San José eSIM
100 Costa Rica plans · from $3.64
San José is a place most Costa Rica trips pass through rather than stay in — a night on arrival before the drive to Arenal, Monteverde or the Pacific coast. A travel eSIM covers the whole country, which matters because the interesting parts of Costa Rica are exactly where coverage gets interesting.
Landing at Juan Santamaría (SJO)
The airport is in Alajuela, about 30–45 minutes from central San José depending on traffic. Most visitors collect a hire car here — book the insurance in advance, since the counter upsell is a well-known frustration.
eSIM plans that cover San José
San José is covered by every Costa Rica plan below — there is no separate city-only eSIM to buy.
Choose a data plan
1 GB
7 days· 0.3 GB per $1
$3.64
5% back in credits
$3.86
5% back in credits
$4.55
5% back in credits
2 GB
15 days· 0.4 GB per $1
$5.47
5% back in credits
3 GB
30 days· 0.4 GB per $1
$7.05
5% back in credits
$8.41
5% back in credits
$8.69
5% back in credits
$10.01
5% back in credits
5 GB
30 days· 0.5 GB per $1
$10.12
5% back in credits
$12.96
5% back in credits
10 GB
30 days· 0.7 GB per $1
$15.23
5% back in credits
$15.47
5% back in credits
$17.50
5% back in credits
$19.61
5% back in credits
$20.92
5% back in credits
20 GB
30 days· 0.8 GB per $1
$24.33
5% back in credits
$24.33
5% back in credits
$29.12
5% back in credits
$30.53
5% back in credits
$35.71
5% back in credits
$41.45
5% back in credits
$42.77
5% back in credits
50 GB
30 days· 0.9 GB per $1
$52.78
5% back in credits
$57.82
5% back in credits
$69.83
5% back in credits
$83.71
5% back in credits
$85.13
5% back in credits
20 GB
Americas + US + CA only60 days· 0.2 GB per $1
$87.36
5% back in credits
100 GB
30 days· 1.1 GB per $1
$92.57
5% back in credits
$167.02
5% back in credits
How “Unlimited” works: Never cut off — each plan gives a set amount of full-speed data, then a slower speed. The exact allowance and speed are shown on every plan.Read more
Unlimited plans never run out and your eSIM is never disconnected, but every one has a fair-use limit: a set amount of full-speed data, after which the speed is reduced. The amounts differ between plans — most give a daily full-speed allowance that refills every 24 hours from when you first activate the eSIM, while Premium plans give a larger allowance for the whole plan instead. Each plan states its own allowance and the speed after it before you buy. At the reduced speed, messaging, maps, email and light browsing still work; video streaming and video calls may not. If you want every gigabyte at full speed, choose a fixed-GB plan.
Which networks you'll be on in San José
Siima eSIMs for Costa Rica ride Kölbi and Movistar. Kölbi, the state operator, has the widest reach into the national parks and the remoter coasts; Movistar is comparable in the Central Valley.
Coverage around San José
San José and the Central Valley
Good coverage across the city, the airport corridor and the valley towns — this is where most of the country's infrastructure is.
Arenal and La Fortuna
The town, the hot springs and the main volcano road are covered. Trails on the volcano flanks and the far side of the lake drop out.
Monteverde
The cloud forest town has coverage; the reserve trails and the hanging bridges largely do not. The road up is unpaved and slow — download it before you start.
Osa Peninsula and Corcovado
The most remote part of the country and effectively offline. Puerto Jiménez has signal; Corcovado itself has none, and lodges run on generators and satellite.
How much data you need
Ten days in Costa Rica is 3–5 GB. Navigation is constant on the mountain roads, and you will use almost nothing in the parks because there is nothing to use.
Work it out with our data usage calculator →