From Sydney, Australia to Dubai, UAE - May, 2014

Contacted Paul from talkcargo. He replied to emails the same day every time. I was slow deciding where to start my trip and Paul was great and getting me different quotes for any country I considered. He also offers tips for getting the volume down to save money. Awesome guy to deal with. Can't recommend his services enough.

Dropped the bike off in Sydney and the guys took care of all the packing. Riding gear, panniers and tank bag stayed with the bike. Paul provided the shipping bill and i used this to get the Carnet stamped out by Australian customs. I flew to Jordan for a week and the bike followed ten days later and on time.

Bike arrived to freight gate 5 with dnata cargo. It's on the airport freezone side of the airport. It's also next door to customs and easy going back and forth for paperwork. The shipping company and customs are open 24 hours.

Costs in Australia
AUD 2600 - included a couple of hundred for the dangerous goods certificate which you could do yourself but I didn't have time.

Costs in UAE to clear the bike.
AUD 255
Customs fee AED 110 (AUD 32)
Dnata handling fee AED 211 (AUD 62)
Shipping agent fee AED 250 (AUD 73). - I didn't know for about half a day that I was using an agent. They organised the bill of lading.
Insurance for 14 days with RTA AED 300 (AUD 88) - Best to do prior to going to get the bike. Just need rego papers and there are RTAs in a lot of places around Dubai.