Using cell phone data in a foreign country can be expensive, and worse, the speed can be slow. With the Camino de Costa Rica, having a working data plan is important as many of the apps you’ll use in the country require internet. Sure, hopping on WiFi will work, but a few times during your two-week hike you’ll need a connection where there’s no wifi network available.
Must have Camino de Costa Rica apps:
- WhatsApp: The whole country runs off of WhatsApp.
- FarOut: Technically this works offline, but for the waypoint commenting feature to function you will need to connect to the internet
- Google Maps or Waze: Plenty of times you’ll need to find a soda restaurant, grocery store or pulperia.
For American hikers on Verizon or ATT, most subscribers have the option of turning on roaming and paying an extra $10 a day for up to 1 GB of daily internet. While that much data should be more than plenty (we’re hiking, not watching Netflix) the price tag is hefty when you consider a 16-day hike will run you $160 in addition to your regular phone bill. Yikes! For US hikers on T-Mobile, you’ll find most plans offer a much more competitive rate. And for GoogleFi users, you’re in luck as their most popular plan has free, unlimited global data.

Suppose the $10 / day pop doesn’t sound enticing, and you’re not a T-Mobile or GoogleFi user. In that case, you have a great option that’s affordable and plugs you into the local towers: With the invention of eSIMs, adding a temporary, third-party data plan to your phone is affordable and simple to activate. From our tests, Manet Travel offers the most competitive rates, has the most plans, and some of the best trail coverage. Purchasing a plan takes about a minute and installing takes about 5-minutes (follow the instructions). And when we say competitive, it’s not even close, for example, a 5GB data plan from Manet that’s valid for 30 days is only $10.