From previous articles, we know that a cell phone must be an unlocked GSM phone that support the cell phone frequencies used in Costa Rica. If you don’t have a phone that meets these criteria, then your choices are to rent a cell phone, buy a cell phone, or go without one during your vacation to Costa Rica. I tried the latter option, and survived about three days before buying a cell phone here in Costa Rica. You don’t need to be a citizen or legal resident to buy a cell phone in Costa Rica. As I mentioned in the previous article, you don’t need to be a citizen or legal resident to purchase a prepaid SIM card. I could have save some money by purchasing the phone before my trip, but I didn’t know the cell phone requirements for Costa Rica. Searching the Internet for factual, and correct information, is at best confusing. There is no shortage of links on renting or buying cell phones for Costa Rica. Travel guides to Costa Rica contain their ads. Your cell phone carrier may offer overseas travel packages. The vast majority lead to very expensive choices.

Renting a cell phone sounds like an quick and easy solution. After all, you are only going to be using the phone for a short period of time. The typical rental phone is something like the Nokia 2730, which is a simple feature phone. You can purchase this phone for $65 US (refurbished Nokia 2730 on eBay costs $27), plus the cost of a SIM card ($5 – $20). This phone rents for $16 a day for a one week rental, not including the rental deposit. If you are staying for a longer than a week, the rate per day drops by a few dollars per day. You are essentially buying the phone, only to return it. There are cheaper rental rates, but then the cost per call goes up. Be especially aware of those that charge for both incoming and outgoing calls. International calls can be especially expensive. Feature phones, such as the Nokia 2730, do not support VOIP applications, such as Skype.

With so many phone models available, buying a phone can be a daunting challenge. You may be tempted to start by calling your carrier. While they gladly provide one bill, you still need to buy another phone, and the calling rates are brutal. Paying $1.75 to $2.89 a minute to make local call in Costa Rica is flat outrageous. The international call rates are four times the rate you pay by using a Costa Rica SIM card. This makes cell phone rental look cheap.

You like your phone, and you would like something similar that is compatible with Costa Rica requirements. Spending your vacation to Costa Rica learning how to use a new cell phone is not why you are coming to Costa Rica. You can start by searching CETC Telecommunications for a model that is similar to your current phone, and then searching for the best price for that phone. Then again, it may be time for an upgrade. If your carrier supports GSM (Verizon does not), you can upgrade to a phone that is also compatible with Costa Rica. You can get used to your new phone before you leave for your trip. If it is a locked phone, you need to unlock it. Once you have an unlocked GSM phone, you can purchase the SIM card in the baggage claims area of the SJO airport.

You can also purchase a Costa Rica SIM card in advance from Costa Rica Cellular Connections. They also offer an 800 number for incoming calls from the US for 27 cents a minute. The above link has a link that provides rental phones for just $3 a day. It mentions the same rate in the Terms and Conditions SIM Card. I called their local number to verify this information, but have not received a return call.