Getting Mail in Costa RicaYou have several options to receive mail in Costa Rica. First, some caveats. Correos de Costa Rica (The Post Office)There is really no such thing as home delivery of mail, at least not in every location. There is in my area, but with no mailbox, I just do not want to take a chance. If you wish to receive snale mail here, you go to any post office and request a box. This is called an apartado. As with any other mail box, you must visit the post office to get your mail.
Be prepared for a wait. In some locations, you cannot get a mailbox for a
year. Mail to Costa Rica from the USA takes from 2 weeks to 1 months, but lately, I have reports it is improving greatly. Therefore, if you wait until you get your credit card bill, you may find you have some serious problems as it has probably already reached the past due point and you get socked with one of those rip-off finance changes or late fees. That is why elsewhere, I recommend paying your bills via the Internet. Just recently (Spring, 2007), the post office has switched to using the Costa Rica equivalent of a zip code. This should serve to make the system work a lot faster... but who knows? Here is an example (mine) of an apartado address: Apdo 781-4005
Belen, Heredia
Costa Rica 40701-4005 The numerals in the 40701 indicates the province, the canton, the city, and the actual post office. If you want to test this, please send money! The REAL Costa Rica costs me a lot :) Mail Courier Service - Costa Rica
There are alternative services for those who need them. For credit cards, and other monthly bills that must be paid, you must really learn online banking. It is really important that you be able to manage and move funds in your home country from here.
If you wait for your US credit card statement to arrive, you will be paying a
ton of late fees! There are several services that will provide you with two addresses in the US. One is for
mail and the other is for packages. This is extremely handy when doing on-line ordering from Amazon, Buy.com, or any of the other zillion web sites that offer goods by Internet. Set up is easy and most seem to have English speaking employees though not necessarily web sites in Englsih.. All require a deposit (refundable) and all will deliver to your door in the San Jose area. For deliveries outside this area, check with the company. The going rate is $15.00 per month, and includes a couple of pounds free. That is a LOT of mail, but not necessarily a lot of packages. Some of these companies offer a tracking service that keeps a record of what you have purchased. As you are legally allowed to bring in $500.00 of merchandise tax (duty) free every six months, this can be a big deal and can save you a lot on import duties. Here are a few of the companies operating here: Aerocasillas MailBoxes Etc. JetBox Jetex (in English here) Star Box Interlink is another service but it is NOT RECOMMENDED.
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