Costa Rica

Berta, I'm also heading to CR for the first time in December, and I'm cautious about drinking tap water even at home.

I found this on Lonely Planet:

It's generally safe to drink tap water in Costa Rica, except in the
most rural and undeveloped parts of the country. However, if you
prefer to be cautious, buying bottled water is your best bet. If you
have the means, vigorous boiling for one minute is the most effective
means of water purification.

But I have also heard it doesn't taste very good; in San Jose I read that it has high chlorine content.

I plan to rely on bottled water for drinking, but I might brush my teeth with tap water (which I didn't do in Mexico). I will be interested in reading replies from folks who have been there.

We've been to Costa Rica twice and don't recall avoiding drinking tap water, showers, ice cubes, etc. and had no stomach issues.

Both trips were 10 days each and we've been to both coasts, and other destinations inland. Use ATM for cash or use credit cards, but not all restaurants will take credit cards. If you pay in USD, you will probably get a less favorable exchange, as they tend to round the USD prices to be more favorable to the merchant.

We were in Costa Rica last month and we mostly drank bottled water but also had water from the hotels, ate vegetables and fruit that I assume were washed in the water, brushed our teeth with it, had coffee, tea, etc. and had no adverse effects. I was pleasantly surprised.
We used credit cards everywhere and US dollars. Did not exchange any money for colones at all. We probably got a somewhat less positive exchange rate when we used USD but we also didn't end up taking home colones that will sit in a drawer so it might even out.
FYI I absolutely recommend spending as little time in San Jose as possible. We found it to be a mostly uninteresting large city. We got the feel of it in one day and that was enough. CR is all about the rest of country, not that city.

I traveled to Costa Rica several years ago and drank the water and ate fresh fruit without any problems. I don’t like to buy bottled water, so took a water bottle with built-in filter, but didn’t feel That the filter was necessary.

I was in small coastal towns so I got cash from atm for purchases at small establishments, and only used credit at bigger places.

we have been back for a couple of weeks now and want to thank all of you for your replys to my questions. They were so helpful and we enjoyed our time tremendously. We will definitely go back.

Glad you had a good trip, berta. I also had a great time in Costa Rica.

I ended up drinking the tap water everywhere. I thought it tasted fine, and it gave me no digestive problems.

A few things worth noting:

• US dollars are widely (almost universally) accepted, and the exchange rate is not necessarily unfavorable. In many shops in places with a lot of tourists, items are priced in dollars, not in colones, and change is usually given in dollars. All of the excursions I did were priced in dollars. Many restaurant bills show the price in both dollars and colones. I did the math, and sometimes it was better to pay in dollars, perhaps because the colon has taken a bit of a beating over the last year. My expat friends who live there frequently use dollars for their transactions. Tour guides were delighted to accept tips in US dollars. (Perhaps in San Jose or other population centers that don't cater to tourists, colones would be better.)
• ATMs in some areas dispense both dollars and colones.
• VIsa and MasterCard were accepted virtually everywhere.
• A typical meal in Costa Rica includes rice and beans (what they call "gallo pinto"). This includes breakfast. Nothing wrong with rice and beans, but I grew tired of it. Most places that serve breakfast have an "American breakfast" option. Though I usually prefer to eat like the locals, I was happy to stick with American breakfast in CR.
• In general, I would say Costa Rica is not a foodie destination. I had a couple of good meals, and I imagine there are some first-rate restaurants in some places, but don't go to CR with high expectations for enjoying the local cuisine.