Women living in San José consider the safety level to be moderate, with an overall safety rating of 2.5 out of 5.
Women living in San José consider the crime rate to be moderate, with an overall crime rating of 2.5 out of 5.
On average 3% percentage of women in Costa Rica have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner at some time in their life, according to OECD Data.
Based on 3 experiences
Safety rating: | 2.5/5 | Unsafe |
Safety walking alone after dark: | 1.4/5 | Very Unsafe |
Safety using public transport: | 1.7/5 | Unsafe |
Crime rate: | 2.5/5 | Low |
Worries of being sexually harassed: | 1.1/5 | Not at all worried |
Worries of being sexually assaulted or raped: | 1.7/5 | A bit worried |
Worries of being physically attacked: | 1.4/5 | Not at all worried |
Worries of home broken and things stolen: | 1/5 | Not at all worried |
Worries of being mugged or robbed: | 2.6/5 | Moderate |
Worries of being kidnapped or murdered: | 2/5 | A bit worried |
Angie
Try not to carry many things of value like laptops or iPads. If you visibly look a foreigner (wearing travel gear and carrying backpacks) I'd be specially careful, try to travel as light as possible. If you are visiting the more touristic and transited sites of San José, I'd say the city is relatively safe to walk through up til 7-8 pm but after that I'd be careful, specially since some zones are more dangerous than others, mostly in terms of robbery. You should be mindful of your surroundings ALWAYS, if someone stops you in the street trying to talk to you out of nowhere, thread with caution. If you are looking to experience the nightlife, depending on the club you go to, you might need to keep a close watch on your phone and wallet.
Posted: March 20, 2025I won’t walk in San Jose alone at night, during day time I would only use my phone when urgent or quick things. I would rather use uber instead of public transportation. Sexual harassment is becoming less common but there’s still a long way to eradicate this
Posted: December 25, 2024I would not recommend walking around alone in the dark, just take care of your private things… Although most of the people are nice, most of them dont speak english. So it is good to know the basics in spanish
Posted: October 20, 2024based on 5 experiences from female travelers
I really didn’t like San Jose at all. Especially traveling solo as a woman. I was assaulted because i was wearing a non gold, but golden necklace. My neck was scratched open and I was pushed to the ground in plain daylight, in the middle of a busy street. The police was standing next to me and didn’t even react. In General I was catcalled a lot, I felt I was being observed and followed and avoided going out. I’m sure that there are nicer areas than the ones I was in but I really had no good time. BE CAREFUL ALWAYS! and don’t wear any jewelry!
Posted: February 24, 2025Jessica
Mexico
I felt good, I stayed at URBN Escalante and it was 1000/10. I recommend not staying too many days in San Jose and instead visiting other places like the beaches. Costa Rica in general is very expensive, like the USA. I loved Cacique Guaro.
Posted: May 27, 2024Silvia
Silvia, from Costa Rica. Love to travel, digital nomad.
Rebecca
I like it chill and peaceful. The perfect day in Costa Rica for me would be visiting a national parc, later rent 2 kayaks and spot some animals and in the evening grab cold drinks and enjoy the sunset preferably at the ocean :D