International Moving

[something]

I will be leaving Canada for a year or two to New Zealand.

I am looking for the help/advice of the CP braintrust. When moving internationally, what do you guys find is the best solution for shipping belongings? I don't have much in the way of "essentials" and don't mind purchasing some things new such as cutlery/pots/pans/furniture/whatever. I would rather leave those sort of things behind. My main concern is laptop/clothing/personal gear. But more important and challenging... My mountain bike and snowboard.

Does anyone here have any experience with this? I think for most of my stuff I should be able to distinguish well enough what is important and bring up to the 50 lb allowance via the airline. But what if there is extra? What have you guys done? And sporting equipment?

[ma-skis.com]

we just took what fit in our suitcases and paid 70 bucks for an extra piece of luggage. didn't really have to deal with big things like mountain bikes or snowboards, although I do know you can take them on airplanes, I imagine they would just be oversize luggage.


I brought a surfboard back from australia once, but we were allowed two pieces of luggage back then too.

My laptop was just in my carry on with all other important electronic devices. Your carry on is actually surprisingly big if you get one of those suitcase carry-on luggage pieces that are at the maximum size carry-ons are allowed to be.

When you figure how much extra you should pack too, just ask if it's worth the extra fee for the extra luggage or is it easier just to buy another one down in new zealand verses the cost of having someone ship it to you from Canada after you get to NZ. Keep in mind too how you plan on getting all your crap from the airport to your new home if it is just you carrying everything.

[Ben_in_Canada]

Sell everything (or put in storage at relatives place) and buy what you need when you get there.
4 years later and my (now) ex is still saving to get her stuff brought over from Aus.

[normtwofinger]

Just check more bags and pay extra baggage fees. Probably less than courier fees.

[something]

Yeah, I am starting to think extra checked baggage will be my best option. And I decided to leave the snowboard behind since I won't be seeing winter for another year (I will be arriving in their spring).

That leaves me with bringing over essentials and my mountain bike. I already looked into it, both airlines I am travelling with will carry the bike as my sole piece of checked luggage. Anything is extra. I will just bite the bullet and absorb the cost.

For anyone who is curious though, I found this company:

http://www.sevenseasworldwide.com/

Along the lines of what I wanted. Prices aren't extraordinary, and shipping times via sea are quite long, but it was a decent option. For example, two mountain bikes with door to door delivery and all customs/broker fees or whatever else you end up paying comes out to 760 dollars. Not bad. Still, it would be a heck of a lot cheaper to just pay the airline for extra baggage, and no additional wait times.

Only problem is that I will be staying in Fiji for two weeks - although I don't plan on moving around too much. I should be able to store the bike for that time without much difficulty.

Thanks for the responses.

[carom]

I recently moved to the UK and the wife and I brought everything with us on the plane (including two cats). On air canada regular luggage is up to 50 lbs and oversize is to a maximum of 70 lbs. You can bring two regular bags with no extra cost, but an extra bag is something like $225 and can be oversized. I think there are special fees for sports equipment, not sure what though as I left it all in storage. Keep in mind the hard 70 lbs weight limit as I went out and bought a goalie bag to maximize my storage potential. Only 3/4 full it weighed something like 125 lbs, so it came over maybe half full.

A thing to consider is air canada cargo (or whatever respective airline). They will ship oversized stuff, the only issue is it takes a couple days to clear customs and you need to pick it up at the freight terminal. It is not cheap, but for a few extra pieces of luggage it may be worth looking into if you don't need it right away.