We are traveling all around Costa Rica. Can we use charge cards, American money or do we need to exchange are money and where is the best place to get the most for your dollar?
Thanks.
money exchange
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Most people accept American dollars so you won't really need to exchange your money, but it may be helpful to have some money in the other currency.
If you use US dollars, you will probably be given Colones in return so you'll have Colones in small bills & coins after your 1st purchase. Or, just go to an ATM and get cash in Colones.
Ticos use coins much more than we do so you may want to go to http://www.xe.com/ucc/ to check the exchange rate to help recognize the values. If you round up to 500C = 1 dollar, you'll be pretty close. The most common coins having value are 500C & 100C. We always drop the remaining coins in the charity box at the airport when we leave.
If you use credit cards, be aware that most companies charge an additional 3% or so for International fees. Capital One is the exception that I know of that does not charge that fee.
For US dollars, take small bills for tipping & local shopping $1s,5s & 10s The bills must be in good shape with no writing on them or tears.
We got colones from the ATM machine upon arival - best exchange rate because you get the interbank rate minus any fees charged by your bank. Most places we went, they accepted US$ or colones and sometimes we would get change back in a mix of currencies, esspecially at places like outdoor markets.