Travellers swapping dollars for colones in Costa Rica are getting less than ever before. On Friday, the US dollar closed at a record-low weighted average of 446.10 colones on the country's wholesale currency market (Monex), the weakest rate since the platform launched in November 2006. That's the eighth straight session of decline, and it caps a striking year: the dollar opened 2026 at 497.07 colones and has since lost 10.3% of its value. Against its 2022 peak of nearly 697 colones, it's down 36%.
The numbers matter for anyone budgeting a trip. Every $1,000 exchanged now yields roughly 446,100 colones — about 51,000 fewer than at the start of the year. In practical terms, a two-week holiday funded in dollars has quietly become several percent more expensive in local-currency terms, whether you're paying for hotels, tours or restaurant bills. Bank and exchange-house rates sit either side of the wholesale average, but they've all moved the same direction.
Behind the slide is a busy Central Bank. The BCCR has been buying dollars to smooth the fall — $94.9 million in November alone through Nov. 12, bringing its 2026 total to $1.36 billion. Costa Rica has run a managed float since 2015, so the aim is to dampen volatility, not defend a fixed rate. Trading volumes have been heavy too: Oct. 27 saw $153.4 million change hands, Monex's biggest day ever. The market reopens Monday, Nov. 16, when traders will see if the slide stretches to a ninth session.
For Costa Ricans, the effects cut both ways. Households earning in dollars and spending in colones take home less, and a bill before lawmakers would tax residents' foreign income at 15% — a squeeze on the many expats and remote workers living on overseas income. Dollar loans are growing fast, and the banking regulator Sugef warns that most foreign-currency borrowers earn in colones, so any reversal of the trend could strain repayments.
Should travellers care? Yes — but not panic. A stronger colón doesn't make Costa Rica expensive by regional standards; it just means the exchange-rate windfall US visitors enjoyed in recent years has shrunk. If you're paid in dollars, watch the rate before you go and consider exchanging in stages rather than all at once. Cards often give close-to-market rates, so paying in colones (never in dollars) at the terminal is usually the smarter move. And for Canadians or Europeans earning other currencies, the dollar's weakness against the colón can actually work in your favour too, depending on your home exchange rates. One thing is certain: the era of stretching dollars effortlessly in Costa Rica is over, at least for now.
