How to send your dive gear anywhere in Spain and Europe without checking it in on the plane

If you've ever checked your dive bag in at the airport, you already know how the story ends: a special-baggage surcharge that costs almost as much as the ticket, a separate queue at the desk and that sinking feeling as you watch a kit that took you years to put together disappear down the belt. When you land, all you can do is cross your fingers: battered regulators, kinked hoses, scratched dive computers or, worst of all, a case that simply never turns up. That's why more and more divers are looking into how to send dive gear by courier rather than trusting it to an aircraft hold.

Lugging everything with you isn't much better either. Between the regulator, BCD, wetsuit, fins, boots and computer, you're talking about 15 or 20 kilos to drag through airports, trains and transfers all the way to your destination. You arrive at the dive centre worn out before your first dive, shoulders aching and your gear all jumbled up inside the bag. A diving trip should start with excitement, not with a house move on your back.

Sending dive gear door to door: how it works

Forget the check-in desk. With Logística Mazarrón, an official GLS agency, you send your gear straight from your home to your hotel or dive centre, in Spain or anywhere in the EU. It's all sorted online:

1. Work out your price in 30 seconds. Enter the weight, dimensions and the origin-to-destination route in the online calculator and get a fixed price with VAT included, from 15 € and with a 48-hour price guarantee.
2. Book and pay with no sign-up. You don't need to create an account: you pay online and receive the label by email, ready to print and stick on the parcel.
3. Collection at your door, wherever you are. The GLS driver picks up your gear anywhere in Spain. And if it suits you better, you can drop it off yourself at a nearby GLS pick-up point or at our agency in Puerto de Mazarrón.
4. Real-time tracking. You know where your gear is at all times, from collection to delivery.

And if your next dive is in Portugal, France, Italy or any other EU country, there are no customs in the way: within the single market your parcel travels with no extra paperwork.

Packing tips: protect what matters most

Dive gear mixes delicate parts with soft kit and, used cleverly, that's an advantage: your own wetsuit is the best padding you could ask for.

• Regulator and computer always in the centre of the bag. Wrap them separately in bubble wrap or a microfibre towel and surround them with your wetsuit and BCD. Never against the sides or right on top: they travel far better protected in the middle.
• Empty and dry your wetsuit and BCD thoroughly before packing. Moisture adds weight, causes smells and mould in transit and can damage the rest of your gear. Purge the air from the BCD too.
• Choose a hard dive bag or a double-walled cardboard box. Fins placed along the sides give the whole thing extra structure.
• Protect the pressure gauge and hoses with covers or towels so there are no pressure points on them.
• Cylinder and weights are better sorted at your destination. You can hire them at any dive centre and save yourself weight that would push up the cost of your shipment for no reason.

Common mistakes when sending dive gear

• Packing the suit wet. This is mistake number one: days in transit with a wet wetsuit are a guarantee of bad smells and damaged gear.
• Ignoring volumetric weight. The maximum is 30 kg chargeable per parcel, and you're charged on whichever is greater, the actual weight or the volumetric weight (length × width × height in cm ÷ 5000). A huge half-empty box can "weigh" more than you think: match the size to the contents.
• Sending at the last minute. Schedule the collection with a few days' margin so your gear is waiting for you at the dive centre, and not the other way round.
• Leaving the batteries in the torch. Take them out to stop it switching on during transport.
• Not letting your destination know. Confirm with the hotel or dive centre that they'll accept the parcel in your name.

Everything the service includes

• Fixed price with VAT included, from 15 €.
• Home collection anywhere in Spain or drop-off at a GLS point.
• Delivery throughout Spain and the EU over the GLS network.
• Real-time tracking from start to finish.
• Up to 30 kg chargeable per parcel: more than enough for a complete kit.
• Personal service from our agency in Puerto de Mazarrón (+34 910 80 62 29, Monday to Friday, 9:30–13:30 and 16:30–19:00).

Your next diving trip begins long before your first dive: it begins the day you decide never to fight with the check-in desk again. Send your gear on ahead and travel light.