Door-to-door removals from Sussex and the rest of the UK to the Costa Blanca, our most frequent Spanish destination. Hillside villas, urbanisations and Benidorm apartments, with the customs file prepared before your furniture leaves Britain.
Removals to the Costa Blanca from the UK fill more of our Spanish diary than any other region, and it is not hard to see why. The coast between Dénia and Torrevieja holds one of the largest settled British communities in Europe, Alicante airport keeps family in Sussex a short flight away, and many of the people we move there already know the place well. They have owned a holiday villa in Moraira or Jávea for years and are finally making it home. That familiarity helps, but it can also make people underestimate the move. Spending August somewhere and importing a whole household into it are different jobs, and the second one involves a customs file, a steep drive and a lorry that has to get up it.
The Costa Blanca is really two coasts that share a name. The northern half, from Dénia through Jávea (Xàbia on the local signs) to Moraira, Calpe and Altea, is hilly, green with pine and full of detached villas looking down at small coves. Jávea sits under the bulk of the Montgó, Calpe under the great rock of the Peñón de Ifach, and the houses climb the slopes behind both. This is where long-established British residents tend to be, often in larger homes with a lifetime of furniture to fill them.
Benidorm sits in the middle, and a Benidorm delivery usually means an apartment in a tall block rather than a villa. South of Alicante the land flattens out. Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa and the inland urbanisations around Ciudad Quesada are mostly townhouses, bungalows and apartments set around communal pools, and they suit people who want to downsize, lock up and fly home for a fortnight without worrying about a garden. Inland, the Jalón valley and the villages behind the northern coast draw buyers who want almond groves and quiet rather than a sea view. We deliver to all of it on the same service.
In the north, the drive is the problem more often than the distance. Plenty of Jávea and Moraira villas are reached by narrow roads with hairpin bends and a final ramp so steep that no full-size removal lorry could turn on it, let alone climb it. Where that is the case, the load comes off onto a smaller transfer vehicle at the nearest sensible point and is shuttled up. We find this out at survey, from photographs, street views and your own knowledge of the road, and it is planned into the quote rather than discovered on the morning.
The southern urbanisations are flatter but have their own rules. Many are gated, most are run by a community of owners, and some restrict when large vehicles may come in. A word with the community administrator a fortnight ahead avoids a lorry being held at the barrier. In Benidorm towers, the lift is usually the bottleneck: it was designed for suitcases, so larger pieces go by the stairs or, where a building allows it, an external lift.
Then there is the heat. From June to September we ask for early starts, because a crew carrying wardrobes up a sun-baked drive at three in the afternoon works slower and less safely, and candles, vinyl records and waxed finishes do not enjoy a hot lorry either.
The most common Costa Blanca situation we see is the holiday-home owner who is becoming a resident. You probably already have an NIE, because you needed one to buy the property, which removes the paperwork that holds up most first-time movers. What changes is your status. Spanish customs will only let household goods in without IVA or duty under the transfer-of-residence relief if you are moving your normal home to Spain, and a second home does not count. So the question at survey is not whether you own a house in Jávea, but whether you are genuinely leaving Britain to live in it.
If you are, the ToR1 application covers the goods from your UK home that you have owned and used for at least six months. We file it about fourteen days ahead as standard and our Spanish destination agent confirms approval before loading. Your residence documents and your registration on the padrón at the local ayuntamiento support the file; the coastal town halls here are well used to registering British residents. The Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) publishes the official position on importing personal effects.
One practical Costa Blanca note: furniture that has lived in the villa for years is already in Spain and plays no part in the customs file. It is only what travels from Britain that needs to be on the inventory, so we list it room by room, with values, and flag any wine, antiques or garden planters that need declaring separately.
Allow a typical 8–10 days from collection to delivery. The lorry clears export customs at Sevington in Kent, crosses on the Channel Tunnel and drives south through France, entering Spain at the eastern end of the Pyrenees and following the Mediterranean coast down. Drivers’ hours rules decide how far a vehicle can legally travel each day, which is why the figure is a window and not a promise of a two-day dash.
A sole-use load sits at the quicker end. A shared part-load waits for the next scheduled departure, which is the trade-off that makes a smaller move affordable. On this coast the date that moves most often is not ours but the notario’s: completions on Spanish property can slip at short notice. When that happens, your goods wait in our storage before shipping overseas at Lower Dicker until the keys are yours, and travel on from there.
Mark Ratcliffe Moving is a family-run East Sussex firm, founded in 2017, and the Costa Blanca is the Spanish route our crew runs most often. Every move starts with a free survey, in person or by video, and a fixed written quote that already covers the Spanish agent, the customs entry and delivery into the rooms you choose. If you would rather not pack, our full packing service for Spanish moves covers the lot; if you prefer to do it yourself, we deliver double-wall export cartons and packing materials beforehand. Anything that must not move in transit gets export packing and crating, and a marble table top or a large mirror goes in a box from our bespoke crate workshop. Pianos travel with our piano-moving crews.
We are members of the British Association of Removers Overseas Group and work to BS 8564, the standard for international removals. Read about the family behind the firm, see what earlier customers wrote in our removals reviews, or look at the whole removals to Spain service. If you are weighing the Costa Blanca against somewhere quieter, our pages on moving to Valencia and moving to the Costa del Sol set out how those routes differ. Or call Mark on 01323 848 008.
The Costa Blanca is our busiest Spanish run, but the lorries also head for Andalucía, Catalonia, Valencia, the islands and the green north.
A typical 8–10 days from collection, by road through France. A sole-use load sits at the quicker end; a shared part-load waits for the scheduled departure. The Costa Blanca is our most frequent Spanish destination, so departures on this route are regular.
Yes. Where the lane is too narrow or steep for a full-size lorry, the load is moved onto a smaller transfer vehicle and shuttled up. We identify this at survey and plan it into the quote so it is not a surprise on the day.
Only if you are now moving your normal residence to Spain. A second home on its own does not qualify. If you are relocating permanently, goods you have owned and used for at least six months can normally come in without Spanish IVA or duty, and we file the ToR1 for you.
It is wise to. Many urbanisations are gated and managed by a community of owners, and some limit when large vehicles can enter. Let the administrator know a couple of weeks ahead and we will give you the date and vehicle details to pass on.
Often not. They will work through an adapter, but many British appliances are cheaper to replace in Spain than to ship, and servicing can be awkward. We will tell you honestly at survey which items are worth the space on the lorry.
Call us for a free, no-obligation quote, or use our online form. Whether it is a shared part-load or a whole house, we have handled the route before and we will handle yours with care.