Africa to India

[Simon Harby]

We shiiped our bikes (x2) from Mombassa Kenya to Mumbai India. The cost for both bikes was 500USD. We used Africa Container lines in Mombassa and our contact was Capt Choudhury.
The Frieght forwarders in Mombassa were Mitchel Cotts, contact Washinton Owesse. Cost of FFwds 120.00 Stirling.

One advantage with Africa containers is their ship is designed with a drop down ramp so you can drive straight on, and off in Mumbai! The Ukranian crew were great and did a v. proffessional job securing the bikes. The bikes required no packing emgerged unscathed in India.

At the Indian end things got a bit unproffessional. This was due to Indian Customs. On the professional side we used a freight forwarder called Spurgeons and ask for Felix. Felix was superb and very professional. Spurgeons costs were 115.00 stirling.
If a weekend and a "training course" hadnt got in the way then we would have got our bikes through customs in less than five days.

One point is that you need a letter from the Indian AA stating they guarrantee the validity of your carnet. This pleasure costs 10 USD and you must have this before any other document.

Overall I'd rate the experience as a reasonably stress free,with, the aid of a frieght fwder. Frustration was the time delay due to Indian customs and their demand for a bribe (1000 rupees was paid) They asked for much more but we stood our ground.

Finally the ship was named Global Prosperity... its one of only a few with a drop down ramp...

[Simon Harby]

One more thing...

The bikes took 12 days. But....we had to wait for a few days for the ship to arrive in Kenya. But we struggled to kill the time on the Island of Lamu off the NE coast of Kenya...ho hummmm..

One things is that by choosing a container vessel that plies a "regular route" you are less likely to experience the "months of delays" that Grant mentions in the shipping overview.
The ships/companies to avoid are tramp ships who wonder over the seas looking for cargo! And its best to deel with the shipper direct and use the frieght forwarders separately.

[J&R]

Thanks for posting this. I am looking to ship from South Africa to India. However might just nip up to Kenya instead now!

Got to get from South America to South Africa first though!

Good luck with the rest of your trip.

Cheers

Richard

www.eastofthesun.co.uk

[sebch]

Hi Simon, thanks for this valuable info. Would you have any contact details for the company? I'd like to do the opposite trip, with a car, and I'm wondering about the price for that. I think 500 bucks for two bikes is a very good value for the service...
THanks in advance! Cheers! Séb

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Normal cars go to paradise, 2CV's go everywhere!