Sending and receiving packages in Tanzania

42358POSTS

7 years ago

Hello,

As an expat, there are inevitably certain items you might want or need from back home, and around the holiday period, many people like to send gift packages.

How easy is it to send and receive packages in Tanzania?

Is the public postal system efficient?

Do people tend to prefer using private shipping services? Which ones?

How do the costs of the private shipping services compare?

How long does it take generally to receive packages from abroad in Tanzania?

Do you have to pay taxes on items received by mail from abroad?

Are packages delivered right to your doorstep, or do you usually have to go collect them somewhere?

Thank you for sharing your experience,

Priscilla

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Eagle509 Member

1POSTS

7 years ago

It depends on the value of the package. I have not used the public postal system yet so no comment. I have used DHL for a car key and my understanding is that they charge customs fee on the stated value of the item. In my case, the fee was around $80 US for 2 keys and a 2 pages document since the sender stated that the value of the package was around $250. The item was delivered to my house, but you may be expected to be on the phone to provide step by step instruction to the driver. The package was from Japan. It cost around $35 and got to Dar es Salaam in 6 days.