What does it cost to send a Postcard from Italy? Are you still a “Postcard Person”? Even though you might start to think it’s silly (out-of-trend, …) to send a postcard from vacation back home to your loved ones, you might still also be happy when someone else sends you a card from their holiday. Often it doesn’t even need to be a detailed journal of a holiday-day, sometimes a “Having an awesome time, can’t wait to tell you everything about it in person” can make you smile. As Italy is definitely a country with a lot to tell about back home, you might be wondering about the costs of sending a Postcard from Italy abroad. May it just be another country in Europe, or even on another continent such as the US, or even Australia. Knowing how much the postage will cost, can certainly help to elaborate if it’s “worth it” for you to send some postcards from Italy.
Sending Postcards abroad can be quite expensive. But still, postcards are such beautiful memorabilia and a souvenir for friends and family. So yeah, even nowadays sending postcards is still a nice gesture. But prices can be quite a challenge when deciding on how many postcards to send. Those typical colourful postcards themselves are rather inexpensive, with usually something in between 0,50 to 1,00€ per card, but the affrancatura, well, not exactly.
The below-mentioned prices have been last updated in July 2023.
How to calculate the costs of sending a Postcard from Italy to your Country / Continent
The primary mail company in Italy is Poste Italiane, with hundreds of offices across the country. You don’t necessarily need to visit one of the official Post Offices in Italy, there is also another way to send your letters and postcards. Keep on reading for the explanation.
Prices for international postage (Postamail International) from Italy
Zone 1 1,25€
Zone 2 2,40€
Zone 3 3,10€For example, a postcard or letter sent from Italy to the USA will cost 2,40€ and will approximately take 16 working days. Delivery within Europe is usually 8 working days.
As you’ve seen, Prices for international shipments vary by country, find below all the countries Poste Italiane is shipping to (as of right now every country except Guatemala).
ZONE 1 (EUROPE AND MEDITERRANEAN BASIN)
| Europe |
|---|
| Albania, Andorra, Austria, Azores, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe (Islands), Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Great Britain, Greece, Guernsey, Ireland, Iceland, Jersey, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Man Islands – Great Britain EU, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Holland, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Republic of San Marino *, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, Vatican * |
| Mediterranean basin |
| Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia |
ZONE 2 (OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES, AMERICAS, OTHER ASIAN COUNTRIES)
| Other countries of Africa |
|---|
| Angola, Ascension – Islands (Uk), Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Congo (People’s Republic), Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Djibouti, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Reunion (Islands), Rwanda, Sant ‘Elena (Island of), St. Thomas and Prince, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, British Indian Ocean Territory, Togo, Tristan Da Cunha, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| Americas |
| Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bonaire – (Netherlands Antilles), Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falklands (Islands), Jamaica, Grenada, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Guantanamo Bay, Guatemala, Guyana, Guyana (French), Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Saba – (Netherlands Antilles), Saint Barthelemy – (St. Barth), Saint Eustatius – (Netherlands Antilles), St. Christopher, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Saint Vincent (And Granadines), British Samoa, Sint Maarten, South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands, United States (learn more about the costs to send a postcard from the US to Italy), Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks And Caicos Is., Uruguay, Venezuela, Virgin Islands – Br, Virgin Islands (US) – (St. Tomas & St. Croix) |
| Other countries of Asia |
| Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, North Korea – Dem. Rep., South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, Georgia, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Laos, Macao, Maldives, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Taiwan, Thailand, East Timor (East), Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam |
ZONE 3 (OCEANIA)
| Oceania |
|---|
| Australia, Cook (Islands), Fiji (Islands), Guam, Kiribati, Marshall (Islands), Micronesia (Caroline Islands), Nauru, Niue, Norfolk Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn, Polynesia ( French), Saipan (Mariana Islands), Solomon Islands (Islands), Samoa (American), Scattered Islands, French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Tokelau, Tonga (Islands), Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wake, Wallis & Futuna (Islands) |
Source: https://www.poste.it/zone-tariffarie-postamail-internazionale.html
Where to buy stamps in Italy, and how to send a letter or postcard in Italy
As mentioned above, you don’t need to visit an official post office, to buy a stamp, and to send your letter or postcard from Italy. There is a more convenient way to do so! Luckily, stamps are sold in every well-equipped tabaccheria, and not only stamps for Italy only but apparently in touristy areas, also international stamps. Those stores also sell tickets for local buses, besides many other things. So, all you have to do is buy a postcard from somewhere you like, fill everything out according to the lines on the card, write the country you want to ship this to in big letters (to make sure everyone can read it) in either English or Italian language, go to a tabaccheria, a kiosk, mention you want to send this to country xy and you will get the stamp! If this is not a well-equipped tabaccherie, with enough stamps, you might still need to visit an official Poste Italiane Office. So far, so good. Once the stamp is on your postcard you can simply drop it off in one of those bright red mailboxes. You will find them everywhere if you’re looking for them. But, pay attention to what’s written on them! Usually, they have one slit for local or national letters and one for all the other ones. Make sure to drop your postcard off in the right slit, and wish your holiday greetings farewell.
Shipment durations for a postcard from Italy, sent internationally
Delivery times for Italian Postamail International mailings are:
- Europe: delivery in 85% of cases in 8 working days (excluding Saturdays and holidays) beyond the day of shipment
- Mediterranean Basin: delivery in 85% of cases in 12 working days (excluding Saturdays and holidays) beyond the day of shipment
- North America and Oceania: delivery in 85% of cases in 16 working days (excluding Saturdays and holidays) beyond the day of shipment
- Rest of the world: delivery in 85% of cases in 22 working days (excluding Saturdays and holidays) as well as shipping
Source: https://www.poste.it/prodotti/postamail-internazionale.html
