Getting a Guitar and Computer Back to the US

May 31, 2009 6:49 AM

How do I get a guitar and macbook laptop from Israel to Los Angeles when I am going on a three week detour through Europe.

I am leaving June 10th on a flight to Rome from Tel Aviv, then on June 30th I am taking another flight from Rome to Los Angeles. I have a guitar and laptop with me in Israel. I'll be backpacking and staying in hostels, so I assume that bringing either with me would be unsafe and a giant hassle, but I'm considering taking the laptop. I'm not sure how else to get either of them back to LA. Options include:

1) Shipping the guitar. This probably isn't a good idea for the laptop, though. And the largest boxes they had at the Israel post office to ship items were too small for the guitar, so I'm not sure how to do that anyway. Anyone know of any companies that can send a guitar from Israel to the US? Time is no factor at all, it doesn't matter how long it would take, and money is only a slight factor. Is there a shipping option that people would trust a laptop to or is that a bad idea?

2) Finding somewhere safe and secure to leave the guitar (and laptop?) in Rome for three weeks while I am in Europe so I can pick them up for my flight home. Does anyone know if there are lockers or some other option at the airport in Rome or somewhere near the airport that I could do this?

Other than that, I'm not really sure what to do. Any other ideas or suggestions on how to get these items back to the United States would be a big help. Thanks!

posted by andoatnp to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

Shipping the Mac isn't that big of deal if you place is in a good box with good packing. Computers are sent through the mail all the time. If your Mac breaks, it is mailed to a repair depot. If you bought it online it would be shipped to you. I would spring for FedEx though. You don't want to slowboat fragile items as the more stops it has to make the more chance it can get damaged.
posted by birdherder at 6:58 AM on May 31

Even if there are better ways to get the guitar and laptop home than leaving them in Rome, I am also wondering if anyone has any experience with short term storage in Rome because there are other items that I might want to use that for.
posted by andoatnp at 8:12 AM on May 31

There's a left luggage facility at FCO in Terminal C. 6 euros per item per day. If the other items you need fit in a bag with your laptop then that would be one item. Their hours are 6:30am to 11:30pm, so if you have an early or late flight this may be inconvenient.
posted by IanMorr at 9:48 AM on June 1

I ended up shipping home three boxes from Israel and one of them disappeared along the way. I sold the guitar to a friend. The rest of the stuff (including the computer) I brought with me around Europe. Except for the box that disappeared, and all the priceless stuff that is gone, everything worked out fine.
posted by andoatnp at 7:21 PM on September 16