Moving to Spain - Logistics help!
Discussion
A family member is moving to Spain in the next couple of months from England and they only intend on taking the basics; sofa, TV, bed, bedroom furniture etc.. Enough to fill a transit van and nothing more.
They've been quoted something like £200 per cubic metre if they were to use a Courier, which got me thinking..
If I were to rent a van, with a friend, load it up, drive to their house in Spain, spend a few days basking in the sunshine, drive the van home... what would it cost?
I figured it's a circa 2,000 mile round trip and there may be a few toll roads, but I have no idea on MPG a van would output when fully loaded, which means I can't figure out which ferry choice would be the most cost effective! If the MPG was shocking, Portsmouth > Santander might be cheaper than Dover > Calais and then driving
Another option is for them to rent a van themselves which offers a 'one-way' rental, driving separately (as they're also taking their car over) and then leaving the van in Spain, but I can't find a company which offers this..
Has anyone done this before? Help appreciated!
They've been quoted something like £200 per cubic metre if they were to use a Courier, which got me thinking..
If I were to rent a van, with a friend, load it up, drive to their house in Spain, spend a few days basking in the sunshine, drive the van home... what would it cost?
I figured it's a circa 2,000 mile round trip and there may be a few toll roads, but I have no idea on MPG a van would output when fully loaded, which means I can't figure out which ferry choice would be the most cost effective! If the MPG was shocking, Portsmouth > Santander might be cheaper than Dover > Calais and then driving
Another option is for them to rent a van themselves which offers a 'one-way' rental, driving separately (as they're also taking their car over) and then leaving the van in Spain, but I can't find a company which offers this..
Has anyone done this before? Help appreciated!
Box van MPG will be about 25, maybe a bit more if you took it steady. Depending where it is and what route, estimate tolls at about £200-£250.
Problem you will have is hiring a van and being allowed to take it abroad. They can be diffifult to get for Euro trips.
BTW your quote would be based on probably two guys moving the stuff, for driver breaks etc.
Problem you will have is hiring a van and being allowed to take it abroad. They can be diffifult to get for Euro trips.
BTW your quote would be based on probably two guys moving the stuff, for driver breaks etc.
k, scratch that thenI've done it a few times for my parents and myself, where in Spain are you going to? find out what the local English paper is and look for ads from 'man with van'
The Costa Blanca is Round Town News,
As for costs it was 3200 miles door to door from NW England to the Costa Blanca for me, for your 2000 mile trip most modern transit sized vans will do 35mpg on the motorway so 60 gallons of fuel @ £6, eurotunnel £150 return, plus tolls £300 (you will use the toll roads as the scenic routes are long winded, but you may not go on any, again depending on where you are going)
You'll need van hire for a week, it cost me £400 but I had a contact in the trade.
In all you'll not get much change from £1000, plus you'll be sick of driving, it may be cheaper to get the Santander ferry as you miss the dull french bit.
When I came back to the UK I paid £600 for a bloke to bring a Transit van full of stuff back, I don't know how he did it but who am I to complain.
If you are going to Alicante area I can give you a couple of contacts who will do it for you but you need to be flexible, email me through my profile.
hth
The Costa Blanca is Round Town News,
As for costs it was 3200 miles door to door from NW England to the Costa Blanca for me, for your 2000 mile trip most modern transit sized vans will do 35mpg on the motorway so 60 gallons of fuel @ £6, eurotunnel £150 return, plus tolls £300 (you will use the toll roads as the scenic routes are long winded, but you may not go on any, again depending on where you are going)
You'll need van hire for a week, it cost me £400 but I had a contact in the trade.
In all you'll not get much change from £1000, plus you'll be sick of driving, it may be cheaper to get the Santander ferry as you miss the dull french bit.
When I came back to the UK I paid £600 for a bloke to bring a Transit van full of stuff back, I don't know how he did it but who am I to complain.
If you are going to Alicante area I can give you a couple of contacts who will do it for you but you need to be flexible, email me through my profile.
hth
Edited by Jazoli on Thursday 7th July 19:14
Ran a 500 man contract in south of France till last year and we had all sorts of innovative ways to move stuff to and from UK. Tried hiring vans, man with van etc and no consistent cheap way to do it, what's cheapest one week or one direction, isn't the next.
However we had two OK ways to get stuff either to or from France and your trip to Spain won't be much different.
One van hire company we found who were pretty cheap and happy for you to take their van abroad is these folk:
http://www.vanhirederby.com
Transit for a week comes out at £237 inc vat, insurance and AA five star cover. Several of my chaps used them and they were fine, no problem at all iof you tell them you're going to Spain, they'll give you one of their better/newer vans. Oh and if you hire from one of the big boys be VERY careful that they don't stitch you up with mileage charges.
Second route that we found good for bringing stuff back from France was www.shipley.co.uk. It's like an auction, you put on there what you want moving to where and different companies bid for your job. A few of my lads used them and got OK prices but again a lot depends on how fussy/flexible you are. For example if you want your stuff collected on a definite date and delivered on a definite date then you'll pay more than if you're a week either way flexible.
I found a man with a van to move a transit load of furniture and personal effect inc bikes, tools etc back to UK for £300. Just found him on an English speaking French website, www.angloinfo.co.uk. Guess there'll be similar wherever you're moving too. Check them out, there's always someone looking to share costs of a van one way or t'other. Or of course if you do hire a van yourself say from the Derby folk, put an ad in your local Spanish website offering to bring stuff one way or the other and defray some of your costs.
Ferry and fuel and peage costs been covered by others so nothing I can add to that bit. But treat it as an adeventure, it's a bit of fun and you can have a giggle but do try to get a van with aircon and cruise control
However we had two OK ways to get stuff either to or from France and your trip to Spain won't be much different.
One van hire company we found who were pretty cheap and happy for you to take their van abroad is these folk:
http://www.vanhirederby.com
Transit for a week comes out at £237 inc vat, insurance and AA five star cover. Several of my chaps used them and they were fine, no problem at all iof you tell them you're going to Spain, they'll give you one of their better/newer vans. Oh and if you hire from one of the big boys be VERY careful that they don't stitch you up with mileage charges.
Second route that we found good for bringing stuff back from France was www.shipley.co.uk. It's like an auction, you put on there what you want moving to where and different companies bid for your job. A few of my lads used them and got OK prices but again a lot depends on how fussy/flexible you are. For example if you want your stuff collected on a definite date and delivered on a definite date then you'll pay more than if you're a week either way flexible.
I found a man with a van to move a transit load of furniture and personal effect inc bikes, tools etc back to UK for £300. Just found him on an English speaking French website, www.angloinfo.co.uk. Guess there'll be similar wherever you're moving too. Check them out, there's always someone looking to share costs of a van one way or t'other. Or of course if you do hire a van yourself say from the Derby folk, put an ad in your local Spanish website offering to bring stuff one way or the other and defray some of your costs.
Ferry and fuel and peage costs been covered by others so nothing I can add to that bit. But treat it as an adeventure, it's a bit of fun and you can have a giggle but do try to get a van with aircon and cruise control
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff