• Visit date: January 15 2019/ Update November 28 2024
• The visited post office: Poste D’agbodrafo, Poste Lome Port, SPT Societé des Postes du Togo – Direction Générale
• Cost of sending mail: Africa 300 XOF, Europe 600 XOF, rest of the world 700 XOF
• Postcard availability: Small selection in La Grande Poste in Lome, larger in the Librarie Star bookstore.
• Postcard delivery time: Fastest to Netherlands- 13 days, to Estonia 90 days.

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a narrow West African country stretching from the coast inland, bordered by Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso, with the Gulf of Guinea to its south. Its capital city is Lomé. Togo’s history is a rich and layered narrative, shaped by centuries of diverse ethnic groups and kingdoms, followed by German and then French colonial rule. The country gained independence on April 27, 1960. The post-independence era has seen periods of political instability and authoritarian rule, largely under the Gnassingbé family for over five decades; indeed, when we visited in January 2019, their rule had already spanned that impressive length of time. French is the official language, although numerous local languages are also spoken. With a population exceeding 8 million, mostly under 35, Togo is roughly the size of Croatia, but far more densely populated.

Sources: Wikipedia, Wikipedia-Togo, Sociate des postes du Togo

Togo’s postal service began informally in the 1880s with German traders using German stamps in coastal towns. World War I brought British and French occupation, leading to the use of overprinted stamps from various sources. After the League of Nations divided Togo in 1922, British and French Togoland each had its own postal system. Independence in 1960 marked the start of Togo’s own postal service and its entry into the Universal Postal Union in 1962. The development of a national postal network, including the establishment of post offices across the country, followed independence. Prior to this, mail delivery relied on existing transport routes – messengers, animal-drawn carts, and coastal shipping.

Our trip to Togo Post Offices:

We arrived in Togo (which translates to “Behind the River”) from Benin by bus, traveling with a group of Finns. Our first encounter with Togo’s postal service was at the small Poste D’agbodrafo, conveniently located near our first night’s lodging. Unfortunately, it was Sunday, and closed. However, Monday morning, after a quick breakfast, we managed to send off a few postcards before our group departed for Lomé. I later discovered online that this small post office had won an award in 2023 for its excellent customer service—a delightful surprise!

Group travel has its advantages and disadvantages. While accommodation and transport were arranged, and we visited key sights, our guide in Lomé had a rather inflexible itinerary focused solely on museums and tourist attractions. A post office visit simply wasn’t on his agenda. He insisted the group remain together. So, we devised a plan: I’d explore the culture, while Andry would discreetly slip away during a shopping mall restroom break, taking a taxi to the post office. I had to reassure the guide several times that Andry was fine, not kidnapped, simply enjoying a bit of independent exploration!

The next day, we visited Lomé’s post offices together. We visited the harbor post office and the main post office, which had a small selection of pre-stamped postcards. A much better selection was found at Librairie STAR bookstore. While markets and other shops lacked printed postcards, we did find beautiful handmade ones from street vendors. The post offices themselves only offered a single stamp design. Thankfully, we’d brought some attractive stamps from European philatelic markets, which we used on some of our postcards.

Our mail arrived in Europe surprisingly quickly; one postcard reached the Netherlands in ten days. This efficiency was a welcome bonus!

Group travel also offers unexpected perks. After days of exploring, while the post office was closed, I learned a new skill thanks to a fellow traveler’s slackline. Almost every evening, he’d set it up between palm trees, and generously allowed me to practice.

And so, our Togolese postal odyssey ended, leaving us with a collection of postcards, a newly acquired slackline skill, and a few good stories about a very determined guide and an even more determined Andry.

Update 28.11.24: I received an update from a postcrosser who recently visited the Central Post Office in Lomé. She confirmed that postcards (two designs available) and stamps are readily available for purchase. Postcard prices were 700 CFA to Europe and 800 CFA internationally; however, European stamps were limited. Librarie Bon Pasteur offers a wider selection of postcards, including some from Benin and Ghana.

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