Driving in Costa Rica on a South Korean Licence — No IDP Needed, but Mind the Mountain Roads

Costa Rica is built for the self-drive traveller — beaches, cloud forest and volcanoes all within a few hours of each other — and for a Korean driver the paperwork is refreshingly light. The roads themselves are where the trip earns its reputation.

The verdict for a South Korean licence

You can drive in Costa Rica on your South Korean licence for up to 90 days, and no International Driving Permit is required by law. Your tourist entry stamp sets the clock, so keep your passport with the licence. That is genuinely the whole licence story — Costa Rica is one of the more relaxed destinations for documentation.

You keep the right — but slow down

Costa Rica drives on the right, the same as South Korea, so there is no side switch to fight. What replaces it is the terrain. Away from the San José ring and the few toll motorways, roads turn narrow and steep, with one-lane bridges (yield to oncoming traffic), sharp drop-offs and potholes that appear without warning after rain. The urban limit is a low 40 km/h, rural roads 60, and the motorway sections 100 — but realistic speeds on the mountain routes are far below the signs.

Speed fines bite

Enforcement is real and the penalties are heavy for the region: being caught over the limit costs around CRC 53,000 (≈ €95), paid through the system rather than at the roadside. The alcohol limit is 0.05 BAC — slightly above Korea’s 0.03 but still low — so keep it to none before driving.

Practical notes

Fuel costs about $1.28 a litre and prices are fixed nationwide, so there is no bargain station to hunt for. A 4WD is worth it in the rainy season for the unpaved routes to the smaller beaches and lodges. Download offline maps before you leave the capital — signal disappears quickly in the hills.

See the full rules on our Costa Rica driving guide, confirm your documents with the Driving Permit Checker, and estimate any penalty with the Speeding Fine Calculator.