Emergency Services in Costa Rica

While traveling to distant and new places is always something pleasurable and exciting, it can also be a time when people tend to be a bit more uninhibited and daring in their actions. For example, most of us never ride horses in our daily routines but on vacation, it is quite easy to find ourselves on horseback in remote settings without any real practice or training. Close to 100% of the time we have a great experience but on some occasions, accidents do occur. In times like these, Buyowner Costa Rica knows it is imperative to know where to go and who to call for help.

We offer you the following information for you so that if you ever find yourself in some kind of scrape, you will know exactly what to do in Costa Rica.

Emergency Services Phone numbers:
Emergency 911
Fire Department 118
Red Cross 128
Police 117
Highway Patrol 2222-9330
Information 113

Hospitals
If you need a doctor in San Jose, we suggest you head to CIMA Hospital in Escazú (250 m East of Pricemart; emergency phone number: 2208-1144). The Clinica Biblica Hospital (avenida 14, calles central #1; phone number: 2522-1000) is also a very good choice for medical services.

If you are injured on the beach, your nearest hospital will depend on your exact location. We recommend you talk to the staff of the hotel you are staying at in these kinds of cases. If you find yourself in a remote beach area, your best choice would be to head to the nearest resort type of hotel since they usually have a doctor on site. Small cabin type of hotels will not have this type of service. A Costa Rican hospital will not turn you away and some insurance coverage will be valid here. You may want to call your homeland insurance carrier to see if you are covered for travel inside Costa Rica.

Traveling tips: keeping safe
Driving rental cars - While driving, watch out for signs and obey the speed limits for speed traps are common.  Unfortunately, as a tourist, police sometimes try and attempt to charge on-the-spot- fines for speeding and or other traffic violations.  Remember that this is illegal. If it is a legitimate charge, the officer will give you a citation which should only be paid at police stations where you will get a receipt.

In the case of an accident, DO NOT MOVE ANYTHING, INCLUDING THE VEHICLE!  If possible call the rental car company.  They will offer their aid and help you call the traffic police; otherwise the traffic police will eventually show up.  In the mean time, do not move the vehicle even if passer- bys or the other driver is trying to get you to move it out of the flow of traffic.  This would automatically put you at fault for the accident. The traffic officer will tell you when to move the vehicle.

Private transportation/Taxi:  Official Taxis are red with a yellow triangle with the taxi number painted on the doors. In the cities they use a meter (locally known as ‘maria’) to determine the fare.  However, in the less populated areas they do not use the meter so you should discus the fare before you depart. Keep in mind that there aren't enough official taxis to go around in the less populated areas. There are many unofficial "piratas" or pirate taxis that drive their personal vehicle for public transport. These taxis are not licensed and insured to transport tourists so use them at your own risk.

Immigration – in some occasions, you may find roadblocks where immigration officials are looking for individuals that are in violation of the immigrant status.  This is not a problem for most tourists, as long as you have your passport with you. (a copy of the photo page of your passport and the page with your entry stamp is now accepted; most hotels will photocopy your passport for you)

Lost/ Stolen Property -  In the event that you loose your passport, travel documents or credit cards, make a police report and notify your embassy and immigration immediately.