WESTERN EUROPE
SENDING MAIL HOME FROM WESTERN EUROPE
Airmail is the best way to send mail home from Europe. From Western Europe to North America, airmail aver ages seven days; from Central or Eastern Europe, allow anywhere from seven days to three weeks. Aerogrammes, printed sheets that fold into envelopes and travel via airmail, are available at post offices. Write par avion (or por avion, mit Luftpost, via aerea, etc.) on the front. Most post offices will charge exorbi tant fees or simply refuse to send aerogrammes with enclosures. Surface mail is by far the cheapest and slowest way to send mail. It takes one to three months to cross the Atlantic and two to four to cross the Pacific so it’s good for items you won’t need to see for a while, such as souvenirs or other articles you’ve acquired along the way that are weighing down your pack. Check the beginning of each chapter for more specific info on postal service in each country.
SENDING MAIL TO WESTERN EUROPE. Mark envelopes airmail in your coun try’s language; otherwise, your letter or postcard will not arrive. In addition to the standard postage system, Federal Express (Australia s 13 26 10; Canada and US ©800-247-4747; New Zealand ©0800 733 339; UK©0800 123 800; www.fedex.com) has express mail services from most home countries to Europe.
Australia: www.auspost.com.aj/pac. Allow 5-7 days for regular airmail to Europe. Post cards up to 20g cost AUS$1 and letters up to 50g cost AUS$1.65; packages up to 0.5kg AUSS14, up to 2kg AUSS50.
Canada: www.canadapost.ca/personal/rates/default-e.asp. Allow 4-7 days for regular airmail to Europe. Postcards and letters up to 30g cost CDNS1.25; packages up to 0.5kg CDNS10.65, up to 2kg CDNS35.55.
Ireland: www.letterpost.ie. Allow 2-3 days for regular airmail to the UK and Western Europe. Postcards and letters up to 50g cost ‚0.41 to the UK, ‚0.71 to the continent. International Swiftpost zips letters to some major European countries for an additional ‚3.60 on top of priority postage.
New Zealand: www.nzpost.net.nz/nzpost/control/ratefinder. Allow 6-12 days for airmail to Europe. Postcards cost NZ$1.50; letters up to 200g NZ$2-5; small parcels up to
0.5kg NZ$17.23, up to 2kg NZ$55.25.
