Vaccines for Costa Rica
The checker above is set on Costa Rica: enter the country you come from to see whether the border asks for a yellow fever certificate, then the CDC list and the prices.
Travel vaccines CDC lists for most or some travelers on this trip
4 vaccines
plus 2 to discuss and routine vaccines up to date
| Yellow fever | Required only if you arrive from a risk country (Costa Rica) |
| Malaria | Prescription tablets for areas of Costa Rica |
| Longest lead time | 28 days before departure (Hepatitis B, 2 doses (Heplisav-B)) |
| Published price, these vaccines | $786 median, $650 to $1,030 |
Levels from the CDC destination pages; age 35 used for the Japanese encephalitis schedule. A list to take to a doctor, nurse or pharmacist, not medical advice.
| Disease | CDC level | Where | Start at least | Median price per dose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow fever | Required only if you arrive from a risk country | Costa Rica | 10 days before | $269 |
| Hepatitis A | CDC: most travelers | Costa Rica | Any time before | $109 |
| Hepatitis B | CDC: most travelers | Costa Rica | 28 days before | $149 |
| Measles | CDC: most travelers | Costa Rica | Ask | $115 |
| Chikungunya | CDC: some travelers | Costa Rica | Any time before | $326 |
| Rabies | CDC: may be considered | Costa Rica | 7 days before | $419 |
| Typhoid | CDC: may be considered | Costa Rica | 14 days before | $174 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · Method and sources · CDC page reviewed September 3, 2026, read October 24, 2026
For Costa Rica, CDC lists hepatitis A and, for unvaccinated travelers under 60, hepatitis B for most travelers, plus routine vaccines with MMR; CDC has a Level 1 notice about hepatitis A in Costa Rica. Because of an outbreak, chikungunya vaccine is listed for travelers going to an area with a chikungunya outbreak, and CDC has a Level 2 notice on it. Typhoid is in the consider group. CDC does not recommend yellow fever vaccine for Costa Rica, and a traveler from the US, UK, Canada or Australia needs no certificate, but Costa Rica requires one from travelers aged 9 months or older arriving from the countries it names: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and others in South America, and African countries with yellow fever risk, regardless of where in those countries the traveler stayed. Malaria tablets are advised only for Alajuela and Limón provinces. At US county health departments, the median price is $109 a dose of hepatitis A, $326 for the single chikungunya dose and $269 for yellow fever.
Chikungunya: an outbreak on the CDC page
On the Costa Rica page, chikungunya sits in the "some travelers" group rather than among the vaccines to consider. The reason is written on the page: there is an outbreak of chikungunya in Costa Rica, and chikungunya vaccination is recommended for people traveling to an area with an outbreak. CDC backs it with a Level 2 travel notice dated July 30, 2026. Elsewhere in Latin America, in Mexico, Brazil, Peru or Colombia, CDC's chikungunya line only invites people staying six months or more to consider the vaccine.
The vaccine is a single dose for people aged 12 or older, and CDC gives no fixed lead time for it. Its published self-pay price at US county health departments runs from $280 to $400, and only 4 of the departments read for this site list it. Whether it fits a given traveler is a question for a clinician, who looks at age and health. Mosquito bite prevention stays at the base of CDC's advice, and CDC also has a global dengue notice that covers Costa Rica.
Hepatitis A and chikungunya for Costa Rica
Self-pay cost of these travel vaccines
$582
| Hepatitis A, 2 doses | $217 |
| Chikungunya, 1 dose | $326 |
CDC's hepatitis A line for Costa Rica is the usual one, unvaccinated travelers aged 1 year or older, but it comes with a Level 1 notice about hepatitis A in Costa Rica dated September 18, 2026. With both hepatitis A doses, the chikungunya dose and the visit fees, the departments that list all of them charge $460 to $760. Hepatitis B, $149 a dose of the two dose vaccine, is listed for unvaccinated travelers under 60. Typhoid is in the consider group, for rural areas with poor sanitation, stays of a month or more and visits to family, at $174 for the shot.
A yellow fever rule that reads your passport
CDC does not recommend the yellow fever vaccine for Costa Rica. The entry rule is built differently from Tanzania's or South Africa's. Instead of asking travelers from "risk areas", Costa Rica names its countries and asks a certificate from travelers 9 months or older arriving from them, regardless of where in the country the traveler went. In Africa, that means the countries with yellow fever risk throughout plus Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. In the Americas, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
"Regardless of where" is the key phrase. A week in Lima and Machu Picchu, where CDC does not recommend the vaccine, still triggers the requirement on arrival in San José. So does a stay limited to Bogotá, or a beach week in Fortaleza. Panama, next door, is not on Costa Rica's list, although CDC's data counts it as a country with yellow fever risk. The certificate must be at least 10 days old, and the shot costs $226 to $360 on US county lists. Change the country below to test a route.
Costa Rica certificate by previous country
Yellow fever certificate for Costa Rica
Required
| CDC vaccine advice | Not recommended |
| Who must show a certificate | Read the country wording |
| Valid from | 10 days after the shot, for life |
| Published price | $269 median, $226 to $360 |
Malaria in Limón and Alajuela only
CDC lists malaria in the provinces of Alajuela and Limón, with rare to no transmission elsewhere. That puts the Caribbean coast, Tortuguero and Puerto Viejo in Limón, and the Arenal area in Alajuela, inside the medicine area, while Guanacaste, Manuel Antonio and San José are outside it. CDC reports no drug resistance, and P. falciparum accounts for 86% of cases. The list for the two provinces therefore includes chloroquine alongside atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine and tafenoquine.
For a week in those provinces, chloroquine means 7 weekly tablets (about $46 at pharmacy cost), atovaquone-proguanil 16 daily tablets (about $23) and doxycycline 37 tablets. The prescriber decides. On rabies, CDC says rabid dogs are not commonly found, but rabies is present in bats, and post-bite vaccine may only be available in larger facilities (two pre-exposure doses cost $838 at the median).
What CDC says for Costa Rica, word for word
Source: CDC, Travelers' Health destination page for Costa Rica, page last reviewed September 3, 2026, read on October 24, 2026. The text is reproduced without change; it is available free of charge on cdc.gov. Its use here does not imply endorsement by CDC, ATSDR, HHS or the United States Government.
Travel notices: Level 2, Chikungunya in Costa Rica (July 30, 2026) · Level 1, Hepatitis A in Costa Rica (September 18, 2026) · Level 1, Global Dengue (September 3, 2026) · Level 1, Global Measles (May 28, 2025)
| Disease | CDC wording |
|---|---|
| Routine vaccines | Make sure you are up-to-date on all routine vaccines before every trip. Some of these vaccines include • Chickenpox (Varicella) • Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (DTaP, Tdap, or Td) • Flu (influenza) • Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) • Polio • Shingles |
| COVID-19 | All eligible travelers should be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines. Please see Your COVID-19 Vaccination for more information. |
| Hepatitis A | Recommended for unvaccinated travelers one year old or older going to Costa Rica. Infants 6 to 11 months old should also be vaccinated against Hepatitis A. The dose does not count toward the routine 2-dose series. Travelers allergic to a vaccine component should receive a single dose of immune globulin, which provides effective protection for up to 2 months depending on dosage given. Unvaccinated travelers who are over 40 years old, are immunocompromised, or have chronic medical conditions planning to depart to a risk area in less than 2 weeks should get the initial dose of vaccine and at the same appointment receive immune globulin. |
| Hepatitis B | Recommended for unvaccinated travelers younger than 60 years old traveling to Costa Rica. Unvaccinated travelers 60 years and older may get vaccinated before traveling to Costa Rica. |
| Typhoid | Consider getting a typhoid vaccine if you might: • Travel to areas with poor sanitation and unsafe water, including rural areas • Spend a long time in Costa Rica, such as a month or more • Visit friends or relatives Typhoid vaccine is not 100% effective. Practicing safe food and water habits, including washing hands at key times, can also help prevent typhoid fever. |
| Yellow Fever | CDC recommendations: Vaccine is not recommended. Country entry requirements: • Vaccine is required for travelers ≥9 months old arriving from countries with risk for YF virus transmission. Included in this requirement are travelers arriving from African countries with yellow fever risk throughout (see Map 4.21.1 for those 22 countries) and partial risk (Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia) regardless of where in the country the traveler visited, and the following countries in the Americas regardless of where in the country the traveler visited: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela (see Map 4.21.2). • Country entry requirements are subject to change. Check with the embassies or consulates on your itinerary to confirm entry requirements before departure. Updated July 9, 2025 |
| Malaria | CDC recommends that travelers going to certain areas of Costa Rica take prescription medicine to prevent malaria. Depending on the medicine you take, you will need to start taking this medicine multiple days before your trip, as well as during and after your trip. Talk to your doctor about which malaria medication you should take. Transmission areas • Present in the provinces of Alajuela and Limón • Rare to no transmission in other parts of the country Drug resistance • None Species • P. falciparum (86%) • P. vivax (14%) Recommended chemoprophylaxis • Alajuela and Limón Provinces: Atovaquone-proguanil, chloroquine, doxycycline, mefloquine, tafenoquine • All other areas: No chemoprophylaxis recommended (insect bite precautions and mosquito avoidance only) Updated April 23, 2025 See footnotes |
| Rabies | Dogs infected with rabies are not commonly found in Costa Rica. Rabies is present in bats. If rabies exposures occur while in Costa Rica, rabies vaccines may only be available in larger suburban/urban medical facilities. Rabies pre-exposure vaccination considerations include whether travelers 1) will be performing occupational or recreational activities that increase risk for exposure to potentially rabid animals and 2) might have difficulty getting prompt access to safe post-exposure prophylaxis. Please consult with a healthcare provider to determine whether you should receive pre-exposure vaccination before travel. For more information, see country rabies status assessments. |
| Chikungunya | There is an outbreak of chikungunya in Costa Rica. Chikungunya vaccination is recommended for people traveling to an area with a chikungunya outbreak. |
| Measles | Cases of measles are on the rise worldwide. Travelers are at risk of measles if they have not been fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to departure, or have not had measles in the past, and travel internationally to areas where measles is spreading. All international travelers should be fully vaccinated against measles with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, including an early dose for infants 6–11 months, according to CDC’s measles vaccination recommendations for international travel. |
| Monkeypox | Monkeypox vaccination is recommended for any adult who anticipates any of the following activities during travel: • Sexual or intimate contact with a new partner • Sexual or intimate contact at a commercial sex venue, like a sex club or bathhouse • Sexual or intimate contact in exchange for money, goods, drugs, or other trade • Sexual or intimate contact in association with a large public event, such as a rave, party, or festival Get your first monkeypox vaccine at least 6 weeks before traveling if you can, or as far as possible before travel if fewer than 6 weeks before you leave. Two doses of vaccine, given 4 weeks apart, are recommended. After completing your first and second vaccine doses it takes about 2 more weeks to get the best protection against monkeypox. Whether or not you've been vaccinated, continue to take steps to reduce your risk of getting monkeypox while you are away. |