Send parcels to Greece from the UK and you will meet the same problem every November: boxes of gifts, winter clothes and things for the family, a calendar that is already filling up, and a lot of questions about how it all gets there on time. Almost every Greek household in Britain does this at least once a year, and Christmas makes it harder.
The good news is that a Greek owned company has been doing exactly this route for more than twenty years. This guide looks at Metafores YaSaTrans, a transport, storage and removals company based in Bolton, and at what you should prepare before you hand over a single box.
Metafores by YaSaTrans was founded in 2002 by Panos Giantzides. According to the company’s Greek List profile, it began as an affordable way for Greek and Cypriot students to take their belongings home, and it grew mostly by word of mouth. Today the company says it has more than 20 years of experience on the UK to Greece route, a Greek and English speaking team, and fixed weekly departures between the UK, Greece and Cyprus on its website.
A weekly schedule matters when you plan around Christmas. It means you can ask which departure your boxes will be on, instead of waiting for a van to fill up.
Greek List member: Metafores YaSaTrans, 12 Cringle Close, Bolton BL3 4XT. Door to door transport, storage and removals between the UK, Greece and Cyprus. Read the full profile and send a request on their Greek List page.
The company describes customers ranging from students moving to and from UK universities to families relocating, and businesses shipping goods. In practice that means someone sending a daughter’s belongings to Athens, a family heading back to Thessaloniki after years in Manchester, or a person who ordered something online in the UK and needs it in Greece or Cyprus. If you want to send parcels to greece from the uk, you are in good company.
For a Christmas parcel, the first and fourth options are the ones most people use. If you are sorting out a bigger move at the same time, ask about storage and removals in the same call.
Since Brexit, a parcel going from Great Britain to an EU country such as Greece needs a customs declaration. Royal Mail explains that goods sent abroad need a CN22 or CN23 form, while letters, postcards and documents are usually exempt. The official steps for sending goods out of the UK are on GOV.UK.
In practice, ask your transport company what it needs from you before you start packing. A company that runs this route every week will know the paperwork. Make a list of what is in each box and give a fair value for every item, because a box with no list or no values is the one that gets delayed. This is general information, so check the current rules with your carrier before you ship.
If you follow these six steps, it becomes much easier to send parcels to Greece from the UK without surprises at the other end.
YaSaTrans has a coupon on Greek List: 10% off door to door transport of 5 to 10 boxes, within the UK and between the UK and Greece or Cyprus. Give the coupon code and your full name to the person who answers your first enquiry.
Flying to Athens instead and thinking about the trip? Read our guide to Christmas in Greece from London.
Looking for something Greek to do this winter? Greek List events is the most complete list of Greek events in the UK, and you can list your own event for free.
The businesses featured here are Greek List members. More than 100,000 Greeks and Cypriots in the UK read us every month through the site, the newsletter and the Ellines sto Londino group, and member listings rank first on Google.
Have you ever sent a box to Greece? Share your best tip with us in the Facebook group Ellines sto Londino.
