Costa Rica Currency

Costa Rica Money: Everything you need to know

Costa Rica Exchange Rate | Tico Travel

The main currency of Costa Rica is called the colon and has been in circulation since 1896.It is divided into 100 centimos and Coins come in denominations of 5, 10, 25, 50 centimos and 1, 5, 10 colones. Banknotes come in denominations of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 colones.

It is commonly used in combination with the US dollar in Costa Rica. Colones are most frequently used in rural areas, food and craft markets and government institutions.

How The Costa Rica Currency Started

Before going to Costa Rica, I think it’s important that you have an understanding of the currency in Costa Rica and how works for those going as tourists. I don’t want to bore you but let me start of with just a brief history lesson so you have just a little background information on the currency in Costa Rica.

The Costa Rican colón was first introduced in 1896 as the official currency of Costa Rica, replacing the Spanish real. It was named after Christopher Columbus, who is known as Cristóbal Colón in Spanish.

The currency was initially pegged to the U.S. dollar, but in the early 20th century, it was allowed to float against the dollar. The exchange rate has fluctuated over the years, but it has generally trended downward.

What does Costa Rica Money Look like?

The design on the coins typically features images of national symbols such as the coat of arms of Costa Rica, or important figures in Costa Rican history. The banknotes typically feature images of important historical figures, landmarks or natural landscapes from Costa Rica.

The design on the banknotes changes from time to time, for example the 20,000 colones note has the image of the national hero Juan Santamaria, on the front and the image of the Arenal volcano on the back.

What is the Costa Rica Exchange Rate?

Ok. history lesson is over, told you it would be brief, so now lets talk about what the money, how it affects you during your time in Costa Rica and how to make it get the best exchange rate possible

Costa Rica’s currency is the colon, which for exchange rate purposes is identified as “CRC”. The symbol for the colon is a c with two forward slashes (₡). Bills are issued in the following denominations: ₡1,000, ₡2,000, ₡5,000, ₡10,000, ₡20,000 colon notes.

The change ranges in size from smaller to larger depending on denomination; coins are available in ₡5, ₡10, ₡25, ₡50, ₡100 and ₡500 colones.

Try to use these as much as you can before the bills as they are a bit larger and heavier than you may be used to and after a while you might find yourself leaning to one side!

The exchange rate of Costa Rican colón (CRC) to other currencies varies depending on the market conditions so in order to find out what the current exchange rate is, you can use any one of a number of currency exchange websites or you can you go to The Banco Central de Costa Rica  which sets the exchange rate for the US Dollar and publishes that rate on the banks website.

To make it easier for you, here is a Costa Rica currency convertor for you so you can check out the current exchange rate:

How To Spend Money in Costa Rica

When using dollars, I want to make things easy on myself, so I carry $20 bills or smaller as its accepted a lot more readily than the larger bills.

Why do I do this you may ask?  For a few reasons, one being that its alot easier for them to have change for smaller bills then larger, also because many “ticos” don’t have a lot of faith in $50 and $100 bills in large part because there have been counterfeit problems in the past (and currently) with those bills, and of course, there is a risk for anyone accepting them.

However, and with this being said, you would be surprised by the number of businesses and individuals who will accept US currency in Costa Rica.

This would include most of the taxi drivers located outside both the airport in San Jose as well as the airport in Liberia. In addition, most major hotels and resorts, large restaurants, and chain supermarkets will accept US dollars.

Keep in mind that if you want to pay dollars in small stores, roadside vendors, and local markets they won’t always (basically never) be able to give you back change in dollars.

So, remember that when you spend your dollars on something in places such as this. don’t expect to get dollars in return, as in almost every case they will give you your change in Colones and at that point you will, to a certain extent be leaving it up to them as to what exchange rate they will use to give you back your change.

Does Costa Rica take US currency?

Many places in the country, particularly tourist areas and larger cities, accept U.S. dollars as well. It is common to see prices listed in both currencies, and many businesses will accept U.S. dollars as a form of payment.

However, it is important to note that the exchange rate may not be as favorable when using U.S. dollars, and some places may charge a higher price or add a surcharge for using U.S. dollars. To get the best exchange rate, it is generally recommended to use Costa Rican Colones.

Some places may not accept large denomination of US dollar notes, so it’s always a good idea to have small denomination notes and coins. It’s always good to have some Costa Rican Colones on hand as well, in case you run into a place that only accepts the local currency.

What to do with the extra Costa Rica Coins?

Costa Rica Coins

Pay attention to how many Colones you have toward the end of your trip and make every effort to spend them. If you don’t, you’ll need to get to the airport early to wait in line, pay a substantial commission, and get them converted back to US Dollars at a painful rate.

If you’re thinking that you’ll just take them home and convert them at your local bank, I would tell you that I would not do that as very few banks in the US are will accept Colones in which case you will have to make plans to come back to Costa Rica so that you can spend that cash! (not a bad deal).

Here are some suggestions:

  1. If you haven’t prepaid for your hotel, then when you go to check out pay part or all of your bill with the Colones you have left. If you don’t have enough to cover the whole bill just ask them to put the remaining balance on your credit card.
  2. If you go to Starbucks alot at home and have a Starbucks card then you can go to one in San Jose and add funds in-store in Colones. That will then convert to the currency of the country your card is registered in.
  3. Refill gas in your rental car. If you’ve rented a car in Costa Rica, you will need stop to refill gas on the way to drop off before you leave.(if not you’ll pay a fortune if they do it). Pay in cash, refill to the amount of cash you’ve got left and then do a separate transaction to get the tank full by paying with a credit card.
  4. This is may be the most enjoyable: Spend the remaining cash in Duty Free!