---
title: "Living in Nosara as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/nosara
description: "Guanacaste surf and yoga town in Costa Rica's Blue Zone, at a price"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Nosara, Costa Rica

Nosara scores 58.3/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 658 of 1000 cities. Expect about $1,700 per month (country-level estimate), a nomad visa (Remote worker and service provider stay (digital nomad permit)), and a measured median download speed of 29.9 Mbps.

Nosara is a spread-out surf and yoga community behind Playa Guiones on the Nicoya Peninsula, with a wellness-minded expat population and building rules that keep the beachfront undeveloped. It is one of the most expensive places in Costa Rica, roads are unpaved and Liberia's airport is about 2.5 hours away, though Sansa flies into the local airstrip.

Known for: Playa Guiones surf, Yoga retreats, Nicoya Blue Zone, Dirt roads.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 58.3 |
| Cost of living | 39 |
| Safety | 57 |
| Healthcare | 82 |
| Internet | 65 |
| Visa ease | 92 |
| Getting there & around | 39 |
| Climate | 17 |
| Air quality | 67 |
| Quality of life | 68 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,700 | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 17.12 | country | 2024 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 87 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 84 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 78.6 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 29.9 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 9.9 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | Remote worker and service provider stay (digital nomad permit) (min $3,000/mo) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^10] |
| Visa guide | [Costa Rica long-stay visa guide](https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/costa-rica) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | 180 days / 180 days / 180 days | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (NOB/LIR) | 32 | city | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 2 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 2 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 20 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.833 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | moderate | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 27.7 | 7 | 69 | yes |
| Feb | 28.4 | 4 | 64 | no |
| Mar | 29 | 5 | 63 | no |
| Apr | 29.3 | 38 | 66 | no |
| May | 28.3 | 220 | 77 | no |
| Jun | 27.3 | 227 | 84 | no |
| Jul | 27.4 | 182 | 82 | no |
| Aug | 27.3 | 227 | 82 | no |
| Sep | 26.8 | 303 | 85 | no |
| Oct | 26.4 | 337 | 86 | no |
| Nov | 26.4 | 151 | 84 | no |
| Dec | 26.9 | 24 | 78 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nosara Airport | NOB | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Guanacaste Airport | LIR | 31 | 26 | 19 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 32, of which 26 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Tamarindo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/tamarindo) (59.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/nosara-vs-tamarindo)
- [Uvita](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/uvita) (61.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/nosara-vs-uvita)
- [La Fortuna](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/la-fortuna) (61.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/la-fortuna-vs-nosara)
- [Santa Teresa](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/santa-teresa) (56) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/nosara-vs-santa-teresa)
- [Puerto Viejo de Talamanca](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/puerto-viejo-de-talamanca) (61.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/nosara-vs-puerto-viejo-de-talamanca)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Nosara as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $1,700 per month in Nosara (a country-level estimate for Costa Rica). That is a 39/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Nosara safe for digital nomads?

Nosara scores 57/100 on safety. Costa Rica records 17.12 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 87/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Costa Rica have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Costa Rica offers the Remote worker and service provider stay (digital nomad permit) with a minimum income of about $3,000 per month. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying. Full guide: https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/costa-rica

### How fast is the internet in Nosara?

Measured median download speed in Nosara was 29.9 Mbps (upload 9.9 Mbps) across 1,112 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Is Starlink available in Nosara?

Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Costa Rica (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Nosara. Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.

### Which airports serve Nosara and how many nonstop flights are there?

Nosara is served by Nosara Airport (NOB) with 2 nonstop destinations and Guanacaste Airport (LIR) with 31 nonstop destinations, 32 unique destinations across all of them, of which 26 are international. 19 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

### When is the best time of year to be in Nosara?

The most comfortable months are Jan, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 80°F (26°C) in Oct to 85°F (29°C) in Apr (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Nosara or Tamarindo: which is better for digital nomads?

Tamarindo is the city with the closest factor profile to Nosara in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Plan a trip

[Where to stay in Nosara](https://navoy.io/hotels/costa-rica/nosara) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Nostos long-stay visa guides, Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/visas (retrieved 2026-10-04)
[^11]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^12]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^16]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^18]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/nosara