My family of four has a wedding to attend in Italy this summer (so that includes suits, fancy dresses, presents, etc). Then we return via 9 days in Iceland where we’ll hike, and stomp around, and crawl in caves. And there’s a family gathering in San Diego before even we leave for Iceland. And there are two 75-year-olds along and we’ll be squeezed into little euro-cars and checking in and out of at least 5 different lodgings and passing through, good grief, 11 airports.
So, to avoid schlepping outdoor from Alaska to San Diego to Italy to Iceland, I’d like to send 6 rain shells, 6 fleece layers, some hats, gloves, headlamps, etc – maybe 30 pounds / 14 kilos from Anchorage (or San Diego) to Reykjavik. I’ll select an AirBnB host who can help out on that end.
And, rather than bring fancy clothes to a grassy volcanic island in the North Atlantic, I’ll have a similar bundle of suits and dresses to send from Pisa / Florence to California where I can retrieve it later.
No rush on either of those, everything could be weeks in transit if needed.
Any ideas about the cheapest/best way to do international shipping of personal gear? Any cautions to avoid import duties or freaking out the TSA, etc?
I’ll check the obvious freight companies, but maybe there’s something I haven’t considered. If costs $200, I’ll still do it, but would rather find a cheaper way – especially a reliable carrier so I needn’t fret about it.
