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I will be taking a 10 day guided tour of CA in Jan. What is the best way of carrying money, dollars, travelers checks, credit or debit cards?
Thanks
Travelers checks are not always honored everywhere in CR, and there may be a charge for cashing them. You definitely don’t want to give yourself the extra step of waiting in line in banks to cash them. Credit cards are the most convenient, but your credit card company will give you less-than-market exchange rates. I don’t know about using debit cards there.
Carrying a lot of cash is usually not recommended.
Since you’ll be in a group the whole time, I’d bring some cash, and use credit cards for bigger ticket items. If you get in at a reasonable hour, you can change your dollars at the airport bank.
You can also use atm machines.
The safest, simplest way to manage money here is to use an American bank ATM or debit card in our Costa Rican ATMs. As long as your card has a “Plus” or “Cirrus” logo, it’ll work just fine. And ATMs are everywhere.
Deal in clones, not in dollars. At the ATM, which will give you the option of an English-language interface, ask for your withdrawal in colones, in multiples of c10,000. Many ATMs have a limit of c100,000 or c200,000 per withdrawal, but if you need more than that, just do another withdrawal.
Checks drawn on banks outside Costa Rica and Traveler’s Cheques take a very long time to clear, so most places won’t want to take them. And only American Express Traveler’s Cheques are welcomed at all. And cashing a Traveler’s Cheque at the bank is about as bad as applying for a mortgage — except it takes longer.
If possible, keep your money in a zippered pocket or purse.
David’s advice is excellent, but I just want to add a couple of things. Don’t use the money exchange windows at the airport; you’ll get a much better exchange rate at the ATMS – there is a Scotia Bank ATM right next to the exchange windows. And let your bank know before you leave that you’ll be using your credit and/or debit cards in Costa Rica, and the dates you’ll be there. That will save you the irritation of having your ATM withdrawals denied.
Pura vida,
Jim PI have the cirrus and plus on my Chase debit card, and I agree the atms are great for getting cash, some of the atm’s would not dispense cash. I think the Bank Of San Jose always works and was the only one in Jaco I could get cash from. Si if you find one that does’nt work just try another bank.
mollyjim is right.
Make sure you tell your financial institution you are using your debit card outside the US. I had mine “captured” by my credit union on my 3rd day in San Jose. Had to call and explain and was released.
Financial institutions have a software program that will stop access to a debit outside the US if not notified ahead of time, it is a safeguard for the customer and bank.
I figured that taking $200 worth of colones every 4 hours at Costa Rica made the computer unhappy very fast.We just arrived here in San Jose last Monday. Its been great so far, except my wife got sick eating lobster at a very popular restaurant (seems high end too). Besides that, its been a nice experience. I keep changing my money at Scotia Bank, with the exchange rate at $1=c515. Much better, lets say way way better than the airport rate of c465/$1. Never use those airport money changers, its a ripoff.
Having colones is almost a must if you are going around the city and not only the tourist spots. Anyone know of a better exchange rate than Scotia Bank? Just want to know for future referrence.
Pura Vida.
For the last decade or so, the exchange rate has been controlled by the Banco Central through a regime of “mini-devaluations”. The Central Bank devalued the colon daily at a fractional rate, that turned out to be 10% – 12% per year. This enabled everyone to know about how much their colones would be worth in the near term, and businesses and investors appreciate that kind of stability. The official rate was the same at all banks.
A few weeks ago, however, the colon was allowed to float on the open market, within a certain range. Now Banks can offer different exchange rates within that range. These different exchange rates must be posted on the Central Banks website daily. You can find them at:
http://indicadoreseconomicos.bccr.fi.cr/indicadoreseconomicos/Cuadros/frmConsultaTCVentanilla.aspx
Currently all the banks are within 1-2 colones of each other, and the Casas de Cambio offer inferior rates. The guys on the corners yelling “dólares” are not listed. I haven’t exchanged money with them since the 80’s when they were offering much better than official rates. You had to watch them like a hawk though, as many are con artists.
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