Costa Rica has an overall good communication system.  Coin operated telephones take only silver coins -so do automatic pay tolls- (5, 10 & 20 face value). These phones are quickly losing ground to those that accept magnetic or chip cards, pre-paid services help you organize a budget. There are three types of cards available at the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), the national post office, Correos de Costa Rica (local mail offices), or at many businesses displaying the gold and blue ICE sign that reads "TARJETAS TELEFONICAS" (telephone cards).

Chip cards (500, 1000 or 2000 colones) operate in blue cased public phones.  Insert the card in the slot an follow instructions. Two other pre-paid cards can be used from any touch tone phone, but requires to punch in a long complex number.  The 197 cards (200 and 400) allow in-country calls, while the 199 cards ($10, $20 or 3000 colones) are for international calls and have instructions in English.

You can also make long-distance calls and send or receive faxes at Radiográfica Costarricense or use one of many new internet cafes.

Currency, Banking, Credit Cards, Traveler's Checks

The Costa Rican monetary unit is the Colon. NOTE: DON'T BE TEMPTED TO EXCHANGE MONEY IN YOUR HOME COUNTRY BEFORE DEPARTING, THE RATE YOU WILL RECEIVE IS WELL BELOW WHAT YOU'LL RECEIVE HERE. There is a branch of the Banco de San Jose (BAC) at the airport so you can change dollars for colones there or at any of the many banks scattered throughout the country. The exchange rate is currently around ¢516 and ¢522 colones to $1.00 U.S. and can fluctuate without notice. It is best to bring money in the form of U.S. dollar denominated traveler's checks, don't expect to cash personal checks. In the city most businesses will accept major credit cards (Visa, Master Card, AMEX), however in the outlying areas cash is preferred and many establishments will add a surcharge of around 4 - 6 1/2% for credit card transactions. There are numerous ATM's around that work on the Cirrus, Star, and Plus systems so don't forget your PIN. Office hours are generally from 8:00 am to 4:30-5:00 PM with an hour for lunch between 12 noon and 1 PM. Most banks are open from 9:00 am to 3:00 PM on weekdays.

Western Union transfers money from around the world to Costa Rica in 15 minutes or less.  Fee depends on the amount withdrawn, and the money can be collected at any of five Western Union offices or at one of 55 Bancrecen banks and some 30 other locations are also available.

Interbank transfers are considerably less expensive, but they usually take longer to process and standing is a certainty.  Fees also depend on the amount and the bank used.  Users of this service will have to provide a routing number of the Costa Rican bank to which the money is going to be sent, but no pre-existing account is necessary.