Sending a barrel to Barbados is the cheap, popular way to get clothes, food, toiletries and gifts to family, or to send your own things ahead of a move. Pack a barrel, we connect you with one vetted Caribbean shipping partner, and they handle it from your door to the Port of Bridgetown. It's free to ask.
✅ The quick answer — Pack a barrel, and we connect you with one vetted, experienced Caribbean shipper. Free to use.
💷 What it costs — A barrel usually runs from around £60 to £120, by size, weight and service.
⏱️ How long it takes — About 9 days at sea to Bridgetown, roughly 2 to 4 weeks door to door with clearance.
🚚 Collection — Free across London and many UK areas, or drop at a depot.
📋 What you'll need — ID and shipping paperwork to clear. Goods owned a year or more come in duty-free.
📍 Where it clears — At the Port of Bridgetown, then on to your Barbados address.
Barrel shipping is the most affordable way to send a medium load by sea. You pack a drum, the partner collects and consolidates it, and it sails to the Port of Bridgetown, the island's only commercial harbour. Because Barbados is one of the quickest Caribbean routes from the UK, the direct crossing is about nine days, with most barrels arriving two to four weeks door to door once customs and local delivery are done.
The standard shipping barrel is a 55-gallon drum, in tough plastic or steel, holding up to about 200kg of mixed goods, roughly the contents of several large boxes. Plastic barrels are lighter and rust-free; steel barrels are sturdier for heavier or awkward loads. Most pack clothes, shoes and bedding, tinned and dry food, toiletries, tools, small household items and gifts. If you have more than a barrel or two, a shared (groupage) or full container usually works out cheaper per item.
Clothes, shoes, bedding, tinned and dry food, toiletries, tools, kitchen and household goods, toys and gifts. Used items you've owned a year or more usually clear free of duty.
Aerosols, fuel and flammables, fresh or perishable food, plants and seeds, weapons, and counterfeit goods. Untreated wood is restricted; crates must be heat-treated and ISPM-15 stamped.
Caribbean shippers usually offer the same three service levels. Picking the right one is mostly about who can attend the Port of Bridgetown when the barrel lands.
The cheapest option. Your barrel is collected, shipped and brought into the Bridgetown terminal; you or your representative clear and collect it at the port.
Collection, shipping, terminal handling and clearance assistance in Barbados. You still attend the port, but the paperwork side is handled for you. Customs duty is separate.
The easiest. Everything above plus onward delivery to your Barbados address after clearance. A little more, but ideal if no one can attend the port.
A single barrel to Barbados typically runs from around £60 to £120. The price moves with the barrel size, the weight, the service level and any UK collection outside the free zones. Many shippers take a small refundable deposit on the empty barrel. Insurance is sensible and inexpensive, and your mover will quote it.
| Option | Best for | Guide price from |
|---|---|---|
| Single barrel, port-to-port | Clothes, food, gifts; someone can attend the port | around £60 |
| Single barrel, door-to-door | The same, delivered to your address | around £90–£120 |
| Several barrels / part load | A bigger send-up or a small move | by volume |
| Groupage or full container | A whole home | see the container guide |
To keep costs down, pack each barrel full but within weight, and send only what you need. For more than a couple of barrels, compare against the cost of shipping to Barbados and the container option.
Sending a barrel often goes hand in hand with sending money, whether you're helping family or settling in yourself. The Barbados dollar is pegged to the US dollar, so island rates stay steady, but the rate on your pounds still matters. For years we've connected customers with trusted partners who handle any currency.
Everything clears at the Port of Bridgetown, run by the Barbados Revenue Authority. Used personal and household effects you've owned and used for a year or more clear free of import duty, which covers most of a normal barrel. New items attract duty of 5% to 60%, a 1% environmental levy and 17.5% VAT. You attend the port with your ID and shipping paperwork, or appoint a broker, and an officer may carry out a partial or full examination. Clearance usually takes three to five working days.
Coming home for good? Barbados runs a Returning National scheme with extra concessions, with full status for nationals aged 50 or over who've lived abroad ten years or more. For a barrel most people don't need it, as the one-year rule already brings used belongings in duty-free. The returning nationals guide has the detail.
Barrel shipping isn't one-way. We also connect people in Barbados and across the Caribbean who are sending barrels or moving a home onward to the UK, to Spain, to the wider Europe, or to the USA. The packing and the sea-freight idea are the same; what changes is the customs at the other end, which your vetted partner handles. If you're shipping out of Barbados rather than into it, just say so when you ask, and we'll connect you with a partner who runs that route. Heading to Spain? See shipping from Barbados to Spain.
Tell us the direction, what you're sending and roughly when, and we'll match you with one vetted partner for that corridor. It's the same free service either way.
Tell us what you're sending and we connect you with a single partner suited to your barrel and the Bridgetown route, not a call centre and not ten quotes to wade through. For full household moves, partners hold FIDI FAIM accreditation, the global benchmark for international movers audited by Ernst and Young, with BAR Overseas the UK marker; for barrels and part loads they are experienced Caribbean shippers who know the Port of Bridgetown and run regular sailings.
International Removals Companies isn't a shipper itself; we pass your enquiry to one vetted partner who does the work, free since November 2010, with more than 850,000 enquiries connected since. DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, company 07425576, ICO ZB022743, Norman House, Saint Saviours Estate, Abbey Street, London, SE1 3DH. Working Member of AGM Group since 2010.
Barrels clear at Bridgetown and go on to any address on the island, from the capital and the west coast to the south-coast towns. Pick your area for local detail, or start a quote and give the full address.
Tell us what you're sending, where in Barbados it's going and roughly when. One vetted partner comes back with a price, a timeline and the customs steps. No cost, no obligation.
Get my free quoteYour partner confirms every price, transit time, insurance and customs point before you book.
International Removals Companies is the official enquiry service for three FIDI FAIM and BAR Overseas certified international moving companies in AGM Group, members of IAM, EUROMOVERS and FEDEMAC. It's a free route-matching service, not a removal company, a man with a van or a house clearance service.
Use this page to send your Barbados removal enquiry, then speak directly with the partner mover we connect you with before booking.