Costa Rica Currency & Tipping

You're finally fulfilling your dream of traveling to Costa Rica, 

how exciting!! 

Now, you need Costa Rica currency, or do you??

Well, if you're American, you'll find it easy to spend your US dollars instead of the Costa Rican colón (plural: colónes). But if you're Canadian, you'll need to do some exchanging as Canadian dollars are not generally accepted by anyone in Costa Rica, so sorry!

The easiest way to obtain money once you're in Costa Rica is through an ATM, which are abundant in most areas including major cities and beach towns like Playas del Coco. Some machines even offer the choice of receiving US dollars or colónes, whichever you'd prefer. And by using an ATM, you'll be sure to get the current exchange rate. Wondering about tipping in Costa Rica? See below!

But be prepared, even if you pay in US dollars, you may receive any change due in colónes. This is because many vendors simply don't have enough US cash on hand to be able to provide the same back. So what's the conversion rate?

As of December 2016:

1 US dollar = 543 colónes

1 Canadian dollar = 402 colónes
xe.com

Also, if you're brining US currency from home, stick with smaller denominations of say $20 and under, as many vendors won't accept $50 or $100 bills (just as with many McDonalds' or other restaurants in North America). We don't recommend brining travelers checks unless you'll have access to a bank as this is basically the only way to cash them in Costa Rica.

Credit cards are always great for traveling but be sure to keep copies in a safe place you can access (or in a cloud) so that if a card is lost, you'll know what to do. 

If you do end up with some unspent colónes when you return home, check out Connie's Norwegian Cruise Line article on Crowd Pleasing Souvenirs and Gifts to Bring Back from the Caribbean - it includes advice on what to do with that Costa Rican money!

And here's a great article entitled To Tip or Not to Tip in Costa Rica, That's the Question ;)

And remember, you can Rent Our Costa Rica Condo for as low as USD $25 per night in the Green season (April through October)!!

Pura vida,
Ed & Connie
🐒🌴🐢🐳🍹