Safety in Costa Rica

Theft: Petty stealing from beaches and parked cars is the main problem. Never leave anything visible in a vehicle.

Districts: In the capital after dark, avoid walking through the centre and the blocks south of Avenida Central.

Ocean: Rip currents are strong enough to catch experienced swimmers. Stick to beaches with lifeguards or a known safe spot.

Wildlife: Do not touch bright frogs or snakes in the forest. A number of them are seriously venomous.

Roads: Mountain switchbacks have no lighting, so plan your driving days to arrive before dark.

Help: For anything serious, dial 911. Operators generally speak English.

Documents: Carry a photocopy of your passport and leave the original and your cash in the hotel safe.

Advisories: Conditions change with the season, so check your own government's travel advisory before you set off.

Costa Rica is Central America's calmest country, but property crime here is high. Violence against tourists is rare; having your car or bag cleaned out is ordinary.

Car hire is the subject. The online price almost never includes the compulsory local liability insurance, and the total doubles at the counter. This is not one firm's deception but a feature of the country: the insurance is required by law and cannot be replaced by your card's cover. Budget for it from the start.

The punctured tyre. A known scheme: your tyre is punctured in a supermarket or airport car park, and a kilometre later "passing" helpers offer assistance — while one changes the wheel, the other empties the car. If you get a puncture, do not stop immediately; drive on to a filling station or a busy place.

Car break-ins. A mass problem in car parks at beaches and waterfalls. Leave nothing inside, not even an empty rucksack.

Taxis. Official ones are red with a yellow triangle and a "maría" meter; airport ones are orange. Everything else is a "pirata".

Timeshare. Invitations to a "free excursion" in Guanacaste.

Wildlife. Feeding and touching animals is prohibited and fineable. Raccoons and monkeys at Manuel Antonio aggressively take food, and feeding them is an offence.

Turtles. During nesting season at Tortuguero and Ostional, strict rules apply: guided only, no torches and no flash. Breaching them means a fine.

Drones. Permission is required and they are prohibited in national parks.

Drugs. The law is strict despite the relaxed atmosphere.

Roads. Costa Rica has no addresses in the usual sense: locals navigate by landmarks ("two hundred metres south of the old fig tree"). Satnav is essential. Mountain and beach roads are often unpaved, fords are real, and an ordinary saloon cannot reach many places.

National parks. Entry is charged and some parks require advance online booking — Manuel Antonio and Irazú, for instance. Without a booking you will not get in.

Beaches. Public by law, though access sometimes runs across private land.

Rip currents are the leading cause of tourist deaths in Costa Rica. The Pacific coast is beautiful and deceptive: at Jacó, Tamarindo, Dominical and Manuel Antonio currents carry people out regularly, and most beaches have no lifeguards at all. If caught, do not swim against it — move parallel to the shore until you are out of the flow.

Vaccinations. None mandatory; a yellow fever certificate is required from arrivals out of endemic countries in South America and Africa. Hepatitis A is advised.

Dengue. Present on both coasts, with outbreaks in the rainy season. Malaria is essentially absent from tourist routes.

Water. Tap water in the Central Valley, San José included, is drinkable. On the coast and inland, bottled is better.

Snakes. The fer-de-lance (terciopelo) is genuinely dangerous and occurs in the lowlands. The rules: closed shoes on trails, no hands into foliage, and a torch at night.

Sun and humidity. The tropics: you burn quickly and dehydrate without noticing.

Healthcare. The CIMA and Clínica Bíblica private hospitals in San José are world class — the country is known for medical tourism. The public system is decent too. Insurance is needed.

Emergency number is 911, working in English.

Costa Rica ranks noticeably above its neighbours on the Corruption Perceptions Index, and the country has had no army since 1949 — part of the local identity.

Police. The Fuerza Pública, on 911. Tourist police (POLITUR) operate in the main resort areas with English-speaking officers.

Reporting theft. A denuncia is filed with the OIJ, the judicial investigation police. That satisfies insurers, but the process takes time.

What actually happens. Violent crime against tourists is rare. The statistics are about theft: from cars, from beaches, from rooms without a safe, from rucksacks on buses. Organise your belongings properly and the trip passes calmly.

At night. Central San José empties after the offices close and becomes uninviting, especially around Coca-Cola and the bus terminals. Puerto Viejo and Jacó have their own night-time character.

Roads. Do not drive between towns at night: no lighting, worn markings, and fog on the mountain hairpins.

Emergency number is 911.