Costa Rica: Easter Holy Week March 25 to April 1

Event

Christian Holy Week will take place this year between Sunday, March 25 (Palm Sunday), and Sunday, April 1 (Easter Sunday). Holy Week is a major travel period in the region, when individuals visit family, go on vacation, or go on pilgrimage to religious sites. As such, increased congestion at travel hubs, demand for hotels (and higher prices), and car traffic in cities and on highways is to be anticipated, along with possible business, store, and government office closures.

Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación, the Costa Rican conservation agency, announced on Friday, March 23, that it would reinforce security around the protected wild areas to minimize the most frequent environmental crimes during Holy Week. An increased security presence on highways and at strategic points across the country, including protected wild areas where it is common for the number of visitors to increase during the week off, will aim to reduce the illegal cutting and transportation of wood, as well as the illicit transfer of flora and fauna.

Advice

Individuals in Costa Rica are advised to exercise increased vigilance in the coming days, to be prepared for increased congestion and longer travel times, and to cooperate with all official directives.