# Shipping Belongings from UK to Spain



## CarolineBud (Mar 7, 2020)

Has anyone got any positive experience of using UK shipping companies to ship belongings from UK to Spain? Who did you use? How did the process work? How long did it take for goods to arrive? Any recommendations? Thanks


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

CarolineBud said:


> Has anyone got any positive experience of using UK shipping companies to ship belongings from UK to Spain? Who did you use? How did the process work? How long did it take for goods to arrive? Any recommendations? Thanks


Self drive van hire.


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

Sign on with this outfit and put your requirements in to see what comes back.
Then do some google searches for reviews on those who reply before making your choice (assuming you do)


https://www.shiply.com


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

CarolineBud said:


> Has anyone got any positive experience of using UK shipping companies to ship belongings from UK to Spain? Who did you use? How did the process work? How long did it take for goods to arrive? Any recommendations? Thanks


We moved to Spain 12 years ago and used Pickfords to move the contents of a three-bedroom cottage and one-bedroom apartment. They were fast and efficient and, surprisingly, gave us the cheapest quote for the job (I think it was about GPB 3,000). Both homes (about three miles apart) were loaded onto the lorry in about six hours. We drove to Spain ourselves and met the lorry outside the store we had hired a couple of days after we arrived. The lorry driver kept in touch with us by phone to report on progress and everything went like clockwork.


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## CarolineBud (Mar 7, 2020)

Great info, many thanks. Every little bit makes the planning a little less stressful  Thank you


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

We moved the entire contents of a four bedroomed house from the UK to Prague, moved once whilst we were in Prague then from Prague to Spain. 

It all depends on how much you have to move and what you want to take with you and what to leave behind. We decided to take everything which some friends thought foolish but I still have everything, furniture, china etc. from that first move nearly sixteen years go. Our furniture wasn't Chippendale but it was good and most importantly it was familiar and had already lived with us for almost thirty years.

One lesson I learned is that if you are moving a lot of stuff it's best to use a well-known international company. We chose a less expensive local company for our first move to Prague which was a huge mistake as we later found out that they merely saw to the cross-Channel shipping then handed over to another Czech company. Our stuff arrived two days late in a couple of battered old trucks and the removal men seemed to have been contracted from a building site or road works. We used AGS to move us from Prague to Spain. They packed all our stuff, clothes, china, books etc. and cleaned the house afterwards. The same team arrived with our stuff in Spain and suggested we went out for the day whilst they unpacked and put everything where we wanted.
Worth every euro but as I said it depends on what you are moving. When I went to study in Germany for a year I put everything in a couple of suitcases in the back of an old Vauxhall .


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

I have used Pickfords a couple of times without complaints. The secret to any move is you get them to pack, ship and unpack at the other end. For some reason, they tend to take more care and do a better job when they know it will be on their heads if anything goes wrong


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## CarolineBud (Mar 7, 2020)

Thanks Guys, it does seem that the professional route will be the best option for us. We are not planning to take loads of furniture with us but all those things like favourite pictures, photos, books that I can't live without, surprising how much that can add up to in storage  Many thanks.


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

CarolineBud said:


> Thanks Guys, it does seem that the professional route will be the best option for us. We are not planning to take loads of furniture with us but all those things like favourite pictures, photos, books that I can't live without, surprising how much that can add up to in storage  Many thanks.


We are doing the one way rental route. Its just 2 of us with our personal belongings, very little furniture and the cat from Sussex to The Barony of Polop

I priced up using a commercial moving company and I've worked out its about £1000 cheaper to do it ourselves. 
It could have been even cheaper if we were not bringing the cat as Ive included the cost of her pet passport and the cabin on the ferry into our costs.
The drive doesn't bother me as I do over a 1000 miles a week here in the UK. The 860km through Spain will be a breeze.

Also means we can see bit of Northern Spain as we are thinking of taking a couple of days to drive down.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

When we move to Spain later this year, we are making two journeys by air, and aim to take the maximum 3 suitcases per person, and leave whatever remains like old photo albums with relatives in UK.


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

Joppa said:


> When we move to Spain later this year, we are making two journeys by air, and aim to take the maximum 3 suitcases per person, and leave whatever remains like old photo albums with relatives in UK.


Good idea.

I paid £50 for an all in one printer and have spent ages scanning the pictures in and putting them on a removable hard drive. The originals will stay here with my son. 

Books wise. I've sold loads on eBay and used the proceeds to replace them on my kindle so I can re-read them whenever I want.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Barriej said:


> Also means we can see bit of Northern Spain as we are thinking of taking a couple of days to drive down.


it's a good idea to make the journey into more of an adventure - be kids again, while you still can!


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## CarolineBud (Mar 7, 2020)

Hi, yes we were planning to do similar ferry / car drive with our dog but after a bit of thought decided against it, mainly worry about how the dog would manage on the long trip and the long drive through Spain. Now selling most of our furniture and just shipping essentials, probably less than a garage full, so part container. Opting for flights and using a pet courier service to fly our dog. It all sounds practical in theory


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## CarolineBud (Mar 7, 2020)

After lots of thought about options to include our dog we have opted to fly with extra luggage and use a pet courier service. Works out about the same as ferry, petrol, hotel stops and hopefully less of a trip for our dog. We will use part container to ship some essentials and sell the rest


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

The dog is a poor reason for not moving yourselves. You are going to hand him/her over to strangers who will bung him in some form of container in the hold of an aircraft. 

If I were the dog I'd be terrified and much rather ride with those I love on a new adventure. As long as there are plenty of toilet breaks I'd be content.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

baldilocks said:


> The dog is a poor reason for not moving yourselves. You are going to hand him/her over to strangers who will bung him in some form of container in the hold of an aircraft.
> 
> If I were the dog I'd be terrified and much rather ride with those I love on a new adventure. As long as there are plenty of toilet breaks I'd be content.


nope I got the wrong end of the stick!! Sorry


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## Simon22 (May 22, 2015)

baldilocks said:


> If I were the dog I'd be terrified and much rather ride with those I love on a new adventure. As long as there are plenty of toilet breaks I'd be content.


Agreed, we hired a camper van and had a slow drive with the cat onboard and it was a great trip and as stress free for the cat as we could make it.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

CarolineBud said:


> Hi, yes we were planning to do similar ferry / car drive with our dog but after a bit of thought decided against it, mainly worry about how the dog would manage on the long trip and the long drive through Spain. Now selling most of our furniture and just shipping essentials, probably less than a garage full, so part container. Opting for flights and using a pet courier service to fly our dog. It all sounds practical in theory


We drove from Prague to western Andalucia with our Rhodesian Ridgeback. The trip took three days of leisurely driving through the Czech Republic, Germany, France and Spain. We had booked small hotels with good restaurants and as Baldi says we made a holiday of it. We started after a good breakfast, had a coffee break md morning and stopped before 6pm so as to have ample time for a shower before dinner.

I'm President of a dog rescue and rehoming charity and we often send dogs by air courier to new families all over Europe. All arrive safely. It's not something I'd choose for my dogs - our Ridgeback was too big for a cage - but that's just my view, nothing wrong with air or land couriers as long as you choose a reputable one.


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## Chancerz (Feb 12, 2017)

We used www.anyvan.com to take our belongings... we put in our requirements and received quotes. The drivers also took our dogs and sent us regular pictures throughout the journey. We flew and the drivers met us here a few hours after we arrived!


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## CarolineBud (Mar 7, 2020)

Many thanks, all good advice and things to think about once we get past Covid-19


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