You’ve Landed in Costa Rica: What Canadians Need to Know First

Costa Rica runs at a different speed. The streets don’t have addresses. The rainy season starts without announcement. The coffee is extraordinary and costs nothing. The roads outside San José will test your suspension and your patience in equal measure.

None of this is a problem once you know what you’re working with. Here’s the practical map.

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Getting Around

San José has no commuter rail and no Metro. Traffic in and around the city is genuinely bad - plan accordingly. The main options are taxis, Uber, and buses.

Official taxis in Costa Rica are red with a yellow triangle on the door. They use meters (called “María”) - make sure the driver turns it on. Unlicensed “pirate” taxis operate too. At the airport, use only the authorized orange airport taxis or book an Uber in advance.

Uber has operated in Costa Rica in a legally complicated environment due to taxi lobby pressure. As of 2026 it functions through the app but operates under some restrictions depending on the area. It works, it’s reliable in San José and surrounding areas, and most expats use it.

Buses are extensive and very cheap - $0.50-2.00 CAD for most urban routes. They are slow. They work. For regular commutes once you know the routes, they are a legitimate option.

Driving: Costa Rican driving culture is more aggressive than Canadian but calmer than Mexico City or Bogotá. Canadian licences are valid for 90 days. After that, you need a Costa Rican licence (process handled through COSEVI - requires residency, cedula, eye test, and a driving test in most cases). Outside San José, a car is not optional - it is the only way to access most of where you want to go. In rainy season (May-November), some secondary roads require a 4WD vehicle.

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Where Canadians Tend to Land

Escazú is the most North American neighbourhood in Central America. Modern high-rises, Pricemart, Whole Foods equivalent, international restaurants, English widely spoken. Rents are higher - you are paying for familiarity and convenience. Many Canadians with families or remote corporate jobs land here first.

Santa Ana is Escazú’s quieter neighbour. Slightly cheaper, slightly slower, still good infrastructure. Popular with families.

The Central Valley - Grecia, Atenas, San Ramón - is where Canadian and American retirees have concentrated for decades. Cooler temperatures (elevation helps), lower cost of living than the capital, established English-speaking expat infrastructure. Atenas in particular has a reputation as one of the best climates in the world: warm but not tropical-humid, rarely extreme.

The Pacific Coast: Tamarindo, Nosara, Manuel Antonio, Dominical. Each has an established expat community and a different character - Tamarindo is lively and surf-oriented, Nosara is more remote and yoga-focused, Manuel Antonio is beautiful and significantly more expensive. Infrastructure thins out the further from San José you go. Accept that.

Facebook groups: “Expats Living in Costa Rica” and “Living in Escazú/Santa Ana” are active with real information.

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Day-to-Day Shopping

Auto Mercado is the best supermarket in Costa Rica - clean, well-stocked, familiar brands including significant US imports. More expensive than the alternatives, but reliable.

Walmart exists (it came through their acquisition of Buen Precio). Large, functional, less upscale than Auto Mercado.

Más x Menos and Perimercados cover the budget end. Fine for staples.

Costco opened in San José (Escazú area). A membership covers the standard Costco experience. Canadians feel immediately at home. International membership transfers.

Fresh produce from the Saturday feria (outdoor market) is excellent and very cheap. Find your nearest feria in the first week - the tomatoes alone are worth it.

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Furnishing a Place

EPA is the hardware and home goods chain - comparable to Canadian Tire crossed with Home Depot. Good for appliances, tools, basic furniture.

Gollo covers electronics and appliances. Prices are higher than Canadian equivalents because of import duties. Plan on paying 20-40% more for electronics than you would in Canada.

PriceSmart (Costa Rica’s Costco equivalent, predating actual Costco’s arrival) carries furniture, appliances, and bulk goods.

Facebook Marketplace Costa Rica has secondhand inventory. Search in both English and Spanish for better coverage.

Shipping from Canada into Costa Rica involves import duties that are often unpredictable. The general rule: don’t ship unless the item is irreplaceable, sentimental, or not available locally.

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Food and Eating Out

The soda is the foundation of Costa Rican food culture. Not a soft drink - a small local restaurant that serves the traditional set lunch (casado). Expect rice, black beans, a protein, a salad, and often a juice or soup. Total cost: $4-8 CAD. This is the best value meal in the country and it is good.

Gallo pinto (rice and black beans fried together, often with Salsa Lizano) is the national breakfast. It takes two weeks to love it and then you miss it when you travel.

Coffee in Costa Rica is world-class and costs almost nothing. A coffee at a local café is $1-2 CAD. Café Britt and specialty roasters throughout the country produce genuinely excellent product. This is one of the minor daily pleasures that compounds over time.

Seafood on the coasts is fresh and reasonably priced. Ceviche, corvina, whole fish grilled. Worth the drive to the coast periodically even if you’re based in San José.

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Things That Will Catch You Off Guard

There are no street addresses. This is not an exaggeration or a mild inconvenience - it is a foundational feature of Costa Rican geography. Addresses are landmark-based: “200 metres south of the Banco Nacional, then 50 metres east.” GPS apps have improved and Waze is the dominant navigation tool. Still, your first few weeks will involve arriving at the wrong place at least once.

Rainy season is a daily weather pattern, not a month of clouds. May through November: mornings are often clear, afternoons bring significant rain, evenings clear again. Once you understand the pattern, you plan around it. You are not stuck indoors - you are dry in the morning and respect the 3pm hour.

Healthcare is a genuine advantage. Once you have residency and contribute to the CAJA (Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social), you have access to Costa Rica’s public healthcare system, which is legitimate and well-regarded by Latin American standards. Private healthcare (CIMA Hospital, Clínica Bíblica in San José) is internationally accredited, English-speaking, and costs a fraction of private care in Canada. This is a real benefit, not a tradeoff.

“Tico time” is real. Service runs slower. Contractors arrive late or reschedule. Government offices process things on their own schedule. The framing that helps: you moved somewhere the pace of life is different. That was partly the point.