Departure Tax/CR
 

Could you please advise on the departure tax in Costa Rica? Also, cash vs. cc.
Thank you.

It's $26, payable in dollars or the equivalent amount in colones. You can pay with a credit card, but it gets processed as a cash advance, and you pay extra fees associated with that.

Highly Recommend that you take the $26/pp in cash and pay at the counter in the "departures" area BEFORE you leave the airport to start your CR vacation - that way you have less stress when you are leaving, and you know you have enough cash. Just tuck the paperwork in your passport, you'll need it later.
Why pay the CC fee?

Our driver recommended this on first CR trip, we did it again 2 weeks ago. So easy, and less stress if you are running late, etc.

I'll admit up front this is probably a dumb question. Since it is a country departure tax, I assume if one wants to do as 4explore suggests and pay upon arrival, it wouldn't matter/paperwork would be the same if you paid upon arrival at SJO or LIR and then departed from the other airport.

I noticed when we arrived in SJO before that there was a small booth before passport control that was designed to pay departure tax upon arrival, but the booth was closed.

lilbit, we always pay in cash. Also there are two different booths where you can pay it; I think most people go to the first booth, and there's not usually anyone waiting at the second booth. We've never had to wait long.

lilbit49,
In answer to your question, it shouldn't matter which airport you are departing from. The tax is the same, and the forms look exactly alike.

Keep in mind you can also pay by credit card if you use a credit/debit card with no additional fees (a straight up credit card wil incur fees). Also, as you wal in to the airport, there are actually 2 places to pay the tax but mostly everyone gravitates to the one on the right; if you turn left instead that one is almost always wide open, it's partially hidden behind a screen so I guess most people don't see it.

You might have a credit card that charges you no fees, but the point of sale, in other words, the tax counter, will charge you a fee to use your card. If you can, just save out $26 in dollars or colones to pay the tax before you leave. That's the easiest thing to do.

I have never seen the counter open to pay the tax upon arrival. If it were, I still wouldn't bother with it at that time. I always want to get in the immigration line right away since that line can be pretty horrendous.

Agree - we waited 2 hours in the immigration line on our last trip.

I've found the departure tax area closed upon arrival too and trying to get workers in that general area to go over that counter to take my money was out of the question. I thought it might be easier for them to take my $26 than to have to look at me stand there with my bottom lip curled under, but apparently when that area closes, that's it until morning. We found paying the departure tax at departure was a good way to get rid of our last colones.