Ship to Costa Rica by ocean FCL or LCL into Moín (Caldera on the Pacific) or by air into San José (SJO): 4 to 8 days by sea from Miami, 1 to 2 days by air, TICA clearance via a certified broker, 13% VAT, duty-free CAFTA-DR entry for US goods.
Costa Rica is the most process-driven import market in Central America. Its customs service runs on a mature electronic system, its trade agreements with the US and Europe remove most duties on industrial goods, and a large part of its imports never enters the domestic market: it feeds free zone factories that turn components into medical devices and electronics for export. For consumer and commercial goods, the cost drivers are the 13% VAT and any selective consumption tax, not the duty. For regulated goods such as food, cosmetics, medicines and medical devices, the critical path is the Ministry of Health permit, which must exist before the cargo leaves origin, and for free zone cargo, speed and documentation control matter more than the freight rate. Costa Rica rewards shippers who prepare and penalizes paperwork errors with heavy fines.
Ocean freight from Miami reaches Moín in 4 to 8 days port to port for FCL and 7 to 14 days for LCL, air freight to San José takes 1 to 2 days, and Asian cargo needs 30 to 45 days.
| Route & mode | Transit | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Miami to Puerto Limón / Moín, ocean LCL | 7-14 days, including consolidation | distributor restocks, mixed pallets under 15 CBM |
| Miami / US East Coast to Moín, ocean FCL | 4-8 days port to port | full loads, building materials, consumer goods |
| Miami to San José (SJO), air freight | 1-2 days | free zone components, pharma, urgent parts |
| China / Asia to Caldera or Moín, ocean FCL | 30-45 days, direct or with transshipment | factory orders, electronics, machinery |
| Europe to Moín, ocean FCL | 15-25 days on direct or relayed services | industrial inputs, food and beverages |
Transit times are indicative and depend on carrier schedules and connections. Costa Rica is not part of the IWF published LCL rate table, so request a quote for current pricing. Those transit windows hold when the process behind them runs in order.
Shipping to Costa Rica follows eight steps, and the Ministry of Health permit, when the product needs one, comes before any booking.
US ocean cargo for Costa Rica enters through the Caribbean coast at Moín, next to Puerto Limón, where APM Terminals operates the Moín Container Terminal. Services from Miami and other US East Coast and Gulf ports reach Moín in four to eight days, and the container then moves by road to the Central Valley around San José. Pacific-side cargo uses Puerto Caldera, near Puntarenas, which matters for transpacific services and for shippers in the west of the country.
Miami works as the consolidation point for US suppliers who sell into Costa Rica in volumes below a full container. Goods from several vendors are received, checked against the commercial invoice, palletized and loaded into a consolidated container bound for Moín. If you are new to the method, how LCL container shipping works explains the cut-offs and the deconsolidation step at destination. When volume fills a box, container shipping to Costa Rica in 20ft or 40ft equipment is the efficient route.
Air freight is unusually important on this lane because of the free zones. Medical device and electronics plants run on tight production schedules, and components fly from Miami International (MIA) into Juan Santamaría International (SJO) in Alajuela, a short drive from the major free zone parks. Transit is one to two days, and the binding constraint is the documents, not the flight. Costa Rica's distributors also serve the north: the same consolidation model feeds shipping to Nicaragua, across the Peñas Blancas land border.
Asian cargo reaches Costa Rica either on the Pacific side at Caldera or on the Caribbean side at Moín via the Panama Canal or a transshipment hub, in 30 to 45 days port to port for a full container. The range depends on whether the service is direct to the Central American Pacific coast or relays through a hub such as Balboa or Colón, the same terminals that make shipping to Panama a transshipment story as much as an import one. LCL from Asia takes longer because consolidated cargo waits for both the origin consolidation and the connection.
A practical alternative for buyers who also source in the US is to route Asian goods through Miami, combine them with US products and ship one consolidated container to Moín. It adds transit time but simplifies the import to a single entry and gives a quality-check point before the goods reach Costa Rica, which helps when Ministry of Health labeling or registration details need to be verified. Our page on LCL shipping from China covers the origin side of that flow.
European cargo reaches Moín in 15 to 25 days from northern European and Mediterranean ports, directly or through Caribbean hubs, and qualifying EU-origin goods pay preferential duty under the EU-Central America Association Agreement when origin is properly documented. Europe is a meaningful origin for Costa Rica, particularly for industrial inputs, machinery, food and beverages and pharmaceutical products. Time-critical European components bound for free zone plants move by air via a US or European hub into SJO. Every one of these routes ends at a short list of Costa Rican gateways.
Moín on the Caribbean coast is Costa Rica's main container gateway, Caldera serves the Pacific, and Juan Santamaría (SJO) handles most air cargo.
Costa Rican imports clear through the Servicio Nacional de Aduanas of the Ministry of Finance (Ministerio de Hacienda), with a certified customs broker filing the declaration on TICA, according to the U.S. Commercial Service guide to Costa Rican customs regulations. The legal framework is the General Customs Law and the Central American Uniform Customs Code.
The fastest Costa Rican clearances are the ones where the broker receives a complete, consistent document set before the vessel or flight arrives. Once the entry is accepted, the tax bill is what remains.
US-origin consumer and industrial goods enter Costa Rica duty free under CAFTA-DR, so the main tax on commercial imports is the 13% VAT, plus selective consumption tax on non-essential goods.
For non-preferential origins such as China, the full MFN duty applies, and VAT compounds on top of it. Free zone companies operate under a different regime: their authorized imports of inputs and equipment are handled under the free zone rules administered by PROCOMER rather than the standard duty-paid entry. Claiming any preference depends on the documents that travel with the cargo.
A Costa Rican import needs a commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading or air waybill, plus a Ministry of Health permit for regulated goods and origin certification to claim a trade preference.
Accurate packing list requirements matter here as much as the invoice, because the traffic light review compares both against the declaration. Regulated products add a permit layer on top of this base set.
Most restrictions in Costa Rica are permit requirements, not bans: health-regulated products, chemicals and agricultural goods enter once the correct permit or registration is in place.
Ocean freight is cheaper than air for almost all Costa Rica cargo: LCL fits 2 to 15 CBM, FCL wins above 15 CBM, and air pays off for small, urgent or high-value shipments.
The mode that wins depends on what is being shipped, which in Costa Rica is shaped by two very different buyer groups.
Medical devices now lead Costa Rica's goods exports. PROCOMER reports that medical device exports grew about 22% a year between 2020 and 2024, reaching roughly $8.7 billion, and that the large majority of manufacturing exports come from free zones. That sector pulls in a constant flow of components, resins, packaging and capital equipment, much of it by air and much of it routed through Miami. Electronics, food processing and pharmaceutical manufacturing follow the same free zone pattern.
On the domestic side, Costa Rica imports consumer goods for retail, construction materials, vehicles, machinery, food and agricultural inputs, while exporting pineapple, bananas and coffee through Moín. Tourism also generates steady demand for hotel equipment and furnishings. The free zone side has its own playbook for regulatory documents, speed and component control, which we cover in our guide on medical device free zones and shipping components to Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is a documentation market, so the forwarder's value is control: consolidating US suppliers on a reliable schedule, checking invoices and packing lists before cargo ships, and keeping urgent free zone components on the right flight. Interworld Freight has operated from Miami since 1992, with a Miami warehouse for receiving and consolidation, ocean FCL and LCL, air freight and customs coordination with licensed brokers at destination. Shippers serving several Central American markets can see the full hub model in our guide to shipping from Miami to Latin America. Quotes are answered within one business day.
Ocean freight from Miami to Moín takes four to eight days port to port for a full container, and 7 to 14 days for LCL because of consolidation. Air freight into San José (SJO) takes one to two days. From China, allow 30 to 45 days for a full container.
Moín, on the Caribbean coast next to Puerto Limón, is the main container port and is operated by APM Terminals. Puerto Caldera on the Pacific coast handles transpacific and west coast services.
No: since January 1, 2015, all US-originating consumer and industrial goods enter Costa Rica duty free under CAFTA-DR, and all agricultural products except potatoes and onions are duty free too, with proper origin certification. The 13% VAT and any selective consumption tax still apply.
The standard VAT rate is 13%, applied on the customs value plus duties and other taxes. Some categories carry reduced rates, such as 2% for medicines.
Yes. Medical devices, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, supplements and several chemical categories require an import permit from the Ministry of Health, supported by documents from the foreign manufacturer. Free zone companies follow their own regime but still need the correct regulatory documentation.
TICA is Costa Rica's electronic customs system, used by brokers to declare imports and exports since 2005. ATENA is the platform the Ministry of Finance is developing to replace it, office by office; its rollout, first planned for October 2025, has been delayed, so brokers confirm which system applies to each entry.
The price of a container from Miami to Moín depends on equipment (20ft or 40ft), season and inland delivery, so request a current quote. On the landed side, add 13% VAT, any duty for non-CAFTA-DR goods, selective consumption tax where it applies, broker fees and trucking to the Central Valley.
LCL suits shipments from 2 to 15 CBM. Above 15 to 18 CBM, a 20ft container is cheaper per unit and avoids handling at destination.
Photo: Port of Moín, Limón, Costa Rica. ImagePerson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.