follow SINAC’s current arrangements and any instruction from park staff. The same applies to trails, which close for weather and maintenance.
Health
Medical care is good and the private hospitals in the Central Valley are of a high standard, which is why the country has a medical tourism sector at all. Travel insurance that covers medical evacuation is still the right call, because the good hospitals are not near the remote places you will be visiting.
Dengue is present and is spread by daytime-biting mosquitoes, which makes repellent a daytime habit rather than an evening one. Tap water is safe to drink in most of the country. Check the CDC’s Costa Rica page for current vaccination guidance and speak to a travel clinic before you go.
Where to check before you travel
The US Department of State and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office both publish country advice that is updated as conditions change and that is specific about which areas warrant extra care. Read one of them shortly before departure rather than relying on a page written earlier.
Planning with LABUSA Travel
We will tell you which beaches on your route are safe to swim, which towns warrant more care after dark, and where an itinerary should carry an alternative in case a park sector is closed.
Sources
- US Department of State: Costa Rica International Travel Information and the current travel advisory. Accessed 11 August 2026.
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Costa Rica travel advice, including safety, local laws and entry requirements. Accessed 11 August 2026.
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Travelers’ Health, Costa Rica: vaccination, mosquito-borne illness and food and water guidance. Accessed 11 August 2026.
- SINAC, Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación: the national protected-area system, which sets opening arrangements, capacity limits and access rules for every national park. Accessed 11 August 2026.