United States to Costa Rica visa requirements

US ordinary passport holders do NOT need a visa to visit Costa Rica for tourism. The United States is in Costa Rica's first group of visa-exempt nationalities, so admission is handled by an immigration officer on arrival for up to 180 calendar days. You must carry a valid, good-condition passport, proof of onward/return travel, and sufficient funds. Costa Rica places the United States in its first group of nationalities that may enter without a tourist visa. No advance visa, eVisa, or pre-travel authorization is required for ordinary US tourist visits. On arrival, the immigration officer sets the authorized stay and stamps the passport; the current DGME directives cap first-group stays at up to 180 calendar days, while the U.S. State Department cautions that the full 180 days is not guaranteed. Your passport or travel document must be machine-readable or biometric, valid and in good condition; DGME lists a one-day minimum passport validity for first-group nationals but also says the stay granted cannot exceed the passport's validity, so use a passport valid for the full trip and keep a 6-month buffer for airline checks. You must be able to show a confirmed return or onward ticket before your visa-free stay or entry stamp expires, plus proof of economic means of at least US$100 per month or partial month of stay. A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required only if you arrive from designated yellow-fever-risk countries in parts of Africa or South America, not for direct travel from the United States. Tourist entry itself is free; Costa Rica's airport departure tax is about US$29 and is normally included in airline tickets. Do not overstay the date granted, because fines, deportation delays, and future-entry problems can result.