The trip Costa Rica is
You came for ten days. You'll spend two in San José or skip it entirely, three or four in Manuel Antonio or the Pacific around Tamarindo, two more in Monteverde or La Fortuna, and a coast-to-coast drive somewhere in the middle. Costa Rica trips are shaped by the country's geography — two coasts a few hours apart, a ring of national parks, a working road network across volcanic highlands. The cell network mostly follows the populated belt and the major tourist roads.
Roamzy charges $1.43 per gigabyte in Costa Rica. That's $0.0014 per megabyte, billed in real time on Costa Rican networks. No subscription, no expiry, no minimum bundle. One per-MB rate across 193 countries — same rate in San José as on the road to Drake Bay.
How much will Roamzy actually cost on this trip?
A typical Costa Rica day uses around 1 GB: Maps for the cross-country drive, the camera-translator on Spanish-only park signage, your bank app for card payments (cards work widely in tourist zones, less in the rural Caribbean side), the Sansa or hop-on flight app, video calls home. Call it 1 GB/day:
| Trip length | Roamzy ($1.43/GB) | Tourist roaming pass | Airport local SIM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 days | $4.30 | $20–50 | $8–20 + paperwork |
| 1 week | $10.04 | $40–95 | $15–30 + paperwork |
| 2 weeks | $20.07 | $70–160 (often two passes) | $25–45 + 30-day cap |
Competitor prices in columns 3 and 4 are 2025 ranges based on typical offerings; exact figures depend on your home carrier and the airport store you visit. Roamzy's rate in column 2 is our actual published rate from the pricing page.
A local SIM at SJO or LIR is cheap. Trade is paperwork at the kiosk. The eSIM skips that — pre-installed at home, attached on descent. The drive from SJO to Manuel Antonio or La Fortuna eats data on navigation and traffic — that's the first three hours, before you're at hotel Wi-Fi.
Where does Roamzy work in this country?
- San José metro area, Cartago, Heredia, Alajuela — solid LTE, 5G in central zones
- The Pacific coast (Tamarindo, Jacó, Manuel Antonio, Dominical, Uvita) — strong LTE in the resort towns
- The Inter-American (Pan-American) highway through the country — continuous LTE
- The Caribbean side (Puerto Viejo, Cahuita) — LTE in town, weakening on the back roads to Manzanillo
- La Fortuna, Monteverde — LTE in town and main approaches; thinner inside the cloud-forest reserves
- Osa Peninsula and Corcovado — patchy 4G; deep park trails are mostly nothing
- Tortuguero canals — LTE at the village, light on the water once you head to the lodges
Costa Rica is well-covered for travel infrastructure. Outside Corcovado and a few deep canal stretches, you stay attached.
How do I install my Roamzy eSIM?
| Plug type | Voltage | Frequency | iOS | Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type A, B | 120 V | 60 Hz | iPhone XS+ | Pixel 3+, Galaxy S20+ |
- Sign in to Roamzy via Telegram or Google
- Top up with a minimum of 20 USDT — stablecoins, no cards, no banks, no FX surcharges
- The QR code appears in the dashboard once payment confirms
- Settings → Cellular → Add eSIM → scan QR
- The counter starts the moment you land at SJO or LIR
Supported stablecoins, networks, and common iPhone/Android setup errors are in the FAQ.
What are Roamzy's honest limitations?
Three traps Roamzy doesn't have, because they were never built in.
- No welcome promo that bait-and-switches the second top-up. The rate on top-up #1 is the rate on top-up #20.
- No fine-print throttling. One rate, full speed — first GB and the hundredth both cost $0.0014/MB.
- No auto-renewal. Balance runs out, the eSIM stops.
The Costa Rica tariff was engineered, not copywritten: megabytes in, dollars out, no expiry date anywhere in the system. When nothing is hidden, there is nothing left to make cheaper.
What if my trip continues to other countries?
Costa Rica often pairs with onward South American or US routes. The eSIM hands over the moment you cross:
- Peru — common LIM connection
- Colombia — frequent BOG onward
- If you want the underlying mechanics — how roaming actually gets priced and why it hurts