Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is massively popular with North American medical tourists. Costa Rica disbanded its military in 1980 because of the safety and stability of the country. This makes people feel safe about visiting the country, but it also freed up billions of dollars to spend on education and healthcare.
For that reason Costa Rica now has one of the best, and most efficient health sectors in the world. Of the top destinations, Costa Rica is also among the cheapest for procedures, which makes it very popular with medical tourists from around the world. In addition, The World Health Organization (WHO) ranked Costa Rican healthcare quality above that of the United States.
Private medical facilities are of a very high quality with many doctors having trained in North America or Europe.
Costa Rica now has one of the best and most efficient health sectors in the world.
Medical Tourism
In Costa Rica
- Costa Rica has invested heavily in health care facilities and services, and our partners offer high quality, affordable medical care;
- Costa Rica is easily accessible from many airlines in North America;
- The country ranks first in the world in human well-being;
- Costa Rica has several high quality, JCI accredited private hospitals which serve expat and medical tourist clientele; the following article outlines this clearly: Rush Limbaugh Would Go-to-Costa-Rica-if-Obama’s Healthcare Plan Passes;
- Medical tourism in Costa Rica is now a thriving business with some estimates suggesting 90,000 people per year visit the country for inexpensive healthcare, 90% of whom are American;
- Prices range anywhere from 30% – 80% cheaper than the same procedures in North America
Money & Paying for Things
- The local currency is the colon but US dollars are widely accepted and often encouraged;
- Credit cards are widely accepted in San Jose but Visa seems to be preferred;
- ATM’s are prevalent in the city;
- Traveler’s checks are not commonly used and can be difficult to change;
Travel Considerations
- US and Canadian residents do not need a visa to enter Costa Rica for up to 90 days;
- You do require a valid passport with at least 1 blank visa page and an expiration date greater than 30 days from your entry date to Costa Rica;
- A prepaid return airline ticket to leave the country is required;
- The main airport that most will use for entry is Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría (SJO) which is 17km (10.5 miles) northwest of San Jose, in the town of Alajuela
- All travelers must pay at $26 airport tax when leaving the country payable in US dollars or colones;
