Costa Rica Travel Vaccines — What You Need in 2026

Recommended Vaccines

• Hepatitis A

  Allow 2 weeks before travel

• Typhoid

  Allow 2 weeks before travel

Routine Vaccines to Keep Up to Date

Other Health Risks

• Dengue
• Zika

Travel Health Summary

Costa Rica is a low-risk destination by regional standards, but the malaria picture is not uniform: CDC and WHO place the only residual transmission in limited pockets of Limón province on the Caribbean side, and most visitors to San José, Guanacaste, Monteverde or Manuel Antonio need no antimalarial tablets at all. Dengue is the far more common problem, circulating year-round and peaking in the rainy season from May to November, so insect-bite prevention matters more than any pill. Yellow fever vaccination is not required for travellers arriving from Europe or North America, but a certificate is required if you are arriving from or transiting through a country with yellow fever transmission such as Colombia, Peru, Brazil or much of sub-Saharan Africa. Hepatitis A and typhoid are the usual additions for travellers eating widely outside resorts, and rabies pre-exposure vaccination is worth discussing if you are caving, working with animals, or spending long periods in rural areas away from clinics. Healthcare is a genuine strength here: private hospitals in San José such as CIMA and Clínica Bíblica meet international standards, though care in remote Osa or Tortuguero areas can be hours away, which is why medical evacuation cover is standard advice.

Related destinations

Nearby countries with a comparable vaccine and disease-risk profile to Costa Rica.