| Those of you who own yachts and sailboats will be pleased
to know that there are two marinas where you may dock your
boats in Costa Rica, and plans call for a couple more to be
built in the future. The country's marinas are the Flamingo
Marina in the northwest and the Los Sueños Resort in
the Central Pacific. The latter has 200 slips and is the only
marina where you can keep your boat in the country legally
for more than 6 months. Slips rent for about $13 to $15 per
month, per foot. The marina offers membership in the Los Sueños
Yacht Club, a full range of sport-fishing charters, day cruises
as well as other water sports activities.
In the past the longest you could keep a boat in the country
without having to pay taxes on it was six months. Duties can
be as high as 57 percent of the boat's real value for brand
name boats. This is still the case at the Flamingo Marina
in Guanacaste. Most people get around this by taking the boat
out every six months and then returning. With all types of
vehicles you cannot keep doing this. However, the Los Sueños
Marina is the only licensed marina in the country and has
a special agreement whereby a boat may be kept in the country
under the cover of the marina for up to two years without
taking it out of Costa Rica. We understand that you can then
renew your permit for another two years. This exemption is
only for non-commercial boats and does not apply to those
who use their boats for sport fishing. For additional information
we urge you to call the Los Sueños Marina at 643-3941/2.
We understand that a new law will be passed soon that will
enable owners of small aircraft to keep their planes in the
country like boat owners do at present. The government figures
anyone who owns a boat or plane will possibly make sizeable
investments in the country.
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