Getting Mail in Costa Rica
If you’ve lived or travelled in Costa Rica, you are likely aware that there are no real street addresses here. This not only has a deep impact on getting and giving directions as discussed in my upcoming article on that topic, but it also makes an impact on receiving mail. How in the world do you get mail in Costa Rica if you do not have a fixed address? While it’s not as easy as it is in North America or the UK, it is certainly possible to get mail while living here in Costa Rica.
Let’s explore some of the main ways below:
Correos de Costa Rica
This is the postal service in Costa Rica, but it is relatively limited. As you may have noticed, no one has a mailbox here in Costa Rica, nor will you find doors with a mail slot on them. That’s because the mail service here doesn’t really do mail delivery like they do in most of the rest of the world. You won’t see a mailman with shorts on and driving a mail truck from house to house. However, if you visit your local Correos de Costa Rica location, you will be able to mail/ship letters and parcels to the rest of the world… just be prepared for it to take a little while to get there.
If you want to receive mail here and you know you will be getting letters or packages on a regular basis, you can set up a P.O. Box with Correos de Costa Rica. The company I work for has a P.O. box here and I occasionally get mail there. The P.O. box is, naturally, located at your local branch of Correos de Costa Rica and you can go pick up letters and packages any time during working hours just like you would at a P.O. box in the United States.
Correos de Costa Rica also has a relatively new service called Box Correos where you can order items online and they will provide you with an address in Miami where the goods will arrive. They will then ship the goods here to Costa Rica where you can either pick them up at your local branch or you can have them delivered to your home for an extra cost.
Ordering Items Online
Over the last decade or so, there has been a big uptick in the number of companies that provide services very similar the Box Correos. One of the most ubiquitous is Jetbox while there are other companies such as Aeropost or Mail Boxes, Etc. Everyone seems to have a different favorite, but most of the services are very similar in that you get a P.O. box address in Miami where you can ship the goods you buy on the internet and then the provider will ship your goods down to Costa Rica where you can then pick them up at the store or, in many cases, get them delivered directly to your home. These companies also handle hassles like customs (see below), though any taxes charged will obviously be passed on to you.
Other Services
If you need to receive a package or letter and speed is of the utmost essence, there are always the old standbys in DHL or FedEx. Both companies have locations in the Central Valley and you can get things sent to you at their locations and then go pick them up. I have personally used FedEx to receive more sensitive items like new debit cards and it has worked well albeit on the more expensive side.
Some Important Things to Consider
∙ Customs: When getting mail and/or packages sent to you in Costa Rica, there are a few things to keep in mind. One of the most important is that packages can be inspected by customs and you may need to pay taxes on any goods shipped to you. This will certainly make anything you purchase that much more expensive so you will be paying not only for the item you are buying, but you will pay the service (Jetbox, et al), and finally you will need to pay taxes. Keep that in mind when you make purchases online and want it shipped here.
∙ Restrictions/Prohibited Items: In addition, there are certain items that either have import restrictions placed on them (cosmetics, alcohol, and perfume among them) or there are outright prohibitions to importation (guns, pornography, and animals/animal skins among them). You can find a list of these restrictions and prohibitions here.
I have had two experiences over the years related to this last point which makes me gun-shy in getting goods sent to Costa Rica. About 20 years ago, my parents mailed me something from the United States via regular mail. The package was held by the post office and I had to go to their offices in Zapote with my passport and the package receipt they sent me and I then had to pay import taxes that were probably about 30% of the value of the item. It took me about half a day to get to the office and get the item and return home. Hardly worth my time and money.
The second happened when my mom sent my wife a package of sprays that she makes via DHL and these were classified as cosmetics. Again, we spent the better part of a day going to various offices, filling out forms, paying fees and taxes, collecting stamps until finally we were able to receive the package. The lesson: it’s better to use some of the services like Box Correos or Jetbox to handle some of the importing aspects if you are receiving anything other than letters from abroad.
∙ Friends and Family: The best options for getting goods down to Costa Rica would be to either wait until you visit the States and simply purchase there and bring them back yourself or to have friends or family who are visiting do so. Barring that possibility, the services like Box Correos or Jetbox, etc. would be the next best option since they deal with the customs part for you as mentioned above.
∙ Give Some Leadtime: Unfortunately, getting mail and packages in Costa Rica is not as simple as it is in much of the rest of the world, but it is possible, just pricier and requires a longer wait time to receive them. You’ll want to factor that wait time into anything you order. It can take another week or even month to arrive depending on the service you use, so make sure to order anything well in advance of needing it.
As you can see, the lack of street addresses unnecessarily complicates getting mail and packages in Costa Rica. It can be one of the biggest adjustments to living here and many people are now accustomed to being able to go to Amazon and get an item in a few days. That being said, you can still get most of the items you want here, it just requires some extra time, money, patience, and research into which option is the best one for you.