San Jose eSIM
In San Jose you connect to Kolbi or Movistar, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 31 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Kolbi and Movistar
- Typical speed in Costa Rica
- 31 Mbps typical, 7 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- 4G only
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover San Jose
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $9.89 | $9.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $6.63 | $19.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $7.38 | $36.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $5.29 | $52.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $4.59 | $91.89 |
How Costa Rica compares across North America
- Regional typical speed
- 33 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Kolbi, Movistar
- 5G
- 4G only
- Next fastest nearby
- Guatemala, 32 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Honduras, 28 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 3: San Jose, La Fortuna, Tamarindo
Landing at Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO)
- Airport
- SJO / MROC
- Distance
- 20 km from the centre of San Jose
Getting into San Jose
- Airport bus to downtown San Jose (SJO)
- Official orange airport taxi and red licensed taxis (SJO)
- INCOFER Interurbano commuter train, Alajuela to Heredia to San Jose Estacion Atlantico
Worth knowing about San Jose
- San Jose's airport is actually in Alajuela, about 20 km northwest of downtown San Jose.
- A rail line passes close to the airport but does not serve it - there is no rail service of any kind to the terminal, so arrivals are road-only.
- The airport bus runs 24 hours, with roughly one service every 10 minutes during working hours.
- Licensed airport taxis are identifiable by colour - red cabs with a yellow door triangle, plus a separate orange airport taxi service.
- Costa Rica runs free public wifi called Zii. SUTEL's published steps are to switch on wifi, select the network Zii_para_todos, open a browser and accept the terms and privacy policy. No phone number step is listed.
- Each Zii zone gives sessions of two hours in public spaces and four hours in libraries, at 6 Mbps per user, supporting 100 simultaneous users per site.
- Zii sites in San Jose canton include Parque Central, Parque Morazan, Parque Nacional, Parque de la Merced, Parque la Soledad and Parque de la Democracia.
- The Zii programme also covers 28 INCOFER train stations, among them Estacion Atlantico, Estacion Pacifico and Estacion Museo in San Jose.
- The Zii network is paid for by the FONATEL telecoms fund and run by a consortium of RACSA, ICE and PC Central, covering 515 zones in 412 districts.
- SUTEL's prepaid line registration accepts a cedula, the minors TIM card, the DIMEX residence document for foreigners, or a passport, using a code printed on the document.
- Prepaid registration is done at registroprepago.sutel.go.cr. The system then sends an SMS password to the line, which is entered on the platform to confirm identity.
- Buses accept bank cards and other bank payment instruments with contactless technology. MOPT said 636 buses were equipped by August 2024, with 3,000 planned by end of 2025.
- The Banco Central's Monedero SINPE-TP transport card can be bought by anyone over 12, national or foreign, with valid identification, for 5,000 colones including 4,000 of usable balance.
- About 2,000 contactless validators are installed on buses of 60 transport companies in the Greater Metropolitan Area.
- INCOFER trains run Monday to Friday only, roughly 4:50 to 10:00 and again 15:00 to 20:30, with no service on public holidays.
- Train fares on the Alajuela line include 550 colones from Estacion Atlantico to Heredia and 800 colones from Heredia to Alajuela. Passengers over 65 travel free.
- A station named Bulevar Aeropuerto sits on the Alajuela to Rio Segundo to Heredia to San Jose train line, 2.09 km from Alajuela station.
Sources for this page
Other cities in Costa Rica we cover
- La Fortuna
- 86 km from San Jose, nearest airport FON
- Tamarindo
- 196 km from San Jose, nearest airport NOB