I know it's a cardinal RS rule, travel light, however we have too much luggage--can we ship it home cheap?
Posted by
Gettysburg, PA
1589 posts
Cheap is a relative term. In general,the slower the freight travel, the cheaper the cost.
Posted by
Redding, CA, USA
1568 posts
My daughter and I spent 8 weeks visiting 8 countries in Western Europe and Czech Republic.
We mailed packages home approximately once a week. It was well worth it and would definitely do it again.
The post offices in Europe have various sized boxes and tubes. We would take our bags (not luggage) to the post offices and pack the boxes right there. I did not find it to be that expensive to send them the slow way.
The majority were home when we arrived.
Posted by
Moore, SC, USA
2 posts
Unfortunately I am well familiar with the UPS offices in most cities in Europe and ship almost everything home. It's not cheap, but it's so nice to come home and have it there waiting as has been said.
You also, in some countries, have to make a LIST of what you're shipping so I'd have that before I got to the UPS office or whoever you use.
Some countries, like Switzerland, have baggage services back to the US, and those are useful too, but not cheap.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23267 posts
It is easy to check. Just go to any of the express services -- UPS, FedEx, etc. -- and plug in some weights and location for rate quotes. That will give you a general feel for pricing. Another issue you will have is customs returning to the US. That generally requires some forms and documentations.
Posted by
Gloucester, MA, USA
59 posts
If you intend on spending more than the standard customs allowance, sending things home is a great option.
Coming back in the US you get and certain amount before you have to pay duty on it. I think it is $500. But if you send items back home you can send $2000 per package duty free no limit.
Here is all you need to know:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/send_to_us.xml
Posted by
Portland, OR, USA
805 posts
Not unless you want to either pay up the wazoo or not see it until about one to two months later. If you are traveling on a major carrier, you should be able to take two bags at 50 lbs. each in checked luggage.
I speak from experience, we were planning to ship home a lot of lightweight stuff (we started our trip in May in the UK and ended up in Italy in June) but it was just WAY too expensive or extremely slow.