Thread: Panamanian mail service

Hello All,
Is the mail service in Panama as bad as it is in CR?
How long does it take to receive mail from the US?

Thanks,
Wendell

Hi Wendell! Would that be by snail mail or courier?

If snail mail... the regular postal service in Panama is pretty bad, and letters can take several weeks to arrive. Also, they only deliver to P.O. boxes ("apartado postal"). In my experience, mail sent to regular addresses simply disappears.

Courier services like UPS or Fedex take 2 to 3 days, but the cost is ridiculously high.

To receive regular snail mail from the US, I have an account with Mail Boxes Etc. (you can receive correspondence and larger packages with them), they have an address in Miami and my mail is sent there. It then takes less than a week to arrive in Panama and costs a few bucks.

There was an earlier discussion going on about mail services in Panama, with more details, it is here: http://www.panamaforum.com/living-pa...-ups-fedx.html (UPS and FedX)

Hope this helps!

I have heard great things about Mail Boxes Etc. Although, I haven't used them personally.

There is also a company called Airbox Express Aerocasillas. They offer a similar service. But I had second thoughts when I noticed that they try to keep their employees (and clients?) in check by having a copy of Romans 13 on public display on the walls of their office. As a devout follower of the Flying Spaghetti Monster I was quite offended by this authoritarian BS.

Submission to the Authorities

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

I'm with Mailboxes Etc. now but I'm wondering if there are any other services that work in a similar fashion?

If you are just sending mail, you should try to see if you can send it with internet. International mailing services are really only needed when you are sending objects and not letters.

Originally Posted by lee

If snail mail... the regular postal service in Panama is pretty bad, and letters can take several weeks to arrive. Also, they only deliver to P.O. boxes ("apartado postal"). In my experience, mail sent to regular addresses simply disappears.

Really!! It disappears? Why is that and what happens to it? Do they return it?

Yes, it disappears. That happens because the postal service is disorganized and underpaid; I imagine the mail is just trashed. And, no, they do not 'return to sender,' if they returned it to sender, they might as well acknowledge the existence of the mail in the first place!

Cheers.

It would be a shame if you sent something valuable like a money order by the mail and it just disappeared like that.