PLANNING FOR COSTA RICA

hen traveling it is            During my stay at Costa Rica, I
essential to plan ahead,      once paid a cab driver in US
so when you arrive at         money, and I received change in
your destination, you lessen the      the local currency. You should
chances of being at a loss of         also make sure your dollars are
what to do. Knowledge gained from     not torn. Local banks and
other's travels can be                businesses do not accept torn US
invaluable, especially when           dollars. I tried to exchange a
planning to travel to somewhere       torn $50 bill, and the bank would
you have never been before. The       not accept it!
advice on this page is helpful to
everyone planning a trip to Costa     -Bringing Money
Rica.
                                      On my trip I brought my money
Money                                 half in dollars and the other
                                      half in American Express cheques.
The money used in Costa Rica is       When a traveler cheque is used
called colons. You can change         there will be a commission fee.
dollars into colons at the
airports in San Jose and local        When to visit/weather
banks. The exchange rates can be
from the low 200s to 400s colons      Costa Rica has two seasons – the
for each US dollar. (Now              dry season and the green season
everywhere in Costa Rica you can      (or rainy season). The dry season
buy or pay in US dollars, but I       is from December to March. The
think things are cheaper if you       dry season is the busiest time in
pay in colons.) Other ways you        Costa Rica. Prices are much
might get colons is if you pay        higher and it is harder to find a
for something in US dollars, you      place to stay. Now in the green
will receive change in colons.        season you will find much cheaper

prices. The green season is from      car, but to me personally I would
April to November. During the         find driving in Costa Rica
rainy season it generally rains       difficult, since I’m not from the
for a few hours and then clears       country and it seems there are a
up.                                   lack of street signs. Also the
                                      prices for a car rental can be
Traveling within Costa Rica           pretty expensive.

Bus – You can catch one to most       Local airlines – You can catch
parts of the country. There are a     local flights to places
few places where the bus comes        throughout Costa Rica. They are
only once a day though…               regularly scheduled and
                                      reasonably inexpensive.
Cab – There are red cabs
throughout the country. If the        Cities and Towns
cab driver tells you the meter is
broker, just get out. First it is     Cities in Costa Rica are San jose
illegal for a cab driver to drive     (The Capital) Alajuela, Cartago,
with a broken meter in Costa          Heredia, Jaco, Liberia, Manuel
Rica; secondly he might just be       Antonio, park, Pochote, Puerto
trying to rip you off.                Limon, Puntarenas, Parismina, and
                                      Tamarindo.
Renting a Car – You can rent a

About the Author:

An experienced traveler to Costa Rica, the author of this article, Terrell, is the webmaster and owner of the website http://www.costa-ricatravel.com

Planning For Costa Rica