My friend’s daughter is going to the United States as a student for a year, and needed to take more with her than her air baggage allowance-someone suggested using a company used to shipping to USA to transport her excess baggage. It appears that shipping companies will provide boxes – or transport unaccompanied suitcases and such and offer a door to door delivery service AND arrange customs clearance in the UK and United States. Even with two largish cartons for excess baggage my friend’s daughter still agonised over what to take and what to leave behind and needed directing to the internet to check on winter weather in the Midwest before leaving out all the winter woollies. Eventually the boxes were packed but then someone mentioned the skiing in the area, so she had to contact the shipping company to see if they would take them. They would! It was a good idea to plan ahead for the shipping of her excess baggage because she had it all delivered a couple of days after she arrived, which was brilliant.
I am surprised that more people don’t use the excess baggage alternative when visiting the USA – shipping to USA is not particularly expensive when you consider the cost of excess baggage on a flight – and you lose the problem of lugging heavy bags around at the airport if you choose door to door to your hotel.