No visa needed

Do citizens of Costa Rica need a visa for Bulgaria?

Citizens of Costa Rica don’t need a visa for Bulgaria and can stay up to 90 days. You need a valid passport; border officers may ask for a return ticket and accommodation. For a longer stay you need a visa or an extension.

For citizens of Costa Rica: the passport opens 90 countries visa-free; San José — Sofia: ≈ 10,640 km, about 14 hours of flying.

Checked by visa analyst Albert Brown, 13 years of experience · September 26, 2026

At a glance

No visa needed

Stay: 90 days

Can I travel to Bulgaria without a visa on a Costa Rica passport?

Yes, citizens of Costa Rica don’t need a visa for Bulgaria for up to 90 days. A valid passport is enough.

Bulgaria visa rules at a glance

With a Costa Rica passport you can visit 90 countries visa-free, 31 with a visa on arrival and 48 with an e-visa; 29 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Costa Rica passport ranks 67th of 199.
Costa Rica passport: visa-free access to 90 countries; Bulgaria passport: 119.
Citizens of Costa Rica and Bulgaria can travel together visa-free to 86 countries, for example: Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Venezuela, Mexico, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Citizens of Bulgaria, in turn, don’t need a visa for Costa Rica. Costa Rica visa for citizens of Bulgaria

Travelling to Bulgaria: good to know

San José — Sofia: about 10,640 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 14 hours.
Time difference with your country’s capital: +9 hours.
Local time: San José 12:00 — Sofia 21:00.
Local currency: Euro.
Languages: Bulgarian.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ €0.88.
Bulgaria is the 100th closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of Costa Rica.