www.CostaRicaTicas.com

The purpose of this post is very simple. Let's save the Newbie's some loot on currency exchange.

When you arrive at SJO airport, you will have 2 options after baggage claim to exchange money. Both quoted me 460 Colones to the US Dollar. The FOREX rate was 537. While the ATMs around baggage claim will give you much better rates, you will most likely pay between a 1% to 2.5% foreign transaction fee from your bank plus local ATM fees. ATMs also have limits to the amount that can be withdrawn in a 24 hour period (generally $200-$300 USD). There are exceptions, but most major banks debit cards will set you back at least 2% in transaction fees. Plus, unlike most ATMs in the States where you swipe & keep your card, most Costa Rican ATM's suck in your card. If a fraud alert is issued, you may be stuck without your card as the machine may eat it due to fraud prevention. While this has not happened to me personally, I have heard of it happening to many others.

Follow this simple trick. Exit the airport after customs. Walk across the 3 lanes of taxis, buses, and other vehicles to the parking garage. It's less than 50 meters. Once in the parking garage, turn to your right & walk about 200 meters down the parking garage. The elevators seem to have been disabled & removed. Eventually, you will come to a ramp that leads you up to the upper level of the airport for departures.

Take the walkway/bridge from the upper parking deck over to the airport departures area. Once in the airport on the upper level, turn right. At the far end of the airport is Bank of San Jose booth. Ignore any other banks, and go to the Bank of San Jose. Your 2 minutes of walking will save you about 13% on buying currency versus buying at the exchange booths near baggage claim / customs in the arrivals area of SJO airport.

Yes, you might be able to get a 1% or 2% better deal in town. But if you land with no local currency and you need some quickly, you don't even have to leave the airport to find a tolerable deal.

FOREX = 537 per $1 (this is the rate used by international banks in interbank trading)
Most Banks = 526 per $1
Bank of San Jose @ Airport = 525 per $1
Arrivals Money Exchange @ Airport = 460 per $1

Hope that helps. Feel free to chime in if you have even better exchange rate options for guys landing with no knowledge of the scene or city. Or if you have any corrections to my statements, please share them.

Have your passport ready for a currency exchange at a bank. Also, the Bank of San Jose (BAC) kiosk-branch on the departure level of the airport will probably ask you where you'll be staying in CR. You can tell name anyplace you like. Some guys say "Holiday Inn Aurolla."

If you want to wait to exchange until you are in the gulch, the Colonial Casino, next to The Rey, gives a good exchange rate 24/7 without a passport and without any waiting in line.

Maxbass, nice concise way to exchange your money into local currency. The only issue that you failed to mention is the fact that the banks on the departure level are not open 24 hours.
I do not recall the exact hours of operation, but I believe they close around 8pm.
Luckily most transport services will take dollars.

If you are really desperate for local currency and are not going downtown I would believe that the casino near the airport would exchange money, I have not heard of anyone going that route and what the exchange rate is.

If you arrive late and bank is closed or if you have bags and plenty of valuables it may be better to get to your hotel and worry about changing money later. All taxis accept dollars so bring 20, 10, 5 and 1 dollar bills. The taxi will charge you 25 to 30 dollars so as long as you have exact change you need not change money till you get to town.
Then follow all the advice given above.

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The one place you can exchange money after 8 p.m. is at the Colonial Casino. Right now it's at about 530 to $1

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I agree it is a convenient, easy, and fast place to change money if you are in San Jose!! No line, no ID needed, convenient location, and close to bank rate!!

But OLD I must question the rate you have stated a couple of times recently. The bank rate at BCR has not changed in a month and therefore non of the other banks have changed more than 1 point during all of April. The BCR rate has been 527 during this period. The bank whose rate the Colonial uses has been 525 during this time. I have changed money there 3 times in the last week and received 525 every time. The difference between 525 and 530 is certainly not much but some people might wonder why they did not get 530 based on your post. and thou not much, if changing $300 (usually the max they will change at one time) it would amount to almost $3.

And Maxbass, I think you realize this, but some come here after checking the FOREX rate and are disappointed when they do not get that rate. Costa Rica sets their own rate which has more to do with how many or how few dollars the government and the powered money people here need to change, and very little to do with what the international rate is!!

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Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

I took a photo in the Airport of the BAC San Jose booth but unfortunately I don't think I can post it in this section of the forum. The booth is at the edge of the departures near the Spirit Airlines ticket counters. It's a self standing booth with a white background & red font saying "BAC San Jose".

Download the XE Currency Converter for Android or iOS devices. At least you'll have a clue of the current rate. If you are on a different platform (Windows, Blackberry, etc), go to Google.com on your phone or any browser and type in the search term "USDCRC" or "CRCUSD" to see the current FOREX (bank to bank) exchange rates between the US Dollar & CR Colones.

'La Nacion' website lists the exchange rates as well. I don't know the origin of their posted rates.
http://www.nacion.com/

Their listed rates today are...
Compra 526.27
Venta 538.11

Oanda also has a currency converter and various tools, including a pocket-size conversion table that can be printed...
http://www.oanda.com

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"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

The Bank of Costa Rica rate is still holding at 527, while the Forex is 533.80 at this moment.

I don't know where XE gets their rate, but it never matches anything else I can find. It is showing 531.30 now. For the Colombian peso, XE usually shows less than the banks.

There are many different places where one can find exchange rates BUT!!!!

If you are in Costa Rica or are coming here all of the international rates mean almost nothing!! The only rate that has any bearing on what you will get in country is the rate set by the national bank of Costa Rica.

The most accurate, most complete, and most up to date source I have found is:

bccr,fi. tipo de cambio anunciado in ventanilla

Type this into your search and it will pop up. It is a list of all the banks and finanical institutions here in CR. It starts with the 4 National (public) banks, then the private banks. It gives the ACCURATE current buy and sell rates for each along with when it was last updated. I have seen as much as 10-12 points difference between the actual rates here and what the different international rates are.

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Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

This is used as economic indication, and is not updated regularly.

The Forex reflects global demand, and has no parallel to the internal exchange rates. Remember that Forex is a futures gamble on foreign currencies. So it's nice to glance and see if the number is going up or down, but it's just a ballpark figure for currency purchases at local banks.

In the end it doesn't matter what numbers you use, or websites you watch. You will only be offered a rate that the bank you visit is willing to give. It's a 'take it or leave it' thing.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

Detailed information can also be found on the AM Costa Rica website. There is a link near the bottom of the first page of the website.

http://www.amcostarica.com/
http://indicadoreseconomicos.bccr.fi.cr ... nilla.aspx

Sorry my friend but THIS IS UPDATED DAILY, some times several times a day. If there is a change it will be reflected within minutes! If no change, it often will not reflect an update. It is exactly what the different banks and institutions are giving at the moment in Costa Rica. Which, if you are in CR and wanting to change money, is all that is important! As I have stated more than once, they to a small extent take into consideration the international rate, but the National Bank is much more concerned with what is going on in CR and what their needs are at the moment than what the rest of the world says it should be or what the "official international rate" is. They set the rate to satisfy their needs at the moment. I have seen it go up when all other indicators were going down and vice versa!!

The important thing is it is what one can expect to get at all the different institutions AT THE MOMENT IN COSTA RICA REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET SAYS IT SHOULD BE!!!!! Only problem is, I have checked to see what the rate is and by the time I get to the bank it has changed. Hell I have had it change while waiting in line in the Bank!!

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Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

if you are talking about this page:
http://indicadoreseconomicos.bccr.fi.cr/indicadoreseconomicos/Cuadros/frmConsultaTCVentanilla.aspx
then the last time it was updated by the Banco de Costa Rica was April 1st.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

Think you might be having a cache issue there BD...I just opened up that link and it was updated today. It matches (and looks identical) to the app I use on my Iphone called CR$ by Advia which has always been accurate. Check the app to decide which bank to change money at a couple of times a week...

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