Travel Vaccines for Costa Rica

Recommended Vaccines for Costa Rica

✅ All Travellers

• Hepatitis A — Recommended for all travellers. Risk throughout Costa Rica.
• COVID-19, Influenza, MMR, Routine vaccines — Ensure all are current.

⚠️ Most Travellers

• Typhoid Fever — Recommended for travellers eating outside standard tourist restaurants or visiting rural areas.
• Hepatitis B — Recommended for adventure travellers and long-stay visitors.
• Dengue — Significant risk in lowland areas, especially during the rainy season (May–Nov). No dengue vaccine is currently available in Canada — bite prevention is essential.

🔵 Some Travellers

• Rabies — Recommended for wildlife workers, spelunkers, and travellers to remote areas.
• Malaria prophylaxis — Very low risk, limited to Limón Province only.
• Yellow Fever — Proof required if arriving from an endemic country.

Travellers’ Diarrhea

Risk: Moderate. Better sanitation than much of Central America, but risk remains in rural areas. Your pharmacist may prescribe a standby antibiotic.

Malaria

Very low risk, limited to Limón Province. No risk in San José, the Central Valley, Arenal, Manuel Antonio, or the Pacific coast.

Other Health Risks

Dengue, Zika & Leptospirosis

Dengue significant in lowland areas. Zika risk exists — pregnant travellers should seek counselling. Leptospirosis risk during rainy season in flooded areas.

Medical Care

Good private hospitals in San José. Care outside the capital is more limited. Emergency: 911.