In April 2008 I will be travelling to Vietnam for three weeks and will be making this trip with only a backpack. As I will not have room to carry all the souvenirs, clothes, shoes, pottery, et al, I was wondering if anyone has shipped items home (USA)? Did you simply go to the main post office and to the international area? What was the cost? Did your shipment arrive intact?

Thank you for your help and/or advice.

Here is the website for Vietnam Post http://www.vnpt.com.vn/, click on "English" for the English version. This should provide all the info you need on postal rates. I have not used the state postal service in Vietnam and don't know anything about their reliability. I have used postal services in other Asian countries and it generally is easy, inexpensive and safe. . Also, used personal items you send back to the US are not subject to any US customs or duties, so it is a good way to send stuff you don't want back home and bring souvenirs with you (which are subject to duty but you get a US$800 duty free clearance first; any souvenir items you ship are NOT included in this duty free amount.) If Vietnam is like other postal offices here in Asia, they will sell you the box, tape and everything you need to prepare the package. Use surface as opposed to air mail to save more money (although it takes longer)

Mail Boxes etc is another option, see mbe.com to see if they have locations in Vietnam. Fedex and DHL are options, they tend to be rather expensive.

Are you headed directly back to the US? If it were me, I'd just buy a suitcase in Vietnam near the end of the trip and check that. Might as well use up the baggage allowance, and then you'll have all your stuff with you.

Yes but what if you go over the allowance? How much does this cost? I am asking because I will also be returning from Vietnam (to the US) and will likely have lots of purchases..

The first time I was there, DHL seemed to be the only (expensive) option for shipping things home..

First, check your airline to see how many pieces of checked baggage you are allowed in the class you are flying. You can usually find this info on the airlines website. You may be allowed 2 checked bags. If you are only planning on bringing one bag over with you, then you are fine to buy a suitcase there and bring it back (or just pack a duffle or a Le Sac in the one bag and stuff it with dirty clothes, shoes and other unbreakable items for the return flight). If you are planning on bringing two checked bags already, then check the website to find out how much the excess baggage charges are. It's usually a per piece or a per pound/kilo charge. Obviously, subject to carry on restrictions, if it's a per kilo charge, then carry heavy items on board and pack light items.

If you are over the bag limit or over the weight limit, you have to pay the excess. I recently flew back to the states from Hong Kong with not only an extra bag but excess weight on all three bags and the excess baggage "charge" was US$42, really more than worth it IMO, and probably not much more than you would pay to ship things back. (I live in Hong Kong and shipping for this trip was not an option for me.)

There is a poster on this board who says she routinely ships her dirty clothes back surface mail and packs her souvenirs in her one checked bag, as she doesn't care when her clothes come back, and she doesn't ever pay excess baggage charges. That seems like a good plan too.