Costa Rica: souvenirs
Costa Rica's souvenirs are grown more than made - coffee, chocolate and the crafts of the oxcart tradition. Here is what travellers bring home from Costa Rica, where the good versions live, and the export questions worth a look - alongside our 126 written places.
The classic buys
Coffee from the valleys
Tarrazu and Central Valley beans - buy at farms or roasters; the hard-bean altitude grades carry the reputation.
Painted oxcart pieces
The Sarchi carreta-painting tradition (UNESCO-listed) - from full carts to painted trays and magnets from the workshops.
Chocolate and cacao tours' shop
Single-origin bars and cacao nibs from the farms reviving the old crop.
Boruca masks
The carved balsa devil-masks of the Boruca people - buy from community sellers where the carver is named.
Wood, sustainably sourced
Bowls and boards labelled with plantation species - reputable shops state the wood.
Hot sauces and Lizano
The national salsa and the chilera tradition - pantry souvenirs from any supermarket.
Check before you buy
- Wildlife and plant rules are strict in the eco-flag country - no shells, coral, butterflies or orchids without permits.
- Raw cacao and plant products face rules at strict destinations - processed bars are simple.
- Boruca masks from middlemen underpay carvers - community shops fix that.
✗ Better left behind
- Anything from the sea or forest 'found' - protected, and searched for.
- 'Pura vida' tat made offshore - the coffee farm's beans are the honest phrase.
Markets shift, workshops close and open, and the best souvenir is still the one with a story you were there for. Buy from makers where you can, keep receipts for anything substantial, and when a deal feels too good, it usually is.