IKEA Alfafar: how to get your furniture home and assembled
There are three ways to get furniture home from IKEA Alfafar: your own car (free, but only for small boxes), IKEA home delivery (convenient, with a price and lead time that depend on the order — check the current rate with IKEA) or a van with driver, approximately from €110 for the 2-hour minimum, which for most orders is enough to load, drive into Valencia and unload. If you want the driver or an extra mover to carry the boxes up, loading is €20/h, and assembly can be added to the same job.
Below you will find the three options side by side, how to tell whether your order fits in a car, a plan to get it all done in 2 hours, and which pieces are worth building yourself and which are not.
Car, IKEA delivery or van: comparison
IKEA Valencia is in Alfafar, just south of the city by the V-31: without traffic, 15–25 minutes to most neighbourhoods. That short distance is exactly why an hourly van tends to pay off.
| Option | Price | Best for | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own car | Fuel and your time | Lamps, textiles, chairs, bedside tables | Long (over 2 m) or heavy boxes will not fit |
| IKEA home delivery | Check the current rate with IKEA | Large orders with no rush | Date and slot subject to availability |
| Van with driver | Approximately €110 (2 h minimum) | Same day, several stops, second-hand pick-ups on the way | Without a mover, you load it |
| Van + 1 mover (the driver) | Approximately €130 (2 h) | A full bedroom or living room, walk-up flat | — |
| Van + 2 movers (one is the driver) | Approximately €170 (2 h) | Sofas, kitchens, very heavy orders | — |
The van figures follow the usual formula: €55/h for the van × hours + €20 for each hour the driver loads and unloads + €20/h × hours for each extra mover, 2-hour minimum; with a lift, carrying to your floor is included, and without one it goes into the quote. These are guide prices: we confirm the final figure before starting. If you are torn between hiring a van and driving it yourself or booking one with a driver, the comparison is in our guide to van hire with or without a driver.
How to work out the volume of your order
The classic mistake is looking at the assembled furniture. What actually travels is flat-pack boxes, and they are longer and heavier than you think:
- Check the package dimensions, not the product size. Every IKEA product page lists the number of packages with their dimensions and weight. Note the three longest: they decide whether it fits in your car.
- Wardrobes and tall shelving units come in boxes of around 2 metres or more. In an ordinary car, even with the seats folded, they almost never fit with the boot closed.
- Weight matters as much as size. Some wardrobe, chest-of-drawers or worktop boxes weigh over 40 kg. Carrying them up to a fourth floor with no lift is a two-person job.
- Rule of thumb. If the order has more than 6–8 large boxes, or a single box longer than 2 metres, the car is out. The flat-pack contents of a whole bedroom — bed, two bedside tables, wardrobe and chest of drawers — fit comfortably in a large van.
A plan to fit it all into 2 hours
With a van, the clock runs from the start of the job, so the key is not to keep the driver waiting at the store.
- Buy before you book the van. Pay online or in store and, if possible, have the order ready at the collection point. Queuing at the tills while the van is on the clock is money down the drain.
- Agree a fixed time at the loading area. Send us the list of boxes and the pick-up time. Check every item is there before loading: going back for a forgotten box costs another hour.
- Load in reverse order. First what you will build last (chest of drawers, shelving), then what you will build first (bed, wardrobe). That way the urgent pieces come off first.
- Prepare the arrival. A parking spot near the door, the lift booked if your building is strict about it, and a clear room to stack the boxes.
- Unload straight into each room. If a mover puts each box where it will be assembled, you avoid dragging 40 kg of cardboard down the hallway twice.
A typical time split: 20–30 minutes loading, 20–30 minutes driving into Valencia and 30–45 minutes unloading with one mover. If there is another stop on the way — picking up a second-hand sofa or dropping something at a relative’s — mention it when you ask for a quote: one trip costs far less than two.
What to build yourself and what to hand over
You do not need to pay for assembling everything. A sensible split:
| Build it yourself | Better with a fitter |
|---|---|
| Bedside tables, chairs, stools | Tall wardrobes with hinged or sliding doors |
| Small and medium shelving units | Ottoman beds or beds with drawers |
| Dining tables and simple desks | Kitchens and worktops (they need fitting and installation) |
| Low chests of drawers | Anything fixed to the wall: top cabinets, tall shelving |
| Shelves, organisers, floor lamps | Several large pieces in one go |
Two safety points not to skip: tall furniture must be fixed to the wall with the anti-tip kit supplied in the box, and plasterboard (pladur) or hollow brick walls need the right wall plugs. If you have no drill or are not sure what is behind the wall, that is exactly the kind of job worth handing over.
Furniture assembly is quoted according to the pieces in your order: the fitter confirms the price before starting, with your order list in hand.
Getting it all done in one booking
If you would rather not think about it, through our IKEA delivery and assembly service the team collects in Alfafar, carries everything up to your flat and, if you ask, leaves it assembled. If you already have someone to build it and only need the transport, a van with driver is enough; and if you have a van but are short of hands, you can book loaders on their own: movers only, no van, are priced by quote, from photos of what needs moving.
And if you are furnishing because you have just moved in, do not forget the paperwork: our guide to the empadronamiento in Valencia walks you through the appointment and documents step by step. Send us your order list, address and floor on WhatsApp or through the form on the site, and we will get you the quote.
