www.CostaRicaTicas.com

+1

+100
Yes, go to the booth in the back. Never been turned away there.

Good to know, they removed the ATM at the back. I usually go in the Sleep Inn side anyway.

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" Omit no happy hour that may give furtherance to our expedition."

If you want to exchange $100's for colones, just go to the HDR money exchange booth left of the front desk, they only charge about a buck for a cien, why wander all over town and get into debates with arrogant jackasses dreaming of saving chicken feed? FFFF them, they'll never get one centavo from me...

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Don't try to understand 'em, just rope 'em down and brand 'em...

HDR gives 540 per dollar
Colonial casino gives 565 per dollar.
About 5 $ difference per 100$

$5 is enough to feed me for a day.

There is a mercado on Calle 6, near Avenida 2, that has good casados for !,000 colones.

Throw your money away if you want. The colonial is next to the HDR. The only advantage of changing money at the HDR is that they accept any torn marked bill that you give them.

Agree 100%...going by Zmans quotes...25/540 = 4.6 % or $4.60 for every $100 you exchange. I'll walk thru the colonial from LA or HC on my way to the HDR. It may not be worth it to some but like I always say, I am on a shoestring budget when I go down to the CR.

CostaReeker

Has anyone exchanged money at the BCR at Av 1 and Calle 15? I think I did before. Yes. Takes a little time and you must have your passport. Your bills must be in good shape. Etc...
But, if I remember properly, I got the best rate. It is only 3 blocks from the HDR.

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Everything written here by me is purely fiction; and Any opinion, or observation, in the post above is purely presented for entertainment purposes and does not promote, nor is it intended to promote, "sexual tourism" or "human trafficking". The laws of Costa Rica apply to all activities in Costa Rica. No warranty is expressed or implied. Void where prohibited by law. Your experience, observations or perspective may be different.

There is a BCR only ONE block from HDR - - - - on Avenida 1 and Calle 7.

Maybe that is the one I used. I was using Google maps, looking for where I went last year, and it gave me the other one. I didn’t remember walking that far. Oh well. I would blame it on my age. However, it more likely was the Jim Beam! LOL

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Everything written here by me is purely fiction; and Any opinion, or observation, in the post above is purely presented for entertainment purposes and does not promote, nor is it intended to promote, "sexual tourism" or "human trafficking". The laws of Costa Rica apply to all activities in Costa Rica. No warranty is expressed or implied. Void where prohibited by law. Your experience, observations or perspective may be different.

The girls there must not like you, I always get 55,000 per cien, but I tip them a buck...How does Colonial give that? I'm reading exchange rate is .0018. 55,000 x .0018 is 99$ so I'm figuring they charge a buck. Am I doing something wrong?

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Don't try to understand 'em, just rope 'em down and brand 'em...

Maybe someone smarter than me can explain this.

After reading Zman's comment, I looked up the colones/dollar exchange rate is .0018, but then I looked up dollars/colones exchange rate is 563. So I thought it should be the same. And if Colonial is giving 565 aren't they losing money? I'll check them out tomorrow...

So if they're doing that, and I'm getting 55,000 at HDR, (just did it yesterday), if Colonial is coughing up 56,500 then I'm losing out on 1,500 colones, apx $2.70, even that is worth the walk next door but not worth wandering a couple blocks and waiting a 1/2 hour at one of those backward banks...

And if they want you to show your passport, I always keep mine in my safe and use the laminated business card size copy I always get. So it's not worth it to me to drag my passport around town.

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Don't try to understand 'em, just rope 'em down and brand 'em...

The Colonial Casino has always been the best place in the gulch to exchange currency if you only need to exchange $100 - $200 at a time.