Costa Rica currency – show me
the money!
A fistful of colones
The Costa Rica currency is the colón (CRC). The plural is colones and the symbol is ₡. (Instead of seeing prices like “$15” you would see them as “₡15”.) The exchange rate for US dollars is around 594 CRC = 1 USD. For euros, it’s about 694 CRC to 1 EUR.
Ticos will usually take American money but the one time we did that the waiter wasn’t quite sure what the currency exchange rate was. Neither did we, so I am sure we overpaid handsomely. Plus we received our change back in colones which confused the matter even more.
Charge it
Most places take credit cards as well so I recommend charging your purchases and letting the credit card company take care of the Costa Rica currency conversion for you.
Cash is still (sometimes) king
Have some cash on hand for incidentals such as bottled water, snacks, taxis, and tips. Don’t bring huge amounts of cash with you on your trip — withdraw smaller amounts as you need them using a local ATM.
Dollars to colones
Coins come in 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 500 denominations. Keep in mind a ₡500 coin is about $1 in US dollars, so a ₡100 coin is about 20 cents.
Banknotes, or paper money, come in 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000, and 50000 denominations. The ₡5000 note is equivalent to a US ten-spot, and ₡10000 is US$20. Having these mental conversions handy will help you judge relative prices for things when you’re in the country.
ATM machines
About ATMs: check with your bank beforehand so you won’t be surprised by the fees and conversion rates when withdrawing Costa Rica currency. Getting money via ATM is more convenient than using travelers checks, in my opinion, so we didn’t bother with those. We only used ATMs at bank branches and we felt safe doing so.
ATM usage is nearly universal these days, and as long as the ATM is on the PLUS or CIRRUS system, you should have no troubles withdrawing money. You can usually get US dollars or Costa Rica colones through ATMs.
Have backup cards
Make sure you have a backup card! In our case, we had mine and my wife’s. If you only have one card and it gets stolen, you are up a creek without a paddle, as they sometimes say here in the US.
The same recommendation goes for credit cards. Have a backup or two. I would NOT use a credit card for a cash advance while you’re in Costa Rica. You’ll really get hosed on fees doing that. Use your credit card for paying for your hotels, meals, and excursions. Keeps it simple and you’ll usually get the best conversion rates.