Got family in Barbados, or making the move yourself? You're in the right place to start. Almost everything travels by sea. A barrel handles a few boxes; a container takes a whole house. Either way, it all lands at the same place: the Port of Bridgetown. Barrels are the cheap, well-loved way to send clothes, food and gifts back home, while a container suits clearing a full house. Here's the part people like best. Anything you've owned and used for a year or more clears free of duty. So tell us what you're shipping, pick the option that fits below, and we'll match you with a single vetted mover. That part costs nothing.
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✅ The quick answer — Say what you're shipping and roughly when. We match you with one vetted Caribbean partner, free.
📦 The cheapest way — Just a few boxes? A barrel wins. Clearing a house? A shared container or a full one works.
💷 What it costs — Barrels begin near £60; a whole-home container reaches a few thousand. The cost guide breaks it down.
⏱️ How long it takes — About 9 days at sea, one of the fastest Caribbean routes, and roughly 2 to 4 weeks door to door once you add clearance.
📋 What you'll need — Your ID and paperwork to clear. Used goods you've owned a year or more come in duty-free.
👉 What to do next — Choose a service or an area below, then request your no-obligation quote.
The size of your load points to the right method. Once that's clear, the guide for it walks you through everything else.
For many Bajan families in the UK it's a barrel or two of clothes, food and gifts heading home. Some add a car; others book a full container for a permanent move. Returning nationals have an extra concession to look into, although the one-year ownership rule covers most used belongings on its own. Sort the paperwork and the sea freight runs itself.
The cheap, popular way to send clothes, food and gifts. Barrel sizes, what fits, and prices.
Moving a whole home: shared or full container, packing, costs and clearance from start to finish.
Moving back for good? The Returning National scheme, who qualifies, and the duty rules.
A few parts of any move warrant a proper explanation. Each guide below digs into one of them.
Skim only what applies to you. Bringing a car? Read that one first, as vehicles clear separately from your belongings. Heading back to settle? The returning nationals guide pays for itself. Every page returns you here, so the thread's easy to follow.
Barrel sizes, what you can pack, and door-to-door prices.
The Returning National scheme, the one-year duty rule, and who qualifies.
Left-hand drive roads, the duty, excise and VAT, and the steps.
Barrel, part load and container prices, and how to spend less.
Sizes, groupage part loads, and what fits in a 20ft or 40ft container.
Packing, crating, dismantling and reassembly for single pieces or whole rooms.
We've helped customers change money in any currency through trusted partners for years.
Everything clears at the Port of Bridgetown, the island's Deep Water Harbour, then travels on by road to your door. Barbados is compact, so onward delivery is quick wherever you're headed: Bridgetown sits in Saint Michael, Holetown and Paynes Bay line the Saint James west coast, Speightstown is the main town of Saint Peter in the north, and Hastings, Worthing and Oistins run along the Christ Church south coast.
The service runs both ways. As well as shipping into Barbados, we connect people leaving the island and the wider Caribbean for the UK, Spain, the rest of Europe and the USA. The sea-freight idea is the same; the customs changes at the other end, and your vetted partner handles it. Spain is our priority outbound route.
Almost every overseas move involves swapping currency at some point, be it a property deposit in Barbados or the costs of getting set up. The Barbados dollar is pegged to the US dollar, so local prices stay stable, yet the rate on the sterling you convert still matters. We've spent years connecting customers with trusted partners who deal in any currency, taking the money worry off your plate.
Ask about the money side when you request your quote, and we'll connect you with the right partner.
Customs is the part people fret about, but for Barbados it follows a clear pattern. Everything arrives in one place: the Port of Bridgetown, the island's only commercial harbour. Here's the bit that saves most people money. Used personal and household goods that you've owned and used for at least a year come in free of import duty, which covers the contents of a normal barrel or container for most movers. New items are treated differently: they attract import duty of between 5% and 60%, a 1% environmental levy and 17.5% VAT. To clear your shipment, you or an appointed customs broker attend a short interview, then a customs officer carries out a physical examination of the goods, usually at your home. Clearance normally takes three to five working days.
Moving back after years away? Barbados runs a Returning National scheme with more generous concessions, though full status is limited to Barbadians aged 50 or over who've lived abroad for ten years or more. Most people don't need it to bring their used belongings in duty-free, since the one-year rule already does that. Cars are a separate matter and aren't duty-free. Barbados drives on the left, so a UK car suits the roads, but duty, excise and VAT apply.
That's the short version. The returning nationals and car shipping guides cover the rules in full. The Barbados Revenue Authority sets them, and your mover's local agent helps you prepare the paperwork.
Most of what people send is straightforward. Clothes, shoes, bedding, non-perishable food, toiletries, gifts, tools and everyday household goods all travel fine in a barrel or a container. Used personal and household effects you've owned for a year or more clear free of duty, so a barrel of well-worn belongings usually costs nothing at customs. Brand-new items are the exception and can attract duty, so keep the receipts for anything recent.
Some things don't belong in a barrel. Aerosols, fuel and anything flammable are out, along with weapons, fresh or perishable food, live plants and seeds, and counterfeit goods. If you send a wooden crate rather than a plastic barrel, the wood must be heat-treated and carry the ISPM-15 stamp, or Barbados customs can hold it at the port. When in doubt, leave it out and ask first.
Packing well saves both money and breakages. Put heavy things at the bottom, cushion anything fragile with clothes and linen, bag whatever might leak, and jot down a simple list of the contents for customs. Your vetted partner gives you the current prohibited and restricted list for Barbados before you pack, and the cost and barrel guides cover the rest.
People often search for what you can ship to Barbados, prohibited and restricted items, sending food in a barrel, how to pack a barrel, treated wooden crates and shipping a container to Bridgetown. This page points you the right way, and one short form returns your quote by email.
This part is easy. Describe your shipment, and we put you in touch with one partner matched to it and to your route, with no call centre and no pile of competing quotes to wade through.
On a whole-home removal the partner is FIDI FAIM accredited, the worldwide movers' standard checked by an independent Ernst and Young audit, with BAR Overseas marking the same bar here in Britain. For barrels and smaller loads, they're established Caribbean shippers who know Bridgetown's harbour and the weekly UK sailing schedule inside out.
A word on who we are. International Removals Companies is not a carrier in its own right. Your enquiry goes to a single vetted partner, who does the actual moving. The free service has operated since November 2010. DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, company 07425576, ICO ZB022743, Norman House, Saint Saviours Estate, Abbey Street, London, SE1 3DH. Working Member of AGM Group since 2010.
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Give us the what, the where and a rough date. One vetted mover replies with a price, a timeline and the customs steps. Free, with nothing to commit to.
Get my free quoteBefore you commit, your mover spells out the price, transit time, insurance and each customs step.
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.