A question for the locals or people in the know - is it possible to ship a box from the US to the BVIs?

To keep a long story short, our travel arrangements require very light luggage allowance. We are 20+ year USVI and BVI visitors so I all about packing light. However, with snorkel gear and a husband and son with huge feet, our fins alone are over 15 pounds.

Is feasible to explore shipping a box via UPS or Fedex? I would want to ship it back home as well.

Try FedEx international economy to your charter company address.

I have shipped packages to the BVI often from my business. The rates might not be better than a checked bag fee, though worth a comparison...

You can certainly ship FedEx but it will not be worth it. First..check out the new(ish) mini fins that are light and fit in carryon.If that does not work consider renting from Island Surf and Sail down here. There is no way its worth you shipping back and forth..I only ship when I have to have a part for my car..and its usually way more than the part costs..

I agree with Manpot. I have a home in the Caribbean and ship things (that I can’t readily find on island) all the time but it can get very costly. And timing can be unpredictable.

Shipping Fed-EX or by other overnight or 2 day service will cost you more that the items are worth and then you have more expense shipping them back home. For example, a regular FedEx envelope with a few papers will run you about $80 (one way) so figure double that for a box weighing 15 lbs. Using Fed-Ex Ground or UPS is problematic because delivery can take anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks and sometimes even longer. There are no guarantee delivery times so you just never know how long it will be. Shipping by Parcel Post is even more unreliable as far as timing is concerned. So, if you go the budget shipping route you could end up paying to ship your items but not having them arrive until you are ready to come back home.

We found shipping by USPS Priortity Mail to be the most cost effective but you are still looking at somewhere between $50 and $85 to ship a 15 lb box and 1 to 2 weeks delivery time. That’s about the same cost as many airlines’ excess baggage fee so you might as well take the snorkel gear with you for the convenience factor alone.

Are you saying their feet are so big that they won't fit the fins the charter base offers? I wear size 12s and I can find fins in the "box" just fine. Or are you saying you prefer your own fins? If so maybe it will be ok to leave your favorite fins at home and make due with what's available. The mas and snorkel are a different story - I totally get bringing your own to make sure it fits well.

+1

Agree with the above. The only reliable shipping is FedEx, and that will cost far more than the fins. Rovers North have a negotiated rate with FedEx which is far cheaper, (sometimes priority is cheaper than economy) but it’s still at least $100.

If you have time, you could use Island Bargains pretty economically. Their website has all the rates.

Thanks for the feedback



Any recommended brand? My husband wears size 15s and is super fussy about his gear.

Because we are finishing our vacation on BVI and we need to keep our total luggage weight down, I was trying to get creative.

My mini fins are "Zip" and work almost as well as full size.

Try looking for mini fins in stores for body surfer that sell Boogie boards.
The smaller fins work fine for snorkeling.

FedEx..reliable but not cheap.Use them all the time.

Its timely this old thread popped back up. (I solved the original problem/thread by upgrading to a larger Island Birds charter)

We just returned from VG and attempted to use Fed Ex to have a box of covid tests shipped to the island. The package sat for days in Tortola, making its way to VG after we were home. We were able to get tested at the villa so it all worked out in the end and I told the rental company to pass the tests along to someone that needed them.