Before you start

Passport for prepaid; DIMEX for postpaid and fixed services
A landmark-format address description for installation
An unlocked or eSIM-capable handset
A Costa Rican payment method for postpaid

Step-by-step

1
Buy a prepaid SIM on arrival
All three operators sell prepaid at the airport and in shopping centres, activated against a passport. Data packages are reasonably priced and cover you until the DIMEX exists.
In personWho: YouDay 1
2
Check coverage where you will actually live
Coverage in the Central Valley is good but the topography matters — hillside neighbourhoods above Escazú and Santa Ana and the valleys around them have real dead spots, and the operators differ. Ask neighbours which one works at that specific address.
In personWho: You
3
Move to postpaid once you hold a DIMEX
Postpaid plans need a Costa Rican identity document and a local payment method. They are cheaper per gigabyte and usually include regional roaming.
In personWho: You
4
Confirm what fixed service reaches the property
Fibre is widespread in the flat urban districts and thins out in the hillside developments, where the answer is sometimes cable or a fixed-wireless product instead. Get the answer from the provider for the specific address before you sign a lease.
OnlineWho: You
5
Plan the installation around your address description
There is no street address to give the engineer. Provide the landmark-based directions, a photograph of the gate or entrance, and a phone number that will be answered. Missed installations here are almost always a navigation problem.
In personWho: You
6
Keep a backup connection if you work remotely
Green-season electrical storms cause outages, and hillside properties lose service more often than the flat districts. A mobile data plan with tethering on a different operator is the standard local answer.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport for prepaid
DIMEX for postpaid and fixed services
Landmark-format address description
Costa Rican bank details or card

Things most newcomers don’t know

Topography, not district prestige, determines your connection quality.

The Central Valley's expatriate belt runs up the valley sides, and the same hills that produce the views produce mobile dead spots and gaps in the fibre footprint. A house in an expensive Escazú hillside development can have materially worse service than a modest flat in Curridabat. Ask the specific address, not the neighbourhood, and ask a neighbour rather than the sales team.

Source: community-reported

Market liberalisation in 2011 is why you have a choice at all.

ICE held a telecoms monopoly until Costa Rica opened the market as part of its trade commitments. The competition that followed brought prices down and coverage up quickly. It also means the state operator, Kölbi, still has the broadest rural network — which matters if your life involves weekends outside the Central Valley, where the private operators thin out.

Source: SUTEL

Green-season storms take out power and internet together, and remote workers plan for it.

From May to November the afternoon storms in the Central Valley are heavy, and outages are a normal part of the season rather than an exception. Residents who work remotely keep a second connection on a different operator, a small UPS for the router, and a habit of scheduling calls in the morning. It is not a crisis, but treating it as unexpected each time is exhausting.

Source: community-reported

Costa Rica's electricity is nearly all renewable and among the more expensive in the region.

ICE generates from hydro, geothermal, wind and solar, and the country has run for long stretches with no fossil generation at all. That is genuinely impressive and it is also reflected in the tariff. Newcomers who install air conditioning or electric water heating out of habit — neither of which the Central Valley climate needs — get a bill that undoes their cost-of-living assumptions.

Source: ICE

Common mistakes to avoid

Choosing an operator by national coverage map rather than by the specific address.
Signing a lease on a hillside property without confirming fixed internet reaches it.
Missing an installation because the engineer could not find the property.
Relying on one connection while working remotely through the green season.
Installing air conditioning in a climate that does not need it and paying for it monthly.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.