Playa de Coco - Clearance

See Costa Rica Formalities for full details on clearing into and out of Costa Rica.

General Process:

Checking in:

The check-in process here is reported to be straight-forward with friendly officials throughout.  First stop is Immigration, then take the paperwork to the Port Captain. Fill out their forms and they will issue another form to take to Aduana (Customs) officials at the Liberia airport. 

Take a bus or taxi (about US$80 for a taxi round trip) to the airport.  Go to the Arrival area security desk and ask them to call Customs for a vessel check-in.  The Customs Officer will take your documents and copies and return in about 15 minutes. Once you receive your import permit from Customs (for the boat), return to the Port Captain who will finalize all the paperwork.   Boat permits are issued for 90 days.   (Note:  A cruiser report in May 2022 indicated that Customs officials could only issue a 10 day permit due to a "glitch" in their system.) 

Allow up to six hours to get everything done.   Three copies of all papers, including passports, will be required.

Checking out:

The international check-out procedure is Port Captain (to get the bank info as well as latest rules), Customs at the airport, bank (to pay port fee), Immigration, Port Captain (who will give you the exit zarpe).

Notes:

• While clearance is possible at nearby Marina Papagayo, it is mandatory that a clearance agent is used at the marina with associated costs in the region of $500. Arrangements for clearance at the marina must be made in advance and the decision to stay and use an agent cannot be done once you have arrived at the marina.

Last updated:  May 2022