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Receiving Mail in West Africa? Receiving Mail in West Africa?
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sub-Saharan Africa Topics specific to sub-Saharan Africa. (Includes all countries South of 17 degrees latitude)
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  • 1 Post By simon dippenhall
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  #1  
Old 25 Jul 2018
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Receiving Mail in West Africa?
I am in Western Sahara now, heading south, and should be in Dakar in a week or so. I need to have my U.S. bike registration sent to me somewhere somehow. Could I have it sent to a hotel, or pick it up at a post office? Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? What is the best way to go about it?

(Sorry if there is already a thread on this. If there is, just point me in the right direction.)

Thanks for any ideas.

Cheers!
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  #2  
Old 26 Jul 2018
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I forgot my drivers license in London and used dhl to get it to me in Bamako, Mali. It was delivered to my lodgings in a few days. Even safer if you get delivered to dhl office in the city you are staying in.


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  #3  
Old 26 Jul 2018
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As Simon said DHL is the way to go.

I received a package from UK and a letter from Canada in Togo Lome without any issues. Transit time was 2 to 3 days.


Patrick
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  #4  
Old 26 Jul 2018
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Courier services like DHL, yes. Try not to worry about the cost. Mail seldom works, in my experience—it just disappears without a trace, presumably because it *might* contain money or something else of value.

Hope that’s helpful.

Mark
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  #5  
Old 26 Jul 2018
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In case you need to send stuff back home, I had good luck shipping a package from Senegal to Canada using regular mail. At the post office, they made a box for me and covered the box entirely with tape many times. It was worth the small extra fee for that. You had to destroy the box to open it. It took about 3 weeks to get home.

Patrick
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  #6  
Old 26 Jul 2018
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Haven’t ever had any trouble mailing stuff back home from anywhere in the world; apparently it’s assumed nothing valuable would be moving in that direction. This goes for envelopes or packages alike.

Incoming mail, specifically to West Africa, has been problematic.

Mileage varies.

Mark
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  #7  
Old 26 Jul 2018
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Thanks for the info. Sounds like DHL is the way to go. I've used them before for sending stuff back home, but never to receive anything. I will give that a try, and have it sent express so it spends less time in the pipeline, and less chance of getting "lost."

Thanks again!

Daniel
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