How Much Money Do You Need for 1 Week in Costa Rica? (Full Breakdown)

Costa Rica is known as one of the safest and wealthiest countries in Central and Latin America. But of course this comes with a price. If you’re wondering, “How much money do I need for one week in Costa Rica?”—you’re in the right place! In this post I break down exactly what I spent on my one-week trip, including accommodation, food, transportation, and activities.

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Before We Dive In: A Few Notes on My Travel Style & Costs

• Prices are per person
  All the costs below are what I personally paid. Since I traveled with my partner, some expenses (like taxis or ATV rentals) were split between two people. If you’re traveling solo, expect slightly higher per-person costs; if you’re in a group, you might save more.
• Mid-range, budget-conscious style
  My travel style falls somewhere between backpacker and luxury. I like comfort (private rooms, good location, clean bathrooms), but I also try to save where it makes sense. For example:
  • Breakfast → always made at our accommodation
  • Lunch & Dinner → eaten out, a mix of nicer restaurants and cheaper local “sodas”
  • Activities → a mix of must-dos (like Manuel Antonio tour & bioluminescence) and budget-friendly fun (surfboard rentals, yoga classes)
• Excluded costs
  To keep things simple, I left out international flights, souvenirs, and personal shopping since those vary a lot depending on where you’re coming from and your own habits.

👉 In other words, this is a realistic mid-range budget for Costa Rica: not the cheapest possible, but still far from luxury splurges.

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One-Week Costa Rica Budget: Cost Breakdown

Overall, my one-week (8 days/7 nights) trip cost 1,513 CHF per person, which averages about 190 CHF per day. International flights, souvenirs, and personal shopping are excluded as they vary widely.

Category	Total Cost	Cost / Day
Domestic flights	247 CHF	–
Ground transportation	180 CHF	–
Accommodation	485 CHF	69 CHF
Food	296 CHF	42 CHF
Activities	305 CHF	44 CHF
Total	1,513 CHF	189 CHF

👉 Note: The Swiss franc (CHF) is roughly on par with the Euro (EUR) and USD, so you can use these numbers as a rough guide for other currencies.

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Domestic Flights in Costa Rica

To save time on our way to Santa Teresa, we flew from San Jose to Cobano, which takes about 30 minutes instead of a 5–6 hour drive. With Green Airways, our round-trip flight cost 247 CHF per person, including 11 kg of checked luggage and 5 kg of hand luggage. Everything went smoothly, and I highly recommend Green Airways!

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Ground Transportation

We used taxis for most of our transfers due to limited time and comfort preferences:

• San Jose to Manuel Antonio National Park: 130 CHF per person for a return trip. We booked this taxi through Booking.com Taxi. You could also take a shuttle bus which is cheaper but less flexible. Rental cars are also an option. For us neither was an option because our plane landed quite late (no more shuttles available) and we wanted to get to Manuel Antonio the same day, but we didn’t want to be driving at night.
• Cobano Airport to Santa Teresa: 40 CHF per person for a return trip, booked directly through our hotel.

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Accommodation Costs in Costa Rica

Our one-week itinerary included stays in Manuel Antonio, San Jose, and Santa Teresa:

• Manuel Antonio National Park: Hotel Villa Prats, 33 CHF per person/night. Simple but perfect for one night and located right next to the National Park!
• San Jose Airport: Fairfield by Marriott, 69 CHF per person/night. Convenient, with a free airport shuttle.
• Santa Teresa: Nautilus Surf & Yoga, 77 CHF per night. Fantastic mid-range option with a pool, café, yoga classes, surf lessons, and a fully equipped kitchen.

Average accommodation cost: 69 CHF per person per night. I would say this is on the lower side for a private room.

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Activities & Tours

Total spent: 305 CHF per person, averaging 44 CHF/day. These are the highlights of the activities we spent money on:

• Manuel Antonio Guided Tour: 41 CHF + 17 CHF park fee. A must-do for wildlife lovers. The guides are highly skilled at spotting animals, very knowledgeable and well equipped. Trust me, you will get a lot more out of your visit if you go with a guide! We booked our tour through Viator and had a great experience.
• Surfboard Rentals: We rented surfboards twice, which cost us 13 CHF per rental. We always rented with Soul Surf, they are highly professional, friendly and uncomplicated 🙂
• Surf Lessons: I took one surf lesson through our accommodation, which cost me 60 CHF for a group lesson. You can check them out here.
• Bioluminescence Tour in Montezuma: This was such an awesome experience! We booked the tour directly with Zuma Tours, and it cost 80 CHF per person. This included a transfer to Montezuma, a boat ride to Isla Tortuga incl. Snorkeling and dinner. Finally, the highlight of the trip was the nighttime snorkeling somewhere in a dark bay where you could see the bioluminescence in the water! Beer and other refreshments are also included..
• Yoga Classes at Nautilus: 13 CHF per class, cheaper if you get a multi-pass.
• ATV Rental: We rented an ATV for 24 hours which cost us 88 CHF in total, incl. insurance and fuel. Per person this equals 44 CHF. We rented through Valerios, and we had a great experience!

👉 Activities is usually a category where I will not cheap out! With 305 CHF per person we were able to all the activities we wanted 🙂

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Food & Dining Costs

While we love food, we still like to balance eating out with making our own meals (especially for breakfast):

Meal	Total Cost	Cost / Day
Breakfast	34 CHF	5 CHF
Lunch	113 CHF	16 CHF
Dinner	89 CHF	13 CHF
Snacks	59 CHF	8 CHF
Total	296 CHF	42 CHF

Breakfasts were made at our hotel using groceries (~5 CHF/day per person). Lunches averaged 16 CHF at nice beachside restaurants, and dinners were typically 13 CHF, where we ate both at more expensive restaurants and more traditional “sodas.” Most of our meals were without alcohol (or maybe a beer), and maybe an occasional cocktail sprinkled in there.

If you want a review of all the places we ate at, check out my post here!

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How to Make Your Costa Rica Trip Cheaper

During my trip our daily budget came to approx. 190 CHF/day per person. While this is not a very high amount (considering this includes all domestic transportation), you certainly can spend less! Here are some tips if you want to reduce your daily budget:

1. Shared shuttle buses instead of taxis.
2. Skip domestic flights: We flew from San José to Santa Teresa, which was convenient but pricey at over 200 CHF per person. Taking a shared shuttle or bus for the same route costs a lot less but will take much longer. If you’ve got the time, it’s probably worth the savings.
3. Budget accommodations: We chose a mid-range hotel in Santa Teresa, which was great but not the cheapest option. If you’re comfortable with hostel dorms or budget guesthouses, you’ll find plenty of fun, affordable places—especially in beach towns like Santa Teresa.

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Do You Need Cash in Costa Rica?

Costa Rica is a very modern country and you will be able to pay for most things by card, but cash (either USD or the local currency, they accept both!) is handy for:

• Night taxis (within Santa Teresa)
• Small vendors or discounts (sometimes prices are less if you pay cash)
• Safety and convenience (you never know when you might need it)

I recommend to bring 100–200 USD in small bills.

For card payments I always use Revolut because it has low exchange fees, and extra security through digital cards.

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Final Thoughts: One Week in Costa Rica

In my experience, a comfortable one-week trip to Costa Rica, split between Manuel Antonio and Santa Teresa, costs roughly 1,513 CHF per person.

If you want ideas for a one-week Costa Rica itinerary, check out my full trip post [here].

Planning a trip? Let me know your Costa Rica budget in the comments—are you more backpacker or comfort traveler?

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FAQs About Budgeting for Costa Rica

Is Costa Rica expensive for tourists?
Yes and no—it depends on your travel style. Costa Rica is one of the pricier destinations in Central/South America. A mid-range traveler should budget about 150–200 CHF per day, while backpackers can probably get by on around 100 CHF if they use public transport, stay in hostels, and cook their own meals and eat at local “sodas.”

What is the average cost of food in Costa Rica?
If you’re eating out for all meals, expect to spend at least 40–50 CHF per day on meals. For our trip breakfast was the cheapest (home-cooked for 5 CHF/day), lunch at beachside restaurants averages 15–20 CHF (no alcohol), and dinners in casual restaurants (sodas) are around 10–15 CHF. Snacks, smoothies, and sunset drinks add another 5–10 CHF daily. For some restaurant inspo, check out this page here!

How much does accommodation cost in Costa Rica?
Accommodation costs vary widely. For mid-range hotels expect to pay at least 50–80 CHF per night. For my one-week trip, I spent an average of 70 CHF per night for a private room in smaller, boutique style hotels.

Do I need cash or can I pay by card in Costa Rica?
You can pay by card almost everywhere—hotels, restaurants, and shops. But it’s smart to bring 100–200 USD in small bills on your trip, especially for local taxis, small vendors, or situations where you can get discounts for cash. USD is widely accepted, so you don’t need to exchange much into Costa Rican colones unless you want to.

How much money do I need for one week in Costa Rica?
A comfortable one-week trip (7 nights/8 days) costs about 1,500 CHF per person, excluding international flights. This includes domestic transport, food, hotels, and activities. Backpackers can definitely manage for less, while the limit upwards does not exist for luxury travelers