Why travel to Costa Rica?
Costa Rica offers 3 curated city guides, 54 attractions and 21 signature dishes hand-picked by Korean travelers. Below you'll find essentials Korean passport holders actually need — visa requirements, daily budgets in USD, best season, and on-the-ground transport tips.
Best Season
The December-April dry season is ideal; July and August are also relatively clear.
Budget
Daily budget around $55-105 (accommodation $30-55, meals $15-30, transport and entry $15-20).
Visa
Korean passport holders can stay visa-free for up to 90 days.
Transport
About 20 minutes by taxi or Uber from Juan Santamaría Airport to the city. Local buses exist, but taxis and Uber are more convenient. SIM cards (Kolbi, Claro) available at the airport (~$10-20). Cards accepted at tourist venues, but cash (colones or dollars) needed at markets and on buses. Restaurants automatically include 13% tax and 10% service charge, so no additional tip is needed.
🏙️ Top Cities
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🗺️ Attractions Across the Country
National Museum of Costa Rica
A museum housed in a former fortress, with pre-Columbian stone spheres and a butterfly garden.
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Mercado Central (Central Market)
A traditional market open since 1880, offering local food and souvenirs in one place.
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National Theatre of Costa Rica
An 1897 European-style theatre - an architectural gem and a national cultural symbol.
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Jade Museum (Museo del Jade)
A modern museum housing the world's largest collection of pre-Columbian jade artifacts.
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Poás Volcano National Park
One of the world's largest active volcano craters, with a stunning emerald crater lake.
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Barrio Escalante
San José's culinary hub — a hip neighborhood packed with Costa Rican fusion restaurants and cafes.
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Pre-Columbian Gold Museum
An underground museum with 1,600 exquisite gold artifacts from Costa Rica's indigenous peoples.
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Irazú Volcano
Costa Rica's highest active volcano (3,432m), with a mystical green crater lake.
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La Sabana Metropolitan Park
A 72-hectare urban park built on the site of Costa Rica's former international airport, now the city's green heart.
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Museo de Arte Costarricense (MAC)
Housed in the former La Sabana airport terminal, this museum showcases modern and contemporary Costa Rican art free of charge.
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Metropolitan Cathedral of San José
The seat of the Archdiocese of San José, facing the city's Central Park, designated a National Sanctuary in 2021.
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Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles
Costa Rica's national pilgrimage site, home to "La Negrita," the country's patron saint, honored by millions of pilgrims every August 2.
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Lankester Botanical Garden
Founded by English botanist Charles Lankester, this garden holds one of the world's most important orchid collections with roughly 18,000 specimens.
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Las Ruinas de la Parroquia (Cartago Ruins)
The ruins of the former Santiago Apóstol parish church, leveled by the 1910 earthquake and now a public garden in the heart of Cartago.
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La Paz Waterfall Gardens
A private nature park on the slopes of Poás Volcano combining five waterfalls with a butterfly observatory, aviary, and wild cat rescue center.
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Doka Estate Coffee Tour
A family-run coffee estate on the slopes of Poás Volcano, offering tours covering everything from cultivation to roasting.
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Zoo Ave (Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center)
Better known by its former name Zoo Ave, this wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center cares for over 3,000 animals annually.
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Orosi Valley
A picturesque valley blanketed in coffee farms, home to Costa Rica's oldest colonial-era church still in use.
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Arenal Volcano
A perfectly conical active volcano surrounded by rainforest - an icon of Costa Rica.
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Tabacón Hot Springs
Natural hot springs heated by volcanic geothermal energy, set within a lush tropical garden.
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La Fortuna Waterfall
A 70m waterfall reached by 500 steps, with a natural pool perfect for swimming.
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Arenal Hanging Bridges
Fifteen bridges through the rainforest canopy — spot toucans and monkeys along the way.
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Lake Arenal
Costa Rica's largest man-made lake, set against the Arenal Volcano backdrop — a water-sports paradise.
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Río Celeste
A mystical sky-blue river and waterfall — called 'the river where God washed His paintbrush after painting the sky.'
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Ecotermales Hot Springs
An intimate premium hot spring with limited capacity — quiet and eco-friendly.
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Venado Caves (Cavernas del Venado)
Limestone caves formed millions of years ago on the ocean floor — explore underground rivers on foot.
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Baldi Hot Springs
A large hot springs resort with 25 thermal pools and water slides, popular with families.
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Bogarín Trail
A walking trail near downtown where more than 25 sloths live in the wild, ideal for sloth-spotting.
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Butterfly Conservatory (El Castillo)
Costa Rica's largest butterfly conservatory, with four atriums housing around 30 butterfly species.
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Arenal Natura Ecological Park
A rainforest ecological park with a crocodile lake and frog garden, explored with a naturalist guide.
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The Springs Resort & Spa Hot Springs
A luxury resort hot springs with sweeping Arenal Volcano views, varied pool temperatures, and an on-site animal sanctuary.
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Frog's Heaven
A family-run private tropical garden where visitors spot around 20 frog species, including red-eyed tree frogs, on a night tour.
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Iglesia de La Fortuna de San Carlos
The town's central church, famously photographed with Arenal Volcano rising directly behind it.
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Arenal 1968 Trail
A trail through the lava fields left by Arenal's catastrophic 1968 eruption.
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Ecoglide Arenal Park
A canopy zipline tour with 13 cables and a Tarzan swing through primary rainforest at the foot of Arenal Volcano.
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Arenal Observatory Lodge & Trails
The only lodge inside Arenal Volcano National Park, with a private trail network offering the closest volcano and lake views.
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Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
A tropical cloud forest home to over 2,500 plant species and the famed resplendent quetzal.
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Skywalk Hanging Bridges
A trail of hanging bridges through the rainforest canopy, ideal for spotting birds and butterflies.
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Monteverde Butterfly Garden
An ecological garden where you can observe dozens of tropical butterfly species up close.
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Selvatura Zip Line Adventure
Soar above the cloud-forest canopy on zip lines — Monteverde's ultimate adventure experience.
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Don Juan Coffee, Chocolate & Sugar Cane Tour
Tour coffee, cacao, and sugar-cane farms firsthand to experience Costa Rica's agricultural heritage.
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Monteverde Night Tour
Explore the cloud forest after dark by flashlight — meet red-eyed tree frogs, spiders, and snakes.
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Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve
A less crowded cloud forest than Monteverde — an eco-reserve run by the local community.
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Curi-Cancha Reserve
A privately run cloud-forest reserve with the highest quetzal-sighting success rate in the area.
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Monteverde Hummingbird Gallery
A free-admission spot to observe more than 30 hummingbird species up close.
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Bat Jungle Monteverde
An educational exhibit where visitors can observe about 90 live bats from 8 species up close.
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Frog Pond of Monteverde
An amphibian exhibit showcasing 25+ frog and toad species in glass terrariums, with same-ticket day and night entry.
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Monteverde Orchid Garden
A compact garden showcasing 450+ wild and hybrid orchid species along an accessible trail.
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The Original Canopy Tour
The world's first commercial zipline tour, opened in 1994, including a climb inside a giant strangler fig tree.
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Bajo del Tigre Trail
A 3.5km family-friendly trail through lowland forest, managed by the Monteverde Conservation League.
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Children's Eternal Rainforest (Bosque Eterno de los Niños)
One of the world's largest private reserves — 23,000 hectares of rainforest saved through fundraising by children around the world.
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Monteverde Cheese Factory (La Lechería)
A cheese factory founded by Quaker settlers in 1953, symbolizing Monteverde's founding history.
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Monteverde Serpentarium (World of Reptiles)
A reptile exhibit where visitors view 20+ species of snakes, lizards, and frogs through glass enclosures.
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CASEM Women's Artisan Cooperative
A women's artisan cooperative founded in 1982, selling embroidery, woodwork, and other local crafts.
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