Touring - shipping bicycle internationally

I'm currently on tour, and currently in Italy. However, I've had second thoughts recently about continuing the bicycle portion of my trip. There are simply too many places I want to see that will soon be too cold, and that I will not have enough time or money to see if I do the whole thing by bike. So, I'm wondering if anyone has any information on shipping bikes from europe to the states. Will it be feasible? about how much would it probably cost, and how would it be best to go about doing it?

I just checked out the UPS website. It calculated that shipping a bike from Rome to Chicago will cost €350. Ouch!

How about shipping it only as far as your port of departure, and having it held there. I have no info on the practicality of that, but it would be worth looking in to.

So, I'm wondering if anyone has any information on shipping bikes from europe to the states. Will it be feasible? about how much would it probably cost, and how would it be best to go about doing it?

This fall I tried to ship my bike to Germany as a 2nd piece of luggage on an international flight. Except that the bike & case totaled 75 lbs! Exceeded any free allowance and wasn't worth it. Perhaps you can store your bike near your international airport of departure then try to get it sent along with you as your 2nd piece of luggage. The ability to do this varies with the airline. That is the cheapest method I know, less expensive than shipping it alone as a package. Depending upon the weight of your bike, disassembling & putting into airline-provided bike box may be the cheapest way to get your bike back home. Even if the weight exceeds the airline's allowance, the overage cost will be less than solo shipping.

+1 to shipping it to your final destination and taking on the plane with you.

I've shipped several bikes to Europe, always on the plane with me. Shipping via a courier service will cost about as much as your plane ticket.

You are going to have to call and check/price the shipping rates offered in the various European countries. They are all different. I had several items shipped from Germany, the heaviest being a complete exhaust system for my car and the shipping rate was comparable (even cheaper) to "domestic" UPS ground rates and delivered to my house by DHL within 10 days. My friend in Switzerland regularly crosses the border to ship items to me...lol. Might want to ask a local merchant that ships internationally where to go to get the cheapest air shipping rates. Also have available the approx size of the shipping box, can probably bum one off at a LBS if you ask nicely enough or pay them a reasonable amount.

However, shipping the other way (USA to Europe) is costly and air shipment is the only way to go if you want a package to get there in a week or two. I shipped 2 T-Shirts to a friend in Belgium the cheapest way possible one time (USPS land/air/ship rates) and it took, get this, 7 months. To be fair. USPS does list shipping times as 3-9 months (at the Post Office, not the online calculator). But still, a small package shouldn't have taken that long.

Come on the Santa Anna didn't take that long people have rowed in 100 days.