Costa Rica
Lost a wedding ring on a Costa Rica trip?
The beach towns each have an area page; San José, Arenal and the Golfo Dulce are covered here.
Having left the place does not rule out a search. A wedding band or watch that went missing in a San José park, on a lakeshore or on a beach can be looked for when the place can be narrowed down, and two things settle it: which stop of the trip it was, and whether you were in the water or on dry ground.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone lost in Costa Rica. Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the place, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
The beaches of Guanacaste, the Central Pacific and the Caribbean coast have three area pages of their own. San José, La Fortuna, Lake Arenal, Golfito and Pavones are described on this one.
Inland to San José and Arenal, and south to the Golfo Dulce
Not every loss in Costa Rica happens on a beach. San José, the capital, sits in the Central Valley, and La Fortuna is the Northern Plains town that is home to Arenal Volcano. There the ground is a city park, a street or a lakeshore, and our questions change with it.
In the south, the Golfo Dulce, a tropical fjord, gives the Golfito area calm water, beaches and mangroves. Pavones, in the same canton, is another matter: a beach of gray sand where the waves are heavy.
What you can count on from us
Write from the road
You can message from the bus to your next stop or from home. It all reaches one person at Ring Seekers, and a detail that comes back to you days later joins what we already have.
What goes to the detectorist
Your map pin, your photos and your list of stops are handed on, so the detectorist knows which park, lakeshore or beach to head for and why you suspect it.
Several stops can mean thinner odds
A ring that went at one of several stops, with no clue which, is harder than one lost at a single spot. When your account points to poor odds, our reply says so.
Nothing moves without your go-ahead
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and the search is only arranged once you have told us to go ahead.
Our Ring Finder Service Locations in Costa Rica
Where in Costa Rica it went missing
If it was a beach town, the first three cards send you to the right area page. If it was the capital, the Arenal area or the Golfo Dulce, the card for it is here.
Pick the stop where you last had it
Guanacaste
For Tamarindo and Playa Grande, Playas del Coco, Playa Flamingo, Playa Conchal, Nosara with Guiones and Pelada, or Sámara, turn to the Guanacaste page, which goes beach by beach.
Central Pacific
Jacó, Quepos, Manuel Antonio and its park beaches, Santa Teresa, Montezuma, Dominical and Uvita each have a card of their own on the Central Pacific page.
Caribbean coast
A loss in Puerto Limón, on the Tortuguero canals, at Cahuita and its park beaches, in Puerto Viejo, or on the coast from Playa Cocles to Punta Uva and Manzanillo belongs on the Caribbean coast page.
Downtown San José
Central Park is the heart of the capital, and thousands of people on foot set off from it on their way to the day's business. The Plaza de la Cultura stands next to the National Theater. For a loss in town, give us the avenue and street you were on, or the nearest plaza or park.
La Sabana
Parque Metropolitano La Sabana, in San José, is given over to sport, culture and recreation. The National Stadium stands inside it, along with an athletics track and fields and courts for many sports. Around its edge are the Museo de Arte Costarricense and the Karen Olsen road safety park. Tell us which field, court or path you were on.
La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano
Many trips around the Northern Plains leave from La Fortuna, the town that is home to Arenal Volcano. The volcano has two faces, one green with forest, the other rugged with lava and sand. Tell us which one you visited and where you stopped along the way.
Lake Arenal
Lake Arenal lies a few kilometers from the center of La Fortuna. People go out on it on boat tours and in kayaks, fish from it, water ski, windsurf and paddleboard. Where you set off from the shore is the first thing we ask about.
Golfito
Golfito lies on the Golfo Dulce, and boat trips on the bay, sport fishing and swimming are typical of a stay there. Boats leave from the town's marinas and from the municipal pier known as the Muellecito, so tell us which one you were at. Cacao and Zancudo are two of the beaches nearby.
Pavones
Pavones, in the canton of Golfito, is a meeting place for surfers, known for its long left wave, its gray sand and its heavy waves, and surf classes run there. For a loss in the water, tell us whether you were paddling out, sitting on the board or wading back in.
Places we cover in Costa Rica
- Tamarindo, Guanacaste
- Playas del Coco, Guanacaste
- Playa Flamingo, Guanacaste
- Playa Conchal, Guanacaste
- Nosara and Playa Guiones, Guanacaste
- Playa Grande, Guanacaste
- Sámara, Guanacaste
- Jacó
- Quepos
- Manuel Antonio and its park beaches
- Punta Uvita, the Whale's Tail
- Santa Teresa
- Montezuma
- Dominical
- Puerto Limón
- Cahuita village
- Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
- Playa Cocles
- Cahuita National Park beaches
- Punta Uva and Manzanillo
- The Tortuguero canals
- San José
- Parque Metropolitano La Sabana, San José
- La Fortuna
- Lake Arenal
- Golfito, Playa Cacao and Zancudo
- Pavones
Missing after a day out in Costa Rica
Rings and jewelry
- Wedding and engagement rings
- Hoops, studs and ear cuffs
- A gold chain with its pendant
- Charm bracelets
- Rings handed down in the family
Metal you carry every day
- Dive watches and smartwatches
- Your Oura ring
- A phone
- Rental car keys
- House and cabin keys
- Reading glasses and sunglasses with wire frames
The stop where it happened
- A kayak outing on Lake Arenal
- A soccer game at La Sabana
- A walk through Central Park in San José
- Boarding a boat at the Muellecito in Golfito
- A boat trip on the Golfo Dulce
- A surf class at Pavones
Setting up a search after the trip
It works the same way for a city park as for a surf beach.
The trip, stop by stop
Send a WhatsApp message saying what is missing, then list the stops of your trip in order, from the last time you are sure you had it to the moment you noticed.
A pin for the likeliest stop
Of all the stops, pin the one you suspect most. Any holiday snap taken there is useful, and so is a close look at the item, from a jeweler's photo or a zoomed-in picture.
Matched to the place you pinned
With the stop settled, we line up a detectorist able to get there and hand over your pin, photos and notes as one brief.
Searched, and told plainly how it went
Once you have agreed, the search takes place, and you hear how it went in plain words, including what ground was covered if nothing turned up.
Questions about Costa Rica
A smartwatch was gone by the time we got back from a kayak trip on Lake Arenal.
It may not have gone on the water at all. Tell us where you put in, where you stopped along the shore, and what you did between the lake and La Fortuna afterwards. If it came off out on the open lake, it is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Nobody can find my phone after our soccer game at La Sabana.
La Sabana has fields and courts for many sports, from soccer and beach soccer to rugby and baseball, so name the one you played on and say where your bag sat along the side. If you walked on to the National Stadium or the art museum afterwards, pin that route as well.
Our daughter lost her bracelet while playing at the road safety park beside La Sabana.
The Karen Olsen road safety park is an area of signed streets and miniature buildings, so ask her which street or building she was playing near. A photo of that corner with the little buildings behind helps the detectorist find the same place.
Somewhere around Central Park and the National Theater in San José, an earring fell out.
Central Park is where a great many people on foot start out on their day in town, so a pin on the exact bench or corner tells us more than the name of the park. Pin where you noticed, list the avenues and streets you walked, and tell us if you stopped in the Plaza de la Cultura beside the theater.
Before our boat across the Golfo Dulce, I put my metal-framed sunglasses down somewhere on the Golfito waterfront.
Boats across the gulf leave from the municipal pier known as the Muellecito, and others go from the town's marinas, so tell us which one you left from. Pin where you waited to board and send a photo of the frames.
Surf class at Pavones this morning, and now my Oura ring is missing.
The waves at Pavones are heavy, so the first thing to pin down is whether the ring went in the water or on the gray sand. Tell us where the class met on the beach, how the session went, and when you noticed. If it came off as you peeled off a rash guard afterwards, that spot on the beach matters more.
Costa Rica
Name the stop, and we take it from there
Tell us on WhatsApp which stop of the trip you think it was, and drop a map pin there. What went missing and when you noticed can follow in the next message.