How to get US Dollars in Costa Rica
Posted: December 12, 2022 Tagged: Costa Rica, ATM Withdrawal Fees
The post details my experience of getting US Dollars from the BAC ATM in Costa Rica.
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Where to get US dollars in Costa Rica?
First up is the question why would I need to get US Dollars from an ATM in Costa Rica when you can get and use Colones?
I was going to be crossing from Costa Rica to Panama using the Sixaolo border crossing.
Panama uses US Dollars. And it is always best to be prepared by having a little bit of currency that is used in the next country.
You never know if it will be easy to get some cash or not, even if it's just enough to get you to the next town which has a money changer or an ATM.
Years of travelling in remote areas taught me to be prepared as much as possible.
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Also read:
ATM withdrawal fees in Panama are 6.50 USD, so my task was to try and get some US Dollars in Costa Rica.
I was going to be crossing from Costa Rica to Panama using the Sixaolo border crossing.
Panama uses US Dollars. And it is always best to be prepared by having a little bit of currency that is used in the next country.
You never know if it will be easy to get some cash or not, even if it's just enough to get you to the next town which has a money changer or an ATM.
Years of travelling in remote areas taught me to be prepared as much as possible.
***
Also read:
- Tips for using the ATM in Mexico
- Free ATM Withdrawals in El Salvador
- Free ATM Withdrawals in Belize
- Free ATM Nicaragua
ATM withdrawal fees in Panama are 6.50 USD, so my task was to try and get some US Dollars in Costa Rica.
Do ATMs in Costa Rica dispense US dollars?
Most ATMs in Costa Rica offer both Costa Rican Colones or US Dollars, but in reality they rarely replenish the dollars. Banco Nacional supposedly gives you the option for taking out US Dollars but in Puerto Viejo there was no option.
But thankfully the BAC Bank did:
But thankfully the BAC Bank did:
The catch being is that the ATM withdrawal fee on US Dollars is 4.95 USD where as you can get Colones at most banks in Costa Rica with no withdrawal fee. But it's better than the 6.50 USD across the border and it saved me looking for an ATM or money changer across the border.
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