Shipping Your Belongings to Mexico — Complete Relocation Guide

I have watched clients ship entire houses worth of furniture across the border, and I have watched others show up with two suitcases and buy everything new at Costco in Cabo. After helping dozens of families relocate to Los Cabos, here is what I have learned about which approach actually works, what it costs, and how to avoid the mistakes that turn a straightforward move into an expensive headache.

What Shipping to Mexico Actually Costs

Let me give you real numbers, not the vague ranges you find on most moving company websites. Shipping household goods from the US to Baja California Sur in 2026 breaks down like this:

• Partial container (LCL — less than container load): $2,000 to $5,000 for a few pallets or less than half a 20-foot container. Best for 1-2 rooms of furniture.
• Full 20-foot container: $4,000 to $8,000. Holds a typical 1-2 bedroom apartment worth of furnishings.
• Full 40-foot container: $7,000 to $15,000. Holds a 3-4 bedroom house worth of belongings.
• Air freight: $3 to $8 per pound. Only practical for small, high-value, or time-sensitive items. A 100-pound shipment runs $300 to $800.
• Land freight (truck): $1,500 to $6,000 depending on origin and volume. Often the simplest option for Baja-bound shipments.

On top of those base costs, budget for:

• Customs brokerage: $500 to $2,000
• Insurance: 1-3% of declared value
• Packing and loading (origin): $500 to $2,000 if you use a full-service mover
• Delivery from port/border to your Cabo address: $300 to $1,000

Three Ways to Ship: Sea, Land, and Air

Sea Container Shipping

Sea freight is the most economical option for large shipments. Containers ship from US West Coast ports (Long Beach, Oakland, San Diego) to the port of La Paz in Baja California Sur or to Ensenada with overland transfer south.

Timeline: 2 to 4 weeks total from loading to delivery at your door in Cabo. The ocean transit itself is 5 to 10 days, with the rest being loading coordination, customs clearance, and last-mile delivery.

I recommend sea freight for clients moving a full household, especially those with quality furniture, artwork, or large collections they are not willing to part with. The per-item cost drops dramatically with a full container versus shipping individual pieces.

Land Freight (Truck)

For Baja-bound relocators, trucking your belongings overland is often the simplest option. Your shipment crosses at a border city (typically Tijuana or Nogales) and drives down the Baja peninsula to Los Cabos.

Timeline: 1 to 3 weeks including customs clearance at the border. The drive from the US border to Cabo is roughly 1,000 miles and takes 2 to 3 days for a freight truck.

This method works especially well for partial loads, furniture items too large for air freight, and relocators who want the simplest possible logistics. Several companies specialize in US-to-Baja routes and handle the entire process including customs.

Air Freight

Air freight is the fastest option but by far the most expensive per pound. It makes sense for small, high-value items you need immediately: important documents, electronics, medication, and personal items you cannot replace.

Timeline: 3 to 7 days including customs. The SJD airport in Los Cabos has cargo facilities, so delivery to your door is straightforward.

I have seen clients use air freight for a few boxes of personal items to tide them over while a larger sea shipment is in transit. Ship the essentials by air, the furniture by sea, and buy the rest locally. That hybrid approach is often the smartest play.

The Menaje de Casa Program: Your Duty-Free Ticket

This is the single most important thing to know about shipping to Mexico, and the thing I see people miss constantly. The Menaje de Casa (literally "household goods") program allows Mexican residents to import their personal belongings duty-free. Miss this step and you could pay 16% IVA on everything you ship.

Who Qualifies

• Permanent residents (residente permanente): Fully eligible
• Temporary residents (residente temporal): Fully eligible
• Tourist visa holders: Not eligible. You must have a resident visa.

How to Get the Menaje de Casa Permit

1. Obtain your Mexican resident visa first. You cannot apply for Menaje de Casa without a valid temporary or permanent resident card. See our visa guide for the residency process.
2. Visit a Mexican consulate in the US or Canada. The application must be done at a consulate, not in Mexico. Schedule an appointment at the consulate nearest to your current address.
3. Prepare a detailed inventory list. List every item you plan to import with descriptions and approximate values. The consulate will stamp and certify this list. Be thorough — items not on the list may be subject to duties at the border.
4. Pay the consulate fee. Approximately $150 USD as of 2026.
5. Ship within 6 months. The Menaje de Casa permit is valid for one shipment within 6 months of receiving your resident visa. You get one shot, so consolidate everything into a single shipment if possible.

Without the Menaje de Casa exemption, your imported goods face 16% IVA (Mexico's value-added tax) plus potential import duties depending on the item category. On a $10,000 shipment, that is $1,600 or more in taxes you could have avoided with a $150 consulate visit. I cannot stress this enough: do not skip this step.

What to Ship vs. What to Buy in Cabo

This is where I save my clients the most money. The instinct is to ship everything you own. The smart move is usually the opposite. Here is my tactical breakdown:

Definitely Ship

• Sentimental items: Family heirlooms, artwork, photo albums, irreplaceable personal items
• High-quality furniture: If you own solid wood or custom pieces that would cost 3-5x to replace, ship them
• Specialty electronics: High-end audio equipment, gaming setups, home office equipment you are particular about
• Kitchen items: Quality cookware, stand mixers, specialty tools that are expensive to replace
• Clothing and personal items: Everything you wear regularly — packing light is a myth for permanent moves
• Bedding and linens: US-size sheets and towels are easier to ship than to find Mexican equivalents (note: Mexican mattress sizes differ slightly from US standard)

Buy New in Cabo

• Basic furniture: Sofas, dining tables, beds, dressers. Cabo has multiple furniture stores and the quality is good. Coppel, Liverpool, and local shops offer decent options at reasonable prices.
• Mattresses: Mexican mattress sizes differ slightly from US standards. A US queen is 60x80 inches; a Mexican queen (matrimonial) is 60x75. Buy locally to match local bed frames and sheet sizes. Brands like Spring Air and Restonic manufacture in Mexico with excellent quality.
• Major appliances: Refrigerators, washers, dryers, stoves. These are heavy, expensive to ship, and readily available at Home Depot, Costco, and local retailers in Cabo. Mexican models work on the local electrical system and come with local warranties.
• Outdoor furniture: Patio sets, pool chairs, garden items. Buy locally — the selection is designed for the Cabo climate and costs less than shipping heavy outdoor pieces.
• Basic kitchen items: Dishes, glasses, utensils, pots and pans. Available everywhere in Cabo at reasonable prices.

The Math: Ship vs. Buy

Here is a real comparison I have run for clients. Furnishing a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom condo in Cabo from scratch:

• Buying everything new locally: $5,000 to $15,000 depending on quality level. Costco for electronics and kitchen, Home Depot for appliances, Coppel or Liverpool for furniture, local shops for decor.
• Shipping a full household from, say, Phoenix: $4,000 to $8,000 for a 20-foot container, plus $1,000 for customs brokerage, plus $500 for insurance, plus $1,000 for packing. Total: $6,500 to $10,500 in shipping costs alone — and you still need to buy what did not survive the move.

The math often favors buying new unless you have significant sentimental or high-value items. My recommendation: ship 5-10 boxes of personal items, clothing, kitchen favorites, and irreplaceable things. Buy the big furniture, appliances, and basics locally. You will save money and avoid the stress of tracking a container across an international border.

What You Cannot Ship to Mexico

Mexico customs is strict about certain categories. Do not attempt to ship:

• Vehicles: Cars and motorcycles require a separate vehicle import process — they cannot be included in a household goods shipment
• Weapons and ammunition: Strictly prohibited. Mexico has extremely tight firearms laws for foreigners.
• Fuel-powered engines: Gas generators, chainsaws, gas-powered lawn mowers. Electric alternatives are fine.
• Certain antiques and archaeological artifacts: Items that could be considered Mexican cultural patrimony face restrictions even if they are not of Mexican origin
• Live plants and soil: Agricultural restrictions apply
• Fresh food products: Processed, sealed food items are generally fine; fresh produce, meat, and dairy are not
• Controlled medications without prescriptions: Bring prescriptions and keep medications in original labeled containers

Electronics and Voltage: The Good News

Here is something that stresses out nearly every relocator unnecessarily: electricity compatibility. Mexico runs on 127V at 60Hz. The US runs on 120V at 60Hz. That 7-volt difference is well within the tolerance range of every modern electronic device.

Your laptop, phone charger, TV, coffee maker, hair dryer, blender, and every other electronic you own from the US will work perfectly in Mexico without any adapter or transformer. The outlets are the same Type A and Type B (two flat prongs, with or without ground) used in the US.

The only caveat: some older Mexican buildings have ungrounded two-prong outlets. If you have appliances with three-prong plugs, bring a handful of three-to-two prong adapters. Or better yet, have an electrician install grounded outlets during your initial post-closing setup — it is inexpensive and worth doing for safety.

Shipping Companies for the US-to-Baja Route

Not every international moving company knows the Baja route well. The logistics of getting goods to the southern tip of the Baja peninsula are unique because of the long overland drive down the peninsula or the sea route to La Paz. Here is what to look for:

• Baja experience: Ask specifically how many shipments they have completed to Los Cabos. The Baja route has unique challenges (long peninsula drive, limited port facilities in La Paz) that companies without experience may underestimate.
• Door-to-door service: The best companies handle everything from packing at your US home to delivery and unpacking at your Cabo address, including customs clearance.
• Customs brokerage included: Confirm whether a licensed customs broker is included in the quote or an add-on. Without a broker, your shipment will sit at the border.
• Insurance coverage: Get full replacement value insurance, not the basic declared-value coverage that pays pennies on the dollar for damaged items.
• References from Cabo expats: Join expat Facebook groups for Los Cabos and ask for recent shipping company recommendations. The expat community is vocal about both positive and negative experiences.

Get at least three quotes and compare apples to apples: base shipping cost, customs fees, insurance, packing, and delivery to your door. The cheapest quote often excludes critical services that you will end up paying for separately.

Your Shipping Timeline and Checklist

If you are planning a move to Cabo, here is the timeline I recommend to my clients:

1. 3-4 months before move: Apply for your Mexican resident visa. You need it before you can apply for Menaje de Casa.
2. 2-3 months before: Once you have your resident card, visit a Mexican consulate for your Menaje de Casa permit. Prepare your detailed inventory list.
3. 2 months before: Get quotes from 3+ shipping companies. Book your preferred mover. Start decluttering aggressively — every pound you do not ship saves money.
4. 1 month before: Begin packing non-essentials. Label every box with contents for your inventory list. Photograph valuable items for insurance purposes.
5. 2 weeks before: Confirm shipping dates and customs documentation with your mover. Arrange temporary housing in Cabo if your shipment will arrive after you do.
6. Move day: Supervise loading. Keep a personal bag with 1-2 weeks of essentials (clothes, medications, documents, electronics) that travels with you, not in the shipment.
7. After arrival: Set up banking, internet, and utilities while your shipment is in transit. Shop for items you decided to buy locally.

The Honest Truth About Relocating to Cabo

After helping dozens of families make this move, here is my most honest advice: ship less than you think you need. Seriously. The number one regret I hear from relocators is not "I wish I had shipped more stuff." It is "I cannot believe I paid $12,000 to ship furniture I ended up replacing anyway."

Cabo has everything you need. Cabo San Lucas has a Costco, Home Depot, Walmart, multiple furniture stores, and a thriving second-hand market from other expats. San Jose del Cabo adds boutique home stores, artisan furniture makers, and the charm of furnishing your home with locally made pieces that actually suit the Cabo lifestyle.

Ship your memories. Ship your favorite kitchen knife and your grandmother's rocking chair. Ship your art and your books. Buy the couch, the bed, the patio set, and the appliances when you get here. You will save money, reduce stress, and end up with a home that feels like it belongs in Cabo rather than a transplanted version of your US house.

Ready to start planning your move? Check out our full relocation guide, our pet relocation handbook, and our resource library for downloadable checklists and guides.