Travelling with luggage is a necessary headache. Of course, when we travel, we have to bring
things with us: clothing, accessories, toiletries, materials, electronic
devices, gifts, souvenirs, and a host of other things. Several years ago, the airlines even decided
to take advantage of passengers’ need to bring luggage along, and started
charging for it. At this point,
passengers started to bring on the all-to-familiar carry-on.
The standard cost to check in one piece of luggage for most
U.S. airlines is $25.00, with exceptions for loyalty, business and first class
passengers. This cost is one way, making
the minimum cost $50.00, round trip, for a standard weight of up to 50lbs.
But, now there is a burgeoning business that seeks to
accommodate passengers, by picking up and delivering luggage to your final
destination. Wow!! It can be expensive, but it may be worth
looking in to, depending on your situation.
A few years ago, my husband and I were vacationing in
Tokyo. Our next visit was to Kyoto, by
bullet train. I had researched the
journey, and had found that the bullet train, while fast and exciting, had no
space for luggage. This was very
troubling, and as I looked for solutions, I came across information on delivery
services. In Japan, at least, this is
quite popular, perhaps because of the lack of storage space on their most
popular speed trains. So, we tried it!
While at our hotel in Tokyo, we arranged for our luggage to
be transferred to our hotel in Kyoto. The
downside was that our luggage had to be picked up the morning before our
departure, so we had to have some clothing and toiletries set aside for the
journey, the following day. The benefit
was a luggage-free day of travel, from one city to another.
When we checked in to our hotel in Kyoto, we mentioned that
we were expecting luggage to arrive that day.
The hotel representative indicated that our luggage had already arrived,
and was in our room.
The cost was about $80.00, round trip, for two pieces of
luggage. I really enjoyed the
experience, but sending luggage internationally, can be far too costly. Sending one piece of luggage from Los Angeles
to Sydney, is $170.00, each way. That’s a sizable cost for convenience.
The convenience of sending luggage may not always be
feasible, but I would say that it’s worth looking into, because when it works
well, it’s a pleasure.
You can read more about it here:
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