Route
Removals from the UK to Spain
A long road move where the two things that actually go wrong are the document sequence and, on a summer job, what the heat does to a trailer full of household goods.
Spain is the most familiar British destination and therefore the most under-planned. The driving is well-worn and the vehicles run it constantly. What causes trouble is almost never the route.
The document sequence
Relief on household effects entering Spain is routine, provided the documents exist in the right order. Broadly: the NIE first, then evidence you have left the UK system, then evidence you are entering the Spanish one — the padrón at your new address being the proof usually wanted — with a valued inventory alongside.
What delays these moves is almost never the inventory. It is somebody discovering in week six that a document needed in week two takes three weeks to obtain. So the sequence goes in writing at the start of the job, with the items only you can get clearly marked.
Summer heat
Worth raising because few firms do. A trailer crossing central Spain in high summer gets hot enough to matter to a specific and predictable list of contents: wax and candles, some adhesives in older furniture, vinyl records, photographic material, certain varnish finishes.
It is not a reason to avoid a summer move. It is a reason to identify those items at survey and either pack them differently, carry them yourself, or — if your dates genuinely flex — shift the month.
The road
Collection in mainland Britain, the Kent crossings, then France end to end. Vehicles for Catalonia and the east coast cross at La Jonquera and run down the AP-7. Those for Madrid, the south and the west go via Bordeaux and Irún, then across northern Spain and south. Multi-day, run under driving-hours rules, and quoted with an expected window rather than a promise.
Where deliveries go
- Costa Blanca — Alicante, Torrevieja, Jávea, Dénia, Altea
- Murcia and the Costa Cálida — Mar Menor, Mazarrón, Águilas
- Andalucía — Málaga, Marbella, Nerja, the Axarquía, inland to Granada
- Valencia and the interior — the city and the villages behind it
- Catalonia — Barcelona, the Costa Brava, Tarragona
- The Balearics — Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza, with a mainland ferry leg
Arrival
Two recurring obstacles. Spanish apartment lifts are frequently smaller than British ones, and it is the door opening rather than the car that decides whether a wardrobe goes up. And historic centres across Andalucía, Murcia and inland Valencia have streets that will not pass a lorry, many with vehicle access permitted only at set hours.
Photographs of the street, the entrance and the lift, sent before the vehicle leaves Britain, resolve nearly all of it.
Starting
Both addresses, rough dates, a sense of the volume, and whether the delivery date can move. We will survey, set the document sequence and quote in writing. See European removals for how the options compare and Portugal for the route that continues past it.
Route detail
Moving to Spain — questions
Which border crossing will the vehicle use?
Catalonia and the east coast cross at La Jonquera on the Mediterranean side. Madrid, Andalucía and the west go via Bordeaux and Irún on the Atlantic side. It affects the schedule rather than anything you decide, but we will tell you which applies.
Does anything travel by sea?
Only the islands. Mainland Spain is road throughout. The Balearics take a ferry leg from the mainland. The Canaries are sea freight with separate documentation and are genuinely a different job, not an extension of this one.
What does Spanish customs need?
Your NIE, evidence you have deregistered in the UK and are registering in Spain — the padrón at the new address is usually the proof wanted — and a valued inventory. The order those are obtained in is what delays these moves, so we set the sequence at the start.
Will a lorry reach my address?
Coastal apartments generally yes. Old-town and village addresses inland frequently not, and many carry timed access restrictions as well. Photographs let us plan a transfer to a smaller vehicle for the final stretch.
What if there is no lift, or a small one?
Then the stairs set the crew size, and that has to be known before the vehicle leaves Britain rather than when it arrives. An unannounced fourth floor with no lift is the commonest reason a Spanish delivery day overruns.
Is shared space sensible on this route?
Often — the distance makes a dedicated vehicle expensive for a modest load. You trade a named day for a window and accept more handlings. Sensible for a holiday home being furnished; less so for a family with a term start.
Next step
Moving to Spain?
Send both addresses, rough dates and a sense of the volume. We will set out the route, the options and the paperwork order.