Central America - Costa Rican Currency and Other Travel Tips

Hello,
I'm sure this is a familiar question. Which currency should I be buying for an upcoming trip to Costa Rica?

I should add I am Canadian. I am attempting to determine whether the 'tourist' USD or the CRC is a better value/will present fewest problems.

I would also appreciate any other tips and suggestion regarding Costa Rica.

We will be flying to LIR and hanging out near at a resort near the volcano the a resort near Flamingo Beach.

Cheers

Don't even attempt to buy colones outside of Costa Rica. If you can find them at all, it will be at such an unfavorable rate to you. Wait until you get to Costa Rica. Most ATMs will dispense either US dollars or colones. You can pay for things like a taxi to your hotel in dollars. Make sure you have a mix of denominations: 1, 5, 10, 20, but try not to bring 50 and 100 bills. Many [most] places will balk at accepting bigger bills.

Tourist-oriented places (hotels, nice restuarants, tour operators) will take US dollars, although you'll probably get a better deal if you pay in colones. Dealing with smaller businesses, you'll need local currency.

We traveled throughout CR, and only needed colones for small purchases in sodas, some restaurants, and grocery stores (although most groceries took cc, no problem). Small US denominations are useful to have, and make sure they are in good shape; bills that would be accepted in the US are refused there, if they are in questionable condition.
We also found that we could combine currencies, especially useful when leaving.

It's great to have colones for small purchases, and places that don't take credit cards. I usually get some in a major airport's cash exchange place, or in the airport after my arrival.

I also make sure I have some USD, because as others have said, it's no problem to spend or change it in Costa Rica. I have seen where some places will not accept a particular year or series $100 bill, so I make sure I have a variety in hand.

I also have not had problems using Visa/Mastercard/AMEX at hotels in San Jose.

the particular series you have in mind is 100 dollars CBB2 , there was a batch of extremely high quality fakes that even the banks had big trouble with so dont bring those

in general 20 dollars or less ok , 50 and 100 will probably not be accepted in small places

credit card usage is widespread, I pay about 98% of my expenses with credit card

credit card usage is widespread, I pay about 98% of my expenses with credit card

Hmm interesting. Thanks all for the tips!

I assume all major credit cards? (MasterCard, Visa, Amex)

At home Amex isn't widely accepted. Same in Costa Rica?

We are overnighting in ORD so we will have some USD. I think I will focus on the CRC.

Any other general Costa Rican tips? ("I wish I knew ____ before I came here the first time.")

most major places will accept amex, smaller places may say "oops sorry, only visa or MC"

be very careful with your passports , usual suggestion is to leave originals in the room safe and carry a photocopy of the biographical page

petty theft is a concern, if you use a car make sure you dont leave valuables in plain sight (Example, expensive camera on the back of car)

when you leave you have to pay a 26 dollars departure tax at the airport , if you use your cc here you will pay a hefty cash advance fee so for this specific thing use CASH

right now we are in our dry season, make sure you stay hydrated and keep sun tan lotion handy (30 spf or higher)

are you going to rent a car?

The departure tax went up to $28 as of Nov. 1, payable in US dollars or the equivalent amount in colones.

Granted, the OP is Canadian, but the US embassy in San Jose has the highest number of emergency replacement passports issued of any US consular office in the world. Just to give you an idea of what a problem passport theft is ... :(

If your schedule allows it, on arrival at LIR you might want to walk to the arrivals lobby, and get in line to pay and recieve your departure tax.

By doing so you avoid having to wait in line when you might be running late for your flight on the departure day, and you have made sure to have the US currency needed to pay for it. The only downside is that it allows you the opportunity to lose it before leaving Costa Rica.

Wow, the OP has received some truly Sterling advice here! I've led tour groups to Costa Rica, and have been going there since the Colon was... iirc, ₡7.50 per US dollar; today, it is ₡503.920 to the dollar...

Once upon a time, before the Nicaraguan issue, Costa Rica was very safe - that is no longer true and petty theft is very common, and U S / Canadian passports have a significant black market value.

I take clean, uncreased US $20s, and use an ATM on arrival to get some Colones as one will undoubtedly need some. Not too many, because one can use US dollars in many instances, and Colones are pretty worthless outside of Costa Rica (and you do not want not be queuing at any exchange counters on departure).

AMEX is useful at most larger stores, hotels, restaurants, but most medium to small merchants will prefer VISA and MasterCard by far - lower charges for processing and faster times.

If I didn't mention it before, watch your valuables! :)