Mail

Regardless of whether the term "snail mail" was coined in the Bahamas, you're likely to arrive home long before your postcards do—it's not unheard of for letters to take two to four weeks to reach their destinations. No postal (zip) codes are used in the Bahamas—all mail is collected from local area post-office boxes.

First-class mail from the Bahamas to the United States is 65¢ per half ounce; you'll pay 50¢ to mail a postcard. In Turks and Caicos, prices are comparable. Postcard stamps good for foreign destinations are usually sold at shops selling postcards, so you don't have to make a special trip.

From the United States, a postcard or a letter sent to the Bahamas costs 98¢.

Shipping Packages

If you want to ship purchases home, take the same precautions you take in the United States—don't pack valuables or fragile items.

Express Services

Copimaxx. 242/328-2679.

FedEx. 242/352-3402 Freeport; 242/322-5656 Nassau; 242/367-2817 Abaco; 242/368-2540 Andros; 242/332-2720 Eleuthera; 242/337-6786 Long Island; 649/946-2542 Grand Turk; 649/946-4682 Providenciales; 800/247-4747 U.S. international customer service.

Mail Boxes Etc. 242/394-1506.