City guides Costa Rica
Santa Teresa
A surf village on a dirt road at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, with a nomad stay that asks USD 3,000 a month and charges no income tax while you hold it. The catch is the bill and the access. Rents and tours are priced in dollars, nobody publishes a rent figure, and the bus from San Jose crosses on a ferry that stopped for 17 days in 2024.
Every figure checked 8 Oct 2026
- Price not checked Furnished one-bed
- USD 50 to 80 a day ATV hire
- From USD 78.60 a night Room with a desk
- Country Costa Rica
- Time zone UTC-6 22:23 there now
- Language Spanish
- Currency Costa Rican colon (CRC, written ₡). Most prices in Santa Teresa are in US dollars
- Plugs Type A and B, 120V
How far English gets you Fine in the visitor economy. Surf schools, cafes and tour platforms all run in English. Beyond that it thins fast. Costa Rica ranks 55th on the EF English Proficiency Index with 516, but Puntarenas region, which includes Santa Teresa, scores only 451. Even the nomad stay appointment is booked by phone through the Migracion call centre (1311) or Banco de Costa Rica. No source says whether English gets you through a clinic, the police or a Migracion counter, so plan on Spanish.
Honestly
Is this your kind of place?
It suits you if
Someone earning a steady USD 3,000 a month or more from abroad who wants surf, forest and a small, sociable expat strip. They are happy to rent an ATV or a 4x4 and to take calls from a desk with a stated connection, not a cafe. They work on US hours, because Costa Rica is UTC-6 all year. The nomad stay exempts its holders from Costa Rican income tax, which suits anyone staying under two years.
It does not suit you if
Anyone who needs cheap: every sourced tour price is in dollars at international levels, and no one publishes rents. Anyone who wants a city, pavements, public transport, Uber or a hospital nearby; there is an urgent-care clinic, and the US government says services outside San Jose may be limited. Anyone on European hours: 9am in London is 2am or 3am here. And anyone hoping the nomad stay starts a residence clock, because legally it is not residence and it lasts two years at most. If dust, unpaved roads, river crossings in the rains and cafes that shut at 4pm sound annoying rather than charming, go somewhere else.
Money
What everything else costs
| Coworking hot desk | Price not checked | Sundays Cowork is the best-known space; no price was found on its own site |
|---|---|---|
| Local bus, Cobano to Santa Teresa | CRC 1,000 | About USD 2.10, roughly 45 minutes |
| Bus from San Jose | USD 19 to 20 | 6am daily from Terminal TIG to Cobano, ferry included. Also quoted as CRC 9,100 to 9,125 |
| Ferry, Puntarenas to Paquera | CRC 810 on foot | CRC 11,400 for a car plus 13 per cent VAT. About 70 minutes |
| Casado lunch | Price not checked | The set lunch at a soda. No dated menu price was found |
| Coffee | Price not checked | No source found |
Paperwork
Can you legally stay?
| The threshold is fixed | It is set in dollars in the law itself, Ley 10008 article 10, not pinned to a minimum wage. It moves only if the law changes. A reform bill, Expediente 25.031, has cleared committee; what it changes was not checked |
|---|---|
| Official name | Estancia para Trabajadores y Prestadores Remotos de Servicios de Caracter Internacional, the digital nomad stay. Created by Ley 10008 in 2021 and amended by Ley 10208 in 2022 |
| Evidence | Bank statements showing payments from outside Costa Rica over the previous year, with a sworn statement, or a certificate from a public accountant or notary. Only that certificate needs an apostille |
| Insurance | Health cover for the whole stay, at least USD 50,000 |
| Fees | USD 100 to apply, then USD 90 for the stay document, plus a guarantee deposit set in your approval |
| How long | Up to one year, renewable once for a second if you spent at least 180 days in the country in the first. Two years at most. Collect the document within three months of approval or it may be cancelled |
| Who qualifies | Employees of a foreign company and freelancers with clients abroad. Neither the law nor ICT says whether a company owner paid in dividends qualifies |
| Tax | Holders are exempt from Costa Rican income tax under article 16. The exemption does not cover your family |
| Where it leads | Nowhere directly. Legally it is a stay, not residence. You can apply to change category before it ends, but nothing confirms nomad time counts towards residence |
| Permanent residence | Three consecutive years of temporary residence |
| Citizenship | Seven years of residence for British and American nationals, five for Central Americans, Ibero-Americans and Spaniards by birth. Spanish and civics exams. Unchanged in 2025 and 2026 |
| Without a visa | British and American passports: up to 180 days at the officer's discretion under rules in force since 17 November 2025. A full 180 days cannot be extended; if you are given less than 90, you can ask for up to 90 more. ICT asks for an onward ticket and proof of at least USD 100 for each month of the stay |
| Tax residency | More than 183 days in a calendar year, counting the days you arrive and leave |
Where to live
Where to base yourself
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Santa Teresa central
Price not checkedFrom Playa Carmen to Super La Hacienda: walk to the supermarket and its ATM, the urgent-care clinic, cafes and Sundays Cowork
The catch The busiest and priciest strip, all on one rough road. A 2022 report called accommodation here relatively more expensive than elsewhere in Costa Rica
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North Santa Teresa hills
Price not checkedLa Lora and Maramar, with ocean views and quieter streets above town
The catch The steep access roads need a car, ATV or 4x4, so without wheels you are stuck. Hillside internet can be slow: Outsite's Maramar house quotes about 40 Mbps
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Mal Pais
Price not checkedLeft at the Playa Carmen junction, where Santa Teresa is to the right. It has kept a rural, fishing-village feel
The catch No supermarkets. You go into Santa Teresa for supermarkets, banks and pharmacies
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Playa Hermosa
Price not checkedA broad surf beach good for lessons, beyond Santa Teresa and about 15 minutes' drive from town
The catch A poor road, with a 4x4 strongly recommended from August to November and rivers to ford in the rains. All the action is back in Santa Teresa
Timing
The best time to come
- Jan Dry season, busy
- Feb Dry season
- Mar Dry, but busy
- Apr Turning, crowds drop
- May Rains start late May
- Jun First rainy peak
- Jul Short dry spell
- Aug Short dry spell, quiet
- Sep Very wet, fewest visitors
- Oct Wettest, rivers to ford
- Nov Rains easing
- Dec Dry again, peak arrivals
Come now Fine Avoid
The dry season runs from December to March, and September and October are the wettest months, when the dirt roads have rivers to ford. July and August often bring a short dry spell locals call the veranillo. The ratings use the national weather service's long-term pattern for the peninsula and national arrival numbers: in 2025 December was the busiest month with 347,143 arrivals and September the quietest with 121,815. No source shows how local rents move with the season.
Connectivity
The internet, honestly
There is no checked median broadband figure for Costa Rica or Santa Teresa in this guide. The nearest figures are averages: 90 Mbps for Puntarenas city in the first half of 2025, the lowest city in the report, and about 132 Mbps for the country as a whole. Power cuts happen too: the average customer lost just over eight hours of supply in 2025.
Cafes are fine for email. El Patio, open 7.30am to 4pm, and Vermu, with air conditioning, are popular with remote workers, but they shut too early for a US-hours day. For calls, use a desk that states its connection: Sundays Cowork claims 200 Mbps symmetric and Outsite claims 200 Mbps. Hillside rentals can be far slower, so ask any landlord for a speed-test screenshot before you sign.
Work
Remote roles open to someone in Costa Rica
A remote job is not in any one city. These are roles whose employer will hire someone living here, pulled from the board as you load the page.
Eating
What to eat, and what it costs
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Casado
Price not checkedThe set lunch at a soda, a small local diner: rice, beans, salad, plantain and a main. Soda Tiquicia and Soda Pura Vida are two in town
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Gallo pinto
Price not checkedRice and beans for breakfast, served at the sodas
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Ceviche
Price not checkedLa Cevicheria is one of the places named for it
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Fish tacos
Price not checkedZwart Art Cafe is the name that comes up for them
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Acai bowl
Price not checkedAni's Bowls is often busy
Days off
Worth a Saturday
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Cabo Blanco nature reserve
USD 12 plus 13 per cent IVAAbout USD 13.56 for foreigners, against CRC 1,600 for nationals. A 10 km round trip on the Sueco trail through forest to Playa Cabo Blanco. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 8am to 4pm, closed Monday and Tuesday, and card only
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Montezuma waterfalls
Free, parking CRC 2,000Three falls along a riverbed trail, about 40 minutes away. People have died jumping from them, so don't
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Curu wildlife refuge
USD 17Monkeys, quiet beaches and trails near Paquera. Visitors pay USD 17 against USD 7 for citizens and residents. Open 7am to 4pm
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Isla Tortuga boat and snorkel day
USD 1378.5 hours to the white-sand island in the Gulf of Nicoya, with lunch, the island fee and transport from Santa Teresa, through Zuma Tours
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Group surf lesson
USD 60 to 651.5 to 2 hours. Playa Hermosa is the beach for learning
The rest
Things the other guides leave out
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The ferry is the lifeline
Puntarenas to Paquera takes about 70 minutes, with eight sailings each way a day from 4am to 10pm. A collision in April 2024 stopped the service for 17 days
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Rip currents kill
Drowning is the second most common cause of accidental death in Costa Rica, about 50 to 60 a year, roughly a third of them tourists. There are often no lifeguards
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No Uber and no meters
Uber and Lyft do not operate and taxis have no set pricing, so agree the fare first. The last road in is rough dirt that needs four-wheel drive much of the year
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Healthcare is thin
There is an urgent-care clinic, Unimed, next to Super Ronny. General travel insurance often excludes surfing and quad biking, so check yours
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Your licence lasts as long as your stay
A UK photocard licence is valid for up to 180 days, tied to the tourist stay you are granted. Americans need a US licence or an international permit, plus a passport
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Tax could change
The government plans to tax worldwide income, with the bills due between August 2026 and February 2027. Nothing had been presented by July 2026
Work out whether you can actually afford to go
Every role on the board says which countries you can live in and still take it, so remote means remote.
Every figure on this page was checked on 8 Oct 2026. Prices move and rules change; tell us when something is wrong and we will fix it.