Bringing home olive oil - need suggestions

I have felt the pain you envision. Brought back a bottle of olive oil about 20 years ago and it did not end well. I suggest wrapping each one generously in bubble-wrap, then seal each in large, study zip-lock plastic bags. Finally, put them in separate carboard boxes, and wrap in dirty clothes that won't break your heart if they get soaked. Good luck.

I have used UPS Stores or similar “pack and ship” services for items that I don’t want to carry home. They will wrap and package everything for you and send it on its way.

Just google for a place in your next destinations.

Take a look at the glass. If it is thicker glass, like a wine bottle, and a liter or less in volume, it should be fine in your checked bag.

Just wrap it well in dirty clothes, if you have a ziploc or other plastic bag, wrap with that as well. Put the bottles in the center of the bag a cushion around it so that if the bag were to be struck from any side, it hits adding, no a bottle.

Routinely bring back wine, beer, liquor, olive oil, etc, like this, with no problem. In a standard carry on size bag, you can pack up to 6 bottles of wine, so 2 bottles should be a breeze.

We bring back either oil or wine or both from every trip. We pack them in our one checked bag wrapped in clothes (socks are good for this) and packed in tightly so they don't move much. Bits of cardboard can help. I think the danger is from the bag hitting a sharp edge when being handled, not so much the bumping into each other.

For a next trip, there are plastic bubble packs made for wine bottles that are sturdy enough to contain the liquid if they did break. WineSkins is one brand.

As suggested above, careful (VERY careful) packing will be your friend. Yes, you could have them shipped, but things in glass bottles are heavy, and I suspect it'll be shockingly expensive. Besides, you're going home, you have checked bags... Just pack, pad, and contain things well. For next time, buy some wine bottle shippers (available on you-know-who, and maybe at a local big wine shop) and bring them from home so you're prepared. These are re-usable, bubble-wrap sleeves the size of wine bottles that seal (fairly well) and that also have a layer of absorbent material to soak up most of the liquid if the bottles do break. I've used those before successfully - just seal them well, toss them in a big ziplock for another layer of protection (and maybe duct-tape that), then cushion with many layers of clothing. Then cross your fingers. Bags will get heavy fast, so be careful about exceeding the airline's weight limit. But it can be done, I've brought a couple bottles of wine home many times.

Things CAN go horribly wrong, though, if you are not really on your A-game when packing/sealing/containing. I've never had a bottle break, but had a family member arrive with a dripping, disgusting, fetid, smelly piece of luggage. He had packed several bottles of Mom's home-made garlic seafood sauce (really strong, eye-watering stuff), and had not been diligent about the process. I watched his bag hit the luggage carousel upon arrival at the airport, literally dripping from the seams. People all took a step or two back from the luggage carousel when it went by them - the smell was so strong it was like parting the Red Sea. He sheepishly grabbed the bag and dragged it off to a corner to investigate. As much as I love him, I immediately announced that bag wasn't going into MY car (fortunately, we had brought multiple cars to pickup this large group, so somebody else, who didn't object to having a smelly car, volunteered to take his bag - after he dumped the contents). We had some discussions about what had to be left outside on the back porch when we got home, but we all got over it eventually (then I laid down some rules for next time about shipping and dripping...). Point being: disasters do happen, so hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Pack your liquids in glass containers VERY carefully.

(Sniff, sniff...hey, what's that smell in the back yard?)

I've brought home bottles of olive oil/wine as others have mentioned above: in a plastic bag, wrapped in clothing, positioned in the middle of the suitcase. So far so good!

are you staying at a hotel? Ask them for a place nearby you can purchase bubble wrap. Also, in addition to above suggestions, if the bottles are slender enough, tuck at least one end into a shoe (you might have to loosen the laces) and then wrap in clothing. I have done this with other fragile items and it helps give some sturdiness (but is not foolproof). Really the biggest issue is making sure you have something to contain spillage if it happens (ziplock or a plastic grocery bag tied tightly at the top). Best of luck.

I've never found bubble wrap necessary and side with those who recommend burying the bottles in your dirty clothes in the center of your bag. The idea of placing each in a sealed plastic bag is something I've done, too. I always bring wine back from Italy this way (too many times to count) and have never had a problem.

Many olive oil bottles are MUCH MORE FRAGILE than wine bottles. The OP did not indicate the type of bottles, so I am going to assume the worst. Thus, it is not the same as bottles of wine, which are very sturdy, thus extra caution is in order. Been there, failed to do that.

Things CAN go horribly wrong, though, if you are not really on your A-game when packing/sealing/containing. I've never had a bottle break, but had a family member arrive with a dripping, disgusting, fetid, smelly piece of luggage....

Wow, that is truly a story for the ages! I can hardly imagine what that whole experience was! YIKES!

We put olive oil and wine in our checked bags all the time. Never (knock on wood) have had an issue. Pack your dirty clothes around the bottles for a little protection :) But we do bring an extra duffle bag to take stuff out of our checked luggage to add the olive oil and or wine then we carry on the duffle bag.

If you depart from Rome I think you can now carry any quantity of liquids on board. Since the implementation of the new CT scan technology at several major airports in Italy, those restrictions have been removed. However I don't know if the US authorities still limit those quantities, for their flights therefore it is possible the limitations are still in place for flights to the US or if you have to change planes in the US. My suggestion is to buy one of those inflated plastic bottle protectors. Also make sure you put everything in a sealed plastic bag in case something breaks. I stopped checking in liquids (wine or others) a long time ago since they take too much room. You can find great olive oil in the US (imported or local), albeit at a higher price. To me saving $10-$20 or so for a bottle of anything is not worth the hassle.

hey hey Kelly
looks like you two having fun times, yeah.
i agree with a few here, check if post office or "grocery/novelty" store has bubble wrap, i've also used newspaper. keep your plastic grocery bags ask for a couple from cashier. wrap it up tightly, put in plastic bag, i've put each bottle in socks and end of shoes that's been mentioned. make sure sturdy, wrap in clothes and set in middle of bag with more clothes on top. do you put in one or two checked bags and like you said okay to pay the bag fee.
i wouldn't ship it, friend bought pottery pot in greece, shipped for $$$$$ and took 4 months to get back to states
david's "horribly wrong" story beats the cake. HA HA

years ago same friend and i went to new orleans in heat of august, rented car and went to abita springs, stopped for lunch and had a beer. friend's son loves beer and was abita not sold here in california so she bought a special of 12 bottles with different dark/light. lo and behold we get back to oakland airport and suitcase is dripping beer LOL worse part was our flight was delayed till 9pm (weather) had an overnight in houston, not expected, paid for hotel at airport, still in our sweaty clothes, gave us envelope with comb/toothbrush/shampoo. we laughed so much, she threw her big girl pantaloons out, going commando. had burritos for breakfast, flight at 11am. have no clue when bottles broke but it was not a sweet smelling suitcase in oakland. we refer to that holiday as our "southern booze" trip. we just go with the flow and have had lots of laughs between us friends that travel together and non traveling friends can't believe what can happen on any trip. thanks dave for your story
aloha

Thanks everyone for your great advice. David, your description of a friend toting a smelly dripping bag is hilarious and a great lesson to remember!
Princess Pupuli - great beer story! I guess sometimes you just have to go with the flow!
We're well-armed now with a plan to get bubble-wrap and we have a couple of gallon size zip lock bags with us. We'll put the bottles in socks also. We even have a small amount of duct tape. 👍
We're certainly learning a lot about what to do, not to do, for our next trip. This morning we went to the Academia to see David and other wonderful art by Michelangelo. We bought a nice book showing many of his works with historical context. We were in the Uffizi this afternoon when we realized that we picked up the Italian version! Since neither of us are proficient in Italian we're going to schlep back to th Academia in the morning and request entry into the bookstore to exchange it. We still have our receipt and ticket stub so I think they will have pity on us. Just another story for our trip.
Thanks everyone for your thoughts!

Kelly

Yeah, to add to the story about the garlic sauce, I brought back some red wine, bottle broke, entire suitcase was filled with red wine-stained clothes. I no longer pack stuff. I will buy at duty-free and bring some of that home. Note that you need to be careful even with duty free - I bought a good bottle of Scotch in Poland on one trip. We came back thru Canada, and had to exit the screened zone, and re-enter. The bottle was NOT considered protected. Luckily, I had a suitcase which I could check. MANY MANY MANY bottles of olive oil, wine, spirits were sitting there confiscated. I am certain that the Canadian guys were stocking their home bars and kitchens with all the confiscated stuff.

You pack carefully. We have always brought back three or four bottles of wine. Hit the local grocery story buy the 2.5 gal, heavy duty zip lock freezer bags. At least double bag everything. Carefully packed and surrounded by dirty underwear. We were successful for maybe 12, 15 trips. And then one trip lost the center bottle of the three packed. Wore pink underwear for two, maybe three years. Always a daily reminder of that trip.

Again, a world of difference between wine bottles and olive oil bottles.

Sam, we're planning on really packing well. Olive oil all over our suitcase would not be a lot of fun.

Our list of what to have on hand for the next trip, and what to most next time, is growing larger.

Thanks everyone!

“MANY MANY MANY bottles of olive oil, wine, spirits were sitting there confiscated. I am certain that the Canadian guys were stocking their home bars and kitchens with all the confiscated stuff.“

Oh no…we Canadians are far too polite to even consider such a thing.😉