Mail & Shipping in Costa Rica

The Spanish word for post office is correos. Mail from the United States, Canada, or Europe can take up to two to three weeks to arrive in Costa Rica, a couple of weeks more from Australia or New Zealand (occasionally it never arrives at all). Within the country, mail service is even less reliable. Outgoing mail is marginally quicker, with delivery to North America in five to ten days, to Europe in two weeks, and to Australia and New Zealand in about three weeks, especially when sent from San José. All overseas cards and letters will automatically be sent airmail. Mail theft is a chronic problem, so do not mail checks, cash, or anything else of value.

Minimum postage for postcards and letters from Costa Rica to the United States and Canada costs the equivalent of U.S. 24¢; to the United Kingdom, 28¢; and to Australia or New Zealand, 38¢.

You can have mail sent poste restante (lista de correos) to any Costa Rican post office (specify Correo Central to make sure it goes to the main downtown office). In written addresses, apartado, abbreviated apdo., indicates a post office box. The American Express office in San José does not hold mail, even for those with AE cards or traveler's checks.

Post offices are generally open weekdays 8-5:30, and on Saturdays 8-noon. Stamps can be purchased at post offices and some souvenir shops. These vendors will also accept the mail you wish to send; mailboxes do not exist in Costa Rica. Always check with your hotel, which may sell stamps and post your letters for you.

Express Services

UPS has offices in San José, Tamarindo, Jacó, Manuel Antonio, Sarchí, Arenal, and Limón. DHL has dropoffs in San José (Rohrmoser, Paseo Colón), Curridabat, Heredia, Liberia, Limón, Ciudad Quesada, Jacó, Quepos, and San Isidro. Both have central information numbers with English-speaking staff to direct you to the nearest office. FedEx has offices in San José only. Prices are about 10 times what you'd pay at the post office, but packages arrive in a matter of days. ("Overnight" is usually a misnomer—shipments to most North American cities take two days, to Britain three, and to Australia and New Zealand four or five.)

Express-Service Main Offices

DHL (600 meters northeast of the Real Cariari Mall, La Aurora, Heredia. 506/209-6000. Call for other locations). Federal Express (Zona Franca Metropolitana, Ciudad Barreal de Heredia, Local 1B, Heredia. 0800/052-1090). United Parcel Service (UPS, 50 meters east of Pizza Hut, Paseo Colón, San José. 506/290-2828. Call for other locations).

Shipping Packages

Shipping parcels through the post office is not for those in a hurry, because packages to the United States and Canada can take weeks; to the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, months. Also, packages may be pilfered. However, post-office shipping is the cheapest way to go, with rates at $6-$12 per kilogram.

Some stores offer shipping, but it is usually quite expensive. If you can, carry your packages home with you.