www.CostaRicaTicas.com

i've been trying to decide whether to buy CR funds here or wait until I get there. The official exchange against a Canadian dollar is about 427 colones to the CDN dollar. The best rate I've been able to find here four purchase is 396col/drl! And most wer quite a bit lower. Argh! that's a big bite!

The transaction seems higher here and many places don't even carry CR currency. I am, however, unsure what exchange I'd get on using the ATM there, and it will have pretty high transaction fees to use.

From your experience (especially fellow canadians) will the rate be better in CR as opposed to at home, and also will the banks (or the casino) there change Canadian money? (not all places do). Use the ATM?

As a fellow Canuck I would strongly recommend using ATMs in CR. I have used the one in the DR (to the right of check-in desk)many times and have always received a better exchange rate than any time I tried to prepurchase colonnes from the bank here before I left. I quit prepurchasing and take a couple of hundred in US$ and get the rest from ATMs as I need it. I use Royal Bank and get a $5 per ATM withdrawal fee so I usually take the maximum daily withdrawal to reduce the number of fees charged. Check with your bank here before you leave and also let them know you will be using your ATM/Credit cards in CR to avoid any hassle with them cancelling cards due to suspicious offshore transactions

_________________
Y.N.W.A.

my bank and cc company have already been advised that I'm leaving. do that with every trip. Also for the cell phone, if I travel with it. (won't be this time) My bank says they will hit me up for $3-5 depending on which machine it goes through as well.

What about changing canuck dollars in CR? possible? or too much hassle? If the casino or nearby bank would change it I'd just bring CDN with me and change it there, rather than hoping that the ATM rate will be good, cuz if I bring nothing then I'm stuck with whatever the machine charges me.

If it's too much work then the benefit is lost and so I'll just use the bank machine

Sure.

I used to change my CAD to CRC at the Scotia Bank a few blocks away from San Pedro mall a few years ago. Make sure your bills are in good condition, not ripped or torn. Keep them in twenties ( I don't know if they take CAD 100 bill ). Rate wise I believe it was fine, since I don't recall any bad memory from it.

I have since switched to using USD only in CR. The cities and towns that I frquent most, which are far away from SJO, give a much better rate when I need to convert from USD to CRC.

One more point on ATM exchange rates-its not the ATM that determines the exchange rate it is YOUR bank back home that converts the colonnes you withdraw into CA$ at the rate in effect the day you withdraw and then debit your account.As I said earlier I have always found that using ATMs is a good rate. I have never bothered with Canuck cash -just US as its is accepted almost as easily as colonnes.

_________________
Y.N.W.A.

that's the problem I have, koppite. My bank doesn't sell colones, which I found surprising, as it is a big bank (TDCT) and nobody there could tell me what variant of rate they would give me. Could be anything. Literally. When I said ATM rate I didn't mean the rate the machine would give. I meant the ghostly, unverified rate that my bank will give me if I withdraw through the machine. I can take a chance, but with no cash with me if they screw me on the exchange I have no alternate resources, since my ATM and my credit card will be my only sources of currency. I already know that my cred card will charge me an extra 2% on everything I draw. I'm inclined to do it anyway, and hope for the best, but I'd like to know what the alternatives are.

K

I really dont think it makes a difference whether your bank carries colonnes or not.And if they dont they cetainly should be able to order some in for you with a weeks notice. All banks are subject to the going exchange rate within a point or two. If one bank offers 427c to the CA$ as a rate all banks are pretty much going to be between 423-429. And frankly 3 colonnes per $ is such an insignificant difference unless you are talking thousands of $ I really wouldn't worry about it. Just call your bank and ask what rate they are offering for exchange and then check with another bank to compare. I am sure there wont be a lot of difference-at least not enough to lose sleep over.On $1000 a difference of 3col per$
is only about $8.You can always check the current rates at

www.oanda.com/convert/cheatsheet

This should be accurate again within 2-3 colonnes /$

_________________
Y.N.W.A.

My dos colones.....wait until you get to CR.
My last trip (last month) I exchanged dollars for colones at my local bank in Florida. I didn't need to, but I did it just to see what the exchange was, how long it would take, etc.

It only took 3 business days to get the colones, but they wacked me on the exchange. It came out to 426 colones per dollar. I lost about 60 colones / dollar, and after exchanging $500 dollars, it ended up costing me 30,000 colones to make the exchange (more than $60).

It was nice to arrive in SJO with plenty of colones, but not worth it.
OK, lesson learned. Been there, done that.
From now on, I'll just use my bank in CR for the exchange.

_________________
You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

koppite, you misunderstood me. My bank doesn't carry colones at all, and I also can't order them. They don't deal in that currency, period, which I admit I found surprising for the 2nd largest bank in Canada. The reps that I spoke to at the bank could not give me any idea as to what the exchange i would get on the ATM would be. In checking with the currency exchange places and banks in town that were selling the currency the variance was as great as 35 colones to the dollar. I was going to exchange about $1200.00

In that amount the variance can add up to the cost of 2-3 sessions! For that amount it's worth exploring options.

mikey, likely I will end up taking the chance, but as i said, the better informed you are the better the decision you can make.

This is true. Good luck.

_________________
You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

K-by-me

TD/CT are telling you they dont deal in Colonnes? More likely that the clerk you are dealing with cant be bothered to do the paperwork.I have family in the banking industry (RBC) and if TD wont help you then go to another bank and talk to them.What city/town are you in? I dont doubt what you told me I just find it impossible to think the TD/CT is giving such crappy service.Time to look into other banking options I think.

_________________
Y.N.W.A.

Koppite, as I mentioned I was very surprised, but I do know the ins and outs as far as bank service goes, and I checked several areas within the bank. Until earlier this year I had been working for RBC for 7 years. I work in the finance industry now. Amazingly I can't even get a good deal through my connections at RBC. the "employee" rate is actually 15 colones to the dollar less than I can get through one of the brokerage houses. I also talked to every chartered bank here. It might surprise you to know that TDCT is not the only one that does not provide CR currency. I won't go through all the details of my search here, but I contacted all the major currency exchange brokers, and many of the smaller ones, in addition to banks and credit unions. Most of the smaller brokerage places do not deal in colones either. I'm in a major city, so it's not like I'm in a cultural backwater.

Wow-that is a surprise. Before my first trip (Jan2004) I just went to the main branch of RBC here in Calgary and they had Colonnes on hand -not many admittedly but as I recall about $100 worth. FYI every time I have used an ATM in CR the RBC have figured my exchange rate at no more than 2 col./$ different than any rate I have found anywhere online.Last trip the bank rate was approx 383=$1 and I was consistently at 381.8 to 382.4 so I really think you will be OK using ATMs.If you are not comfortable with that I suggest you take US$ as I think they will be a lot easier to exchange than Canadian.

_________________
Y.N.W.A.

I think I will just go ahead and gamble on the ATM. The online exchange rates for the currency are running at about 427 right now. The various places I've contacted are running at a buying rate of anywhere between 358 and 396. I figure that I probably won't do much, if any, worse than if I pre-bought here (hopefully I'll do better) and then I won't have to carry much cash with me going in.

Thanks for your input guys.

Hey, I thought the rate was 495 to 1. It was 486 back in October.