Many people dream of living in Fuerteventura but what about the moving process? We did our best to share our journey of moving to Fuerteventura and some “Pro” tips and tricks along the way!
Let’s jump in!
Planning the move to Fuerteventura
Here are our tips for the planning part of the journey.
- Take stock of what You have, what You plan to take with You, and what You plan to sell.
- Make sure everyone knows their role. Who is going to do the selling of old things? Who is going to call the veterinary? Like in every good project management – make sure all involved know their roles and what they are responsible for.
- If You think the entire move is going to take 3 months – it’s probably like 6…Be pragmatically pessimistic with Your timelines.
- Plan activities ahead and do something every day. Even if it’s something small like contacting the airline, or something big like passports for Your pets – take care of something daily. This snowballs and adds up later.
- There will be a bottleneck somewhere – You need to be prepared for delays and things not going exactly as You planned. It’s okay, adjust and get back on the horse!
Get help and hire movers
By far the best decision we made during the whole process. We would definitely recommend AVA-express – we loved their service.
From packing in Estonia to delivering everything to our new home – they did everything.
All of our possessions were also insured – peace of mind for us. The more things You can delegate to people You trust – the easier it’s going to be. And believe us when we say – it can get a little hectic!
Travelling, flying, and moving with pets to Fuerteventura
Moving to Fuerteventura with our furry friends✈️🐈🐈 wasn’t easy. But we managed to do it.
As we have 2 adopted stray cats – there wasn’t even an option to leave them or move without them!
One of the reasons we chose the Canaries 🌍was also that it’s located📍 in Europe and it’s a little bit easier to travel here and less stressful for our cats…
Flying causes anxiety for them anyway but we will share all the main things which are important to travel in the EU with cats as carry-on baggage in the cabin 👜.
Important things to know when moving or travelling with pets in the EU
- Get the European pet passport. For that, You need to get a rabies vaccine for your cat (it needs to be done 21 days before the flight!!!!) 2x cats cost 100€ = vaccines + passports.
- On every flight, there can be only 2-3 pets on board! Before booking your flights call Your airline company and ask – do they have free spots for pets or not?
- Your pet has to weigh less than 8kg and be in a bag which has to fit under the seat. The bag needs to be well-ventilated.
- Fill out the airline pet travel forms + buy tickets for pets. Tickets cost for one 🐈⬛ 50€ (2 flights included) 2x cats =100€.
- Travelling for pets can be extremely stressful. We spoke with a few vets about it and got some sedatives for them which made them calm. We used some natural ones + prescription ones. NB! Discuss this only with your Vet as there aren’t a lot of very good options for cats! There are plenty for dogs🐕 but You can find some way to make their journey a little bit more comfortable.
- Get a blanket for covering your 🐈cat bag as they feel safer when they don’t see everything that’s going on. We used random blankets and cut ✂️ for the right size. Helped a lot!
.. and enjoy your trip! Moving to another 🌍 country may sound very stressful with pets but it is doable! ✈️🐾
The full cost of moving to Fuerteventura with pets
Travelling from Estonia ✈️ to📍Canaries Fuerteventura with 1 stop in Frankfurt for 2x cats with tickets, passports, bags + medicines = cost us all together 340€ ).
*every airline company has their own rules for travelling with pets but mainly they are similar.
We chose to ✈️ with Lufthansa as it’s one of our favourite European ones! #travllingwith #flywithpets #flywithcats #familymovedtospain #travellingtipswithcats #straycats #adoptdontshop🐾
The actual moving days
Changing Your scenery and relocating to another country can bring up many fears, insecurities, and the tempers of people involved can run high.
Emotionally prepare Yourself for a couple of days of uncomfortable situations and feelings. This helps to “get through” the actual flights, airport security checks, and tight seating.
Remove any other duties, distractions, or to-do lists – focus only on the move.
The documents You will need to move to Fuerteventura
Because we moved from inside the EU – things were a bit simpler.
The usual, passport and ID card.
But if You are already here in Fuerteventura, You will need an NIE number.
The NIE is a personal, unique and exclusive number that is assigned to foreigners who, for economic, professional, or social reasons, are engaged in activities related to Spain and require identification in this country. It consists of nine digits: a letter, followed by a seven-digit number, and another letter.
https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/dublin/en/ServiciosConsulares/Paginas/Consular/NIE.aspx#:~:text=The%20NIE%20is%20a%20personal,digit%20number%2C%20and%20another%20letter.
Without it, You can’t even open up a bank account. Or buy a car or property.
Basically, You need it for almost every official interaction or activity here on the island or in Spain.
Who can help You with attaining the NIE number?
There are many service providers out there but be aware – they can charge obscene amounts from “newcomers”.
We used our lawyer here on the island and thanks to that the actual service fee was low.
When we were doing research – we got offers from anywhere around 150 EUR to 360 EUR. We ended up paying 10 EUR each. Total 20 EUR. But this was because it was part of other services we took from our lawyer.
Some advice with the entire process:
- You can get it Yourself but You most likely need to know at least a tiny bit of Spanish. In order to go to the Police station, fill up the applications, etc.
- Use the help of the people already on the island – make acquaintances as soon as possible. The locals always know where to get the best price.
- Even then I would get more than one offer. The prices can really go up if they think You are a tourist.
Are You relocating or planning to relocate to Fuerteventura? Let us know in the comments below!
