Costa Rica eSIM

Staying connected in Costa Rica

Install a travel eSIM before you fly and switch it on when you land in San José or Liberia, the airport for Guanacaste and the Pacific coast. AirOva sells Costa Rica plans from $2.99, with a fixed amount of data or unlimited, all data only, with no call minutes, SMS or local phone number. Plans run on Claro and Liberty; each plan card shows whether it is listed as 4G or 5G, and a card that says Telefonica Costa Rica means today's Liberty.

Which Costa Rica plan to choose

GB plans suit most trips, since maps, messaging and booking apps take little data. Unlimited plans give unlimited data with no data cap and no fair-usage limit; you only choose the number of days, which suits long stays, remote work and video calls home. Each plan card names its network.

Claro, Liberty and Kölbi

Costa Rica has three mobile operators: the state-owned Kölbi, Liberty and Claro. Telefonica Costa Rica on a plan card is a former name: Telefónica sold its Costa Rica mobile business, which traded as Movistar, to Liberty Latin America in August 2021, and since June 2022 that network has traded as Liberty. Kölbi is not on our plans. 5G is recent: Liberty first offered it in 2024 and Claro launched it in September 2025. In the regulator Sutel's first 5G quality report, Liberty's 5G could be reached only in San José, Alajuela and Heredia.

Arriving at San José or Liberia

Juan Santamaría International (SJO) lies in Alajuela province, about 20 km northwest of downtown San José, and is the country's biggest and busiest airport. Daniel Oduber Quirós International (LIR) is about 11 km from the city of Liberia. Install the eSIM over Wi-Fi before you fly. After landing, turn off airplane mode, switch the eSIM line on, choose it for mobile data and enable Data Roaming for that line; the plan is prepaid, so roaming adds no charge.

Crossing to Nicaragua or Panama

Costa Rica borders Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. If your trip continues overland, check on the plan card whether your plan also covers the next country, or buy a plan for it in advance. For routes through several countries, read our Central America overland guide.

Tip: download offline maps before you head for national parks, cloud forest trails or remote beaches, since coverage away from towns is not guaranteed. Carry a power bank, and keep your home SIM in the phone for bank codes with its roaming off.