Post to the UK

[Lee]

Hi all,
I was just wondering if anyone has had known delays in post to the UK from Cyprus?
A couple of things I have sent separately around 4 weeks ago still haven't turned up.
Cheers
Lee

[PhotoLady]

Not something we ever had problems with during our 12yrs in Cyprus - we came back to UK last year....
Normal airmail took 3-5 days to reach UK and if sent by Registered /Signed For service it could add on an extra day or so.
Our business was based around small posted items and sometimes larger packages throughout UK, Europe and worldwide.

[Lincoln]

We have never had any problems either after 13++ years. However some people have and do have post problems. Just saying.

[mike strand2]

There are always some items that never make it to the destination. Thankfully most items do make it (eventually) but it can never be 100%

[geoffreys]

Our experience recently is that post from UK to Cyprus takes up to 28 days. However post from Cyprus to UK takes 5 - 7 working days.
Geoff.

[PhotoLady]

Our UK to Cyprus used to take around 10 days - don't recall waiting any longer than that. My mum used to send stuff to us fairly regularly and we also purchased via eBay on a weekly basis.

We were based on the outskirts of Limassol near Akrotiri and our postman delivered directly to the house Monday to Friday. That may possibly be why our experience differs a bit.

When we posted out of Cyprus, we either used the postbox in our main village high street or at one of the main post offices - not one of those outlying offices and we never posted from the tourist area.

[daveg]

We regularly send cards etc from Cyprus to the UK.....and are not surprised if they are not received!
No idea why, and nether has the Cyprus postal service....

[Kili01]

Last year thee was a "little trouble" when items and in fact whole mailbags were mysteriously disappearing after they left the UK and before they arrived at Larnaca.

After some time spent "researching" the method of sending mail from the UK, I discovered that cyprus bound mail is despatched from Heathrow using Aegean Airways, not direct usually, but via Athens. Where it may/may not be despatched in due course in time to catch the flighto Larnaca, From Larnaca to Paphos post may take about 5 days to reach Paphos.

The complication which went undiscovered for about 18 months was that a certain employee from the post room was helping himself to random bags of mail during the hours when the post room was closed and the incoming mail of the afternoon/ evening flight was left in a corridor, overnight! Eventually he was caught with 3 mailbags in his car and a further 180 something found on searching his house. A reg envelope from my bank bearing a cheque book went missing, which was why I was interested. After the court case, my envelope which had been previously opened was returned to me by the PO in a plastic bag some 9 months later! Obviously my UK chequebook was of no use in Cyprus!

The point which I am making is that despite promises made at the time that the mail would be better/ handled more quickly, nothing seems to have changed! Siga, siga. Now I either use courier service for important items, or wait until I am next in the UK.

Dee

[PhotoLady]

We're still sending our orders from UK to Cyprus and they're still getting through in good time. We have one to dispatch there today by signed for service. I will check and see where it goes and how long it takes. It's destined for Nicosia....

[WHL]

I go to the main post office Mon morning and they get to London by Fri...happy with that.

[PhotoLady]

We also have a package on its' way to us from Cyprus - it was posted from Nicosia on Monday and reached the Langley (Heathrow) Mail Distribution Centre at just after 00:30hrs today. It was then sent on its' merry way to Preston at just after 08:00 this morning. We may get it tomorrow or Saturday.

[Kili01]

Hi Jules,
Don't forget you lived in Limassol and were doing business from there!
I also have friends in Limassol who don't seem to have the same problems that exist in Paphos! Paphos is the end of the main line,so to speak. Polis is even further away from Larnaca than Paphos...
I find that usually the post from Paphos to UK is much quicker than post coming from the UK.
I had hoped that after the scandal last year with the postman in Larnaca, and after he had been found and convicted by the court, that things would improve with mail arriving quicker and more reliably ! But though it doesn't seem to be disappearing as before, it is still very slow to arrive sometimes...

Dee

[PhotoLady]

Yes Dee, I've always maintained that location is what dominates the Cyprus postal system and how each of us can comment on the service we receive. The business had nothing to do with it, we worked directly from our home and we posted at various places depending where we were at the time.

Saying that, we did however, live 12km outside of the town centre / tourist areas of Limassol in one of the suburbs between Polemedia and Kolossi.

Friends in the next village or Erimi did not have the same experience as us and frequently had to wait or go and collect (as well as search through) boxes of mail to collect post and packages.

A German guy I worked with who lived just around the corner from a post office in the tourist area of Potomas Germasoyia had great struggles receiving his Amazon orders!

For almost 4 years we were members of a postal survey group based in Cyprus - we were "senders" of envelopes with tracking devices to various places in the world.... our post office never knew about that

[PhotoLady]

Good news!
The package we were expecting from Nicosia posted Monday 17 July by Registered Mail has been delivered to us just a few minutes ago. That's great, door to door service within 5 days!

The package we dispatched from our UK village post office to Nicosia yesterday afternoon was sent on the flight this morning from Heathrow to Larnaca.

[Kili01]

Jules,
But was it a direct flight? Many of these flights by Aegean airways terminate in Athens.... and mail has to wait for a flight to Larnaca ...

Dee

[PhotoLady]

We regularly send cards etc from Cyprus to the UK.....and are not surprised if they are not received!
No idea why, and nether has the Cyprus postal service....

Are the cards in coloured envelopes by any chance?
If yes, as an idea, try putting them inside a plain white or even brown envelope instead and see if it makes any difference

Many years ago it was found that tourists sending postcards reported it was taking weeks for their cards to reach the recipients. However, putting the postcard in a plain envelope meant they arrived much faster.... the postcards were being held back and only dispatched every few weeks.

[PhotoLady]

Jules,
But was it a direct flight? Many of these flights by Aegean airways terminate in Athens.... and mail has to wait for a flight to Larnaca ...

Dee

When the system is updated I will see what info EMS or Royal Mail gives me....

[Houdinibun]

I have been sending lots of parcels from Paphos to UK recently and all have arrived very quickly - average 5 days

[garry&jill]

a few weeks ago we bought some kites for the grandchildren,wrapped them up and enquired at the post office as to the cost
decided to ask at the local courier service and was quoted 125euros for 1 package and 85 euros for the second
took 1 strapped to hand luggage the other is still here in Cyprus
garry

[Kili01]

Having tried reg post, tracked post and ordinary air mail dispatch, I have found that using ordinary mail is much quicker and much cheaper! Also a reg or tracked letter/small parcel probably attracts more attention which may or may not be a good thing!

But to ensure an important item wil reach its destination in 2 days and will not get 'lost' the only sure way is to use a courier.

Dee

Dee