Many buildings have no letter delivery at all — get a P.O. box. Ordering from outside the EU became more expensive in July 2026, with a flat €3 duty added per item.
Post and parcels
- P.O. Box: €31 a year, €55 for two years, €85 for three, plus €6 for the key. Parcels can be collected from Parcel24 lockers, at the branch or delivered to your door.
- Parcels from outside the EU: 19% VAT on the value plus shipping, unless it was paid via IOSS. Plus the post office's customs presentation fee — €3.50 per item regardless of value.
- IOSS: for goods up to €150 an EU-registered marketplace (AliExpress, Temu, Shein, Amazon) charges the VAT at checkout, so nothing extra is due in Cyprus.
- From 1 July 2026 the EU scrapped the duty exemption for parcels under €150: it is now €3 per item by tariff line. Above €150 the normal duties apply.
- Timings: registered mail from the EU 4–10 working days, EMS within Europe 2–5 days, parcels from Asia 3–8 weeks.
- Customs charges can be paid online through the THALIS platform before arrival — home delivery is then possible. Storage lasts 30 days.
- Collection requires a valid photo ID — identity card, passport or driving licence. Someone else may collect on a written authorisation on the back of the notification, on an authorisation form or on a forwarded SMS; an item marked "Personal Delivery" also needs the addressee's own document.
- The delivery-choice link sent by message is valid until 06:00 the next day. Miss it and the parcel goes to the branch. Anything uncollected after 30 days is returned to the sender.
Couriers
- Akis Express — the largest domestic courier and the exclusive UPS partner. Most domestic orders go through them.
- ACS Courier — a Greece–Cyprus network with economical sea freight for 1–40 kg.
- DHL, FedEx and Aramex — for international shipments.
- Note: ordinary DHL and DHL Express are different things. The ordinary service hands the parcel to Cyprus Post, and tracking then moves to the Cypriot post office's site.
Where to order from
- Skroutz — the Greek marketplace, with delivery in about a week. Many people have switched to it from Amazon for small items and electronics.
- Amazon.de and amazon.co.uk deliver some goods, but about two thirds of third-party sellers don't ship to Cyprus. Since Brexit, the UK counts as a third country.
- Temu, Shein and AliExpress work, but with the new €3-per-item duty the savings on small purchases have gone.
- If a shop does not deliver to Cyprus, you can use a European parcel forwarding service.
Groceries
- By basket price: Lidl and Sklavenitis are cheapest, then Mas Market and Athienitis, with Metro and Alphamega more expensive. On a big shop the difference reaches €100.
- Alphamega is the premium option with a wide range of imports and convenient delivery. Metro is expensive but open 24 hours.
- You can compare prices on the government's e-Kalathi service.
- Farmers' markets: arrive by 7:30; prices drop around 12:30. The big ones are in Limassol on Saturdays, Nicosia on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Larnaca on Wednesdays and Paphos on Saturdays.
- There are about a dozen shops selling Eastern European groceries on the island: chains in Limassol and Paphos, individual shops in Larnaca and Nicosia.
Food delivery
Wolt (a Wolt+ subscription of about €6 a month gives free delivery above a certain basket value), Bolt Food with the widest restaurant choice, and the Cypriot Foody. The Alphamega and Sklavenitis supermarkets deliver groceries themselves; the mark-up for fast delivery is 10–20% over shelf price.