subject: Heading off to explore the old Commonwealth? Send luggage the most convenient way [print this page] It was only a few generations ago that the British influence spread right around the globe. Outposts of the former British Empire could be found on nearly every continent, and as a result they became the most popular places for wealthy British holidaymakers to visit.
There were also many thousands of expatriate Britons who were either sent or chose to go and live abroad in these countries. Many of them ended up liking their new surroundings so much that they settled there permanently.
As a result, many families still have connections in places such as Australia, Canada and India. For these families there will always be part of a foreign country that they will always consider to be part of their homeland, to paraphrase the work of First World War poet Rupert Brooke.
Many of these links, though, go back even further than the early 20th century, so heading off on a trip to visit family who have been lifelong residents of another country is a long-accepted way of maintaining long-standing ties.
And of course, there's a great advantage to having family to stay with when travelling abroad it means that it's possible to take more luggage, and they may well have the space needed to accommodate it. If you carry more luggage than you would take on a typical package holiday, you will also be able to take advantage of the services of baggage shipping services. These companies are increasing in popularity as a result of the cost of international travel coming down, and people drawing up ever more ambitious plans for their holidays because of this.
The need to transport large amounts of luggage can soon take the gloss off the trip of a lifetime. But with careful planning, it is possible to send items on ahead. And if the host of the stay has transport, they can collect them at the arrival airport, and have them ready for when their visitor arrives.
Baggage forwarding facilities can also be useful when the time comes to return home. As it is quite likely that there will be more items to take back than were brought out, in the form of souvenirs and new purchases, these can be forwarded separately, so that they are ready to be collected at journey's end. In this way, the inconvenience of discovering that baggage allowances have been exceeded only on arrival at the airport can be avoided.
