shallm asked 8 years ago
Hello! I am coming to CR for 3 weeks at the end of October! I am a 27 year old female and will be traveling alone. Are there any unsafe areas to avoid? Which areas am I most likely to meet other young travelers? Hoping for most of the rain to be gone by then.. has it been rainy this year?
Jenn and Matt Staff answered 8 years ago
Hi shallm,
Costa Rica is a very safe country in general. The biggest thing to watch out for is petty theft (breakins in rental cars; bags stolen from the beach while someone is swimming; pick pocketing at areas where people congregate like bus stations, etc.). Much less frequently there are more violent crimes against tourists. A lot of times these can be avoided, though, by following the usual safety precautions when traveling anywhere in the world like being aware of your surroundings, not wearing flashy jewelry, taking a cab home from a bar instead of walking alone, not getting involved with strangers, not getting drunk or doing drugs, etc. Common sense stuff. Here’s a link to our safety post with more info.
Most areas are totally safe for solo female travelers. There have been random crimes against women in a few places over the last few years (Puerto Viejo, Santa Teresa, Tamarindo, and Jaco that we know of), but these were isolated incidents that shouldn’t necessarily sway you from going there. These areas see tons of tourists every year, including solo travelers, and the vast majority of people don’t have any problems.
Montezuma, Santa Teresa, Samara, Tamarindo, Puerto Viejo, and Jaco are all good places to meet other young travelers. They’re all really different but taking a look at our Destinations Summary Guide should help you figure out which you might be interested in.
The weather varies a lot around the country so you’ll probably have a little taste of everything if you travel around. In general, though, it hasn’t been especially rainy this year. Where we live in the Southern Pacific, we’re down in rain for the season.
Hope that helps! Not trying to scare you with the safety stuff, CR is probably safer than a lot of places in the world. You’re going to have a great time!