I will be taking my first trip to Europe next year and am wondering if any of you out there ship your sovenirs home, instead of bringing them all back with you? I've read about so many neat things to bring back, don't think I can carry them all!!! I have heard that sometimes you never get what you have sent home....is this true? Any info is much appreciated....thanks.

I did from Hungary and almost half my stuff was stolen. I was hurt!!! I mailed two boxs at two different times from two different post office's there. "A couple of weeks apart". I cried because I love Hungary so much. My boxes were TAPED UP REAL GOOD TOO!!!! Strong boxes. They were cut open and RETAPED! What can I do? I am here now. who Do I tell?? My husband is a postal woker here 28 years, and he said it is my lost. I had no insurance and if i did It would be to hard to prove it from here. It happened to my aunt years ago there also. I will now only mail my clothing, if I ever mail my stuff again. Also they can get into your luggage at airports too. Keys are very interchangable. But if you use combination locks it is great. Have fun and do not over stuff your luggage. Then you will have room to bring your soveniors home with you. Alice K.

What perfect timing! I was just talking with my mom about this very thing. We are planning a trip to Scotland next year and we were wondering if it would be better to mail souvenirs back to the US. For various reasons, no passing through customs, don't have to carry it around with you, etc. We thought maybe the cost of mailing it would be too high, never thought of theft.

Cost of mailing is high, so I always try to chose items that I can carry with me. If you do decide to mail your souvenirs home, take a photo of them before you wrap them up. Keep your receipts, of course.

I also forgot to mention, it cost me $35.00 for very small boxes. A box the size of a 12 pack of coke only. And that was by ship not plane. Almost DOUBLE FOR the plane $68.00. I did use the Plane shipment for my 2nd box oh how sorry I was. Like I said above, both boxes were cut open. Oh guess what? they both got to America over 6 weeks later. I was told that time for the ship but the plane was only suppose to be 7-10 days. Go figure. <BR> <BR> Peaches.

I do mail souvenirs, old guide material, clothing I don't need (for instance, I might need warm clothing for the mountain portion of the trip-when that portion is complete, I mail the clothes back. Yes, it is expensive. Last trip, I mailed 4 boxes home (2 from Italy, 2 from France) for a total of $100. I put that cost in my budget, because I'd rather mail the packages, than carry them. I found France to be cheapest and fastest in Europe. But, a poster several months ago, felt the Netherlands had the best service for the money. You take a chance. I carry glass products, and things I can't bear to lose. The rest-I mail. I have not had any problems in receiving the packages. Just some packages have taken up to 4 months to arrive.

What good are pictures over 3,000 miles away?? I have all my reciepts. Now you tell me what to do to get my stuff back or get money for it???? It makes no dirrerence!!! PROVE IT. I WAS TOLD. How about I video record it? Do you think they will believe me then? Maybe if I had charged my stuff to My credit card, then MAYBE they could help. But in Eastern Europe you are lucky to get a Hotel to take it let alone stores. <BR> <BR> Peaches

as far as getting any money back, i was in rome this summer. stayed at the excelsior hotel (supposedly one of the finest). we had a sack of souvenirs stolen from our hotel room. the items had been charged to american express. american express reimbursed us with the receipt only. had no pictures although that probably would have been good also. <BR> <BR>also, just a thought---i was in paris with some friends a while back. my friend works for a large international company. while we were there she contacted the office in paris. went by the visit, etc. anyway, we had bought somethings that were large and didn't want to carry them back. so she called the office and asked them if we could ship UPS from the office and they agreed. we sent the packages from our hotel to the office a day and a half before we left to come home. my package was waiting for me at my front door when i got home!!! i couldn't believe it. anyway, if any of you work with international companies and feel comfortable doing this it was great. (oh yeah, we gave the people at the office who handled it for us a gift before we left)

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Well, looks like I will be bringing my souvenirs home with me....thanks everyone, for all your experiences and advice...appreciate the quick response. I knew you seasoned travelers would have tales to tell...thanks again! M

I would reccomend mailing home souvenirs. We will do that next time. <BR>We just returned from 2 weeks in Europe. Had our car broken into in Aix-En-Provence on our last day. Luggage and souvenirs gone! It looks like people have had trouble with mailing, I guess there is nothing foolproof. Good Luck

Hi: <BR>I have the shops I buy my souvenirs in ship them for me. They insure it and mail it for you. If it is lost, they replace it. I did that in Ireland and was very satisfied. Some stuff made it home before I did and some things I had to wait for. It was nice to receive those packages later on! Everything was well wrapped and intact.

I have mixed feelings on this. I was told in Italy, for instance, that the postmaster there had been fired for dumping tons of mail in a river so I have hesitated to have things mailed and have always carried them. I never regretted the decision, but on a trip to Venice we had glass mailed. The box came looking as if it had been used as a football but the item was wrapped so well that it came through fine. Marilyn