International Luggage Shipping
What are you moving?
Ship Your Luggage Anywhere in the World with Anglo Pacific
International luggage shipping sends your suitcases, boxes and personal belongings door to door, without the weight limits or the excess fees you meet at an airport check-in desk. A single 23kg suitcase starts from around £180 by sea freight or around £320 by air freight, collected from your UK address and delivered to your address overseas. We handle the collection, the freight, the customs paperwork and the final delivery.
Anglo Pacific has been moving luggage and personal effects internationally for over 40 years, handling more than 20,000 consignments a year. Whether you are sending one case ahead of a flight, shipping a term’s worth of belongings to university, relocating a whole household or bringing your things back to the UK, the same team and the same door-to-door service covers it. Our luggage shipping service runs in both directions, from the UK to your destination and from your destination back to the UK.
How Much Does Luggage Shipping Cost?
Luggage shipping is priced by the volume of your shipment rather than by the kilogram at a check-in desk. Your price is fixed when you book and covers UK collection, freight, destination customs documentation and door-to-door delivery. Because larger volumes attract better rates per cubic metre, putting several cases and boxes into one shipment almost always works out cheaper than sending them separately.
| What you are sending | Approximate volume | Sea freight from | Air freight from |
|---|---|---|---|
| One 23kg suitcase | 0.2 cubic metres | £180 | £320 |
| Two cases, or a case plus boxes | 0.5 cubic metres | £290 | £560 |
International luggage shipping: Factors to reduce pricing
If cost is the deciding factor, four things make the biggest difference to what you pay:
- Choose sea freight over air freight. Sea freight is the cheapest international luggage shipping option by a wide margin and suits anyone whose timing allows a few weeks of transit.
- Send everything in one shipment. Rates improve as volume rises, so consolidating cases and boxes into a single booking beats several small ones.
- Use Groupage rather than a container if you are sending less than a full household. Groupage shares vessel space across several customers’ consignments, which brings the cost per cubic metre down for smaller shipments.
- Pack efficiently. Volume drives your price, so filling boxes properly and removing packaging from bulky items reduces what you pay.
Every international luggage shipping quote comes down to one decision: speed or cost. Air freight moves your luggage in days and costs more per kilogram. Sea freight takes weeks and costs considerably less per cubic metre. Here is how the two compare directly.
When air freight is the right choice
Air freight suits you when the timing is tight. If you fly next week and need your belongings within days of landing, or you are sending one or two cases and want them waiting for you, air freight is worth the premium. It is also the sensible choice for anything you cannot be without for a month, such as professional equipment, study materials or medical items.
When sea freight is the right choice
Sea freight suits you when you can plan ahead. If you are shipping several cases, boxes, furniture or a full household, sea freight is the cheaper international luggage shipping option and the gap widens as your volume grows. For anything above roughly half a cubic metre, sea freight is almost always the right answer. Many customers combine the two: a small air freight shipment with essentials, followed by a larger sea freight consignment with everything else.
Luggage shipping covers a wide range of shipments, from a single suitcase to a full household. Whatever you are sending, one of the services below will fit. If you are not sure which applies, send us an inventory and we will point you to the right one.
Baggage shipping
Our core service for suitcases, holdalls and personal effects sent door to door by sea or air freight. Suits anyone shipping between one case and a few boxes, in either direction. See international baggage shipping for pricing, modes and full destination coverage.
Excess baggage
For anything over your free airline allowance. Rather than paying per kilogram at the desk, your extra cases travel separately at a fixed door-to-door price with no weight limit per bag. See excess baggage shipping for the full comparison against airline fees.
International shipping
The broader service covering personal effects, commercial consignments and anything that needs sea or air freight, customs clearance and delivery at the far end. See international shipping for modes, documentation and country coverage.
International removals
A full household move rather than a luggage shipment. Includes a survey, professional packing, furniture protection, Groupage or FCL freight, customs clearance and unpacking at your new address. See international removals if you are relocating a whole home.
Shipping boxes
For books, clothing, kitchen items and anything that packs flat. We supply double-walled boxes and packing materials with collection, and price by the volume your boxes take up. See international box shipping for box sizes, packing guidance and pricing.
Shipping furniture
For sofas, beds, wardrobes, dining tables and individual pieces of furniture sent internationally. Items are wrapped, protected and, where sensible, dismantled for transit. See international furniture shipping for how furniture is protected and priced.
Student shipping
For students going abroad to study and international students arriving in the UK. Sized and timed around term dates, priced for student volumes, and cheaper than paying airline excess on a full checked allowance. See international student shipping for timing guidance and what to leave behind.
Shipping containers
For full household moves and large consignments where a dedicated container makes sense. We offer 20ft and 40ft FCL, and Groupage for anything smaller. See international container shipping for container sizes and what fits in each.
Trade shipping
For businesses, retailers and trade customers moving commercial goods internationally, with account terms, consolidated freight and commercial customs documentation. See trade shipping for trade account details.
If you are returning to the UK after a period abroad, moving here for work or study, or sending belongings ahead of a relocation, we coordinate with partner agents at the overseas end to collect your cases and boxes, arrange the freight and deliver to your UK address.
Inbound shipments follow the same transit ranges as outbound ones, with sea freight typically running 2 to 4 weeks from Europe and 8 to 12 weeks from Australia and New Zealand. Air freight into the UK generally lands within 3 to 10 days depending on origin.
Transfer of Residence relief for returning UK residents
If you are moving your normal home to the UK, you may be able to claim Transfer of Residence relief, which allows your personal belongings to enter free of customs duty and VAT. As a general rule you need to have owned and used the items for at least six months before the move, and to have lived outside the UK for at least twelve months. Relief is claimed through HMRC before your goods arrive, and we can prepare the supporting inventory for you.
Full eligibility conditions and the current application process are published on the UK government website. This is general guidance rather than legal or tax advice, so check the official conditions or take professional advice before you rely on it.
Get your online luggage shipping quote in a few simple steps…
Why choose Anglo Pacific for your luggage shipping?
Anyone can quote a price for a suitcase. What separates a reliable luggage shipping service from a cheap one is what happens between collection and delivery. Here is what our service includes as standard:
- Fixed pricing, no surprises: your quote is fixed at the time of booking and covers everything from UK collection through to destination delivery, including customs documentation. No surprise port charges.
- Export-grade packing: our crews use export blanket wrap, edge protectors, custom crating for high-value or fragile pieces, and tailored protection for furniture, electronics and household effects.
- FCL and Groupage options: dedicated container for larger moves, shared container space for smaller volumes, with the same fixed-price commitment for both.
- Door-to-door collection and delivery: we collect from any UK address and deliver to your destination address, coordinating the full move with the destination agent.
- Customs handled for you: container shipments need detailed customs documentation at the destination, which we prepare and submit on your behalf.
- Marine insurance available: for items of value, we can arrange All Risks marine insurance covering your shipment in transit. Get in touch for cover details.
- Both directions covered: the same service runs in reverse for shipments back to the UK.
- 40+ years of experience: we have shipped containers internationally for over four decades, handling more than 20,000 consignments every year.
International Luggage Shipping Cost
The cost of international luggage shipping depends on three things: the luggage size you need, the destination, and whether you choose air freight or sea freight.
Indicative starting prices:
- Single 23kg suitcase by sea freight: from around £180 door to door.
- Single 23kg suitcase by air freight: from around £320 door to door.
- Three to five boxes (approx. 0.5 cubic metres) by sea: from around £290.
- One cubic metre by sea freight: from around £550.
All quotes are fixed at the time of booking. The price covers UK collection, freight, customs documentation and delivery to your overseas address. Larger volumes attract better per-cubic-metre rates.
What Is Included and What You Can Add?
Included in every luggage shipment:
- Packing materials. We provide sturdy double-walled boxes, bubble wrap, and packing paper. You can also pack your own boxes if you prefer.
- Collection from any UK address. We collect from your home, student accommodation, or workplace on a date that suits you.
- Customs documentation. All paperwork for your destination country is prepared by our team, including personal effects declarations, biosecurity forms, and import duty exemptions.
- Delivery to your overseas address. Door-to-door delivery to any address in your destination country.
- Shipment tracking. Track your consignment from collection through to delivery.
Optional extras
- Transit insurance. Transit insurance covers loss or damage during international transit. You choose the level of cover based on the declared value of your belongings.
- Professional packing. If you would rather not pack yourself, our team can pack your belongings using industry-standard materials and methods.
- Storage. If your shipment needs to be held before onward delivery, short-term and long-term storage is available at our UK warehouse.
- Sending money as well as belongings If your move involves transferring funds between currencies, our currency partner Halo Financial works with people relocating internationally. Currency information is provided for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Exchange rates move, so check current rates and terms directly before making any transfer.
Popular Destinations for Shipping Furniture Overseas
Our luggage transport services are available for those wanting to send bags and boxes to locations all around the globe, to Europe, the Americas, and Asia and beyond. Our most popular destinations when sending luggage overseas are:
Check out our country guides
Interested in anything else?
Luggage Shipping Customer Reviews
We pride ourselves every day on the efficient and economical luggage shipping services that we provide to customers up and down the country. Our attention to detail helps to separate us from the rest, but don’t just take our word for it. See if our customers agree in our international luggage shipping reviews…
For your online luggage delivery quote, book your remote video survey today and a team member will assess your consignment and provide you with a no-obligation estimate, online.
- Book a remote video survey
- Show us your items
- Get your quote
Luggage shipping is priced by shipment volume rather than by the kilogram. As an indicative guide, one 23kg suitcase starts from around £180 by sea freight or around £320 by air freight, door to door.
In most cases, yes. Airlines typically charge £60 to £120 per extra bag per leg on European routes and £100 to £200 or more on long-haul, with fees paid at the gate higher again. Shipping the same 23kg suitcase door to door starts from around £180 by sea freight, so a return trip with one extra bag each way usually costs more with the airline than with us.
Sea freight is the cheapest international luggage shipping option for almost everyone. Four things bring the price down further: choosing sea freight over air freight, consolidating everything into one shipment rather than several, using Groupage instead of a full container if you are sending less than a household, and packing efficiently so you pay for less volume. If your timing allows a few weeks of transit, sea freight with Groupage is usually the cheapest route available.
Air freight typically takes 3 to 5 days to Europe and 5 to 10 days long-haul. Sea freight typically takes 2 to 4 weeks to Europe, 4 to 7 weeks to the Middle East, 5 to 8 weeks to Asia, 5 to 9 weeks to North America, 6 to 10 weeks to Africa and 8 to 12 weeks to Australia and New Zealand. These are door-to-door windows including collection, freight, customs clearance and delivery. Each destination page carries the exact window for that country.
There is no minimum. We ship single suitcases every day, alongside full household removals. A single 23kg suitcase starts from around £180 by sea freight door to door. If you are sending more than one case, putting them into a single booking usually costs less than shipping them separately.
The standard international restrictions apply. Prohibited or restricted items across most destinations include weapons, narcotics, flammable liquids, aerosols, perishable food, live plants and seeds, and certain animal products. Australia and New Zealand apply strict biosecurity rules to used outdoor equipment, footwear and anything with soil on it. Several countries restrict vape products and e-cigarettes. Your destination page covers the specifics, and you can always check anything unusual with us before you pack.