Hello, and welcome to CRT and soon, to Costa Rica.
ATMs are located all over, from the casinos to the Hotel Del Rey to the shopping malls, and outside/attached to many banks.
The answer to your question "whill my card work?" depends upon which system your bank uses; I had no problems with my Plus/Cirrus cards, nor did I have any problem with my Visa while in Costa Rica. You'll get the best exchange rate for the business day, if you use your credit card to get a cash advance.
Problem is, your bank may tack on a heavy transaction fee, most banks charge around SD$4.00 per transaction. On top of that, there will probably be a local service charge, around USD$2.00 - $3.00 per transaction. Multiple machine uses can add up quickly.
Yes, travelers' cheques are a real pain, although your hotel will accept them for your final bill. Banks will cash them, but you'll need your actual passport to cash them, and there may be a commission or service fee involved.
This has been covered in numerous threads on this forum. Do a search using the terms "ATM" "traveler's checks" and so on to get more information. Ace's list for Newbies talks extensively about bringing cash to Costa Rica (Clean, unmarked, new, untorn bills from $1.00 - $20.00 are accepted, $50.00 may cause you a bit of trouble, $100.00 bills might be accepted by banks only, and by girls demanding and getting cien.
Most guys I've talked to, and I carry a combination of U.S. currency and an ATM card, plus a credit card or two.
Hope this helps. Again, read and search this forum for much more information, including where to find exchange rates, where to cash travelers' cheques, where to exchange dollars for colones and so on.
And hey...have fun in Costa Rica!
