OT-not an ABD question, but a Costa Rica question

[debster812]

Hi folks,

Hoping to get some advice from those of you who've been on the Costa Rica ABD. DS is actually heading to Costa Rica over his college spring break for an 8 day field study for one of his classes (Tropical Ecology). We've been reading that US$ are accepted, but we suspect when they are in the more rural areas, Colones would probably be better, but we don't know for sure. His class only meets once a week, and he does plan to check in with his professor, but I thought I'd check with you super smart travelers as well.

Any advice on currency, and anything else you found invaluable would be greatly appreciated.

-Debbie

 

[carpenta]

We traveled last Dec. and we used American dollars mostly. A couple times we were given Colones for change. We also used a travel Visa card that we pre=paid a certain amount and credit cards were accepted most everywhere. We stopped in some remote areas stores and had no trouble. One place they had two cash draws one for Colones and one for dollars, We bought in a super market and had no trouble with the Visa. The people are so welcoming and will work with you with the conversion. LOVED Costa Rica and your son will be amazed the bounty of tropical ecology in a country the size of West Virginia. Food was great and potable water was fine but we drank bottled water outside the city. Most people spoke English as well as Spanish, He's going to love it.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

When we were in Costa Rica (not an ABD), I cannot remember a single place that did not accept the US dollar. Having said that, we did travel with some colones just in case. In between the tourist areas, there were plenty of remote stops for coffee, snacks, lunch, etc., and we wanted to be prepared. What we did notice was that there were places which gave a better price on something if you paid in colones vs. the US dollar.

Your local bank can order some for you if want your son to have them in hand before he arrives. Otherwise, he could use an ATM to withdraw cash once he arrives. If you go that route, be sure to notify your bank before he leaves that there will be foreign transactions. Otherwise, the card could be refused. And depending on the card/bank, there could be a foreign transaction fee for each withdrawal. If he's going to be in a remote area, he'll want to hit an ATM prior to heading out.

 

[debster812]

This is great info, thanks folks.

We travel to Aruba fairly often, and the currency situation is similar. US$ accepted EVERYWHERE, and you'll sometimes get coins back in Aruba Florin. Probably send him with the equivalent of $50-$75 in Colones, same in US$ in cash, and then he can use his debit card to pull cash out when he needs it.

I'm SUPER jealous of his trip!

 

[debster812]

He did wind up buying about $50 US in Colones, just to have with him, and used US everywhere else.

I just wanted to pop back in and thank you both. He's currently at his 2 hour layover in Panama City, and will be landing early this evening. I've been able to speak to him a couple of times via Whatsapp, and he has had the time of his life! He's very much a homebody, and a low reactor, and to hear him sound so excited about what he's seen and done is incredible.

He thinks we need to take a family trip to CR now.