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Airmail is the best way to send mail home from Vietnam. Be advised that officials may check through your package to make sure it doesn’t have any offending items like contraband, pirated CDs, etc. Aerogrammes, printed sheets that fold into envelopes and travel via airmail, are available at post offices. Write “airmail” and “par avion” all over the front; if you want to send it express, choose a special EMS (Express Mail Service) envelope and refrain from writing “airmail” on it. Most post offices will charge exorbitant fees or simply refuse to send aerogrammes with enclosures. EMS is available for parcels, as well, and costs about three times as much as airmail, but gets there in half as much time (or less). Surface mail is by far the cheapest and slowest way to send mail. It takes one to two months to cross the Atlantic and one to three to cross the Pacific—good for heavy items you won’t need for a while, like souvenirs or other articles you’ve acquired along the way that are weighing down your pack. You can send a postcard anywhere in the world for 9000. For sending parcels via airmail, the first kilogram costs around US$10, and then it’s about US$3.50 per kg thereafter to ship to the US. For other overseas countries, shipping costs between US$10-20 for the first kg, and US$1-5 for every kg afterwards. The standard rates for airmail from Vietnam to the following destinations are:
To ensure timely delivery, mark envelopes “airmail” and “par avion.” In addition to the standard postage system, whose rates are listed below, Federal Express (www.fedex.com; Australia ☎132 610; Canada and the US 800-463-3339; Ireland 1800 535 800; New Zealand 0800 733 339; UK 08456 070 803) handles express mail services from most countries to Vietnam. They can get a letter from New York or London to Vietnam in 1-2 days for US$48. Sending a postcard within Vietnam costs 800, as does sending a letter (up to 20g) domestically. Nearly all cities and towns in Vietnam have a post office.
There are several ways to arrange pickup of letters sent to you by friends and relatives while you are in Vietnam. Mail can be sent via Poste Restante (General Delivery) to almost any city or town in Vietnam with a post office, and is reliable by developing-world standards; however, you may be required to provide extensive documentation to prove your identity. Address Poste Restante letters like so:
The mail will go to a special desk in the central post office, unless you specify a post office by street address. It’s best to use the largest post office, since mail may be sent there regardless. It is usually safer and quicker, though more expensive, to send express or registered mail. Bring your passport (or other photo ID) for pickup; there may be a small fee. If the clerks insist that there is nothing for you, have them check under your first name as well. Let’s Go lists post offices in the Practical Information section for each city and most towns.
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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