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Mail Service
Amazingly enough despite the seemingly unorderly system of directions used in Costa Rica, mail carriers can still find their destination houses. Recall, directions are given in the form of meters in any direction north, south, east or west from specific well known landmarks. Most of the churches in the country face west. Most addresses are a few lines long.
To find the nearest government run post office see:
Correos de Costa Rica
Addresses and Directions
It is important when sending or receiving something that the address is written correctly and in Spanish. There are no area codes in Costa Rica so the sender will not have to worry about that. Therefore, an address will more than likely be formatted something like this:
Name
Number and direction of meters from a common landmark
name of neighborhood, name of town
Province, Costa Rica
Regular Mail and Letters
Letters and packages can be sent in the regular mail and usually take around 15 days to arrive to their destination. By sending something express it usually takes about 8 days. Even though it may take a long time to send things, it is incredibly inexpensive. A normal letter should not cost more than 300 colones or 75 cents internationally.
Packages and Post Office Boxes
Many people have post office boxes here which are called Apartados. This can be solicited at any national post office. The cost for a box is around $10 per year. Items that are sent to PO boxes from foreign countries almost always arrive.
To send out a package simply visit any governement post office and they will charge the package by weight, again this is a very inexpensive alternative if the person on the receiving end has a little extra time.
Other Mail and Courier Services
If one needs to send something in a more reliable, traceable fashion that will arrive much faster then there are several services here which are available, but much more costly. Usually a letter or small pacakge can arrive to North America within 48 hours, cost will also be determined by weight. For farther destinations the wait time could be three to five days. These additional services include:
