What amount of cash should we bring to CR?
 

My husband would like to bring $2,000 in cash with us. I say that is terribly risky and not a safe thing to do. We are concerned of having problems with ATM machines and not being able to get money. What would you suggest we bring with us for cash?

We usually start with aprox.$1000 to $1200. cash with some accomodations partially or fully paid before we leave home. We bring about $300-500 traveler's cheques for those places that will accept them and we use a credit card. We haven't wanted to search down an ATM or deal with the possible risks. We plan for $50 a day for food for the wife and I and usually have cash to bring back.

I usually bring about $500 in cash, and pay the rest with credit card. I also try to pre-pay hotels & stuff as much as possible. What areas are you visiting? Personally I've never had a problem withdrawing money from atm's in CR.

Um, I think we had about $60. We used ATMs in San Jose, Arenal, and Tamarindo with no problem. There are a few banks in each place, so if one doesn't work, another one should.

I couldn't imagine carrying that much cash on me. I agree with you that it is risk to do that.

Sounds like a lot of cash to me, especially when you can use your credit card most places, and get cash from ATMs most of the time. ((*))

I prepay hotels before I leave, and bring $300 - $600 cash. I set my airport departure money aside as well as tip money for guides, etc. I try not to use my credit card because they add a fee to convert currency, but I bring it as a backup. I've encountered a few ATMs that don't work, so I try to plan ahead and bring enough cash. I often bring some back home with me -- food is always cheaper than I expect.

Sandy

This is helpful. I like the idea of paying for hotels before we leave, although some of our trip we are not lining up hotels ahead of time. I actually am going to check with my bank because I only have a debit card, not an ATM card and I know from past experience the debit card has a maximum amount you can withdraw a day. It seems like an ATM card is what most fodorites use. I have a Visa Plus on it's way to me, which has only a 1% conversion fee. I am still debating going with travellers checks. Some say they are useless, others like you Earthtraveller bring them.

By the way, I am travelling to Bijagua,Arenal,Nicoya Penninsula (Malpais, Montezuma) and Rincon de Viejo .

I always pay for the hotels in advance. I usually take around $1500 cash. Never had a problem, but I do seperate and hide my money in not-so-obvious places. Many, if not most, restaurants, stores and hotels are cash only in the Mal Pais area and they won't accept $100 bills because of counterfeit problems.

Juldie - ATMs also have a max/day, which is variable. Check with your bank.

In some countries, US bills that are old or marred in any way are not accepted. Is this true in CR? ((#))

I bring maybe $500.00 in cash and plan on using ATM's when I travel. I did have two Mexico trips where my ATM card would not work. My backup for this is to bring travler's checks. I get these from my bank at no charge and normally re-deposit the full ammount when I get home. This way I have a backup in case of trouble, but don't get ripped off for the exchange fees of using traveler's checks unless a problem occurs.

Yes, bills need to be in good condition, and in small denominations ($20 or less is best). Counterfeiting is a problem, and larger bills are always suspect. That alone makes it cumbersome to take so much cash! Lots of bills! Do be sure to take a lot of $5's and $1's for tips.

You have gotten some good advice. I think the concensus is to stay away from traveling with huge amounts. We have, in the past, had over $1000 on us, and, like surfexec, divide and hide. Although, at our ages, we run the risk of not remembering where we put it!

We have had occasional trouble with ATM's, but have always, without too much trouble, found one that would accomodate us! We take $300 or so at the beginning, and typically withdraw $200-$300 at a time. You can always take your passport into a bank and get cash there as well. This has worked for us numerous times. Banks have a rep for long lines, but I don't think we've ever spent more than 30 min. Sometimes less than 10! Once, years ago, it took me an hour to get in and out.

Traveler's cheques are, as Earthtraveler suggested, helpful if you know ahead of time that your hotel gladly accepts them. We, too, take them along to use specifically for those hotels who want them. You can check ahead of time. We haven't prepaid hotels, but I think it is a good idea.

And we use our credit card as needed. . .a little cash, a few traveler's cheques, and a credit card work for us.

We'll be in Bijagua this summer as well. Not a place that is mentioned on Fodor's very often. . .are you staying there overnight? Your itinerary looks very good! You should be able to use an ATM in Cobano (business center city close to Montezuma) and the Arenal area. Your VISA plus will be a good thing to have. We have Cirrus, and usually need to try to find a Bank of San Jose ATM (and they aren't quite as plentiful as some of the others!).

Buen viaje! Enjoy yourselves. :)

The one downside to paying hotels in advance is that you pay more.

We didn't make reservations in advance (you can search for my trip report from early April about doing Costa Rica "on the fly"), and every hotel we went to charged us less if we paid cash (we used ATMs a LOT). We saved about 10% at each place.

Karen

We took $1500 thinking it was plenty and it definitley wasn't! I think $2,000 sounds good. Plus, we had issues at certain ATMs, not really sure why come were taking our cards and others weren't. It turned into a hassle especially as the smaller towns don't have ATM's and mom&pop shops/restaurants definitely don't take credit cards. Also, as mentioned above, some hotels will give you a discount if paying cash - so something to keep in mind.

We took $2,000 cash with us and then used ATMs. We were there for 11 days with Manuel Antonio being our last stop. By the time we got to MA, we were running low on cash and had no trouble using our debit card to make cash withdraws.