Getting Cash

Probably the best place to get cash from the automatic teller machine in Tarapoto is at the Banco Contenental sitting on the Plaza de Armas.  They will charge a flat rate of $3 US per transaction, and the machine dispenses US dollars. 

Getting dollars changed into soles is just a matter of walking across the street to the Plaza de Armas.  Tourists will find several men who change money for a better rate than the banks will give, usually one or two soles per hundred dollars better.  Now in the middle of February 2008, a typical amount one will recieve for US dollars is 2.90 soles per dollar.  This is down in recent months quite a bit from what the dollar was bringing before.  But it is definitely still a good value.