Can anyone tell me if there is a place to exchange money in the Juan Santamaria Int'l airport in San Jose? We'll be arriving late, will they be open in the evening?
Or is there somewhere else close to the airport that we can exchange our money the next day? Thanks for any help. -Jill

We never changed into Colones .... We used US $ everywhere . Just have some small bills . You will generally get colones back . Hopefully others will reply .

Are you taking US currency?

If so we have never changed money either, other than the change we get or maybe a hundred at our hotel. There is a money exchange in the airport, have no idea what time it closes.

Take lots of one's, Costa Ricans like to get US dollars. Do not take any bills over a $20. US currency is widely accepted, especially in the more tourist visited areas.

Jilcha, last February our flight arrived at 9:30pm and the Money Exchange room was still open. I would recommend changing $100 at your hotel, instead. It is all about preference. I would also take faithie and dfarmers advice. But, it is always good to have Colones on you just in case.

In the SJO airport, there are money exchange windows and an ATM just after you pick up your baggage, but before you walk through the customs inspection...you can't miss 'em.

As others have noted, it's not a big deal if you can't exchange or get colones since the taxis (and most other tourist services) will accept dollars.

Have fun!
Mark
www.tiogringo.com

The exchange rate at the airport booth is not good so exchange very little if you use it. I agree with the above posts.

Thanks for all of the replies.
We'll take small U.S. bills and change a little money to colones (just in case). Our flight doesn't get in until 10:30 pm and we have another flight to the Osa Peninsula at 10:00 am the next day. I was a little worried about time.
Thanks again, Jill

Is it just me? I LIKE dealing in Colones. It seems like part of the flavor of traveling in a foreign country/culture.