Do you need mail?

A first step would be to decide if you need to get mail at all in San Felipe. Most bank accounts, credit cards, utility bills etc can now be accessed online (with paper mail turned off), and email has replaced most personal letters. So if you're a part time resident, or frequently visit the US, it's quite possible to do without any form of mail delivery. For many this is the simplest option.

Mexican Mail Service

The Mexican mail service is generally considered unreliable, but it does exist. The post office in San Felipe is across from the Fire Station and Municipal Offices on Mar Blanco Sur. Since there are few mailboxes here, mail is generally left jammed in the edge of a door or under a rock, so often blows away.

At El Dorado, mail from Mexican sources (banks, utilities) is delivered to the Cachanilla clubhouse where it is sorted into open cubby-holes under the first letter of each surname. It's up to you to go round to collect it, after a while it gets thrown away.

Sunrunner

On the north side of San Felipe, the most convenient mail service is at Sunrunner. It is located next to the Sundance Deli and the Jollymon bar, across from the El Dorado Pemex. Telephone (686) 576 0370. You get a locked mailbox, and two addresses at Calexico in the US, for a monthly fee. Email: sunrunner email address

One of the addresses is a US P O Box for USPS (postal) mail, at P O Box 9011 in Calexico, and there is a street address for UPS, Fedex etc. Mail to the P O Box is brought down to San Felipe daily, and placed in your box here, at no extra charge. Packages sent to the street address are also brought down, for $3 per package (plus 50c/lb), and may be opened and/or have customs duty due. Sunrunner doesn't advertise they have a Mexican street address also, but it is apparently possible to receive CFE electric bill and Telnor phone bills there, and deliveries from Mexican carriers.

The service currently costs US$15.50 for one month, $62.50 for six months, or $125 for a year. At Sunrunner you can also post mail, with US stamps on it. You can get the postage added at the counter (for a 30% surcharge) or use your own stamps. They also have wi-fi, and various other package services.

If you're away from San Felipe (for example in the summer), they do offer a basic forwarding service to another address if you supply pre-paid pre-addressed envelopes, but it's not full-service forwarding to variable addresses as you would expect from a UPS store or RV clubs like Escapees.

Yet Mail

In town, and for the South Campos, Yet Mail has a more convenient location on av Mar de Cortez sur #1049 (just beyond the tourist office). Telephone (686) 577 1253. Like Sunrunner, they have both P O Box (P O Box 9019) and street addresses in Calexico, and local mailboxes in San Felipe to pick your mail up from, for $140 a year. Email: yetmail email address

You also get a local Mexican address, so could send your domestic mail (banks, utility bills) there, and parcels from Mexican sources such as online orders within Mexico. Yet Mail do offer many more services such as FM-3 applications, bill paying, and general office services.

Calexico

Many people in San Felipe just keep a mailbox in Calexico or another US border town. They then go up to the US each month to pick up the mail themselves, or ask a friend who is passing there to bring it down. Some of the mailbox services in Calexico are much cheaper than the services in San Felipe, but waiting until you are in the area or relying on somebody else being there can mean the mail is very delayed.

There are a large number of mail services in Calexico. Here is a list, that may be out of date. If you have any updates to this list, or experience with any of them, or any details on what they charge, please add a comment at the end of this article.

  • Amigo Telephone - 122 Grant Street, # 9, Calexico, CA 92231
  • Cal Mex Special Services - 120 Rockwood Avenue, Calexico, CA 92231
  • Calexico Mail Center - 302 E 3rd Street, Calexico, CA 92231
  • Castillo's Mail Center - 337 E 1st Street, Calexico, CA 92231
  • CMP Mail Center - 355 W 2nd Street, Calexico, CA 92231
  • Correo Internacional - 103 E 3rd Street, Calexico, CA 92231
  • Ochoa Packing - 343 W 2nd Street, Calexico, CA 92231
  • Pan American Mail Box Co - 233 Paulin Avenue, Calexico, CA 92231
  • Popular Service - 215 E 3rd Street, Calexico, CA 92231

Multiple mail boxes

For part-time residents or snowbirds, a solution using multiple mail boxes can work well. For example, have a mailbox near your US or Canadian address, which you pick mail up from when you're there. When you're in San Felipe, get that mail box to forward the mail to Sunrunner or Yet Mail so you can pick it up locally. Or, have your US mail box in a state where you want to be a "resident", such as South Dakota or Texas, and have it always forwarded to where-ever you are.

Other solutions

There are some mail services in the US (and other countries) that will receive your mail, scan it in, and email it to you. This saves forwarding costs. They can work well as a "residence" address but you'll still need some other physical mail service for them to forward to for items that can't be scanned, like new credit cards. There are also services where you can email a letter to be printed and then put in the mail. I can add details of these services if there is any interest.

But really the best way to simplify your mailbox needs is to cut down what you receive - make as many bills as possible online only, and use email for most personal mail.