Any advice about money in Santa Theresa / Mal Pais?
 

Hi,

Having not been to Costa Rica before I am not sure what to do about money. We will only be in the San Jose Airport and in Santa Theresa. Is there a bank in Santa Theresa? What is the best way to pay for things? Do businesses take credit cards or traveler's checks? If we need to pay with cash, should we change our dollars in the San Jose airport?

Any advice would be much appreciated!!

Thank You,
Gem

Sparklegem, I don't believe there is a bank in Santa Teresa but there is one in Cobano which is about an hour away. The best way to get money is from an ATM before you leave San Jose. You will get the best exchange rate with least amount of hassle.

The most widely accepted credit card is Visa. Most hotels and restaurants accept credit cards and US dollars.

Call you credit card company before you leave and let them know that you are travelling to Costa Rica. This way they will authorize the charges. My card was blocked on our last trip and I had to make calls from CR to get it opened.

Sparklegem, also check this website for useful information about this area of CR:

http://www.nicoyapeninsula.com/

Hi Iza,

Thank you for your advice!

Is there an atm at the airport in San Jose? We will only be at the airport. We can only withdraw $200 per day and we will not have a car to drive Tambor. Should we bring extra US dollars with us? Is it safe to keep money anywhere or would we need to carry it with us?

Thank you for your help! And thank you link to the website!! You recommended it many months ago and it has been my extremely helpful. The map is great!

Best Regards,
Gem

Gem, I would say, take some dollars with you in cash and a couple of hundred dollars in travellers checks (to have just in case).

I can't remember if there is an ATM machine at the airport. I think there may be just as you exit through customs but I am really not sure.

Are you flying to Tambor and then driving from there? If so, stop at Cobano where there is an ATM and see if you can get some colones.

When we are in Costa Rica, we try to pay for as much as we can by credit card (hotel, restaurants, bigger shopping items). You will need cash (colones or US dollars) for smaller local restaurants and shops.

Hi Gem,
Don't mean to jump in on others advice but I do think I remember seeing a bank kiosk at the Airport down at the end just beyond one of the entrance doors this past Feb. It was just a small booth type place but you might be able to change some money there if you get in during the daytime hours. Except for the tiniest places away from towns, we have not had any trouble using american dollars.
P.S. don't forget to save the departure tax money back. I believe it is now $24per person??? It was changed right after I was there last time I believe. They may have changed that system also so maybe someone who has paid it recently can keep the rest of us up to date. I don't think you buy the stamp first anymore.
Credit cards are not the favorite way for places to get paid down there. Visa is the prefered one if it is accepted but be prepared to pay a fee for using it. The banks down there charge a much larger fee than most places and the hotels, restaurants, etc., at least in my experience, have all passed on that charge.

The departure tax is now $26 per person (applicable to children as well) and can be paid in colones or US dollars or by Visa. There are official booths inside the airport where you pay the departure tax. Don't hand your money to anyone else that is approaching you at the airport to sell you the tax stamps.

In our 3 trips to Costa Rica, we only experienced the passing of the cc fee in one instance.

Personally, in all my trips to CR, I have never exchanged money. I use cash for some hotels because some will give a 10% discount if paying with American Dollars (such as Qrquidea Inn in Alajuela and Villa Taype in Nosara). Just ask your hotel what their policy is. For hotels that don't give a discount, we use Mastercard. Never had a probelm with it.
I can usually get a few peso's from the hotels as well, just to get started. As for restaurants, we pay in American dollars and get change in colones, and use that for the next time, and so on and so on. Anyway, as Suzie2 says, American dollars are widely accepted.
Yes, don't forget to 'save' that high priced departure tax for your return!

Hi Iza, you must shop in the right places!! I run into those extra cc fees all the time. The banks did not always accept Master Card down there and American Express is virtually worthless even now.
Regarding the departure tax. Thanks for updating the info. Couldn't remember just exactly how high it had gone other than it was in the 20's.
I understand you don't have to buy the exit stamp but you still have to pay first. Could you fill us in on exactly how it works now?

Hi Suzie, as to shopping at the right places ;-), we usually just buy lots of coffee to bring back home (usually just get it in supermarkets and use cash for those purchases) and some gifts (our favorite store is Kaltak Artisania which is halfway between Liberia and Tamarindo - wonderful wood items and plenty of other choices with good prices; our Visa card was accepted there on a couple of occassions with no additional charge or hassle). The only time when we incurred the additional charge was in Nosara when we paid for Hotel Romantica.

As to the departure tax, when we were there in August, we got someone to help with our luggage in front of the terminal. He directed us to the tax booths which are on the right hand side as soon as you walk into the terminal (they are not very obvious or visible). You need to pay the tax there before you can check in your bags. You then get the receipt for it which is necessary for flight check-in and passport control. I didn't think the system worked so well because if it wasn't for the man who was helping with our bags we wouldn't have known to pay the tax before checking in. They really should have some signs in place directing you to do that so that you don't wait in the check in line only to find out that you need to go back to pay the tax!

You are right about it not being obvious. I had to look all over the place in Feb for the stupid little booth. As it turns out, the taxi driver let me off at a different door and there was no booth in that corridor. Not to mention that I was trying to find it with several thousand (seemed like it anyway) stranded passengers who couldn't get to the east coast because of the snow storm. It was hard to find anything with all those people.
Back to the money issue. We prefer to carry cash most of the time when we are together. After my husband leaves is when I start using my cc more because I don't feel comfortable carrying a lot of cash when I am traveling alone.
Pura Vida
Sue