Costa Rica is on Central Standard Time, six hours behind Greenwich Mean Time and one hour behind EST in the States. It does not use daylight saving time – which means that when there is daylight saving time in the US, then Costa Rica is on MST (2 hours behind EST).

The official money is the Costa Rica Colones (Fluctuating around 420 - 700 colones per $1 USD. The US Dollar is widely accepted in Costa Rica, so exchanging US Dollars to Costa Rica Colones is not necessary. Smaller denominations of $20 or less are easiest to cash. Visa and Mastercard are also widely accepted. AMEX and DISCOVERY slightly less accepted.

ATMS: There are ATMS within driving distance. Some only accepts Visa and most will dispense money in both colones & USD.

Electricity: The voltage throughout the country is 110, the same as in North America. Travelers with appliances set for 220 will need an adapter that changes the voltage and allows for use of a different plug - and we recommend you bring your own.