Costa Rica Shipping – Relocation to Costa Rica should be all about excitement for the adventure that awaits, whether that’s a new business venture or a peaceful retirement or just a new start in a great culture. It will be an adjustment well worth the effort of learning the language and making the plunge.
The last thing you should have to worry about is the logistics of how to get your household goods or vehicle from the home you are leaving to your new house in Costa Rica. Shipping to Costa Rica can be much easier than you might have thought.
The experts have already figured out all the steps to ship your items in a shipping container. Shipping companies from other countries may offer a service but don’t trust a quote that is from door to port, because that leaves you having to take care of the hassle and the cost of customs and in country transportation which is not easy.
Here’s a guide for how to get your stuff door to door in your move to Costa Rica.
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Most importantly, pick a company that has a branch in Costa Rica, proving actual ties and knowledge in the country. This information is for shipping containers. Note there are other options like packaging furniture on pallets, as well.
The container will be brought on the chassis of a truck to the door of the home you are leaving. You can choose from:
Live Load- Where you have everything staged ahead of time and have just two hours to load the container without added fees (of about $100 per hour).
Drop and Pick- The container is dropped off and picked up at a later date. This costs about $800 extra.
Loading Crew- From either the same company or another locally recommended one. This can also be friends and family but a crew experiences in loading containers would be best.
Next, the container is taken to the port and goes through US customs. About 1 out of every 1,000 are pulled to be inspected, which leads to extra fees.
The container then travels by sea to either the Port of Caldera (from the West Coast) or the Port of Limon (if coming from the Gulf or East Coast).
Companies like Shipping Costa Rica take the containers directly to their warehouses, avoiding the common problem of things going missing or getting damaged when processed at the port.
The next step is to go through the customs process in Costa Rica. Every 5th or 10th container is opened for revision. The most important thing here is that the number of items on your packing list must match what’s in the container. If you have 200 boxes on the list there better be 200 boxes in the container. If the company you chose has contacts at customs you will pay less. Just something to keep in mind.
Another point to note is that some include import taxes in the quote but it’s a very rough estimate and you may end out paying much more.
Lastly, after payments are done, the items are loaded in a box truck and brought to your new home in Costa Rica. Some companies also offer unloading and placing the items in your home.
These are the basics to know in order to not be taken advantage of or have to pay extra fees later on.
