What's Illegal inCosta Rica?

The single thing worth knowing first: Drug penalties moderate. Cannabis decriminalized for personal use (small amounts). Wildlife protection laws are strict. It is the kind of rule that looks minor at home and becomes a serious problem at the border or in public, which is exactly why it tops this page.

Within everyday activities and public behavior, Costa Rica treats Driving with alcohol, Wildlife disturbance, and National park drone use as off-limits. Carrying or doing any of these can mean confiscation, fines, or detention depending on the case — and a foreign prescription, habit, or "I didn't know" rarely helps once you are stopped. Each entry below links to the official source it is checked against, with the verified ones marked.

Two things travelers regularly get wrong about Costa Rica: Costa Rica is not 'cannabis legal' like Uruguay — small amounts only, no commercial sale; and Approaching wildlife (sloths, sea turtles) for selfies is heavily fined. Assumptions like these are how otherwise careful visitors end up in trouble, so it is worth checking the specifics rather than guessing.

One important caveat: National parks have additional drone and wildlife rules. Laws and their enforcement can shift between regions and over time, so treat this page as a sourced starting point and confirm anything borderline against the official links before you rely on it.