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Route Planning Where to go, when, what are the interesting places to see
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 2 Nov 2010
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Problem
Ive planned my trip uk to bankok for 2012 but I want to add america to the list now as well.

My route looks like its forcing me to to make it into two trips.

I will be taking a defender via Europe kaz/russia/mongolia/china/laos/thailand and am stuck as I don't want to double back on myself via china as its fairly expensive but I could do it if its the cheapest and fastest option (ie not waiting 9 weeks for a freight ship in alaska or america.

Are there any shipping routes that take car and person from somewhere near Thailand to Alaska or north america? this would be a preferred option as I dont mind the isolation and relative cost of sitting on a ship for a couple weeks winding down and planning for the america section.

if so please forward me the information.

Looks a lot like I wont be making this in one trip but it seems a shame to ship back to the uk from thailand and fly home only to ship to america again.
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  #2  
Old 3 Nov 2010
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From SE Asia to USA/Alaska, and you mean like a ferry-boat?? Generally, most of the long-distance "steamer"-routes are a thing of the past. Flying has become so cheap, that no-one except maybe a few overlanders would use the boat.
　
Also, I seriously doubt you could go along on a cargo ship, unless you know the captain personally, or you´re part of the crew. Not 100% certain of course, and who knows, could be worth asking around, but it is certainly not a common way to travel any more. See how strict the rules are today, when you enter the US as a regular airline passenger, then think about how the immigration officials would like the idea of people just ´sneaking´ into the country aboard cargo ships! I think they´re 100% against it.
　
But you should be able to ship your vehicle from SE Asia to anywhere you like, then go to some paradise beach and relax, and then fly to meet up with the vehicle at the destination. Will probably take about just as much time, whether you´d be aboard that same ship or not. By ship from tropical Asia to the US northwest or Alaska, I´d expect it to take about 4-6 weeks, and also remember that there may be delays, and handling at seaports may not be very quick at either end.
　
There´s also the option to go forward to Malaysia, Indonesia. East Timor & Australia.
　
So you´re not really ´stuck´ there, even though it is a hassle, and sometimes tough work, to ship your vehicle.
Last edited by pecha72; 3 Nov 2010 at 13:35. Reason: typo
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  #3  
Old 3 Nov 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pecha72 View Post
From SE Asia to USA/Alaska, and you mean like a ferry-boat?? Generally, most of the long-distance "steamer"-routes are a thing of the past. Flying has become so cheap, that no-one except maybe a few overlanders would use the boat.
　
Also, I seriously doubt you could go along on a cargo ship, unless you know the captain personally, or you´re part of the crew. Not 100% certain of course, and who knows, could be worth asking around, but it is certainly not a common way to travel any more. See how strict the rules are today, when you enter the US as a regular airline passenger, then think about how the immigration officials would like the idea of people just ´sneaking´ into the country aboard cargo ships! I think they´re 100% against it.
　
But you should be able to ship your vehicle from SE Asia to anywhere you like, then go to some paradise beach and relax, and then fly to meet up with the vehicle at the destination. Will probably take about just as much time, whether you´d be aboard that same ship or not. By ship from tropical Asia to the US northwest or Alaska, I´d expect it to take about 4-6 weeks, and also remember that there may be delays, and handling at seaports may not be very quick at either end.
　
There´s also the option to go forward to Malaysia, Indonesia. East Timor & Australia.
　
So you´re not really ´stuck´ there, even though it is a hassle, and sometimes tough work, to ship your vehicle.
Freight ships accommodate passengers with their items quite a lot, its an uncommon way to travel but is pretty standard even entering the US that way, I was just wondering if there was a known route.

I think it may well be hang out on a beach in america for a couple of weeks being the only answer but will just mean more money to pump into the trip without any kind of gain over a normal holiday.

Thanks for the reply.
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  #4  
Old 4 Nov 2010
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I´m not saying it´s impossible to travel along with the vehicle. But you´ll probably need to find a suitable ship, that has things like cabins for passengers. This may not be an easy task, and maybe you´ll need to be flexible with the route.

A few years ago I searched a long time for transport between India and Thailand. And actually there came up one shipping line, that had a big cargo vessel with a few extra cabins. But for us, it was in fact cheaper to send the bike (and ourselves) across the Bay of Bengal by air! But of course it may be a different story, if you have a car.

If I´d have to wait, I´d wait in Asia rather than the US (a LOT cheaper!)
Good luck, and would be interesting to hear, how it´ll work out for you.
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