| Costa Rica's postal system, or Correos de Costa Rica,
offers postal services comparable to that in many countries
abroad. The country's first mail service was officially established
in December 1839.
Curbside boxes for mail pickup are almost nonexistent in
Costa Rica. You will have to mail your letters from the post
office or from a hotel if you are a guest. Just as in the
United States, mail may be received and sent from the post
office (correo or casa de correos.) The main
post office is in the heart of downtown San José at
Calle 2, between Avenidas 1 and 3 (223-9766). Other small
cities and towns in rural areas have their own centrally located
post offices. Airmail between the United States or Europe
and Costa Rica usually takes about five to 10 days. At present,
an airmail letter to the United States or Canada costs $0.30
or 100 colones. A postcard to North America is about
$0.20 or 70 colones. An airmail stamp to Europe is
about $0.35 or 120 colones. To save money, the post
office is now replacing stamps with adhesive labels that show
the amount of postage.
San Jose's Old Post Office
The post office also provides other services, including M-bags
for sending large quantities of books or other printed matter
abroad, telegrams, fax service, courier services and delivery
of documents.
As stated above, mail boxes are few and far between as are
house numbers, so we recommend using your nearest post office
for all postal- related matters. The country's charming but
exasperating 100 meters east of the church style addresses
makes getting a post office box for local mail delivery a
necessity. Obtaining a post office box (apartado) from
your local post office in Costa Rica ensures prompt and efficient
mail service.
Getting a post office box is a straightforward process, but
vacant boxes can sometimes be hard to come by. P.O. boxes
are in great demand, but you can usually get one in January,
when most people give up leases on their boxes when annual
renewal fees are due. If a box's annual renewal fee isn't
paid by mid-February, it is sold to those on the waiting list
at that time. Popular branches such as San José's central
post office or Escazú have long waiting lists; so it
is much easier to find a box in suburban or rural areas.
Many people deal with the shortage of boxes by sharing with
friends, neighbors, extended family or business associate.
In theory, this practice isn't permitted, but many people
do it and nobody seems to check closely.
To apply for a post office box, go to the post office nearest
your office or home to fill out an application (solicitud
de apartado). The annual rental fee costa about $10, $30
or $40 dollars in the San José metropolitan area and
provincial capitals, depending on the size of the post office
box. There are three sizes: small, medium and large. In rural
post offices, the costs are about half these prices.
Once you fill out the paperwork and pay your annual fee,
you are given an address that reads something like this: José
López, Apdo. 7289-1000, San José, Costa Rica.
The number before the hyphen is the apartado (P.O.
Box) and the number after the hyphen is the post office's
code.
You may also receive mail in the general delivery section
(lista de correos) of your local post office. This
is especially useful in isolated regions of the country. Register
at the nearest post office and they will put your name on
the local lista de correos. When you pick up your mail,
you pay a few cents per letter for this service. All letters
must have your name, the phrase lista de correos and
the name of the nearest post office.
The worst time to receive any correspondence through regular
Costa Rican mail is between November 20 and January 1. Letters
can be delayed up to a month by the enormous volume of Christmas
mail and the vacations of postal workers during the month
of December.
You should avoid having anything larger than a letter or
a magazine sent to you in Costa Rica. Any item bigger than
that will be sent to the customs warehouse (aduana)
and you will make several trips to get it out. On the first
trip to customs your package or parcel is unwrapped so you
can fill out a declaration of its contents. On the second
trip, you usually will have to pay an exorbitant duty equivalent
to the value of the item plus the mailing cost. If you refuse
to pay, your package will be confiscated not sent back,
just confiscated.
So, as you can see, due to the costs involved and wasted
time, it is better to have friends bring you large items,
pick them up when you're visiting the United States, or use
one of the private mail companies mentioned in this section.
In an effort to win back some of its customers, the government
recently privatized the Costa Rican Postal Service (CORTEL).
The service has officially shed its public status and was
reborn as Correos de Costa Rica S.A. The overhaul aims to
transform the notoriously slow service into an efficient operation.
The country's archaic street address system will be changed
to a systematic numbering of streets, avenues and buildings.
For information about the Correos de Costa Rica's services,
contact them at: Tel: 800-900-2000 or 253-3375, extensions
343 and 345, or go to http://www.correos.go.cr.
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