Jun
10

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Shipping pets in the summer

Category: Animals, Moving pets to Costa Rica Tags: , , Leave a Comment

Shipping your pets in the summer can be tricky because of all the heat embargo’s.  From May – September many airlines will not fly live animals due to the extreme heat. If temperatures are above 85 degrees at any stopover or desination, the airlines WILL NOT take the animals when it comes time to check in.  So check with your airlines the morning you fly to see if the temps are going to exceed that 85 mark before heading out to the airport with your pets.

Jun
8

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Bringing a car

Category: Living in Costa Rica Tags: , , Leave a Comment

A common misconception among foreigners coming to Costa Rica is that you will save money by bringing a car here from the US. There are some major drawbacks to this.

  • You have to pay import duties, which is the main reason cars are so much more expensive here. Plus insurance and shipping costs.
  • You will have to go through the process of clearing customs, not an easy task!
  • The guarantee that you have on the car from the US dealer is not valid in Costa Rica
  • The car may be damaged in shipping or have parts stolen in transit. Insurance doesn’t always cover this.

If you still think you want to import your car the following taxes will apply.

  • Less than 3 years old – 59.33%
  • 4-5 years old – 70.63%
  • 6 or more years old 85.32%

These rates are applied not only to the Black Book value of the car (regardless of the purchase price), but also to the shipping and insurance costs.