Guanacaste is a majestic province in Costa Rica, full of lush jungle, mountains and even volcanos. It is a perfect spot for people looking to get close to nature and to enjoy thrilling outdoor activities. It is home to breathtaking national parks, hot springs, blue Pacific Ocean and diversity colors of sandy beaches. For those wondering if Guanacaste, Costa Rica is safe to travel, the answer is a resounding YES. The friendliness of the local people makes it a happy, cheerful place to be.
In conclusion, as long as you have common sense and don’t get too close to the wildest of the wildlife, you’re more than safe to travel to Guanacaste in Costa Rica. Bring comfortable clothing and shoes, and all you’ll have to worry about is how best to fill your time. Come and discover what ‘pura vida’ means, take in the friendly atmosphere, and make the most of a fabulous Costa Rica vacation.
Costa Rica doesn’t have army so it´s a very Pacific country reason why Ticos don´t have any aggressiveness in their blood. Compared to the USA, Canada and other big countries Costa Rica has very little serious crime. You will find that most of the Costa Rican people are the most honest, hardworking people and they would never steal anything from you but unfortunately like everywhere they will always be a small percentage of person that dedicate their life to steal from others.
Violent or organize crime overall are almost nonexistent in our beach region. The crime that happens is usually when someone leaves something of value out in the open for someone to take. It is very rare in Costa Rica that thieves break into a house or break a window of your car to steal something however like most of the time if you leave something open or if you expose any valuable object without taking basic precaution you might get stole!!
For many years, the Police Force in Costa Rica didn’t have a very good reputation. They had a very poor budget, bad administration and a lack of well-trained police officers. Sometimes police were coming to 911 call hours after a crime was committed. You probably have seen many houses in the local neighborhoods with bars on the doors and windows because the people needed a minimum of protection due to the slow response from police. Although you see a lot less homes now with bars, for Costa Rican it will always be part of their cultures even as security improves drastically over the coming years in this country.
The OIJ and the National Police (Fuerza Pública) are Costa Rica’s two principal law enforcement bodies. The OIJ is an operational unit, whose officers can exercise police power across the country, including the power of arrest. In 1996, the Ministry of Public Security established the Fuerza Pública or Public Force, a gendarmerie which reorganized and eliminated the Civil Guard, Rural Assistance Guard, and Frontier Guards as separate entities. They are now under the Ministry and operate on a geographic command basis performing ground security, law enforcement, counter-narcotics, border patrol, and tourism security functions.
Before the year 2000 security was not a top priority for the government but things have change since then and a need to re-enforce the security was necessary. We now have much better service from the police, brand new vehicles and trained and well-equipped officers, even at the beach. Last January 2020 the U.S. Embassy’s Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) donated a K-9 building to Costa Rica’s investigative police, as well as four armored vehicles to the Ministry of Public Security and the Judicial Police. The building will provide a space for judicial officers to receive canine training and learn special investigative techniques. U.S. Ambassador Sharon Day stated that “the Embassy’s commitment to supporting Costa Rica is serious. Costa Rica is our friend and partner, a bastion of peace and stability in a region increasingly beset by organized crime and violence. Costa Rican police forces are the most capable in the region and, therefore, our goal is to give them the tools needed to be successful in improving security in their communities for the benefit of Costa Rica and the United States.
Another factor that prove that Costa Rica is a safe place is when worldwide situation of pandemic like the “Covid-19” appears, Costa Rica and especially the province of Guanacaste had extremely low cases registered of infected people and most important low cases of death. The Costa Rican government took very serious measures that was religiously respected to a very rational volume of residents and Costa Rican in which reach amazing results in a Pandemic that cause a lot of damages to the rest of the world.
Moving in Costa Rica and living in the region of Playa Panama, Playa Hermosa, Playas del Coco and Playa Ocotal will probably be the wisest and safest decision a foreigner could take to change his lifestyle and start a new adventure in a Pura Vida world.