Find out which banks in Costa Rica have correspondent banks in the U.S. You might find the correspondent bank is your bank. That's the Costa Rican bank with which to work.
Forget about checks, you can not use them in Costa Rica... even travelers checks will cause you problems.
You can access cash at an ATM, and they will usually give you a good exchange rate.
US Dollars are also accepted everywhere... when I go I typically do not exchange my money, I just pay with US dollars. You will get your change in Colones.
Shoestring travelers can survive on US$25 to US$35 a day, covering just the basics of food, lodging and public transportation. The cheapest hotels start at about US$7 to US$15 per person for a bed, four walls and shared bathroom. Better rooms with private bathroom start at roughly US$15 to US$20 per person, depending on the area. It is possible to eat cheaply at the many sodas (lunch counters), where you can fill up on tasty casados, which are set meals, for about US$2 to US$3.
We were there in April. No problem using credit cards at major tourist sites and hotels. Stopped at a shopping center in Liberia and used a bank ATM, it gave the option of getting US dollars or Colones. Most major banks in the tourist areas have ATMs.
We were told by our tour group that the airport gives a very poor exchange rate if you want to change dollars into colones. Every vendor I purchased from, readily accepted US $. All but one gave my change back in US dollars. Stopped in a supermarket, the cashier accepted all my colones (which I was trying to get rid of, and let me make up the difference in US $).
There are plenty of ATM machines . You get the best exchange rate from them. You pay for everything in the local cash, no checks.
how can an American access and exchange money in costa rica. instead of bringing all cash for an extended vacation how can I access my bank accounts or write checks, cash advance ...
