Advice on Costa Rica money and tipping customs, exchanging US dollars, using credit cards, ATM machines and the local currency.

Costa Rica Currency At a Glance. Official Currency: Costa Rica Colon. Where to Exchange Money: ATM’s or from your bank before traveling. Best Way to Pay for Things: Credit card, cash in colones

Jan 5, 2024 · What is the Currency in Costa Rica? The national currency of Costa Rica is the Costa Rican colón (CRC), but US dollars are used and accepted pretty everywhere. This means Costa Rica is effectively a two-currency country.

May 27, 2025 · USD is widely accepted throughout Costa Rica, as are Costa Rican colones—the local currency (plural). Unfortunately, CAD, Euros, and other foreign currencies are not accepted by most companies, with the exception of a handful of Costa Rican businesses that have owners with personal ties to other countries. (For example, a Costa Rican business ...

May 26, 2025 · Costa Rica’s currency is the colon (₡), named after Christopher Columbus. It comes in both paper and coin form. The paper money goes from bills of ₡1,000 (called a “mil” (Spanish for 1,000) or “un rojo” because of the bill’s red color) to ₡20,000.

4 days ago · 1 US Dollar = 508.61 Costa Rican Colons as of May 31, 2025 11:00 PM UTC. You can get live exchange rates between US Dollars and Costa Rican Colons using exchange-rates.org, which aggregates real-time forex data from the most authoritative sources.

What is the currency in Costa Rica? The currency in Costa Rica is the Costa Rican colon. Each colon is divided into 100 centimos. When you’re buying currency for Costa Rica, look out for the currency code CRC. And once you’re in Costa Rica, you’ll see the symbol ₡ used to show prices.

Mar 16, 2023 · To get by, you’ll need to understand the basics of Costa Rica’s currency, tipping customs, and where and when to exchange money, among other things. Our Costa Rica Experts cover this information with all our travelers before departure.

Mar 1, 2025 · All about Costa Rica money: how much cash to bring, local Costa Rican currency, exchange rates and using US dollars in Costa Rica.