Physical mail in CR

I don't know the San Isidro area any more, was there many years ago...

But I have found that if you are having the bank send it to you directly they MAY - depending on the bank - require a house address (i.e. street, number, etc) which many places in Costa Rica do not have. My bank is Capital One and they were a nightmare to deal with to get a new card to me in Costa Rica, to wit:
Bank: "Has to be a real address."
Me: But they don't use house numbers in this country!
"Well we need a real address with a house number!"
Can you just send it to the FedEx office and I'll pick it up?
"No."
I finally had to have someone bring it to me and THAT was a problem too - they didn't want to send it to anyone but Me, so I had to change my address using their online bank web site, temporarily to my friend's address in the USA.

So... it depends on the bank... Capital One is a good bank if you live in the USA (more or less). But if you plan to live in CR or be here more than a couple months I would not use them! Any security issue (fraud, new or damaged card) they're a total pain!
I've heard other people had no problem with other banks.

However I just checked on having an envelope sent to me at the San Ramon office of DHL from the USA and the cost is absolutely mind boggling! $105!
What?!

So I don't know. IF it's a lost or stolen card maybe your bank will pay for sending it to you, but tell them you're on vacation not that you are living here (if they have your US address on file).

I'd have to say your best bet is to see if they'll send it to someone you know in San Isidro  who has an actual street address, or pay $105 to have it sent to a DHL or FedEx office if there is one.
Or have someone bring it.

The Correo post office here is very untrustworthy for something like a credit card and it could take over a month to get here,  or it might never get here.

I've heard, that, since, in many occasions there are no street numbers, people rent a mailbox to have the mail delivered. It works. The price is low.

Capital One refused to ship my new card to a post office box. 
Also, I had a post office box, and an important notice from Social Security was sent there, and I never got it causing me to lose my payment for a month. Also a letter from my sister with $20 was sent from the US, and it never arrived. The Postal Service in Costa Rica is simply not reliable.

samramon wrote:

Capital One refused to ship my new card to a post office box. 
Also, I had a post office box, and an important notice from Social Security was sent there, and I never got it causing me to lose my payment for a month. Also a letter from my sister with $20 was sent from the US, and it never arrived. The Postal Service in Costa Rica is simply not reliable.

Not a good news. The people, who build my house in Osa don't have direct mailing address and use the address of their lawyer. My house will be beside theirs, so I'll have a challenge. Maybe....at this time of craziness it is good....just to get lost.

Henrych, since you will likely receive correspondence from the Canadian government, you need to let them know that your mailing address is different from you physical one. We had many instances where our important mail from the government was returned to Canada. We had a mail box at the local post office. However, in our previous house we had mail delivered to our door. Depends on the location.
Parcels will probably have to be picked up at the nearest Customs office...which could be many miles away.

Guys I know it may sound crazy but I keep a post office box in the states where I receive my credit cards when they expire and all my mail. I have a family member check it for me, make any deposit if I receive paper checks but most businesses or government that I'm involved with do direct deposit or ACH payment. I fly back often so that works in my favor
But the above responses are true the mail system here along with banking is extremely difficult
I also tried to receive a SIM card that I needed from my carrier in the United States but they will not ship to CR not sure why so I had it sent to my sister who then shipped it to me via FedEx and when I picked up at FedEx office the Free SIM card now cost me $150 in fed ex cost

I've been told I can get a PO Box here at local mail office here in down town Puriscal but don't expect your mail quickly or may never even arrive
Definitely boggles me how a country doesn't have street names and house numbers it seems like a simple process to put into place especially with a growing country like CR  13% sales tax gets you no mailing address and road ways of death

Hey the price we pay to live abroad

Thanks!!!

Physical mail delivery is an issue in Costa Rica.  I would go to the post office when you get into your house and ask them if they will deliver the mail you expect will be sent.   If the answer is no, or maybe or well try, I would ask them about getting a PO Box at their post office.  then you should receive the physical mail, although it will require a trip to your PO Box to receive it.

I guess others have better luck than I have.  I have a box, but most of my mail never makes it to me.  I even have packages that I had to pick up at the post office never happen to get there, even though the tracker says it did.  I think they steal stuff so I have everything sent to my USA address and my son brings it to me twice a year (sometimes more).

I have had the same experience. About one-third of the stuff that I know was sent to my box never gets to me. I believe someone along the Route between there and here steals it. And sometimes if the mail never gets to the box, it does get to the main desk at the same post office so I have to stand in line and ask them to go look in the back and sometimes they find it back there. They just never bothered to put it in my box.
I said to the clerk , "so what good does it do me to have a post office box if you don't put the mail in it?" (in Spanish). She just looked at me with a blank stare.