Moving to Costa Rica – What should you ship and how?

Should you bring your refrigerator and other appliances, your sofa and favorite chair, your computer, your hobby tools, your tennis racquet, golf clubs, ski boots?

Keep reading!

The real answer to the question of what to bring is truly different for each person. There are categories for every item you own so let’s start there:

1. Things you cannot live without.
2. Things you think you need.
3. Things you can’t decide on.
4. Things you think you don’t need.
5. Things you don’t want no matter what.

If you’re determined to come with the absolute minimum then pack up in suitcases, pay the airline for extra weight if necessary and just buy everything here. There won’t be much you can’t find.

Generally though, people bring stuff with them. It really isn’t very difficult. If you have a few boxes or even a bunch of boxes, we can get them here through a consolidator.

Or, we can offer you a “door to door” or “full service” container move. Containers come in two basic sizes, a 40 foot x 8 x 8, is about the same volume as a small double garage, over 2300 cubic feet or 67 cubic meters. Most big houses full of furniture will fit into one of these.

A 20 foot x 8 x 8, or “half container” might be easier to envision as similar to a 10 x 15 room in your house. An average 2-3 bedroom home will pack into one. Many “typical” moves are done with a vehicle and household goods together in a 40 foot container.

Door to door service means that we bring the container to you, on the chassis, for you to load or have loaded. From there, we are responsible to take it to the port, ship it and deliver it to your new home, including all the paperwork. You need to supply us with a comprehensive inventory list of everything that is packed and shipped.

Full service includes a local mover to come into your house and pack your things and then actually load and secure the container when it comes to your door. Unpacking and cleanup at this end can also be included if required. Think carefully about this one, you might not want to unpack everything right away. (we still need that inventory list)

Many companies can offer to move you but consider what can happen if you deal with a mover that will SEND your stuff to Costa Rica. If there are any problems you’ll be dealing with someone who is “up there” while you are “down here”.

Ship Costa Rica, on the other hand, is here in San Jose and from the time the shipment leaves your house until the time it arrives in your new home, we are the only ones you need to call.

OK, so now for those tricky answers on what to bring. If you can justify shipping a container, I wouldn’t sell off or give away things that you might want here. Bring them!

In fact, buying new stuff, shipping it and paying the import duty is often worthwhile. It insures that you get the models and quality that you want.

Major appliances and upholstered furniture are on the “bring list”. TV’s and stereos too, while the import duty is high, it’s sometimes expensive to buy them here. The duty you pay is based on the declared, used value, not the original purchase price.

The wood furniture industry is widespread here and the tropical species used can be very beautiful. Make sure you shop at a reputable store or factory that properly dries the wood before manufacture, some of them don’t.

Computers, hobby tools and sports equipment pay very low duty, besides, these are the things you’ll need the most. As for those ski boots, it’s just as easy to go skiing in Chile in July as Colorado in January. You might want to keep them close at hand.

The snow shovel? Trash it! You don’t need it any more.

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Written by Barry Wilson of ‘Ship Costa Rica’ which is an experienced and solidly recommended agency, capable of handling door to door import or export of vehicles, household goods and personal effects. They will be happy to supply a list of satisfied clients to anyone who asks.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.