Backpacking Diplomacy by Andy A blog dedicated to sharing world culture, travel tips and building community.
In today’s digital era, you can share pictures across the globe instantly. Snap a photo, share it online or text it to friends and voila. So easy right?
With this rise of insta-sharing, the traditional art of post card sending has seen a drastic decline. Post cards used to be prominently displayed on the sidewalks in front of souvenir shops from New York to Tokyo. Today, it seems like they are increasingly more difficult to find or just generic in nature. Is sending postcards a dying art?
Why should you still send post cards?
Insta-sharing might be easy. It might even be fun sometimes. After all, you can add music, artistic elements or even your own personal touch. However, there’s something about insta-sharing that has never felt completely right with me. Ever since Instagram hit the seem it seemed, yeah ‘seemed’, cool. It was like sending post cards, but to more people. Although you can reach more people with an online post on social media or even an online post, it still lacks that human touch. Also, because sharing on social media is so easy, it gives it a lot less meaning.
Post cards have always been special. Post cards take effort. They require attention and time. The fact that they are somewhat difficult to send makes them that much more special.
The fact that they are somewhat difficult to send makes them that much more special.
In a world where everything is becoming increasingly digital and automated, there are some small traditions that still make me feel really human. One is sending a postcard. It’s manual. It’s often inconvenient. But it is significantly more meaningful than a silly Instagram post. There isn’t a word in English to describe the joy of receiving an unexpected handwritten note or card from someone in your life, but there should be.
Whether you travel or not, you can send postcards. It can be from your home town, or that city you traveled to. I was so touched to see that Sài Gòn‘s central post office was absolutely buzzing with people writing post cards. Boxes full of postcards sending to all corners of the globe. The post cards from Saigon’s Central post office did take 3-4 months to arrive, but I’m happy nonetheless.
If you don’t normally send post cards, please consider it next time.
Reasons why you should send post cards
Cultural exchange
Postcards promote cultural exchange and stimulate curiosity for travel and learning about other people, cultures and things. When you send a postcard, you have the opportunity to share interesting facts, language, food or even places that you’ve experienced.
Emotional uplift
Studies show that giving, in this case sending, can have a positive impact on oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine. In fact, “Neuroscience has demonstrated that giving is a powerful pathway for creating more personal joy and improving overall health.” Everyone loves an emotional uplift right? We all do and we all should. It’s a part of being human. Give it a try!
Shows intent
The art of sending post cards is not necessarily an easy task. It takes time, effort and money. First you have to find postcards, which can be a challenge in some countries. Next, you have to actually write personalized notes on them. Then, you have to find stamps and ensure that you have enough postage for your destination. Lastly, actually mailing them. It all takes effort, which may never be seen. In an era where texting and social posting is the norm, a written post card goes a long way.
In an era where texting and social posting is the norm, a written post card goes a long way.
Promotes tourism
In today’s digital era where influencers constantly make Reels or ‘content’, many places don’t need promotion. In fact, good places eventually get the promotion they need from social media. That being said, you can use post cards to highlight other areas and aspects of cultures. The deeper side, that people may not see otherwise.
Decorative
Postcards can be extremely decorative and delightful additions to a house. The cards create lasting memories and many can be conversation starters for guests. You can put post cards in frames, make a binder or even a collage.
Philatelist will love you
A philatelist – also known informally as a person who collects stamps. If you know anyone who likes to collect things, particularly postage stamps, then they may be a philatelist. If you send post cards to that friend while you travel, then you can collect extra points.
Pro tip: Get them vintage post cards which were stamped in an earlier time. Send them that post card with new stamps.
Robots can’t do it
AI, artificial intelligence and robots may be all anyone is talking about but a handwritten note can’t be replaced. Can you create a robot to write notes? Yeah sure. Is that robot traveling with you and writing personal notes to receiver? No. A handwritten post card or notes are some of the things that can distinguish you from robotic life.
How to write a postcard?
Writing a post card is not inherently difficult. You will need a few things to though. Make sure that you have the address for the person or people who you would like to send the post card to.
Further, think of a personalized note or message that connects the place to them or just shares how you are thinking about them.
Lastly, just place your stamp or stamps in some cases.
Step by step instructions
Choose a post card
The act of finding and selecting postcards can be fun. Depending on where you are traveling to you may have a large selection of post cards. Look for souvenir shops, thrift markets, second hand markets and even art studios. I almost always try to select post cards which are vintage or locally produced. I prefer an artistic and locally created post card to a mass produced tourist one. When there are limited options, I’ll take what I can get. Ultimately find cards that you like and that might resonate with the people you are sending them to.
Add postage
Next, find a local post office. If you do not speak the local language, I recommend using a translation app like DeepL. I would normally pre-write some message for the postal worker saying something like “I would like x number of post card stamps. The postcards will be sent internationally to {list the countries}.”
A message like this ensures that you will get: (a) the number of stamps you need; (b) the correct value of stamps for international markets.
I recommend adding postage first. Why? If you do this you can then see how much space you have for other things. If you wait, then you risk losing space for postage. In some cases, only 1 stamp is required so space is not an issue. In other cases, multiple stamps are required which can limit the amount of space for writing.
Write the address
An important next step is to include the address. Similarly to the postage, adding the address next gives you an idea of how much space you can leave for your personalized note.
Pro tip: I like to write the name of the country in the local language. If the address is going to a country with a non-latin based language then I’d recommend trying to write in that language if you can. It increases the deliverability and also shows extra attention.
Write a message
Now that you have added postage and the person’s address, it is time to write a note. Write whatever your heart feels like writing. Write something that reminded you of the person. Write something that you think the person would like about the place. Or, just anything else you’d like to share. Remember that post cards can be read by anyone, so you might want to leave out graphic details or any deeply personal information. However, that’s up to you.
How to send a post card?
Admittedly, sending a post card is not always easy. However, the steps to send a post card are the same everywhere. Assuming that you have already followed the instructions above then you likely have stamps already. In most cases, you can bring the post cards back to the post office where you got stamps from.
In most countries you have 2-3 options for physically mailing post cards.
Post office
The best choice for mailing post cards is the post office. Look for national post offices, not regional mailing services. Usually at the post office, there will be a drop box or you can physically hand the cards to the teller.
Mailbox
There are strategically located mail boxes in many countries around the world. In most cases, these are checked regularly and will get your mail send off. You can even find some really interesting mail boxes like the Mailbox of peace in Hiroshima Japan!
Or this Soviet era post box in Estonia
However, be weary of using mailbox that seem defunct or abandoned. Occasionally these boxes are left unchecked for months at a time and your cards may never arrive to the receiver.
Personal mailbox
As a last resort, a physical mailbox can work just fine. I usually avoid these because I prefer the experience of going to a post office or dropping in an official mailbox but a house can also work.
Create your own postcards
If you are somewhat creative and would like to go the extra mile, why not create your own post cards? Creating your personal cards is one of the most interesting and unique things that you can do, especially given that so many cards are mass produced these days.
How to create your own cards?
Truthfully, there are many ways to create your own cards. If you have a printer and some talent you can do it at home.
Otherwise, you can rely on an a third-party service like Moo to create them. I used Moo to create mind and they gave me this code here. If you use that code then you can get a FREE $25 credit towards creating your first post cards. Further you can use a software like Canva to design your cards then add the design into Moo. Et voila !*
I designed my first batch of post cards for the town of Yauco in Puerto Rico last year and I was really pleased with how they came out. The card stock was firm and the image quality was very high.
Post card in different languages
Post card or Postcard?
The word postcard can be used as a noun or an adjective. There is inconsistent spelling for the word. Wikipedia and Merriam-Webster both use postcard as one word. Therefore, officially, it seems to be just one word. However, through the years, people have used both to the point where you can write it either way and it will be understood. I’ve seen it written both ways on post cards. Thus, regardless of whether you write postcard or post card, rest assured you will be understood.
How do you say post card in over 100 languages?
| Language | How to say it in the language? |
| English | Post card or postcard |
| Afrikaans | Poskaart |
| Albanian | Kartolinë |
| Amharic | የፖስታ ካርድ |
| Arabic | بطاقة بريدية |
| Armenian | Փոստային բացիկ or Բացիկ |
| Azerbaijani | Poçt kartı or açıqca (açıq məktub) |
| Basque | Posta-txartela or postala |
| Belarusian | Паштоўка |
| Bengali | পোস্ট কার্ড or পোস্টকার্ড |
| Bosnian | Razglednica |
| Bulgarian | Пощенска картичка |
| Burmese | ပို့စကတ် |
| Catalan | Targeta postal, or just postal |
| Chinese | 明信片 |
| Corsican | Carta postale or cartolina pustale |
| Croatian | Razglednica |
| Czech | Pohlednice |
| Danish | Postkort |
| Dutch | Ansichtkaart |
| Esperanto | Poŝtkarto |
| Estonian | Postkaart |
| Finnish | Postikortti |
| French | Carte postale |
| Galician | Tarxeta postal or just postal |
| Georgian | საფოსტო ბარათი |
| German | Postkarte |
| Greek | Καρτ ποστάλ |
| Gujarati | પોસ્ટકાર્ડ |
| Haitian | Kat postal |
| Hausa | Katin gidan waya |
| Hebrew | גלויה or גְלוּיָה |
| Hindi | पोस्टकार्ड |
| Hungarian | Képeslap |
| Icelandic | Póstkort |
| Igbo | Kaadị ozi |
| Indonesian | Kartu pos |
| Irish | Cárta poist |
| Italian | Cartolina |
| Japanese | ポストカード |
| Javanese | Kartu pos |
| Kannada | ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ಕಾರ್ಡ್ or ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ಕಾರ್ಡ್ |
| Kazakh | Ашықхат |
| Khmer | កាតប៉ុស្តាល់ |
| Kinyarwanda | Ikarita y’iposita |
| Kirghiz | Почта открыткасы or Открытка |
| Korean | 엽서 |
| Kurdish | Karta posteyê or qertepost |
| Lao | ບັດໄປສະນີ |
| Latin | Charta epistularis |
| Latvian | Pastkarte |
| Lithuanian | Atvirukas |
| Luxembourgish | Postkaart |
| Macedonian | Разгледница |
| Malagasy | Karatra paositra or carte postale (French) |
| Malay | Poskad |
| Malayalam | പോസ്റ്റ് കാർഡ് or പോസ്റ്റ്കാർഡ് |
| Maltese | Kartolina |
| Maori | Kāri poutapeta |
| Marathi | पोस्ट कार्ड or पोस्टकार्ड |
| Marwari | ပို့စကတ် |
| Mongolian | Ил захидал |
| Nepali | हुलाक कार्ड or पोस्टकार्ड |
| Norwegian | Postkort |
| Norwegian Bokmål | Postkort |
| Nyanja | Khadi la positi |
| Oriya (macrolanguage) | ପୋଷ୍ଟ କାର୍ଡ or ପୋଷ୍ଟକାର୍ଡ |
| Panjabi | ਪੋਸਟ ਕਾਰਡ or ਪੋਸਟਕਾਰਡ |
| Pashto | پوسټ کارډ |
| Persian | کارت پستال |
| Polish | Pocztówka |
| Portuguese | cartão postal |
| Romanian | Carte poștală |
| Russian | Открытка |
| Samoan | Kata meli |
| Scottish Gaelic | Cairt-phuist |
| Serbian | Разгледница |
| Shona | Kadhi repositi |
| Sindhi | پوسٽ ڪارڊ |
| Sinhala | තැපැල්පත |
| Slovak | Pohľadnica |
| Slovenian | Razglednica |
| Somali | Kaarka boostada |
| Southern Sotho | Karete ea poso |
| Spanish | Tarjeta postal |
| Sundanese | Kartu pos |
| Swahili (macrolanguage) | Kadi ya posta |
| Swedish | Vykort |
| Tagalog | Postkard |
| Tajik | Корти почта |
| Tamil | அஞ்சல் அட்டை |
| Tatar | Почта открыткасы or Открытка |
| Telugu | పోస్ట్ కార్డ్ or పోస్ట్కార్డ్ |
| Thai | โปสการ์ด |
| Turkish | Kartpostal |
| Turkmen | Poçta karty |
| Uighur | پوچتا كارتىسى |
| Ukrainian | Листівка |
| Urdu | پوسٹ کارڈ |
| Uzbek | Pochta kartasi |
| Vietnamese | Bưu thiếp |
| Welsh | Cerdyn post |
| Western Frisian | Postkaart or ansichtkaart |
| Xhosa | Ikhadi leposi |
| Yiddish | פּאָסטקאַרטל |
| Yoruba | Káàdì ìfìwéránṣẹ́ |
| Zulu | Ikhadi leposi |
Share your post card experience!
Have you ever sent or received a post card? Which is your favorite post card that you’ve ever received? What made it special?
What do you love most about sending postcards?
Sharing your story helps me and others to see the continued joy of writing post cards.
Let’s keep doing what makes us human – even in a digital age.
FAQ about Post Cards
The cost of sending a post card really depends from where you are sending it. Sending a postcard within the US costs $0.56 with a standard postcard stamp, which is cheaper than a regular letter stamp. International postcard rates vary by destination but generally run between $2-3 from the US. Rates differ by country, so it’s always worth checking your national postal service’s website before mailing, but generally speaking all are within the same range. Except Denmark!
The standard postcard size is 4 × 6 inches (10 × 15 cm), which is the most widely accepted size for mailing and printing. Postal services also accept slightly larger sizes as well. Larger sizes such as 4.25 × 6 inches are generally ok in the US and elsewhere as long as they meet minimum thickness requirements. Anything outside these dimensions may be classified as a letter and charged a higher postage rate.
It really depends, which is part of the fun of sending postcards. A post card can arrive in as little as 2-3 days. Postcards can also take months to arrive. Within the United States, domestic postcards typically arrive within 1–5 business days depending on distance and postal service conditions. International delivery times vary much more widely. Anywhere from 1–2 weeks to a month or more for remote destinations. Peak holiday seasons can add extra delays, so it’s always smart to mail early.
While traveling, I’ve sent some post cards and they’ve arrived to around the world destinations in just 1-2 weeks. I’ve also mailed post cards, like from Vietnam, which arrived 4-5 months later.
A return address is not legally required on a postcard. If a postcard can’t be delivered due to an incorrect address or the recipient having moved it can only be returned to you if your address is on it. I never put a return address on my postcards, but you can if you want. It just takes up more space though!
A postcard is an unfolded, single card designed to be mailed without an envelope, with one side typically featuring an image and the other divided between a message and an address. A greeting card is usually folded, contains a message inside, and is always sent in an envelope. Postcards are generally cheaper to mail and more compact. Greeting cards allow for more privacy and longer messages.
Yes — printing your own postcards at home is straightforward. Most home printers can handle 4 × 6 inch card stock, which you can buy at any office supply store. Design your postcard using free tools like Canva, print it out, and it’s ready to mail as long as it meets your postal service’s minimum thickness requirements (typically at least 0.007 inches thick in the US). Online print services like Vistaprint or Moo are also popular for producing higher-quality custom postcards in bulk.
Write whatever your heart desires. Maybe something short, warm, and specific to the moment. A good postcard message usually includes a greeting, one or two sentences about where you are or what you’re experiencing, and a personal closing. Share a small detail that makes the recipient feel like they’re almost there with you. Think of it less like writing a letter and more like sending someone a really good text, but one they’ll keep forever.
Yes, postcards can be sent to virtually any country in the world. All you need is the correct international postage (available at your local post office or postal service website), the recipient’s full address written clearly in the Latin alphabet if mailing to a non-Latin script country, and the destination country written in English or the language of the country you’re mailing from. International delivery is generally reliable, though timelines vary significantly.
Postcrossing is a free online project that lets you send and receive postcards from strangers around the world. You register on postcrossing.com, request an address, send a postcard to that person, and once they register it as received, your own address enters the pool and someone else sends you a card. It’s a simple and addictive way to discover new places, practice postcard writing, and receive real mail from unexpected corners of the globe.
Some vintage postcards can be quite valuable — particularly those from the “Golden Age” of postcards (roughly 1900–1920), rare topographical cards showing towns or landmarks that no longer exist, holiday cards by well-known illustrators, or cards tied to historically significant events. Common factors that affect value include age, condition, subject matter, artist, and whether the card was postally used. Collectors refer to the hobby as “deltiology,” and dedicated marketplaces like Playle’s, HipPostcard, and eBay are good places to buy, sell, or research values.
*Disclosure: If you choose to use my link for Moo and create your own post cards, I’d appreciate it. Not only do you get a FREE $25 credit towards your first batch of postcards but I also potentially get a small credit to make more cards as well. Using an affiliate link like this one helps me to continue writing more content like this. I only promote products that I actually use myself.
