Much to my delight, this little website gets a fairly good amount of attention. About once every two weeks or more often I get an email from someone with questions about visiting Costa Rica. Of course some questions are about where to go, airports, currency exchange, or whatever but if there is one rather common question, it is about personal security.
I think it’s second nature for most of us to take the security where we live as a matter of fact whether we live in a war-torn city or inside The Vatican. I think it’s also second nature for many of us to presume that security is an issue outside our home countries even though it’s entirely possible that the place we live has more security issues than a place we might visit.
Here’s what I can tell you about safety and security in Costa Rica. In simple terms, it’s not an issue. Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not a security expert. But, I have a lot of experience with travelers to and residents of Costa Rica and I can assure you that it isn’t something to worry about as a visitor there.
Costa Rica is often rated the #1 happiest country on earth. That’s for good reason. The people there have good personal security, they have quality education provided free through college, they have good free health care, and of course they live in one of the prettiest places you’ll find.
Most often when someone writes to me and asks about security it’s because of something they’ve read. I never know what they may have read. In the introduction to this website I encouraged people to be suspicious of information gained from online research. (I shouldn’t exempt myself from that suspicion.) Few postings ever have dates and that alone makes the information very unreliable. I always post the last time this blog was updated, up front in the “About” section. As you have probably learned from reading reviews of products, services, places, they can go all over the place. It is no secret that some people or organizations pay others to write favorable reviews. It should not be a surprise that competitors might purposely post negative reviews of something. I can tell you from first hand knowledge when I was living in Costa Rica, that there were a few people posting false or exaggerated negative “news” in order to discourage visitors. These were people who had “discovered” their own little paradise in Costa Rica before it became a more popular tourist and retirement destination and they resented the fact that other people were finding it and invading their personal garden of Eden, so they posted negative stuff to try to keep people away. I can assure you that these weren’t Costa Ricans doing this.
So anyway, here’s what I have to say about personal safety and security in Costa Rica.
It’s not a dangerous place to travel. Violent crime in Costa Rica is very rare. If you’ve seen some news to the contrary it’s news because it is so rare. Petty theft and related property crimes happen but it’s not rampant by any means. If you go to the beach or the lake near your home or just to the mall, you wouldn’t leave your camera or computer visible in the parked car. You wouldn’t leave the car unlocked. You wouldn’t leave your purse, phone, or other personal items on your beach towel while you go into the water or to the concession stand, you wouldn’t leave your purse hanging over the back of a bar stool in a restaurant or bar. You should do those things in Costa Rica either.
A special note about passports. Stolen passports are a big commodity the world over. Losing one while traveling abroad is a big hassle to say the least. The law in Costa Rica says that visitors must carry a copy of their passport with them, BUT NOT THE ORIGINAL. When you check into your hotel or condo ask the concierge or desk person there to make a copy of your passport for you. They do this all the time so you won’t be asking for anything unusual. You will need copies of two pages, the inside front cover with your photo and other personal information, and the page that has your date of entry stamp placed there by the immigration people at the airport. Obviously you could copy the front page before you leave home. Then you’d just need the copy of the page with the entry stamp. Then leave the original in the hotel safe, in a safe in your room, or just somewhere in your room and carry the copy with you.
I know over a hundred people who do and have lived in various parts of Costa Rica. I have a steady stream of renters and other visitors staying in my condo there in Guanacaste. My grandson (age 19 at the time) and my granddaughter (age 22 at the time) both used my condo along with a group of friends for their Spring Break. I have traveled in and out of that country more than twenty times, driven all over the place, and lived there. None of my visitors or neighbors or friends has had personal security issues.
That’s it. No worries, mate.
Buen Viaje
Our Costa Rica Condo 