Mail call! For any length of period you’re abroad, your friends, family, and loved ones may want to send you a care package, important mail, debit or credit cards, or even cell phones if you need a replacement.
Mailing packages to Cusco, Peru can be tricky as the regular mail is inconsistent, expensive, and takes a long time. We recommend that instead of giving your friends and family an address before you leave, you update them once you’ve arrived onsite. That way you can best assess where packages should be sent and if it is worth having them shipped down.
Below are some resources you may use and send to your family explaining the mailing process in different countries. The USPS has a great website with the Index of Countries that include postal codes, postage prices, and mailing conditions.
When shipping internationally, please make sure that your envelope or package has everything necessary to ship.
Please note, that when shipping cell phones, hefty customs taxes may be added on before you receive it. In some locations, you may have to go to the airport to pick up your package and pay the import/customs tax before collecting your mail.
Index of Countries and their postal codes, instructions
FedEx International Resource Center
Shipping Internationally with DHL; Customs Support
Travelling after the program for an extended period? Don’t want to carry your semester’s worth of luggage around with you and pay hefty luggage overage charges? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to look into whether or not luggage shipping services fit your travel needs.
No matter how long you are abroad, you should plan ahead and try to pack light to avoid needing to ship your luggage! You will acquire plenty of souvenirs and gifts while abroad, so make sure you have space for them when you return!
Here’s a list of companies that offer shipping services: