Shabbat in San José (Costa Rica)

No eruv

Chabad Costa Rica's Shabbat page states "We don't have an Eruv in Costa Rica" (read 1 Nov 2026); Chabad Jaco also states there is none in Jaco. No eruv is listed by the Centro Israelita Sionista either. Treat Shabbat as no-carry everywhere in the country. There is no status page.

The Kosher Center

Restaurant, take-out, butcher, deli and bakery; Shabbat meals offered and packed for reheating at hotels with Spanish instructions (reviews). TotallyJewishTravel says order at least 10 days ahead; a reviewer gave 2 weeks. Meat and pareve, no dairy listed.

Hours: Mon-Thu 8:00-17:00; Fri 8:00-15:00; Sat closed; Sun 11:00-16:00 (Google, rechecked 1 Nov 2026; TotallyJewishTravel shows Fri to 16:00) · +506 2232-2991

Super Kosher (shop and deli)

Imported US and Israeli products plus deli and prepared meals; reviewers say it delivers outside the city. Shabbat or hotel meal service not confirmed. Reviewers call prices very high.

Hours: Friday to 16:00; Sat closed. Chabad page: Sun-Thu 8:00-17:00, Fri 8:00-16:00. Google (rechecked 1 Nov 2026): Mon-Thu 9:00-17:00, Fri 9:00-16:00, Sun 9:00-15:00. Both agree on the Friday 16:00 close; opening time and Sunday differ, so call · +506 7100-1911

Kosher Gourmet (Chabad catering, kosher-costarica.com)

Chabad's page says regular and Shabbat meals are ordered online at kosher-costarica.com; site says orders need 48 hours' notice and it delivers in San José and nationwide (Chabad adds a fee outside San José). Hotels and delivery areas are picked at checkout; prices not published. Chabad hosts no Friday-night meal, so this is the Friday-night option.

Hours: Online orders, 48 h notice; Chabad office Mon-Fri 8:00-17:00 · +506 4010-1515 · info.jabadcostarica@gmail.com · kosher-costarica.com

Chabad House kosher meat and chicken (Escazú Village)

Sells raw kosher meat and chicken; ynet also lists a kosher store and bakery at the Chabad House (hours not found). Shabbat-day lunch is at the shul, see shuls. Do not bring raw meat from abroad: customs confiscates it.

Hours: Mon-Fri 8:00-17:00 (Chabad office hours); Sat closed · +506 4010-1515

Daphy's Café (reposteria, cafeteria, kosher)

Café with pastries, challah, sandwiches and desserts; no Shabbat meals found. Closed Saturday.

Hours: Mon-Thu 11:00-20:00; Fri 10:00-15:00; Sat closed; Sun 9:00-16:00 · +506 7094-7912

Izu's Place Complex (Jaco: Israeli deli, dairy and meat restaurant, Shabbat meals; also a guesthouse)

Google reviews describe Shabbat meals and Shabbat dinners with the local community, an Israeli-style deli with dairy and meat dining, and takeout. Supervision, Shabbat prices and booking are not published in anything read: ask. Chabad Jaco's own lodging list does not name it.

Hours: Daily 8:00-22:00 (Google Maps; Shabbat arrangements not stated) · +506 8529 8969 · izusplace.com

Sabress Kosher Restaurant (Jaco: Moroccan and Israeli; dairy cafe inside)

Reviewers (Google, 436 ratings, 4.7) report dining in and ordering takeout 'during the week and for Shabbat'; the owners are named as Izu and Toni, as at Izu's Place. Closed Saturday; call for the Shabbat order deadline and supervision.

Hours: Mon-Thu 12:00-21:00; Fri 11:30-15:30; Sat closed; Sun 12:00-21:00 (Google Maps usual hours) · +506 2643 4047

Mikvah at the Centro Israelita Sionista (per Chabad Costa Rica and TotallyJewishTravel)

Booking: Chabad's older Mikvah page (undated) says it is at the CIS and to call for an appointment: Chana Spalter +506 6045-7439, Emilia +506 8891-2172 or Shulamit +506 8303-3900 (names suggest women's use; hours, men/women and fees not stated). Chabad's newer page says to email info.jabadcostarica@gmail.com or call +506 4010-1515 for the person in charge. CIS office +506 2520-1013. Confirm the numbers are current

• CIS needs advance clearance for visitors: its site publishes no rule, but reviewers say to send passport details about a week ahead, and one waited 1.5 hours at the gate even when pre-approved. Call +506 2520-1013 or email info@centroisraelita.com as early as you can and carry your original passport (a 2014 Jewish Chronicle visit report says guards check names and passport photos at the gate; a 2017 account of San José shuls, synagogue not named, also mentions a letter from your home rabbi, so bring one if you have it). CIS publishes no service times, so ask for Friday and Shabbat times when you register.
• Chabad Costa Rica is in Escazú Village (opposite Walmart), about 1.4 km west of CIS, not in Rohrmoser. Shabbat lunch after Shacharit is a USD 36 donation per person with no reservation (groups call first); no Friday-night meal is hosted, so order from Kosher Gourmet (kosher-costarica.com, 48 h notice) or The Kosher Center (about 10 days' notice).
• Stay near the shul you will use: Rohrmoser (Hilton Garden Inn, Babylon Apart-Hotel, Q-Bo Skyhomes) for CIS, or Escazú (Wyndham Garden, Hotel Portal Colonial) for Chabad. The two are about 1.4 km apart, a taxi ride rather than a Shabbat walk. Hotel Shabbat features are not published, and Booking.com Q&A (Nov 2026) says the Hilton Garden Inn, Wyndham Garden and Residence Inn issue electronic key cards only (no metal key), so ask the desk about Shabbat options and a low floor before you book.
• Kosher Center, Daphy's Café and Super Kosher close Friday at 15:00-16:00 and Shabbat starts early (Chabad's site shows candle lighting 4:54 PM Fri Nov 6, Shabbat out 5:44 PM Sat Nov 7), so shop by midday. Walmart and Auto Mercado stock products with US symbols (OU, OK, KofK); Super Kosher is pricey. No kosher outlet at SJO was found, so bring food or pre-order delivery.
• Beach options: Chabad Jaco (Rabbi Shaya Lipkin, WhatsApp +506 7288-8584, Shabbat meals via chabadjaco.com/shabbat/; no eruv; kosher Sabress restaurant; Chabad lists Villa Sammy's House 1 min and Hostel Casa de Shabat 2 min on foot, with Kabbalat Shabbat listed at 18:00, so confirm) and Chabad Santa Teresa (Rabbi Berel Dubinsky +506 8902-9749, chabadst.com). Chabad Tamarindo is seasonal (Dec-Apr per TotallyJewishTravel), so confirm. Chabad La Fortuna (Arenal volcano area, new in 2026; +506 7189-5585, chabad-lafortuna.com) offers Shabbat meals and kosher meal orders. In Jaco, Sabress and Izu's Place are listed under food. HIBA, a kosher dairy restaurant announced in Dec 2025 about 60-75 minutes south of San Jose (YeahThatsKosher; Mon-Thu evenings expected), could not be confirmed as open.
• There is no eruv anywhere in Costa Rica (Chabad Costa Rica's Shabbat page; Chabad Jaco says the same for Jaco), so carrying outside is not permitted on Shabbat. Ask your rabbi about keys and documents, and ask CIS in advance how its gate security works for Shabbat visitors.
• Book a taxi, Uber or hotel transfer before Shabbat; SJO to Rohrmoser is about 30 min off-peak, and reviewers report 40+ min in traffic to downtown. Rainy season runs May to November with afternoon downpours, so carry an umbrella for the walk to shul.

Seen in older guides, checked Nov 2026: Pita Rica (Rohrmoser): not found online as of Nov 2026 (Google Places, Chabad Costa Rica, CIS, Hebrew searches); status unknown, ask Chabad Costa Rica. · Little Israel: Google lists 'Little Israel - Plaza Maynard', an Israeli-style restaurant in Escazú (+506 2102 8191, no hours shown), and an old Tripadvisor forum post (about 2013) mentions Little Israel at Los Laureles, Escazú. No kosher supervision is stated on any page read, so not listed. · A Chabad-run kosher restaurant ('Kosher Grill'): not found online as of Nov 2026; Chabad Costa Rica's Kosher Food page lists only Kosher Gourmet catering, Super Kosher and the Chabad meat counter. · Menasci's (Calle Carso, Pavas): reviewers call it a home-run kosher Italian, takeout only, call first (+506 6047-9588, closed Friday), but no supervision is stated, so not listed. · Comunidad B'nei Israel (Progressive per eJewishPhilanthropy) and Beit Shalom (Masorti): non-Orthodox, excluded. No separate Sephardic minyan found. · Outside a 15-minute walk of CIS or Chabad: Crowne Plaza La Sabana (about 2 km from CIS), Barceló San José (about 1.6 km), Hilton San José La Sabana (about 1.1 km), Hotel Irazú (about 1.5 km across the Autopista), Park Inn by Radisson (about 2.8 km). Holiday Inn Express Forum is in Santa Ana, too far. · Jaco: TotallyJewishTravel lists a 'Chabad Jaco Pizza' (dairy and pareve, Chabad supervision, no hours or phone); not found in Google Places and not on Chabad Jaco's pages, so not listed. Izu's Place and Sabress, also on TotallyJewishTravel/Google, ARE listed under food (Google Places entries found 2 Nov 2026). Chabad Jaco's Friday-night dinner price was not found in Google reviews or search (checked 1 Nov 2026). · jabadcr.com did not load; chabadcostarica.com is Chabad's live site. TotallyJewishTravel's Super Kosher and Kosher Center listings have unfilled phone fields, so phones come from Google Places. · Cafeteria 'Taam Shel Paam' inside the Centro Israelita Sionista: named by an undated Hebrew travel guide (meda123.com); not confirmed as currently operating, so not listed. Ask the CIS office.