Packing service UK to Spain
Full-pack or partial-pack

Why packing matters more on a Spain move

Our crew packs with materials rated for a long continental road leg and a sea or tunnel crossing, not a short domestic hop. A carton that survives a van ride across town is not necessarily one that survives that.

It also matters for insurance. Where our crew packs a carton, its contents are covered on the same terms as the rest of the consignment. Owner-packed cartons are treated differently by every insurer in this trade, and the certificate that comes with your written quote sets out exactly how.

Then there is customs. The inventory behind your transfer-of-residence relief claim has to describe what is in each carton, in English and Spanish, in enough detail for Spanish customs to accept it. When our crew packs, that inventory is written as the packing happens rather than rebuilt from memory afterwards.

How packing day runs

1. The survey notes what needs special treatment: glass and china, artwork, books, wardrobes, mirrors and anything you want crated.
2. Packing is booked ahead of loading day, so the crew can start loading straight away when the lorry arrives.
3. Before we arrive, you clear one room or cupboard of things that must not be packed: passports, the customs paperwork, medication, keys, chargers and anything travelling with you.
4. The crew brings double-wall cartons, wardrobe cartons, picture boxes and mattress covers, and works room by room.
5. Each carton is numbered and listed on the inventory with its contents and the room it is going to in Spain, in English and Spanish.
6. Furniture that has to come apart is dismantled, and its fixings are bagged and taped to the piece they belong to.
7. At the end, you walk round with the crew leader to confirm nothing has been missed.

What changes the cost of packing

Volume sets the baseline, but the mix matters as much: a kitchen full of glassware or a library of books takes far longer per cubic metre than a bedroom of clothes. Bespoke crates for art, dismantling and reassembly, and the choice between a full pack and packing only the fragile items all appear as separate lines on the quote. If you would rather pack yourself, we can supply materials on their own.

Packing is priced from the survey rather than from a box count you estimate, because the survey shows what the cupboards, the loft and the garage actually hold. If you plan to sort and give things away before the move, tell the surveyor, and the quote will reflect the household that is actually going to Spain.

Packing for Spain specifically

Some things cannot go on the lorry at all: aerosols, paint, gas bottles, fuel and anything flammable. Drain the fuel from mowers and other garden machinery before collection. Plants and soil are best left behind, because plants entering the EU from Great Britain now need a phytosanitary certificate.

Alcohol and tobacco are excluded from the transfer-of-residence relief, so a wine collection is declared separately and can attract duty and IVA. The customs declarations guide explains how that works and what else the relief does not cover.

Heat is the other Spain-specific risk. A trailer crossing southern France and central Spain in summer gets very hot, which can damage candles, vinyl records, cosmetics, photographs and some electronics. We pack those together and load them away from the trailer walls. Our complete guide to moving to Spain has more on planning the move around the season.