No visa needed

Do citizens of Panama need a visa for Costa Rica?

Citizens of Panama don’t need a visa for Costa Rica and can stay up to 180 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 Panama: the passport opens 88 countries visa-free; Panama City — San José: ≈ 510 km, about 1 hour of flying.

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

At a glance

No visa needed

Stay: 180 days

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

Yes, citizens of Panama don’t need a visa for Costa Rica for up to 180 days. A valid passport is enough.

Costa Rica visa rules at a glance

With a Panama passport you can visit 88 countries visa-free, 31 with a visa on arrival and 46 with an e-visa; 33 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Panama passport ranks 69th of 199.
Panama passport: visa-free access to 88 countries; Costa Rica passport: 90.
Citizens of Panama and Costa Rica can travel together visa-free to 81 countries, for example: Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Ecuador, Jamaica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Saint Lucia, and Barbados.
A language both countries share: Spanish.
Panama and Costa Rica share a border, so you can also travel overland.
Citizens of Costa Rica, in turn, don’t need a visa for Panama. Panama visa for citizens of Costa Rica

Travelling to Costa Rica: good to know

Panama City — San José: about 510 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 1 hour.
Time difference with your country’s capital: −1 hour.
Local time: Panama City 12:00 — San José 11:00.
Local currency: Costa Rican Colón.
Languages: Spanish.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ CRC 454.
Costa Rica is the 1st closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of Panama.