Costa Rica eSIM

Costa Rica plans start at $3.99. Unlimited plans run from $4.49 for 1 day to $80.99 for 30 days, each with a full-speed allowance per day that is printed on the plan. Fixed-data plans start at $3.99 for 1 GB over 7 days. Every price includes 18% GST, and nothing is added at checkout.

Switch the eSIM line on, set it as your mobile data line and turn Data Roaming on for it. Within a minute or two your phone should show movistar or Claro, on 5G where your phone supports it. If nothing connects, turn Airplane Mode on and off once, or pick the network by hand in your phone's settings.

For maps, messaging, social media and the odd video call, about 1 GB a day is plenty — Unlimited · 7 days (1 GB/day) here gives you that for $20.99. For a light trip, 3 GB · 30 days is $8.49. If you stream or work online, a bigger plan such as 20 GB · 30 days ($27.99) is the safer choice.

Not always, and it is worth knowing before you fly. Your phone connects to a local network in Costa Rica, but the data itself reaches the internet through our supplier's gateway in the United States, so a website reading your IP address may place you in the United States rather than in Costa Rica. Browsing, maps, messaging and calls over WhatsApp or FaceTime are unaffected. What can be affected is a banking app that checks your location, a streaming service that shows a country's own catalogue, and any site that blocks traffic from outside its region. If your bank is strict about this, keep your home SIM reachable for one-time codes, which is how these plans are designed to be used anyway.

Plans for Costa Rica roam onto movistar and Claro — the same networks local subscribers use. Your phone picks whichever is strongest where you are. 5G is available where the network and your handset both support it, otherwise 4G.

Trip lengths for Costa Rica run from 1 day up to 365 days. Pick the one that covers your dates. The number of days can't be changed once a plan is running: a top-up adds data where the eSIM supports it, and a second eSIM adds more days.

It depends on the plan, and each one says which it is above the price. Some run a set amount at full speed each day and then slow down until the next day; 7 plans are truly unlimited, at full speed throughout — those are under "Truly unlimited". None of them cut off.