Los Angeles is the longest common sailing from the UK, and that single fact shapes everything about the move: the price, the planning and how much you want sitting in a container for a month.
Published 2026 schedules put the ocean leg from the UK to Los Angeles at roughly twenty six to thirty two days port to port, against about a fortnight to New York. Door to door, most West Coast moves land in the six to eight week range.
Tell us where you are going and roughly what is coming, and we connect you with a vetted moving company from our network that runs the West Coast route. You deal with them directly and nothing is charged for the introduction.
| Port | Los Angeles and Long Beach |
|---|---|
| Ocean leg | Roughly twenty six to thirty two days |
| Door to door | Usually six to eight weeks |
| Access | Canyon roads and permit parking can need a smaller vehicle |
West Coast cargo reaches California either through the Panama Canal or by crossing to an East Coast port and travelling overland. Both add time compared with an Atlantic sailing, and which one your shipment uses affects the schedule you are quoted.
That length is why splitting a shipment matters more here than anywhere else. A small air consignment covering the first few weeks, work equipment and enough clothes to live normally, costs less than replacing things you already own while the container is still at sea. Most people who have done this move once do it that way the second time.
It is also why sharing a container is such a common choice on this route. Paying for a whole container to sit at sea for a month only makes sense once you are shipping most of a house, and plenty of people moving to LA are not.
Hillside and canyon addresses often cannot take a full size vehicle, so goods transfer to something smaller for the final run. Permit parking is common and needs arranging in advance.
On a month long crossing there is no chance to correct an inventory once the ship has left, so the customs paperwork is worth getting right first time. The test is whether the goods were used by you, or in a household where you lived, for a year.
Read before packing
Schedules published in 2026 put the ocean leg at roughly twenty six to thirty two days port to port. Door to door, most moves run six to eight weeks once collection, clearance and delivery are counted.
Cargo reaches California either through the Panama Canal or by crossing the Atlantic and travelling overland. Either way it is a far longer journey than a direct Atlantic sailing.
On a route this long, often yes. A small air shipment covering the first few weeks costs less than living without your things, and the rest follows by sea.
Household goods normally arrive through the Los Angeles and Long Beach complex, clear customs there and then move on to your address.
Yes, but say so at enquiry stage. Narrow approaches usually mean a transfer to a smaller vehicle, and that is planned into the quote rather than discovered on the day.
Nothing. You get a written quote from the moving company and there is no charge for the introduction.
Send your collection address, the Los Angeles delivery address, your date and what is coming. A moving company from our network works out the sailing and the split between sea and air, then contacts you.
A Working Member of AGM Group. Enquiries are connected with vetted FIDI FAIM certified and BAR Overseas accredited international moving companies from the network.
We are not a removal company. The Los Angeles move is carried out and quoted by the moving company we introduce you to.
Written by Darren Benjamin, Founder.