Sharing a container from panama to Colombia
 

Hey we are two bikers currently in panama.
Apparently it's not possible to take bikes on those sailing cruise boats. Just got a message from a company telling us that new rules apply which forbids to get bikes on a sailing boat into Colombia. Anyhow we still researching and trying to get more informations.

Meantime we also looking into regular shipping via a container.
So if anybody is in panama looking how to get bikes or a car to Colombia we might could share a container to reduce the cost.

Please contact me if you are interested.

We looking into shipping the bikes by mid or end of this month. But we are flexible.

Cheers
Ingo

Tried the 'stahlratte'?

Next ride of the stahlratte is in two month. I wanna go over to Colombia before that.

Ah thats a shame. Good luck with your search!

Yes, I just discovered the ferry stopped in April and won't start again until November !

Now I'm looking for an option going in the opposite direction.

I understand it's possible to do the crossing with a non-commercial ship, but I'm not sure about the rules.

I'm interested to know what you learn. :)

Hey look into the stahlratte. It's s cruise sailing ship who takes bikes. Seems to be the only one who still does it.

Alternative Google for the company girag. They do air shipping. A friend just did it today. They should have an office in Colombia.

Yes, I contacted stahlratte, I don't think I can stretch my visa/permit for the next sailing, but I'm going to try.

Otherwise they gave me contact details for a logistics agent doing containers.

I wonder what the air shipping costs are like. I'll check it out.

I didn't notice this before, but there is a RoRo operating a few dates:

Price is very high for a moto at $750USD

but on further searching from the same website I found conflicting pricing $459USD:

thanks dude- i will look into this. everything i found so far is aboiut 750 to 900 USD to ship the bike via boat or air. the air shipping is the easiest and works well.

container sharing will maybe get the price down. depends. i made a couple of bad experience with sea shipping as they sometimes do not tell you the local port charges at port of arrival. they can be nothing or a couple of hundret bucks (in jakarta it was 600 USD) so then it bcomes quite expensive. so take care to find out all fees before you ship the bike

I have since got more info on container sharing, there's a bunch of people trying to get from Panama to Colombia contact the agent who is gathering overlanders teakalmbach[at]hotmail.com

I know there is at least one group of 4 bikes looking to share.

The container sharing comes cheaper and sums up to about 600$ but considering your won flight and taxt from airport to seaport etc you probably end up at 800-900 dollar and hassle at the ports.

Where the ferry coast $1000 but its more hassle free as you just ride on and off. And as they sorted out from there mistakes years ago it seems to me a good option. i really think to do it with the ferry

I thought sharing with 4 others shoud bring the price down lower than that.

You can then take a sailing boat instead of a flight for $500 (each) but a lot more fun than the flight.

But yes, all in all the ferry could be the least hassle for sure. However, I contacted the owner (Fritz) with all my info, asking for price and availablity. He responded with "Great, we will keep you updated,"

I asked again for avilability and a price, but heard nothing back 8 days ago.

I've heard some others say that the ferry may not travel.

Unfortunately there are quite a lot of bad reviews about Fritz and his time as captain of a catamaran, but I'm not going to speculate here.

I do have regualr email contact with Fritz, may because i can write in german with him.

As well i am aware of the bad reviews from about 2 years ago. But situation changed. They do not go to cartagena rather to a smaller port 160km from cartagena where the port administrator is happy to do business with the ferry so the problem of being refused to land in colombia is sorted.

Prices are the one on theior current website - the one page you found is an old one from 2 years ago with old prices so that just still indicated in gioogle i think. but if you go to the homepage and then to prices thats what it costs now. not cheap but still better then flying i think


Container: i thought the same. but i got a quote sharing with two cars a 40ft container and it would be 375$ + 65$ for port fees + 160$ fees at destination port colombia + my flight from panama to bogota to cartagena which comes to another 300$+ - so at the end the same price :(

Good luck then.

when are you coming from colombia to panama? i have some good road maps for costa rica, panama, the rest and mexico i could give to you.

Hey that's nice of you.

Well I too was thinking of taking the ferry, which would be when you arrive. However I've not heard back from Fritz about availability, so I'm still looking for other options between 16th June and 31st July.

dont worrie. it will work out. i asked fritz about reservation etc he said no need. they have space for 30 cars and 50 motorbikes- this wont be full like ferry express which was also not full at all -

so availability is there. i will just see if it leaves on the 15th. if i am on it. if not i ship it somehow else.

stay in touch. if we meet i give you my maps.

cheers
ingo

Fritz did get back to me in the end, but was uncertain about his departure date.

I had already given up on that transport, so managed to find a way to stay in Colombia until the stahlratte leaves on 31st July, though of course that date might run aground too, since I read on the captains log they have major engine trouble. Fingers crossed.

I'll be renting an apartment in Barranquilla when you arrive, so if you pass my way we can meetup, maybe I'll have a spare room if you need.

Its part of the adventure :) i should leave on wednesday. will contact you when i am in colombia. lets catch up for a drink. wish me luck that the transport will be smooth.

cheers

do you wanna pm me your facebook or so - so we can connect there?

Hey, good luck man, and report back as I'm sure others will be interested to know how it went.

My plans changed a bit, I'm not going to be around Riohacha in about 1 week, then onto Santa Marta/Barranquilla beginning of July.

So San blas ferry has some troubles that's why they didn't leave yet. I got email telling me it will be next day and then the next day and so on. So I decided spontaneous to go on a sailboat with two other bikers. We did the San blas cruse which was really nice but also bumpy. Rough sea. I am in Cartagena now. For some more days. Not sure where to go after.

Yes, I thought it would not be reliable with him.

Well done for finding a boat that would take you !

Panama to Colombia
 

Hey I am looking to do the cross into Colombia in January and had a few questions.
Where did you go to find the information about the sail boat you eventually took? A particular port in Colon or in Panama City?
Do you have any other sources where I can find other options?
Did you spend most of your time in Colon while asking questions or Panama city?
As your know, any information helps and I hope your trip is going well!
Thanks,
Ryan

I was travelling from Colombia to Panama, opposite direction.

You can find out about that ship here:
I think you may have just missed them going back to Cartagena, but make contact as you never know.

Sorry, we do no Panama <-> Colombia trips till June 2016.
Stahlratte will be on a trip to Jamaica, Cuba and Mexico during that time.

I haven't heard of any other sailboats transporting bikes lately and we don't recommend other boats anymore since we have no information about how they are maintained...

You can try here:
http://www.mamallena.com/sailboats-to-cartagena.html
http://hostelwunderbar.com/sailing/
But I can't tell you which one is still transporting bikes...
Check the internet for the latest reviews about the boat you picked because there are some bad ones out there...

The next problem is that most sailboats and catamarans are not allowed to transport bikes because they are not build to carry heavy deckloads. But some try to do it anyway once in a while. That can be dangerous and cause trouble with the authorities because sometimes the sea between Panama and Colombia can be quite "bumpy"...

I hear some people took small local cargo boats from Turbo (Colombia) via Capurgana and Puerto Obalida to Carti (Panama). But I think they just take your bike and you have to travel seperately. And it takes about a week. Maybe that works the other way too.

Then there are the fright options by air (check GIRAG) and sharing a container on a big cargo ship. But I have no detailed information about that.
Last thing I heard is that flying the bike is preferable. Costs and customs for the container share seem to be unpredictable and kind of nightmarish. But all that is only hearesay!
There should be some people on here that really took those options and can give you better info.

I can't vouch for quality, safety or reliability of any of those options!

I hope you find a safe way to cross the gap that fits your need.
Sorry that we can't take you but the crew needs some change/break once in a while too;)
Have a great trip and good luck,
Stefan.

Is anyone around Panama at the moment?
 

Hi guys,

thanks for all the info.
We're currently in Panama City. We've been looking at different options to cross to Columbia. There is a boat option it seems but that would not be before end of Jan that is a bit late for us.
We are looking at airfreight and possibly container sharing.
If anyone has used one recently, would be great to get some info.
If anyone would consider sharing a container, let me know.
It would be good to cross as early as possible. But we might as well still be here in few weeks…lol

So cheers for now and I guess some best wishes are in order…
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016 every one! May it be a year rich in travels and adventure! bier

cheers
sophie

We are in Antigua, Guatemala in language school until at least the end of January. Then, we'll be heading toward Panama. I'm sure we're too late to coordinate a container with you but, I would really appreciate learning from you. You can PM me here.
Muchas gracias!
Jalene

Just got my bike out of the container yesterday. Dealt with Tea from Seabord Marine and she got 6 bikes into container shares with 6 cars. Each container 2 cars, 2 bikes. Cost was $325 per bike plus total poert costs on both ends of $130. Flights and busses ranged from $150-200 with a car couple doing the San Blas thing.
http://advrider.com/index.php?attach...30-jpg.439167/

End January/February
 

I will be in Panama at the end January. Anybody in for sharing a container?

How is Seabord working for you VicMitch?

I don't know how quick you are, but maybe we can share a container if I am still stuck in Panama. Let's stay in contact!

Is anybody organizing a shipment for the middle of February? I am traveling via a motorcycle.

Thanks
John