www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Going back in June trip #6. Jaco 2 days and SJ 4 days I take cash all the time is $3.000 to much to take in cash or what other opt do I have???

nah, my first trip I brought down 5k in cash.. its all good.



Cujo

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"Pain is the fuel that fans the flames of my pyre. A battle plan is only as good as the general carrying it out on the field. This is my war son, and I have the biggest bombs and the smallest conscience"...

...Cujo...float me a loan brother?...
CH

Ha, write it off as being a newbie at the time. My first trip was 13 days, so I wanted to make sure I was covered. I came back with almost exactly half..


Cujo

_________________
"Pain is the fuel that fans the flames of my pyre. A battle plan is only as good as the general carrying it out on the field. This is my war son, and I have the biggest bombs and the smallest conscience"...

i always take cash, and stash it in the safe that the SL provides. Never had a problem

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

3G for 6 days. Sounds like a party. Keep it locked up (hopefully in an electronic safe) and only pull out what you need for the party at hand. Leave the rest behind with all other valuable.

dapanz1

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Paradise= Sitting outside the Bodega in Panama City about 1 am. Drinking cool Balboas with cool friends and blazin' hot Colombianas. I want to be there..RIGHT NOW!

I would think that after having been there 5 previous times, you'd have an idea how much you spent & therefor how much to bring on trip #6? I always bring extra, and only exchange what I need for the next couple of days.

My last trip, 5 days in January, cost about $700 including hotel/food/entertainment/misc. & chicas... which was less than half of what I brought with me!

Can't wait to return...

Voyager

I never take cash. Just two debit cards.

Holy crap! $3-Gs, $5-G’s Are you guys coming for a couple of months? More power to you. But that is a lot of plata. And I sure as heck would carefully guard it as mentioned above. And DO NOT FLASH IT AROUND! But you already know that.

What Brother DiegoC said...The ATM's at the HDR gve pretty true rates + hotels for conversion into colones. If somebody does rip you for all that cash, then what you gonna do? Bottom line to me: Carry cash for 1-2 days eating and sporting then ATMs the rest of the way, including the hotel bill (most give the CRT discount for a no-paper-trail transaction or at least prefer it that way).

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

Well as mentioned before, I bring all cash and leave what I dont need in the safe. At SL you can show up and pay for your hotel in advance in cash. Naturally when you check out there will be a bill provided that you used things in the room or more then likely, charged drinks/food to your room.

Like with most things, it personal preference...


Cujo

_________________
"Pain is the fuel that fans the flames of my pyre. A battle plan is only as good as the general carrying it out on the field. This is my war son, and I have the biggest bombs and the smallest conscience"...

JazzboCR, words of wisdom.

I always try to think of a worst-case situation, which would be me passing out with the safe unlocked. My debit cards when not in use go into the toilet tank or taped up under the bed or TV or somewhere. It's not paranoia--it's knowing yourself. Yeah a bad actor could make off with my passport and a couple hundred bucks but I'd at least be able to access some cash. But that's just me...

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

Fun thread. Last time I went to Jaco, I only brought 1G. I was going to the the bank machine a couple of times after. Bank machines can break down or not accept your card. After that, I took Cujo's advice and brought a bunch of cash. I take 2G in $20's in my front pocket, passport in back pocket, breath mints in other front pocket. Get to SL, tell them to copy my passport while I drop my luggage to my room. Immediately put in safe and we're all good.

HLH a couple of times and its all on the credit card (write off hotel expense). Booze and meals at SL are all on cc as is HDR. HLH is very honest, HDR you have to keep track. All other expenses cash. I don't always spend all money. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Kind of like condoms on weekends.

Fed gov't is increasing fees on all international expenses. CC are all increasing fees because of gov't squeeze on their companies. People with good credit will get charged more for unusual charges. Same with cash cards. Try to use cash as much as possible. If you're married...even more important.

I did some extreme calculations (I can be anal like that sometimes) and found that on the higher end of average I spend about $450 a day on everything. Its good to get an idea of how much you spend in a day and work off that number.

Cash is king. Keep it in the safe. Don't get too f'd up. Always check the safe before and after you leave the room. Don't leave the chica alone for too long in the room. Better to be paranoid than to be stupid.

BB

Just out of personal curiosity what do most of you guys spend per day?

$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$600 or more