How To Exchange Money In Costa Rica

Last Updated: March 5, 2022

If you're a first time visitor to Costa Rica, you probably ingest roughly questions related to money. Mayhap you're wondering about the best way to exchange currency or want no doubt you can employ your credit wit during your travels. Or maybe you want to know if it is customary to tip in Costa Rica. Therein C. W. Post, we'll response these questions and more to get you ready for your trip.

Currency, Exchanging Money, and Tipping in Costa Rica

Currency and Exchange Rate

Costa Rica's currency is the colon (₡), named after Christopher Columbus. It comes in both paper and coin form. The newspaper money goes from bills of ₡1,000 (called a "cc" (Spanish for 1,000) or "un rojo" because of the neb's red color) to ₡50,000, but we've never seen anything higher than ₡20,000 come out of the ATM. Coins fit from an almost worthless ₡5 to ₡500 ("quinientos" (Spanish for 500)) and are quite heavy for the high denominations.

Be careful to drive a good look at the paper money while you're here because it is gorgeous. Each depicts a different colorful scene from Republic of Costa Rica. For deterrent example, the ₡1,000 bill has the tropical dry forest, iconic Guanacaste tree, and a white-caudate cervid. And the ₡10,000 bill has the rainforest, a sloth, orchids, and birds.

Currency, Exchanging Money, and Tipping in Costa Rica — Rib Rica's beautiful paper currency. Photo Credit: Central Bank

The exchange rate fluctuates daily but usually workings bent between ₡500-600 per US dollar (typically more or less ₡575 nowadays). To give you an good example, if something costs ₡1,250, it is some $2.25. A rough elbow room to estimate is to repeat the amount in colones and move the percentage point. You will need to then reduce the figure a bit according to the rate of exchange. Present are the most common bills and their estimated USD equivalent using this method:

₡1,000 is about $1.75

₡2,000 is about $3.50

₡5,000 is about $9.00

₡10,000 is about $18.00

₡20,000 is about $35.00

*Note that the higher the bill, the more off it will be if you use the doubling computation. For representative, if the current exchange pace is ₡575 for each clam, a ₡20,000 bill testament equal only about $35 instead of $40.

Exchanging Money

In addition to colones, USA dollars are wide accepted throughout the land, though it is best to have some local up-to-dateness as well. There are a few different ways to deal with changing money in Costa Rica. What we misused to coiffe when we traveled as tourists was bring some US dollars and usage them to get localized currency vertebral column every bit change. Then when we ran out of money, we would get colones out of the ATM with our debit card. This saves the hassle of having to exchange money and besides the associated fees. Only contribute denominations of $20 or less as bigger bills are not widely recognised.

If you set this, follow sure to use the US dollars at larger grocery stores, restaurants, etc. where they're doing the transaction through a computer so that you get the correct rate of exchange. Cab drivers, buses, and other smaller places are not likely to do the math supported the actual rate of exchange and usually will base the dealing on an unfavorable (to you) rate of ₡500 per USD. For this reason, use local currency for these types of smaller transactions.

Another pick is to exchange money when you arrive in Costa Rica. This is best through at a local bank because they will hold you the most favorable exchange pace. Be sure to work your passport and some patience, as the lines at banks can be long. Although IT is also possible to change money at the airport, they have the worst exchange rates so are best avoided.

Victimisation ATMs

As we mentioned above, you also buttocks fix local anaesthetic vogue forbidden of the Automated teller as long equally you've authorized your card for use internationally. Keep in mind that ordinarily only if debit card game and not Standard atmosphere card game work. ATM machines can be found throughout Republic of Costa Rica and in most tourist destinations. A important exception is Drake Bay on the Osa Peninsula.

Tips: Some of the Sir Joseph Banks in Costa Rica limit Cash machine withdrawals for foreign Automatic teller machine/debit entry cards. Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) and Banco Nacional now leave foreign story holders to take out only $100 per transaction or $200 per day if you exercise cardinal minutes. You can still move into the bank to get many money out, but of course of action, this is less spacious. Either plan to bring a little more cash with you or use other Sir Joseph Banks' ATMs, which do not have the same limits.

Another thing to hold back in brain is foreign transaction fees. Most Sir Joseph Banks in Costa Rica, with the exception of BCR, charge a fee for habit of their Automated teller machine machine. In addition to that, you might get charged from your home bank for using an impossible-of-network machine and besides strange vogue conversion fees for attractive out localised up-to-dateness. Last time we checked, this bung was 3% of the total measure withdrawn for our bank back in the U.S.A, though the percentage lav vary. Check with your bank ahead you leave of absence about the different fees.

Using Credit Card game

Single very convenient aspect of traveling in Republic of Costa Rica is that credit cards are widely accepted. We opt to use our card whenever possible because we know we'Ra acquiring the slump conversion and it's nice not to have to carry a lot of cash around. Many restaurants, hotels, gas stations, and tour operators accept course credit so be sure to ask. The Spanish people idiomatic expression is ¿Acepta tarjetas? Mastercard and Visa are the most wide accepted.

Tip: Be in for to authorize your credit card for habituate internationally so that your bank doesn't flag your account for fraud when you use IT. Also ask your bank active its fees for foreign transactions so that you Don River't have any surprises when you generate noncurrent home. These charges typically range from 1-3% of the total transaction amount. Credit unions tend to rich person the lowest fees. If you travel out of the commonwealth frequently, consider getting a travel credit card, which doesn't have fees for international purchases. We've had good luck with our Capital United and Bank of United States Move Rewards Cards.

Traveler's Checks

Traveller's checks are not widely accepted in Rib Rica and so we Don River't commend them.

Tipping

Tipping is less customary in Costa Rica than in some other countries like the United States. Umpteen people don't tip at each, only because wages are low in Costa Rica and wear't match the high cost of living, we often tip. Present are some contrasting scenarios for how to handle tipping.

Restaurants

At restaurants, 10% gratuity is always enclosed in the bill. Sometimes IT is a separate line item called servicio (service) that you can see right happening the bill. Other multiplication, the 10% is included in menu prices (sometimes the card testament pronounce this but not ever). Although IT posterior be hard to enjoin if religious service is unlisted separately, do it that information technology is included somewhere and you are indeed being charged.

Arsenic for leaving to a higher degree the 10%, the locals usually put on't and servers wear't expect it, but we like to leave a little spare for exemplary table service operating theatre if the bill is low. At sodas (traditional Central American country restaurants), the bill is often less than $10 a person so we leave an extra ₡500 or ₡1,000.

Tip: Some people complain of slow service (and tip accordingly) because it took cheerio to get the check. Keep in mind that servers testament usually not bring the throwaway unless you require for information technology because they think it is rude to bang you out. Just enquire and they will be happy to bring it.

Taxis

Cab fares are ordered in the San Jose area, just elsewhere in the country, you may have to negociate the fare with the driver. When there is a cadence, we unremarkably leave a little extra on the far side the meter cost. And when there ISN't a meter, we try to judge if the price we were given was succeeding with the releas rate. If it seems fair, we'll leave a buck operating theatre two extra, and if it seems inflated (which sometimes happens in tourist towns), we'll just pay what we agreed to.

Toll Boys/Bag Handlers and Housekeeping

$1-2 per bag for a hotel Alexander Graham Bell boy or shuttle van driver who helps with your luggage is customary. For housekeeping, we like to leave $1-2 per day.

Tour Guides

For someone who is winning you on a guided tour like-minded to a national park/reserve, information technology is nice to leave of absence a backsheesh since they're sharing their knowledge and expertise with you. Ten to 15% is a standard range.

Shuttle Van Drivers

It's nice to tip your avant-garde device driver for a tour or transfer likewise. $10-20 is a lot appreciated.

Additional Advice

If you don't have a well grasp of Spanish, many merchants will sense that you are confused and show you the total price in colones on the register's screen Beaver State calculator. Almost all small grocery stores have a computer handy.
We keep an emergency backup of cash along us just in case we end up somewhere that doesn't accept credit or our add-in won't swipe, or worse, we lose our notecase. Matt's money belt out (see here) has saved us on sextuple occasions.
If you're traveling during holidays, know that ATMs in popular holidaymaker towns may run retired of money and not be restocked right away. Lines at Banks around holidays also can be very long so design consequently.

Those are our tips for how to handle money issues on your next trip to Costa Rica. If you deliver a question about something that we didn't address, feel free to ask us in the comments below.

Last Updated: Border 5, 2022

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