This week in Costa Rica, the dollar fell to the cheapest level ever recorded here, the government floated a tax change that would show up in your grocery bill, and San José's airport moved a step closer to letting you skip the immigration line. Here's what actually matters if you live in, invest in, or travel to Costa Rica.

The dollar finished Friday at ¢452.96 on Monex, capping a week that produced two of the lowest marks ever recorded — including ¢452.11 on Tuesday, the lowest since the Central Bank began the series in December 2007. Step back and the scale is hard to ignore: in June 2022 a single dollar bought ¢696.76. Economists point to a structural surplus of dollars in the market with no sign of reversing, which means retirees, remote workers and anyone else converting foreign income should plan on the squeeze continuing rather than betting on a rebound.

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Santamaría International Airport plans to switch on automated immigration gates by the end of July, starting with four in arrivals and two in departures. You scan your passport, look at a camera, and the gate either opens or sends you to an officer. The first phase covers Costa Ricans with biometric passports; foreign travelers with biometric documents come later, with no date announced yet.

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The government is weighing a plan to move basic grocery staples from the current 1% sales tax toward the standard 13% rate, following an IMF recommendation. Low-income households would be refunded through a targeted transfer system — which means foreign residents and middle- and upper-income Costa Ricans would simply pay more at the register. It is still a proposal under study, not a filed bill, and any change would need approval from the Legislative Assembly

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Authorities have renewed warnings to beachgoers along the Pacific coast after confirming a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza, alongside a string of reports of sick and unusually docile pelicans. If you see a bird behaving strangely on the sand, keep your distance and keep pets away

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A tense runway dispute captured on air traffic control audio has turned into a broader warning about the strain on Costa Rica's aviation system — an uncomfortable backdrop as midyear vacation traffic peaks at the country's busiest airport

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If you are driving back from the Pacific coast on Sunday, July 19, expect traffic to be running against you in one of the westbound lanes. Authorities are reversing lanes on both of the last two Sundays of the midyear school break to move the heavy return flow toward San José. Leave early or leave late, but do not plan on a relaxed mid-afternoon drive to the beach

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Scientists have identified a new frog species in the mountain streams of Costa Rica’s Los Santos region, a discovery that links biodiversity with one of its most important coffee-growing areas.

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Travel + Leisure's 2026 World's Best Awards put Nayara Tented Camp in Arenal at No. 28 globally and first among Central American resorts, Hotel Belmar in Monteverde at No. 33, and Nayara Gardens at No. 97. Costa Rica took all three top spots in the Central America resort ranking, drawn from more than 661,000 reader votes — another sign that Arenal, Monteverde and Guanacaste remain the country's strongest cards in the global luxury market.

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