Sending luggage to another city in Pakistan: courier or a bigger car?

If you need to send luggage to another city in Pakistan, you have two honest choices. Parcel it through Pakistan Post or a private courier and travel light, or put the bags and the people in one larger vehicle and move everything together. Courier works best for a few sealed boxes that nobody needs on a particular day. A bigger car or van works best when the bags are heavy, awkward, valuable or tied to a date: wedding clothes, gifts for the in-laws, or a family relocating from Karachi to Islamabad. The deciding questions are simple. How much is there, how fragile is it, and what happens if it arrives a day late?

This guide walks through both routes, the rules that actually apply, and a way to decide for your own trip.

The short decision

Before the detail, here is the rule of thumb most families end up using:

• Two or three cartons of non-urgent items (books, kitchen things, winter clothes): a registered parcel or courier is usually the sensible option.
• Suitcases you will open on arrival, wedding outfits, jewellery, electronics: keep them with you, in the vehicle you travel in.
• A household move, or a family of five-plus with airport luggage: a van for moving luggage and passengers together, rather than a car plus a separate shipment.
• Anything needed for a fixed event date: travel with it, or send it early enough that a delay does not matter.

The rest of this article explains why.

How to send luggage to another city in Pakistan: post, courier or rail

Pakistan Post registered parcels

Pakistan Post is the national postal operator and has counters in almost every town. For domestic parcels it publishes a registered parcel tariff on its registered parcel rates page, with rates revised from 1 August 2023 and weight bands running up to 30 kilograms. Tariffs change, so check the current figure at the counter or on the site before you pack to a budget.

A few practical points follow from how the post office works:

• Registration gives you a receipt, and Pakistan Post runs an online Track & Trace service. Photograph the receipt so the number is on your phone, not just on a paper slip.
• The 30 kg ceiling is per article. A full-size suitcase packed for a month can go past that, so heavy loads usually mean splitting into several parcels.
• Ask about restricted contents before you seal the box. Liquids, anything flammable and valuables are the usual sticking points, and the counter clerk has the final say.

Private courier and cargo companies

Several private courier and cargo firms run intercity networks between the big cities, and some offer door collection. Their weight limits, packing rules, liability terms and delivery times differ from company to company and change often, so we will not quote them here. What matters is the questions you put to whichever firm you use:

1. What is the maximum weight and size per piece, and is it charged by actual or "volumetric" weight?
2. Will they accept a suitcase as it is, or does it need to be boxed or wrapped?
3. What compensation applies if it is lost or damaged, and what does declaring a higher value cost?
4. Is delivery to the door, or to a depot the family has to visit?
5. Who signs for it at the other end, and what ID do they need?

If the answers are vague, treat that as the answer.

Rail parcels

Pakistan Railways lists parcel carriage among its services, alongside passenger and cargo transport, according to its Wikipedia entry. Arrangements vary by station, so ask at the parcel office before you rely on it for anything time-critical. Note that the FCDO currently tells British travellers to avoid using the railway network, citing the risk of terrorist attacks and derailments; that advice is about riding the trains, but it is worth knowing if you were planning to travel with the parcel.

Weight, packing and insurance

Most delivery problems start at packing, not on the road. A soft holdall squashed under heavier cartons, a suitcase zip that gives way, a label that peels off in the heat: none of these are exotic, and all of them are avoidable.

Packing that survives a sorting depot

• Box it, or wrap it. A suitcase sent on its own takes knocks on wheels, handles and zips. A carton around it, or heavy stretch-wrap, protects the parts that break first.
• Label twice. One label on the outside, one inside with the recipient's name and mobile number. If the outer label goes, the inner one gets it home.
• Weigh at home. A bathroom scale and a strap will tell you whether you are near the 30 kg Pakistan Post ceiling before you reach the counter.
• Photograph the contents before sealing. It makes any later claim far easier.
• Keep medicines, documents and chargers out of any shipment. They travel with you.

What insurance actually covers

Pakistan Post's insurance rules say insurance "covers all risks an article is exposed to during course of transmission". It is available on registered and value-payable registered parcels at post offices authorised to accept insured articles, and there are three details worth knowing:

• The insured value cannot be more than the real value of what is inside.
• All charges must be paid in advance: postage, registration and the insurance fee.
• The fee rises with declared value on a published scale, which currently runs to Rs 50,000. Check the page for the current table.

Private couriers set their own terms, and standard liability can be low unless you pay for extra cover. Read the terms on the booking receipt, not the advert.

What not to send at all

Gold jewellery, cash, passports, CNICs and wedding documents do not belong in a parcel. Carry them yourself, split between two adults if you are travelling as a family. The same goes for anything irreplaceable, such as a grandmother's embroidered dupatta or a carefully packed gift set. Parcels can be insured for their value, but not for the day they were meant to be used.

A van or larger car for luggage

When the list of bags gets long, the maths often favours one bigger vehicle over a car plus a shipment. You pay for one journey, everything arrives when you do, and nothing sits in a depot.

Which size for which load

Treat the table as a starting point. What really decides it is the number and size of the biggest pieces. Two 32-inch suitcases plus a pram need a very different boot from six cabin bags, even if they weigh the same.

Our family vehicle options (planned link) and van journeys (planned link) pages explain the categories we work with. When you plan a journey, describe the luggage honestly: count the large cases, the cartons and anything odd-shaped, such as a folded cot, a wheelchair or a boxed gift hamper. Vehicle availability varies, and we confirm the option once the details are reviewed, so the more precise you are, the better the match.

When the van makes more sense

A van is not always the cheaper choice, but it often is when you add up everything the alternative involves: the courier charge, a trip to the depot at each end, a second taxi for the cases, and a day or two without the things you packed. For a family moving flats between Lahore and Rawalpindi, or taking boxed household goods to a newly married couple's home, one vehicle carrying people and goods together tends to be simpler to organise and easier to supervise.

It is less compelling when only one person is travelling and the luggage is a few cartons. There, a registered parcel and a standard car usually make more sense.

Travelling with car and luggage together intercity

Carrying the car and luggage together intercity keeps control in your hands, but it only works well if the loading is planned. On a long motorway leg, bags that shift about or block the rear view are a nuisance at best.

Before the vehicle arrives

1. Stage the bags by the door, heaviest first, so loading takes minutes, not half an hour of searching rooms.
2. Pack a "first night" bag with toiletries, a change of clothes, phone chargers and medicines. It goes in the cabin, not under five cartons.
3. Keep documents on a person. Passports, CNICs, tickets and any wedding invitations stay in a handbag or jacket pocket.
4. Tell the driver about fragile pieces so they can go on top or on the floor behind the seats.
5. Agree the stops. On a Karachi to Lahore run or similar long leg, you will want planned breaks; knowing them in advance avoids unloading at a service area to reach something buried.

On the road

• Nobody should sit with a carton on their lap for five hours. If the load needs that, it needs a bigger vehicle.
• Roof carriers are sometimes used, but everything on a roof is exposed to rain, dust and theft at stops. Keep valuables and clothes inside.
• At every stop, one adult stays near the vehicle or it is locked with nothing valuable visible.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office notes in its Pakistan safety and security advice that outside the major motorways road quality is variable, and that local driving standards are erratic, especially at night. For a heavily loaded vehicle that is one more reason to prefer daylight travel on long legs. Our city-to-city service page covers how intercity journeys are planned.

Airport arrival with excess bags

Overseas families flying in for a wedding or a long stay rarely travel light, and the airport is where the luggage plan either works or falls apart.

Sort the flight side first

The UK government's hand luggage guidance puts it plainly: check with your airline how many bags you can take and what size they can be. The same applies to checked baggage. Allowances differ by airline, fare type and route, and so do the rules for buying extra weight, so read your airline's own baggage page, including its excess and pre-paid options, before you pack the last suitcase.

Customs on arrival

Arriving passengers choose between the Green and Red channels. The Federal Board of Revenue's customs travel guide explains that the Green Channel is for passengers carrying no restricted items and nothing beyond their duty-free allowance, and that customs officers can still ask to scan or examine luggage. If you are bringing large quantities of gifts, new electronics or household goods, read the duty-free allowance and transfer-of-residence sections before you fly rather than at the belt.

Matching the pickup vehicle to the bags

A familiar mismatch goes like this: a family of four books a saloon, then arrives with eight checked bags and two car seats. The fix is simple. Count your checked bags and oversized items from the booking confirmation, add the cabin bags, and pass the total on when you plan the pickup. Our airport transfers page explains how pickups are arranged.

If the airport arrival is the first leg of a longer trip, say landing at Islamabad and heading straight on to Lahore, you can describe both legs in one request, so the options we come back with cover the whole journey rather than leaving you to transfer bags between cars at the kerb.

Timing deliveries around weddings and events

A parcel that arrives the morning after the mehndi has not really arrived. When luggage is linked to a date, work backwards from that date.

A simple timeline (example)

The dates below are an illustrative example, not a delivery promise from any carrier.

Who receives it

A parcel delivered to an empty house, or to a relative who is at the venue all day, can end up back at the depot. Name one person at the other end, give them the tracking numbers, and make sure they are available on the expected delivery days.

Build slack into road days too. The FCDO's current advice flags planned protests in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other cities, warning of short-notice road closures and transport disruption, and tells travellers to allow extra time and check routes before setting off. For a mehndi-eve drive, that means leaving a margin, not cutting it fine. For wedding weeks, a neighbour or the family's own home is usually more reliable than a hotel reception during a busy booking period.

Families organising several arrivals at once may find our guide to overseas wedding guest arrivals useful alongside this one.

Luggage delivery between cities in Pakistan: side-by-side

Here is how the main options compare for luggage delivery between cities in Pakistan:

Routes, regions and travel advice

Most luggage moves happen between the big cities on the motorway and Grand Trunk corridors: Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan. Before you plan any journey, including a delivery run, check the destination against the UK FCDO travel advice for Pakistan. At the time of writing it advises against all travel to Balochistan, to areas within 10 miles of the Afghanistan border and the Line of Control, to much of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Peshawar, and to the Karakoram Highway between Mansehra and Chilas. It advises against all but essential travel to northern Sindh north of and including Nawabshah, to Dera Ghazi Khan and to Azad Jammu and Kashmir, among other areas. The FCDO also warns that travelling against its advice can invalidate your travel insurance. Advice changes, so read the live page, not a summary.

If family live in one of those areas, a parcel service may be the more practical way to get belongings there, and any travel decision should follow the official advice rather than convenience.

Beyond Pakistan

Many overseas Pakistani families split a trip between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for Umrah, and the same luggage logic applies at the other end. If you are moving between Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah or Riyadh with a full load of cases, our sister company Saudi Cab Co arranges private city-to-city transfers across Saudi Arabia.

For business moves, office equipment or larger groups, iDrive, the network behind Pakistan Taxi, lists its group van range with models and seating layouts.

Planning your journey with Pakistan Taxi

If you have decided the bags should travel with you, plan your journey here (planned link). Tell us:

• the pickup and drop-off addresses, and the date and preferred time;
• how many passengers, including children and anyone needing extra help;
• the number of large suitcases, cartons and oversized items;
• whether the journey starts at an airport, with the flight number.

Pakistan Taxi's journey planner is an enquiry: once we have reviewed the details, we come back to you with the vehicle options that fit and what they involve. Nothing is fixed until you have agreed it.

Questions people ask

Can I send a suitcase by post within Pakistan?

Yes, as a registered parcel, provided it is within the weight limits and packed securely. Pakistan Post's published domestic tariff runs in bands up to 30 kg per article. Boxing or wrapping the case gives it much better protection.

Is it cheaper to courier luggage or take a bigger vehicle?

It depends on the volume. A few cartons are usually cheaper by parcel. A household's worth of bags plus several passengers often works out simpler, and sometimes cheaper, in one van once you count every courier charge and second taxi.

Should wedding clothes and jewellery be couriered?

It is better not to. Carry them in the vehicle you travel in, so that a delivery delay cannot affect the event.

What if my flight luggage will not fit the car I booked?

Tell the operator as early as possible with an accurate bag count, so a larger vehicle can be considered. Flight baggage allowances are set by your airline, so check its rules before you pack.