Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bambous and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Bambous: $537 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Bambous
🇲🇺 Mauritius
$537
/mo nomad
Nosara
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
$1,839
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bambous and in Nosara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bambous and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $537 in Bambous versus $1,839 in Nosara.

  • Bambous $537
  • Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $901 in Bambous versus $2,828 in Nosara.

  • Bambous $901
  • Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,265 in Bambous versus $3,818 in Nosara.

  • Bambous $1,265
  • Nosara $3,818

Living in Bambous costs roughly 71% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bambous is 60% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Bambous
Nosara
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$4.16 MUR 196
$12.35 ₡5,539
-66.32%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$37.24 MUR 1,753
$61.2 ₡27.4K
-39.13%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.26 MUR 201
$7.52 ₡3,373
-43.35%
Cappuccino
$2.14 MUR 101
$4.41 ₡1,978
-51.47%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.02 MUR 48.07
$1.74 ₡780
-41.38%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.40 MUR 19.06
$1.31 ₡587
-69.47%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.65 MUR 125
$3.28 ₡1,471
-19.21%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.56 MUR 73.6
$4.47 ₡2,004
-65.10%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Bambous
Nosara
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.15 MUR 54.1
$1.56 ₡701
-26.28%
White Bread (500g)
$0.72 MUR 33.68
$3.02 ₡1,355
-76.16%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.07 MUR 50.4
$2.51 ₡1,125
-57.37%
Eggs
$2.45 MUR 115
$3.57 ₡1,603
-31.37%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$5.31 MUR 250
$7.43 ₡3,333
-28.53%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.14 MUR 148
$10.52 ₡4,717
-70.15%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$4.15 MUR 195
$13.97 ₡6,265
-70.29%
Apples (1kg)
$2.13 MUR 100
$2.35 ₡1,052
-9.36%
Banana (1kg)
$2.66 MUR 125
$1.61 ₡720
65.22%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.44 MUR 67.6
$4.80 ₡2,152
-70.00%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.88 MUR 136
$1.61 ₡724
78.88%
Potato (1kg)
$0.99 MUR 46.53
$3.80 ₡1,703
-73.95%
Onion (1kg)
$0.99 MUR 46.58
$3.69 ₡1,657
-73.17%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.69 MUR 32.59
$1.13 ₡507
-38.94%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.83 MUR 39.14
$2.66 ₡1,191
-68.80%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.49 MUR 306
$5.18 ₡2,321
25.29%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.35 MUR 393
$19.88 ₡8,916
-58.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.69 MUR 79.5
$2.90 ₡1,300
-41.72%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.36 MUR 111
$3.63 ₡1,626
-34.99%
🚌 Getting Around
Bambous
Nosara
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
-
$1.12 ₡504
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$72.6 ₡32.6K
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.19 MUR 197
$2.14 ₡958
95.79%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.23 MUR 152
$1.57 ₡703
105.73%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$21.46 MUR 1,010
$8.52 ₡3,823
151.88%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.39 MUR 65.4
$1.52 ₡682
-8.55%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$36.9K MUR 1.7M
$21.6K ₡9.7M
70.65%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$30.9K MUR 1.5M
$34.5K ₡15.5M
-10.59%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Bambous
Nosara
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$44.49 MUR 2,095
$96.3 ₡43.2K
-53.80%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$10.50 MUR 494
$35.89 ₡16.1K
-70.74%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$28.85 MUR 1,358
$53.6 ₡24.0K
-46.17%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Bambous
Nosara
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
-
$71.6 ₡32.1K
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$34.91 ₡15.7K
-
Cinema Ticket
$6.18 MUR 291
$7.89 ₡3,539
-21.67%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Bambous
Nosara
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$124 MUR 5,861
$494 ₡221.6K
-74.81%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,510 MUR 353.6K
$11.9K ₡5.3M
-36.67%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Bambous
Nosara
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$77.0 MUR 3,624
$53.9 ₡24.2K
42.71%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$72.3 MUR 3,403
$55.4 ₡24.8K
30.43%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$120 MUR 5,646
$77.9 ₡34.9K
53.91%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$76.4 MUR 3,598
$79.6 ₡35.7K
-3.99%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Bambous
Nosara
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$788 ₡353.4K
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$794 ₡356.2K
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
-
$3,939 ₡1.8M
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
-
$1,419 ₡636.5K
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$6,912 ₡3.1M
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$1,224 ₡549.0K
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Bambous
Nosara
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$864 ₡387.3K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
6.67
8.62
-22.62%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bambous: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Bambous
$171
Nosara
$352 106% $181
Clothing & Footwear
Bambous
$156
Nosara
$120 22.8% $35
Eating Out
Bambous
$94
Nosara
$212 126% $118
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Bambous
$84
Nosara
$186 122% $102
Getting Around
Bambous
$20 *
Nosara
$87 329% $67
Sport & Entertainment
Bambous
$12 *
Nosara
$87 607% $75
Accommodation & Living
Bambous
- *
Nosara
$794

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $37.00 in Bambous vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $171 vs $352 per month, with Bambous cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇲🇺 Bambous
🇨🇷 Nosara
🕒 Local time
16:29 4:29 PM
06:29 6:29 AM
10 h behind Bambous
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
15,300
4,912
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MUR – Mauritian Rupee Converter

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 47.08 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.93 MUR (100 MUR = 1.89 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Bambous Nosara 15,900 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Bambous
  • Nosara

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index
Bambous vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Bambous and in Nosara?
Bambous and Nosara differ by about 242% in total monthly costs ($537 vs $1,839 including rent). Bambous is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
What salary covers living expenses in Bambous compared to Nosara?
You'd need roughly $805 in Bambous and $2,758 in Nosara to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Bambous and Nosara?
Childcare runs $124 in Bambous versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
Dining out is cheaper in Bambous – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
At $537 in Bambous versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bambous but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Bambous the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Bambous and Nosara?
Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.
Is Bambous or Nosara safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Bambous and Nosara are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Where should expats move: Bambous or Nosara?
Expats usually find Bambous gentler on the wallet – expenses run 242% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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