GENERAL INFORMATION

Currency - National Holiday - News & Media - Postal Service - Safety - Telecommunications

Postal service

Generally the postal service in Ecuador is good. Letters take time to arrive; packages take longer. Postcards nearly always arrive at their destination. It is relatively easy to send letters or postcards abroad. They will normally take 2 to 3 weeks to arrive.

Post Offices

In Ecuador you can only send letters from a Post Office and very few major hotels and airports. In Quito , the main post office is at Espejo 935 y Guayaquil in the old part of town. There are also a number of smaller offices around Quito , Guayaquil , and Cuenca . In the smaller towns, there is usually one post office and they are marked on the majority of maps.

Prices for sending postcards, letters, and packages are usually cheaper in Ecuador than in the USA and Europe . Post offices are normally open on working days from 9 a .m. to 5 p.m. and sometimes on Saturdays in the main cities.

Sending Letters

When sending mail, it is generally a good idea to have your letters certified. This way your letter will be recorded and you will have a receipt. The receipt itself will be of help when tracing a letter in case of loss but your letter will generally have priority over normal mail and it will receive a safer treatment.

Sending Packages

Packages should be sent directly from post offices and if possible it is safer to send them via the main post office in Quito . Leave the package open when you take it to the post office so that the contents maybe checked, otherwise the parcel maybe stopped at customs. Reseal the package yourself before leaving it to be sent.

Couriers

There are other, more secure, ways of sending your mail abroad. Several courier companies in Ecuador will provide this service but check with them beforehand to make sure of where their services reach, as there are some companies that might leave the packages or letters at the airport of the country of destination for the recipient to pick up.

Other international courier companies, such as DHL, offer the safest way of sending anything abroad or within the country itself but they are obviously more expensive.