Every time I’m flying to Costa Rica, the airport agent in my departing country has but only one pressing question:

Do you have a ticket out?

And obviously I say yes, because I’ve been doing this for more years than LIFE ITSELF. At least it seems that way anyway. But “yes” is not enough to satisfy the hungry airport agent, who needs to see what’s called “Proof of Exit” before s/he will let you board.

Proof of Exit is a mandatory requirement by Costa Rican immigration officials who want to make sure that once you enter the country, you’ve got an exit ticket back out—and you’re not actually going to stay here and hang out and work and live off the land. (Much as you might want to.) So you must have a return airline ticket, or an airline ticket to somewhere, or even a bus ticket out of the country and over to Panama or Nicaragua, departing within 90 days of your arrival. (That’s the standard length of a tourist visa in Costa Rica.) And trust me, they WILL count the days.

But here’s the tricky part: you really have to have this purchased before you depart for Costa Rica. You can’t buy it while you’re IN Costa Rica, because that defeats the purpose. You’ve got to have it prior to leaving, and the check-in agent at the airport in your home city WILL ask you for Proof of Exit when you’re checking into your flight—so it’s not just Costa Rican immigration officials. Everyone in the airline industry knows that you need this to enter Costa Rica, and they’ll get fined if they let you slide and board that plane.

The easiest thing is to purchase a round-trip ticket, which will satisfy the requirements. But if you’re anything like me, you show up in a country and don’t necessarily have a pre-determined date in mind for when you’re leaving, per se, so if that’s the case, just book a ticket out for anytime closest to 90 days…and then change it later if you decide to leave sooner.

#PROTIP: Right now with COVID, most airlines aren’t charging any change fees…so you can use that to your advantage. :)

#DOUBLEPROTIP: If you really aren’t sure, just book a cheap flight out to Panama City within 90 days and then figure out your actual itinerary later.