Any experience with the Stahratte from Panama to Cartagena?
 

I see that there is a voyage on the Stahlratte from Panama to Cartagena on about the date that I want, but am concerned about getting to the boat. I live in Panama and know that the road to San Blas (where they leave from) is often an impassable mud bog. I have friends who are very good dirt-bikers who have had to turn back. Also, the boat's web site says that they take passengers the last part of the way by canoe. Not sure how that would work for a KLR50.
Anyone have any direct experience with this? Is it doable? Thanks.

I would like to know also ! thanks

That boat is supposed to be one of the better ones. It would probably leave from Portobello though? We used The Melody which is only 44ft and we had a 1150GS and a KLR650 on it so the German boat will have no problems carrying yours.

Hi MikeS,
I am also looking for shipment possibilities between Panam and Colombia. I know about Sthratte and the people's opinion about it. What is your impression from "The Melody"? Would you reccommend it? How much did you pay? We will be riding two Hondas Africa Twins, so not the smallest bikes... Do you have any contact to "The Melody"?

Thanks for your help in advance. These information are very useful :thumbup1:. Cheers and good luck on the road.
Aleksandra

Mike, unfortunately the boat doesn't leave from Portobello. That wouldn't be a problem. It leaves from Carti, then (according to their web site) you travel the last few miles by canoe. The problem isn't the boat... it's getting to it.

Go to Miramar, that's not a problem in any season. Talk to the locals and hire a lancha which will take you to Carti and load the bikes directly onto the boat where it is moored. KLR no problem.

Someone here recently did the boat trip from Miramar to Carti very cheaply on a small cargo boat. It took something like 6 hours.

Voyage on the Stahlratte is well worth the adventure getting to it. Go for it!

no problem getting the bike on and off the Stahlratte. I was a little nervous but it went without a hitch. (dl650 and an africa twin). Have a few photos on my blog to get you worried..
Rather than take the ´canoe´ we transfered to a cargo boat which took us to Miramar (6hrs).
GReat experience.

loading those bikes looked pretty risky... :eek3:

Where is Miramar?
 

I live in Panama, but am not familiar with Miramar. Where is it? The only Miramar I can find on the map is at the western end of the country (240 miles), obviously more than a 6 hour boat ride unless you're on a race boat.

Hey neighbour,

Where the big "A" is:

Google Maps

Wow! I didn't even know the road went that far.

The Melody
 

ya-honza/The Boat trip to Panama - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

These are my pics. I did actually do a fairly long shipping report on here but due to some technical glitch, it never appeared.

I cost $275 per person and $275 per bike. We shipped a BMW 1150GS and a KLR650. Getting the bikes on at Cartagena was no problem but getting them off at Portobello was a bit of a nightmare. The other thing was that we were given a date to show up in Cartagena by the captain but he didn't turn up for nearly 3 weeks!

I wrote more about it in my blog at the time:
Argentina-Alaska: April 2007

I did have Marks mobile no but not anymore.

Hi guys.Last year after doing a little research on this website I found that from pier 3 in Colon you could get a cheaper option to take you and your bike to Colombia.
I was very lucky and I got there in the afternoon,by night we were cruising to Colombia.
The boat charge me 350 dollars.It is a wooden boat that takes all kind of "goods"to Colombia.
They don't go all the way to Cartagena but they will drop you about 4 hours from there.
If you want more details you can send me a mail.tati71ar@yahoo.com

Careful where they unload them.
 

I took the Stahratte from Panama to Cartagena in October 2009 and had a great time until they unloaded our bikes and had them all impounded by COlumbian customs. You can read more about it here but basically make sure they unload your bikesin the correct part of the port in Cartagena.

Welcome to Columbia. We’ll take your bike please! (Cartagena) | Travels on a Motorbike

Hope you have a good one.

Ollie

Greasy Sprocket