Last time I checked, Parcelsplease (www.parcelsplease.co.uk) does up to 30kg to France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium & Luxemburg for £10+vat, Austria, and the likes £20+vat. Italy, Spain, and the rest of the EC for £30+vat.
Service is a DPD road service, so 2 days for the first lot, through to 5 working days for eastern europe, etc. Tracked, Insured, all the normal stuff.
But for documents, assuming small and light packages, then probably post office is cheapest.
I'm looking to travel by boat so I can have the experience that doesn't have to be long like a cruise but shorter than a flight. I've heard of the air courier services where you sign for a package when you land and in exchange you get a really cheap ticket or free travel.Is there anything like this for ship travel? Are there any websites to look at or where to obtain more info.Is it possible to work on the ship at all in exchange for a free ride or discounted one?Is there a website or forum that lists people with boats/ships willing to except passengers either for work or reduced fare or just because they are going this direction and you can board?
whatever you do don't use the "the package delivery company" (bit of a mouthful), They are by far the cheapest yes, but the last parcels I booked through them got returned to me by DHL after I got a call from DHL security telling me some interesting things on this company. If its too good to be true, it usually is. C'est la vie.