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Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
https://forum.costaricaticas.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=42569		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Joe Shmoe [ Sat Dec 29, 2012 2:11 am ]
Post subject:  Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
Im planning to bring about $1000 for my trip and leave it in the hotel safe and use as needed. Im wondering what places will accept USD and what places won't? How much of it should I exchange?
Author:  Icantstayaway [ Sat Dec 29, 2012 5:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
I would walk to the nearest bank and exchange $600 of it (take your passport). The exchange rate right now is 500+ colon to one dollar, as good as its been in a while.

Any of the $600 you don't spend on chicas, food, booze, , (or trannys, I guess, :roll: ), you can use to pay your room when you leave.
Author:  Rac [ Sat Dec 29, 2012 9:26 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
I like to use Colonas for everything but the hotel. Hotels and the girls always take dollars.

Taxis never have change for you, so you'll need small bills and coins----colones are best for taxis, although most will take dollars.

Other places---shops, restaurants, bars, etc. , it's a maybe for dollars. So be prepared with colones.

I get my first load of colones at the bank at the airport, upstairs in the departure area as soon as I arrive. After that, I do an exchange at any bank in town with a short line.

ATMs are also easy to use, but I don't like to pay ANY fee to ANY bank.

You can save any leftover colones for your next trip. And, YES, there will be a next trip for you.
Author:  Isra123 [ Sat Dec 29, 2012 2:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
Make sure you bring notes that are crisp and clean. Any tear or bit missing or even crumpled up will be rejected.

Bring a lot in $20 and $10 to pay taxi from air port and girls too. That way you need not bother to change money at the airport and can do it at a bank down town at your convenience. You could use $100 notes to pay your hotel bill in cash and get a discount (if you pay with a credit card they add the taxes and God knows what else).

Remember do NOT change money in the baggage claim area at arrivals. The biggest ripoff ever.
Author:  BlueDevil [ Sat Dec 29, 2012 5:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
With the exception of cash for my hotel bill, I rarely brought a significant amount of US cash to Costa Rica choosing to use the ATMs instead. (The ATMs dispense in either Colones or US Dollars... take your pick.) Since I have no ATM fees associated with my US bank account, I withdrew colones as I needed them. I paid my hotel bill in advance upon arrival... in US$.
Author:  Rico1040 [ Sat Dec 29, 2012 6:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
i prefer to deal in colones and have found that i rarely need more than $300 a day for all my activities. i usually exchange $200 a day at the delrey and keep the rest in my hotel room. this kind of keeps me on a budget. when i run out for the day, its time to stop. i pay with cash when i check out of the hotel. the only use for a credit card is renting a car.
Author:  Joe Shmoe [ Sat Dec 29, 2012 8:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
Ok cool I think ill bring some cash and just use the ATM's. On a side note, how do you figure out the conversion rate in your head to keep from getting ripped off? For example if someone charges you xxx,xxx amount of colones, how do you figure out the usd amount? Do the chicas usually ask in USD?
Author:  BlueDevil [ Sat Dec 29, 2012 9:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
Joe Shmoe wrote:
Ok cool I think ill bring some cash and just use the ATM's. On a side note, how do you figure out the conversion rate in your head to keep from getting ripped off? For example if someone charges you xxx,xxx amount of colones, how do you figure out the usd amount? Do the chicas usually ask in USD?


Roughly 500 C to the US$. Multiply by 2 and drop the last 3 zeros (eg 150,000 C x 2 = 300,000 (drop the 3 zeros), which makes it $300 US). When I was there last, the chicas dealt mainly in Colones. I only met one chica (Ivana at SL) who used a calculator, and the current exchange rate to see if her quote of $60 was going to yield her the Colones she needed. :lol:
Author:  Rac [ Sat Dec 29, 2012 9:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
With the exchange rate at approximately 500 colones to a dollar, each colone is 1/500th of a dollar. That makes each colone 1/5 of a penny.

Don't fret the small stuff. Be generous toward the girls. You won't be sorry.
Author:  GlobalVillageIdiot [ Mon Dec 31, 2012 3:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
If you're going to be using your ATM cards and credit cards in CR, call the bank(s) that issued them and advise them of your travel dates before you leave or the cards might get shut off for suspected fraud. Heck, ask if the cards even work--I bank at a small credit union and there's a whole laundry list of countries where they will not allow ATM transactions *even with advance notice*. Most of those countries are in the former Warsaw Pact, but I asked for the list once and there were some surprises in there, including some countries in western Europe. So far I've had no problems in Canada, the Netherlands, and Costa Rica.

When I went last time, which was also my first visit to CR, I brought all-cash and changed most of it at the front desk at SL. The exchange rate they offer is pretty decent and the little bit they take is within the realm of what I consider reasonable for a "convenience fee". I did the math on it versus ATM withdrawals and it was about on-par with what my credit union charges me for using my ATM card in CR. *shrug* Next time I'm going to rely on my ATM card to withdraw colones, after changing an initial $100 at the bank at the airport and paying my exit tax while I'm at it.
Author:  BlueDevil [ Mon Dec 31, 2012 10:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
Quote:
If you're going to be using your ATM cards and credit cards in CR, call the bank(s) that issued them and advise them of your travel dates before you leave or the cards might get shut off for suspected fraud.


That is excellent advice. I keep my bank informed whenever I am traveling between countries, but once or twice, I had to call them a second time to give them a friendly reminder after arriving at my destination.
Author:  Estebanh [ Mon Dec 31, 2012 12:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
Icantstayaway wrote:
I would walk to the nearest bank and exchange $600 of it (take your passport). The exchange rate right now is 500+ colon to one dollar, as good as its been in a while.



This is a good way to get best exchange rate but its kind of a joke. Going to a bank in Costa Rica is like going to the DMV for a driver's licence. After the security guard with shotgun in hand opens the door, you take a number and seat in one of the rows of hard plastic chairs. After 20 minutes or so, you are summoned up to the teller. They examine your passport and every bill closely. Its best not to bring $100 bills. Then they make triple or quadruple copies of everything, make official stamps on everything before giving the change. Governments and institutions in Costa Rica have not learned the concept of customer service. Its a joke :lol: :lol:
Author:  Rac [ Mon Dec 31, 2012 12:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
I exchange dollars at either the Scotia bank across the street from the Gold Museum or at the Bank of San Jose (BAC) across the street from the Morazon.

I always have a pleasant experience with no ordeal and pretty short lines (sometimes no lines).

And one of the tellers in the teller line at Scotia, the one in the right side corner, is cute and doable. If she would only say "yes" , she could keep half of my cash.
Author:  Isra123 [ Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
In early Dec. I went to the bank on the second floor in the INS building, the Band of Costa Rica I think. You take a number but they had 4 tellers working and I gave them the 3 $100 bills and he changed them in a few minutes - no passport required. Maybe they are getting better at this ?
Author:  Scuba1 [ Wed Jan 02, 2013 8:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cash - exchange most of it after arriving?
Isra123 wrote:
In early Dec. I went to the bank on the second floor in the INS building, the Band of Costa Rica I think. You take a number but they had 4 tellers working and I gave them the 3 $100 bills and he changed them in a few minutes - no passport required. Maybe they are getting better at this ?



If you fly into SJO the best option is to go to the bank (not the Cambios) located in the ticket lobby and exchange there - you get bank rates, they are efficient, you don't have to mess with a bank is San Jose (not to mention carry cash back as you walk to your hotel) - you should also buy your exit visa at the same time - yes, I know you can do it at certain places and hotels in SJ, but again, kill 2 birds with one stone while at the airport - both tasks are less than 10 min's - then its done and you can turn your thoughts to other more pleasant activities :wink:

Obviously if you are a CR resident, the above probably does not apply.
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