Bringing excess luggage from UK to Ireland

SoulTrader

Hi,

Does anyone have any good suggestions on taking excess baggage from the UK to Ireland? My wife and I will have 6 cases (we're moving) to check in, plus our carry on luggage. Having looked at excess baggage charges, it looks like it will cost us about €400 each to fly from the UK to Ireland, one way. Does anyone have any better ideas?

I'm thinking of maybe renting a car in the UK and taking them on a ferry, but they get pretty expensive when you only rent the car on a one-way journey.

Thanks

Stinicker

SoulTrader wrote: »

Hi,

Does anyone have any good suggestions on taking excess baggage from the UK to Ireland? My wife and I will have 6 cases (we're moving) to check in, plus our carry on luggage. Having looked at excess baggage charges, it looks like it will cost us about €400 each to fly from the UK to Ireland, one way. Does anyone have any better ideas?

I'm thinking of maybe renting a car in the UK and taking them on a ferry, but they get pretty expensive when you only rent the car on a one-way journey.

Thanks

Have you tried courier or removal companies? You could probably ship it all in a crate for alot less. Alternatively hire a car or get a friend to drive to the UK with it by ferry, another solution would be to book multiple cheap flights and bring it over bit by bit. It looks as if doing it by your current plan is going to cost you from €600 to €700 assuming a €50-€100 normal one way ticket cost.

SoulTrader

Thanks. Regarding the couriers, I don't live in the UK - my flight home will be going through the UK so I'll only be there for a few days, so I hadn't really looked into that. I like your idea of going over and back a few times, that's quite clever, and something I might just do.

annieoburns

Think of getting a quote from a removal firm. They will be interested in the cubic measurement rather than weight.... and then I suppose the mileage involved. I got a quote for 4 boxes from Bristol to Newbridge recent and it was c £450 . It was categorised as a 'part load' but if it was two boxes or ten boxes it would have cost the same, so minimum charge prevailed. They would supply boxes I think or get from supermarket?

doopa

I used DHL to ship stuff in the past - it was about 20 quid a box. They have 'stores' in other stores like Staples and a few other places I can't remember.

Box is up to 20kg, 50x50x20 if I remember correctly. They also sell the boxes - probably the easiest way.

I assume there are other companies - but this lot are very convienent and reliable.

Badgermonkey

http://www.seat61.com/Ireland.htm

Sail & Rail will allow you travel from London to Dublin by train and ferry for a set fare of £33.00GBP one way. Passengers are allowed 2 pieces of luggage each and hand luggage.

Still leaves you with an additional 2 pieces to get across but it's certainly an economical option.

robinph

Fly over, pick up vehicle, back to Ireland on ferry, load up with stuff, back on ferry, return vehicle. You could then do a one way hire just internally in the UK if needed.

mikedragon32

robinph wrote: »

Fly over, pick up vehicle, back to Ireland on ferry, load up with stuff, back on ferry, return vehicle. You could then do a one way hire just internally in the UK if needed.

Most car hire firms don't allow ferry crossings in their t&cs though.

Shipping seems the best option.

robinph

mikedragon32 wrote: »

Most car hire firms don't allow ferry crossings in their t&cs though.

Shipping seems the best option.

I've hired vans in the UK for taking to Ireland with no problems a couple of time over the years, the rest of Europe is another matter entirely though. The extra mileage allowance was more of an issue than taking the ferry to Dublin, but you do need an extra bit of paperwork in case they ask on boarding the ferry to prove you are ok to take it out of the country.

Stinicker

Are you moving to Ireland from a third country? eg. USA > UK > Ireland, if so how are you managing to get the six cases to the UK without paying a small fortune to begin with?

SoulTrader

Thanks all for the replies, a lot of useful info there.

To answer your question, Stinicker, we're coming from the Caribbean. I was able to collect airmiles using my credit card here for the past few years, and got business class flights for free for the both of us on BA. They allow 3 check-in pieces each, with no restriction on maximum weight. It's the short haul part of the journey that's going to blow a hole in my wallet, it seems! :pac:

undo

When I was moving from Ireland back to Europe, I researched all my options. I had 15 large boxes plus a bike to carry. The removals companies gave me quotes of about €500 upwards. I then found a Polish courier who does the route Ireland-UK-Germany-Poland and back every week. Taking all my stuff to Germany cost me around €250. I could PM you the courier's number if you want. He would take your stuff for even less than €250 I would say. He goes by weight only by the way, not by volume.