baggage delivery
 

Anybody out there have any experience with having luggage delivered from the airport to the place you are staying.

Thinking about my trip in May, it makes alot of sense for me to have my baggage delivered directly to the place I am staying, instead of me dragging it around.

Just spoke with US Air and they don't have a system in place to help me.

I will call FedEx and UPS to see what they think.

Anybody out there with some input?

Dear W,

Of course it makes sense. How much are you willing to pay?

Are you thinking of having your luggage delivered without having to wait at baggage claim and skipping Customs? No way.

Ira,

I will be taking my luggage through customs.

I will be traveling with my dog and I am thinking that it will be too much to try to handle an 80 lb black lab and the luggage I'll be taking with me for the 2 months I'll be away.

Plus, it doesn't look like I'll have any transportation to the town I am staying in. I'll be using the train from Frankfurt to Wurzburg and then connect to Kitzingen. The owner of the house will pick me up in Kitzingen and take me to Sommerach.

It'll be much easier if I get my luggage shipped from the airport to Sommerach.

Thanks for any info you can share with me.

There is a company called Luggage Express in the US which does domestic and international deliveries of luggage from your house to your arrival airport. Take a look at http://www.usxpluggageexpress.com/. I don't know anything about them or whether they are reliable. Luggage Express needs 7-10 days to ensure delivery, so this may not be viable; but perhaps they have a local affiliate which can collect your luggage at your arrival airport. FedEX and UPS would be very expensive, and FedEX generally does not take personal items.

Swiss Rail here ins Switzerland has a program where you can have you bags delivered from the airport to the rail station of your final destiation. I am not sure if German rail offers a similar service, check their website at bahn.de or call them at 49 1805 - 996633.

Have you considered the idea of hiring a private driver to take you, the luggage, and the doggie to the final detsination. Now, before you get all crazy and tell me it is hundreds of kilometers, that you aren't rich, etc.,ect...I'm just trying to be helpful. I recently did this from Munich aiport to Fuessen although that is not a long distance but it was very convenient and worth every penny.

Good luck.

JonJon,

Thanks for the input.

I did check the webpage for the town I am staying in and did find a taxi cab that could get the job done for me.

That is one definite option.

I am wondering how much more it would be for me to get a taxi ride versus the dog on the train thing, tickets for the train, and the delivery company for my luggage from Frankfurt to Sommerach.

It could be that it isn't much more just to hire the taxi.

Thanks for your input. All advice is greatly appreciated.

mark

Hi Winnepeg,

I went to the UPS website. They say that they can deliver 150lbs from Frankfurt to Sommerach, next day delivery, for as little as 43E.

Ira,

THANK YOU!

That was very nice of you. It seems that this will be the way for me to go.

Thanks again.

Happy travelling!

Mark

Another North American tourist who just won't get the message about traveling light! Don't bring an 80 pound dog--they are so difficult to get onto the luggage racks in trains. And once they are up there, they never seem to want to stay. You can tie them up at one end of the car, but then you run the risk of having the dog stolen and ending up as moo goo gai pan in a Parisian Chinese restaurant.

Any real traveler, as opposed to a slimey tourist, will make do with a much smaller dog. I would suggest a toy poodle--no shedding, and they dry quickly if they get wet. I never take any dog larger than a teacup poodle myself, and I've always been just fine.

Rufus,

You are being much to harsh toward Winnipeg. I am sure that the 80 lb Lab was intended to pull the cart with his luggage, until the airline people refused to let him load the cart.

Winnepeg,

Glad to help. Let us know how your trip went.

Dear, Dear Rufus T Firefly,

I have read plenty of your posts and let me tell you, where do you get off talking to people the way you do.

If there is such such a thing as the "Fodor Police", lets do something about this guy.

You really need to avoid the afternoon drinks that you must have in you to have written such a ridiculous post as you did at 3:49 this afternoon.

If you can't participate intelligently, then go somewhere else. I think the Thorn Tree on the Lonely Planet would love to have contributions from the like of you.

Well, had to vent. That just helped reduce my blood pressure.

Oh, and by the way Rufus T Firefly, I am not some slimey North American tourist.

Don't know your situation, but I'll match my travelling done in my 42 years with someone the likes of you, anyday!.

I can't wait for all the dog lovers that read this post to jump on your butt.

In fact, I really believe that the editors are Fodors are sharpening their pencils as I write. Can't imagine this conversation will last much longer.

Bismarck is a part of my family and I'd never leave him in a kennel for 2 months. He will be a lot of company for me during the 2 months I'll be in Germany.