Naturism in Costa Rica: laws and customs

At a glance

What the law says

The Criminal Code treats nudity among the misdemeanours against public morals. Article 392 punishes with 5 to 30 day-fines "a quien, en lugar público, se mostrare desnudo o exhibiere sus órganos genitales". The same article also punishes acts or exhibitions that are "indecorosas o deshonestas" in a public place or in a private place exposed to view (SINALEVI, Código Penal art. 392). We have not verified how much a day-fine is worth in practice.

Much more serious is showing your genitals to someone with a sexual connotation and without their consent, or masturbating, in public space or on public transport: since 2020, under the law against street harassment, it is a crime punished with prison from 6 months to 1 year or 30 to 45 day-fines (SINALEVI, Código Penal art. 175 ter).

Where you can be naked

In Costa Rica there are no legal nudist beaches. For a lawyer interviewed by La Teja in 2025, nudism "es ilegal" in public places, while on private property it is "todo bien" (La Teja). Nudity is lawful on private property as long as it is not exposed to view. The places in our list are in Guanacaste and Limón: you can find them in the list of naturist places in Costa Rica.

Tolerated beaches and bans

The beaches used for nudism are usually secluded and hard to reach, and people go there "de a callado", informally (La Teja). On Reddit several Costa Ricans confirm that there are no official beaches, but there are some where nudity "is known and tolerated", because Europeans go there and "the locals have got used to it". One says that on the southern Pacific coast, in the low season, nudity is "very normal"; for another, though, Costa Rica "is not ready yet" for nudist beaches and nudity should be kept to private places (Reddit). We have not verified how far the law is enforced on these beaches.

The local mood

In Costa Rica the safe option for naturists is private venues. The country is religious: half of Costa Ricans say they are Catholic and a third evangelical (UNA Comunica), and the weight of evangelicals is growing. The law expressly forbids appearing naked in public, though the fine is light.

Foreign tourism, however, has created de facto tolerance on some secluded beaches on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. We found no surveys on nudity.

Naturist associations

Costa Rica has a federation in INF-FNI, the international federation (INF-FNI).

LGBTQ+ travellers

No legal risk: same-sex relations have been legal since 1971, and same-sex couples have been able to adopt since 2020 (ILGA).