Poste restante

In order to receive mail at the poste restante, you need to label the envelope this way:
First name + LAST NAME (Capital letters)
Lista de Correos
City
State + Zip code
Mexico

Mailing packages
If you mail packages internationally, be prepared to open them to go through inspection. Bring to the Post Office everything you need to repack it again. If you need faster and safer (but more expensive) shipping, you can use the services of International companies like UPS ( 01- 800-902-92-00 ; www.ups.com ), Federal Express ( 01-800-900-11-00; www.fedex.com), DHL ( 55 53 45 70 00, www.dhl.com) or the Mexican company Estafeta ( 01-800-903-35-00, www.estafeta.com ). It will cost you about 400 mxn$ to Canada and the USA and 500 mxn$ to Europe for a package up to 500 g.

Left picture : Mariachis on the Zócalo of Cuernavaca

Mexico is divided into 31 states plus the Federal District; they appear on every postal address, sometimes with the whole name, some times in a short way. Here is the listing :

Zip codes are available on the website: www.sepomex.gob.mx - look at “codigos postales”;

Telephone and fax

Telephone: Any local phone number is a 7- digit number except in the 3 biggest cities, Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara (8- digit numbers).
You can double-check all the areas codes on the website : www.telmex.com.mx («area code directory by state»); also get help at 020 or 01 800 123 22 23.
Local calls are cheap but international calls could be really expensive. You can save money if you call at the right time from the right place.
To call Mexico from abroad, you have to dial 52 (Mexico)+3-digit area code (2-digit for Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara) called the “ clave lada” + the 7-digit local number (8-digit for Mexico city, Monterrey, Guadalajara).
Here is a listing with some area codes: Acapulco 744, Campeche 981, Chihuahua 614, Cuernavaca 777, Durango, 618, Guadalajara 33, Mexico City 55, Merida 999, Monterrey 81, Puebla 222, San luis de Potosi 444, Veracruz 229, Mazatlán 669, Monterrey 81, Puerto Vallarta 322.

     Right picture : fête à Cusáraré (Creel)

To call long distance from another Mexican location, dial 01 + area code + local number.

To call in the same area or city, just dial the local number. (7 or 8-digit number).

A local call costs about 8-9 pesos/min; a long distance call in Mexico, 25-30 pesos/min; a call to the USA or Canada 30-45 pesos/min; a call to Europe 60-90 pesos/min. The rates are cheaper from 6:00PM and on the weekend.

The cheapest way to call internationally is via the Internet but the quality of the communication/call is often not good.

You can also call from public phones using a card (Ladatel phone card for example) or from Calling Centers (Casetas de telefono or casetas telefonicas) where an operator will dial the number for you.

You could also call from your hotel but it is really expensive and we advise you not to do it.

Calling cards

Some foreign calling cards work in Mexico with a special access number : 01-800-123-0200, 01-800-021-1994.


Calling centers -Casetas de Teléfono

Telmex doesn’t have a monopoly on the market ever since AT&T became competition. Despite the competition, prices don’t seem to go down. National and international calls are easy to make. There are a lot of pay phones working with 50-pesos or 100-pesos phone cards everywhere in the country.
For a long distance call (larga distancia or lada) inside the country, dial 91 + area code + local number. For an international call to all countries except the USA or Canada : dial 00 + phone number. For international calls to the USA and Canada : dial +1 + area code + phone number.

International calls are 33% cheaper on Sunday.
For directory assistance, dial 04.

For collect calls (llamada per cobrar), dial 02 for Mexico, and 09 for international. The price of calls in the calling Centers are about the same as using Ladatel in the pay phones. The phone cards Ladatel can be bought at Newspaper stands as well as in pharmacies.

Cellular phones

Cellular phones have changed the lives of travelers but right now, using a cell phone abroad is quite expensive. The best Mexican network is TELCEL (www.telcel.com). You can buy refills at Newspaper stands. International roaming is available: Text messaging - 8 mxn$/min; calls- 40mxn$/min, national or international. In 2010, there were 83,5 million subscribers in Mexico. Contact your cell phone provider/company for more information about using your cell phone in Mexico. You could also rent one in the airports or in upscale hotels.


Fax

Fax and e-mail services are widely available in Mexico. There are stores offering telephone and fax services everywhere. You can find fax machines in the public telegraph offices (telégrafos) or the services Telecomm and Computel. Also look for «fax publico» signs.

Internet cafés

There are a lot of Internet cafés. The cost is from 12 to 15 mxn$/hour (it may vary depending on the areas).

     Right picture : hotel's patio

Useful numbers

Directory assistance : 040 –
To reach a long distance operator within Mexico and to make a Collect Call : dial 020 To reach an international operator and Collect call : dial 090 Emergency : dial: 065 – Emergency in Mexico City : dial 080 " citizen attention”: 061 " citizen help" : 060.
Toll free numbers have an 800 area code. You must first dial 01. They will work only inside the country.

The numbers in 01-800 are free of charge inside Mexico but outside the capital.

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