Central America
Costa Rica travel vaccinations
Costa Rica is one of the simpler trips to prepare for. Nobody needs malaria tablets, and the guidance recommends just two vaccines for most travellers: hepatitis A and an in-date tetanus, diphtheria and polio booster.
- Consultation with a pharmacist
- GPhC premises 9011598
- Ewell, Epsom
Recommendations depend on your itinerary, health history and current guidance.
What the guidance says
Vaccines for Costa Rica
Two things are worth a closer look. If you're adding Peru, Colombia, Brazil or Ecuador to the trip, the yellow fever certificate rule applies to you on arrival in Costa Rica. And dengue and chikungunya are the real day-to-day risk, with an outbreak reported on the Guanacaste coast in July 2026, so bite avoidance matters more here than any extra jab.
6 vaccines the guidance mentions for Costa Rica, 5 of them given here. Which apply to you is settled at your consultation.
Recommended for most travellers
It spreads through contaminated food and water, and eco-lodges and resorts carry the same basic risk.
- Timing
- No minimum notice. Protection develops within about two weeks, and a dose on the day you fly is still worth having.
- Protection
- One dose protects for up to 12 months. A second dose at 6 to 12 months takes that to about 25 years, with a booster at 25 years for anyone still at risk.
If it was more than ten years ago and you'll be anywhere medical care is limited, a booster is recommended. Worth doing if your trip involves hiking, zip-lining, surfing or anything else that grazes skin.
- Timing
- One injection, effective quickly in anyone previously vaccinated.
- Protection
- The full UK course is five doses, which gives most people lifelong protection. Travel boosters top up tetanus, diphtheria and polio for around ten years.
For some travellers, depending on the trip
Vaccination may be considered from age 12 for people travelling to an outbreak area, or travelling there often or long-term. Daytime bite avoidance is the main protection.
- Timing
- IXCHIQ must be given at least 30 days before travel. Vimkunya has no fixed minimum, but earlier is better.
- Protection
- Both vaccines are a single dose. Most people make protective antibodies within about three weeks, and the immune response starts to build within a week. The need for a booster hasn't been established.
Vaccination is only considered in specific cases, usually people who've had dengue before.
Not given at Miles Pharmacy; referred on after assessment.
- Timing
- Two doses three months apart, so it needs planning well ahead.
- Protection
- Considered mainly for people who've had dengue before.
Vaccination before travel is recommended for stays over a month, running or cycling, work with animals, and anywhere treatment would be hard to reach. It doesn't replace urgent care after a bite, but it simplifies that treatment and removes the need for immunoglobulin, which is scarce. Children are at higher risk.
- Timing
- Standard course 21 to 28 days; accelerated course 7 days.
- Protection
- A full course primes your immune system, so if you are bitten you need fewer doses of treatment and usually no immunoglobulin. It never removes the need for urgent treatment after a bite.
Consider it if you're staying with friends or family, going for a long time, or travelling often somewhere sanitation and food hygiene can be poor. The vaccine doesn't protect against paratyphoid, so take care with what you eat and drink either way.
- Timing
- At least 2 weeks before travel. A dose closer to departure can still be considered, and we'll explain the limits.
- Protection
- Protection lasts about three years. It isn't fully protective, and it doesn't cover paratyphoid, so food and water care still matters.
the guidance mentions that are not usually part of a trip like this.
A starting point, not a quote. Course prices assume every dose is given here, and some courses need more than one visit, so the timings matter as much as the totals.
Malaria and certificates
Where the risk actually is
Nobody needs malaria tablets for Costa Rica. Risk is low in Limon Province, though not in the city of Limon itself, and very low everywhere else, including Limon city. In both cases the advice is awareness and bite avoidance rather than tablets. Tablets may be considered in exceptional cases for people at higher risk in the low-risk area, such as long stays visiting family, pregnancy, travellers over 70, young children or anyone immunosuppressed, and chloroquine is the option there. Anyone without a working spleen should take specialist advice before travelling to any malaria area at all. The mosquitoes that actually cause travellers trouble here carry dengue and chikungunya, and they bite during the day.
- Very low risk the rest of the country, including the city of Limon (Puerto Limon)
- Low risk Limon Province, but not the city of Limon (Puerto Limon)
Yellow fever certificate. There's no yellow fever in Costa Rica, but there is a certificate rule, and it's stricter than most. A certificate is required from travellers aged 9 months and over arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, with Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia added to that list, and Argentina and Panama taken off it. Unlike many countries, airport transit doesn't count as long as you stay inside the international transit area. If you're combining Costa Rica with Peru, Colombia, Brazil or Ecuador, this applies to you. Miles Pharmacy is a registered Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre. The certificate becomes valid 10 days after vaccination and lasts for life. About the yellow fever vaccine
Worth knowing
Beyond the vaccines
Not everything worth knowing has a vaccine. These are the rest: what the guidance says to prepare for, and the notices it has issued in the last three months.
- Insect bites
- Bite avoidance does most of the work on this trip. Dengue, chikungunya and Zika are spread by daytime biters, and Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and West Nile are also present in Central America, none of which have a vaccine. Repellent day and night, covered skin at dusk, and screened or air-conditioned rooms.
- Altitude
- Cerro Chirripo reaches 3,820 metres and the volcano routes around Irazu and Poas climb past 2,500. If you're hiking high, ascend gradually, avoid gaining sleeping altitude too quickly, and descend if headache, nausea or fatigue set in.
- Zika
- Zika is present in Costa Rica. If you're pregnant or planning a pregnancy, talk to us before you travel, as there's specific guidance on avoiding conception for two to three months afterwards depending on which of you travelled.
- Food and water
- Tap water is drinkable in much of the country but not everywhere, particularly in rural areas and after heavy rain. Stick to bottled or treated water where you're unsure, and choose food that's freshly cooked and served hot.
- Injury risk
- Most travel health problems here come from activity rather than infection. Zip-lining, surfing, rafting and volcano hikes all carry injury risk, so check your insurance covers them and that your tetanus booster is in date.
- Sexual health
- Condoms are the most effective protection against sexually transmitted infections. Hepatitis B vaccination is worth discussing if there's any chance of new partners, even though the guidance doesn't list it for Costa Rica specifically.
Before you book
Questions about Costa Rica
Answered by the pharmacist who signs this page off.
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Hepatitis A and an in-date tetanus, diphtheria and polio booster cover most travellers. Typhoid and rabies come in depending on where you're going, how long for and what you'll be doing. We'll go through your itinerary and only recommend what fits it.
Samit Patel Superintendent Pharmacist Reviewed 2026-09-17 -
No. Risk is low in Limon Province, not including Limon city, and very low across the rest of the country, and the advice in both cases is bite avoidance rather than tablets. We may still discuss them if you're at higher risk, for example pregnancy, over 70, young children or a weakened immune system.
Samit Patel Superintendent Pharmacist Reviewed 2026-09-17 -
Not if you're flying from the UK. You will if you're 9 months or older and arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, which for Costa Rica also includes Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia, but excludes Argentina and Panama. Staying inside the international transit area at an airport doesn't count. This catches people combining Costa Rica with South America.
Samit Patel Superintendent Pharmacist Reviewed 2026-09-17 -
It's the most likely thing to spoil a trip. The mosquitoes bite during the day, mainly in and around towns, so repellent, covered skin and screened rooms matter from morning onwards. There was a chikungunya outbreak on the Guanacaste coast in July 2026 too. See a doctor promptly if you develop a fever.
Samit Patel Superintendent Pharmacist Reviewed 2026-09-17 -
Ideally four to six weeks before you fly, and earlier if rabies is likely, as that's three doses over 28 days. If you're travelling sooner, an appointment is still worthwhile.
Samit Patel Superintendent Pharmacist Reviewed 2026-09-17 -
Most trips start at £205 for hepatitis A and a tetanus booster. Typhoid is £49 and rabies £240 if your itinerary calls for them. We'll confirm what's recommended before you pay for anything.
Samit Patel Superintendent Pharmacist Reviewed 2026-09-17
NaTHNaC Registered Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre
A Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre on the NaTHNaC register, and the same travel clinic that gives your other vaccinations.
GPhC registered premises
9011598
Private and NHS pharmacy services from one registered pharmacy in Ewell, Epsom.
Find the pharmacy
Where to come, and when
Ewell, Epsom, Surrey KT19 9UR
How to get here Parking, trains, buses and step-free access
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The door is on Chessington Road, with step-free access
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The station car park, on Station Approach off Chessington Road
- Address Elizabeth Court, Station Approach, KT17 1DR
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Step-free to all platforms, by a footbridge with lifts
- Step-free to every platform (National Rail step-free category A)
- Lifts two, on the footbridge
Checked against nationalrail.co.uk
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Outside the pharmacy, with a stop on each side of Chessington Road
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Cycle parking at the station
Take this with you
Point your phone's camera at the code and this page opens there, with the directions one tap away.
Checked against NaTHNaC TravelHealthPro on . Entry requirements change: check TravelHealthPro and FCDO before you travel.
Travel health
Book before you pack.
Questions first? Call us on 020 8393 1000
- Private and NHS
- GPhC premises 9011598
- Open until 6:30pm
Prefer to talk? 020 8393 1000