Cash or card at hostels in Costa Rica

Stayed across five towns in Costa Rica during my trip and here’s the pattern I noticed. In cities and popular digital nomad hubs like San José and Nosara, cards are mostly accepted even at low-budget hostels. But in areas like Drake Bay or inland Orosi Valley, cash is king. My South African Capitec card worked fine when accepted, but in rural areas, either the signal was weak or the hostel didn’t have a card machine. I now always carry around 30000 colones for backup.

I was in Puerto Viejo last month. My hostel, Rocking J’s, accepted my Wise debit card for check-in but the bar and restaurant area inside the hostel were cash only. Same for tours booked through them. So yes, cards for the bed are fine at most places but you’ll still need cash to function fully inside. I always withdrew colones from a Banco Nacional ATM right after arriving in each town.

San José city hostels are mostly card friendly now. Selina, Fauna and TripOn all took my Revolut card no problem. Even my Curve card worked. But when I got to Monteverde and stayed at a more rustic place called Pension Santa Elena they asked for cash unless you had booked via Hostelworld. They also offered a discount if you paid in colones. Definitely best to ask ahead or message them on WhatsApp.

I stayed in Tamarindo and Santa Teresa this April and most hostels accepted cards but only if you booked online or paid the full amount upfront. Walk-ins were different. At one place called La Botella de Leche they told me they’d prefer cash even though they technically had a card machine. Turns out small hostels sometimes avoid using card terminals because of processing fees. I’d suggest keeping some colones on hand just in case.