Destinations
Internet in Costa Rica: between volcanoes, jungle and slow roads
Good coverage in the central valley and gaps in the jungle. What to expect by area, what a nature trip uses and what to download.
Irene Salazar 5 min Photo by Fabio Fistarol on Unsplash Costa Rica is covered by car, on roads slower than the map suggests, and with stops in places where coverage disappears. It is a destination where having everything downloaded changes the trip.
By area
| Where | What to expect |
|---|---|
| San José and central valley | Good 4G |
| La Fortuna, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio | Fine in the towns |
| Roads between areas | Patchy |
| National parks and jungle | Little or none |
| Southern Caribbean coast | Variable |
The distances deceive
Eighty kilometres can be three hours: mountain roads, unpaved stretches and rain. That means more hours in the car than planned and, with them, more navigation and more music.
With the map downloaded and the music saved, those hours cost no data.
What the phone is used for here
- Booking excursions and tours, almost always by messaging.
- Checking the weather, which in the rainy season decides the plan for the day.
- Maps, indispensable with poorly signposted roads.
- And photos, plenty of them, which upload better in the evening on the accommodation's wi-fi.
What you will use
Between 300 and 600 MB a day. It drops on national park days, where there is simply no signal, and rises on travel days.
How to prepare the stretches without coverage is in the costliest mistakes with your phone while travelling.
Frequently asked questions
Is coverage good in Costa Rica?
Yes in the central valley and in the tourist towns. In national parks, the jungle and on the roads between areas there are gaps.
How much data does the trip use?
Between 300 and 600 MB a day, less on park days and more on travel days.
Do I need data to get around?
It helps a lot: excursions are booked by messaging and maps are indispensable with poorly signposted roads.
And in the rainy season?
There are occasional road and power cuts. Your own data keeps working even if the accommodation's wi-fi goes down.
