Panama to Colombia by Boat - my experience
 

Hi

While doing a lot of research on this crossing I ran into a lot of dead ends so here is my attempt to tidy up what is out there about what is an option and what isn´t. Other threads for someone looking to research this are. I found a lot of discussion turns to air-shipping so this thread is exclusively about the boats:


http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/trip-transport/panama-2-weeks-any-recent-25881


http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/south-and-central-america-mexico/boat-colombia-to-panama-24270?highlight=COLOMBIA+SHIPPING+PANAMA



We have travelled by boat aboard the Stahlratte a 100ft vessel from Carti Panama to Cartagena. The captain is a German named Ludwig and he is great.

Our options approaching Panama were :
1) Fly. Decided too expensive
2) Pursue options of skippers taking backpackers from Panama City
3) Go to docks at Colon and negotiate with cargo ships.
4) Go to Portobelo and see which skippers were leaving for Colombia


Option that we were not going to do was :
- ferry from Puerto Obaldia to Turbo Colombia. This ferry does apparently exist but accessing Puerto Obaldia needs to be done by motorboat or airplane anyway. The road ends at Miramar and the distance by boat is significant. This CAN be done with determination and patience and a bent towards doing things your own way.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ghlight=darien

In looking for a boat, Lonely Planet advises you there is only one hostel in Panama City. This is incorrect. Next door to Voyager is Mamallena Hostel and on the other side of the block towards the Marriot Hotel is Zuly´s Backpackers. Both looked better options than Voyager for atmosphere. Richard at Zuly´s is German and pretty laid back and gives you details of the ships programs as the captains generally contact the hostels looking for backpackers. He´ll take a small commission of $20 or so if he lines it up but compare that to phone calls to every captain you can find. He may also be able to give advice on the seaworthiness of vessel and quality of captain.
index

Mamallena and Voyager may do a similar service. Also all hostels have noticeboards plastered with boats sailing. Choose carefully. There are several backpackers who made their captain leave them on the San Blas Islands when they realised how cramped conditions were or how poor the boats were sailed.

In our case I wrote down some email addresses and emailed everyone asking if they could carry bikes. We got lucky. Ludwig seems to be the best and he replied within 24 hours - was leaving in 3 days which was a little earlier than we hoped but a good option.
www.stahlratte.org: Logbuch
The website is in german but you can email Ludwig for english. He is currently dry docking the boat for about a month to do some maintenance and then I don´t know if he intends to keep ferrying people.
info(at)stahlratte.org
He was a good captain. We had a party first two days in the islands and then he asked if we could not get too drunk on the open sea. Smooth sailing really, just a small swell.
We paid $450 all up. Our agent Manfred Manfred.AL@gmx.net in Colombia charged $20 each bike and it took a whole day to clear customs. He is on a pretty leisurely timeframe but then I had a cold (in the Caribbean) so wasn´t quite with it either.
For us it was a good deal because we saved the money and time of looking for a cheaper option. We just turned up, got lucky and instead of spending a week at $30-40 day got to put that into a sailing experience.
It was interesting getting to the boat down a dirt road. While no problem on KLRs in the dry (or a BMW...maybe) it rained all night and would have been impassable in the morning.
Our personal experience is here
Photos


I would not recommend the option in Portobelo - this was suggested on Lonely Planet forum but the marina is generally smaller vessels good for backpackers, probably not for bikes (warning, second hand info there).

The docks at Colon were where I was headed to negotiate a passage. I was told to go to the Captain of the port and ask who was going where and that he would be able to advise which ships were reputable. Colon is by all accounts a nasty place. We could have gotten a cheaper passage but one in the hand is worth a $200 passage in the tree.

Travellers going from Cartagena to Panama could try a hostel Casa Viena by email to get an idea of who is leaving from there Cartagena - Colombia -hostel- hotel- hostal - backpacker - rooms - internetcafe
Casa Viena isn´t moto friendly but all the cheap hotels are around it and they are.



So, I hope that makes sense and helps the next guys. If anyone wants to correct anything or add their own experiences, please do so.

You put a lot of time into this. Very much appreciated.
This type of info from real travelers is what helps make HU a great site.

[QUOTE=The Big J;133182]Hi

I would not recommend the option in Portobelo - this was suggested on Lonely Planet forum but the marina is generally smaller vessels good for backpackers, probably not for bikes (warning, second hand info there).
]

Hello. Great photo's, a muddy experience indeed. I would just like to add, after looking at your photo's, loading the bikes in Portobelo is a much easier task than what you went through. It costs $10 per bike, and the guy's loading have done it many times before. You drive onto the dock and roll the bike into the boat. The bike is then winched into the sailboat with the capstan. It was all very slick! You can see some photo's here:
http://web.mac.com/adventman/iWeb/Si...%20bikes..html

Very, very helpful. I saved your thread and we will be following it in 2-3 weeks.

Thanks,
Ted

You mean the ferry docks in a port that isn't accessible by road? A car ferry? Weird.

I think it´s a passenger ferry not a car ferry. I was told about it by Colombians but have no hard examples apart from stories of people mentioning they used it like the dutch guys who got a boat around parts of the gap.

I don´t actually know what state the ferry is in, might just be the motorboats they use in San Blas. If you look at a map you´ll see how isolated Puerto Obaldia is. I think it´s just a customs post for sea traffic.


And as per loading the bikes, yes if you are leaving Colon or Portobelo would work easier. The Stahlratte was in Carti and they ferried backpackers out by 4WD to the site rather than coming around to Portobelo.
I forgot to add we could have driven to Miramar and caught a motorboat to Porvenir for $50 but would have missed their days in the San Blas Islands.

Good Job
 

This was a very accurate post. A great resource to fellow travellers.

I am headed North from Ushuaia. On my downward leg from Miami I got on a boat with the Dred Captain Leonardo. We (1150 GSA, 650 XR) knew he was shit but the timing (Christmas) and the price was right ($400). I will be looking forward to Stahl Ratte if the timing works. Ludwig seemed hopeful when I spoke to him on the phone.

I would add that the Port Captain in Colon does not care what kind of vessel he puts you on. After literally hours of negotiating a price we caught wind that the vessel we were talking to was a smuggling boat that would not take us to mainland Colombia, just to Isla Fuerte.

Anyway great post. I agree with all of it, thanks again. Now I don`t have to write it!

My experience of The Melody
 

We just shipped a GS1150 and a KLR650 with the Melody from Cartagena to Portobello, Panama at a cost of $550 each.

I`ve done a little write up of it on my blog page if anyone is interested.

This is such perfect timing, thank you!!!! I plan to cross mid-May, problem is I have two dogs and will probably be searching for the crossing with the least amount of days on the water. Does anyone have any rough time estimates? And no, I don't want to fly.
Lorraine

the crossing itself is about 18 hours but some time in Cartegena waiting to clear customs. Can make for a long afternoon baking in the sun!

the San Blas Islands can be missed by arrangement with the captain to meet up in Porvenir as described above.

Seas can give a good swell so make sure your dogs have their sea legs!

Shipping from Colon
 

I paid $250 for self and Honda 125 from Colon to Cartagena on what turned out to be a smuggler boat. A biker from Oregon (Ming) was on the same boat. Port officials at Colon tried to rip us off. Colon is seriously dangerous. Ming has a knife held to his throat. If you do go to Colon, The Harbor Inn out in what was the Canal Zone is good and safe: big room with bath a/c, for $16-$18. The voyage was interesting/unpleasent. We were dumped into a launch in the middle of the night and landed on a beach 28 Ks from the nearest police post (faced with our illegal entry, police attitude was PLEASE GO AWaY!) - followed by an eight hour ride to Cartagena where Immigration and Customs were great.
I head back from Ushuaia (where I left my bike) in early June, destination Duchess County, NY. Maybe I will try the series of launches route. A small Honda is easy to load and transport. For the southern leg of the journey from Mexico to Tierra del Fuego see the Blog at simongandolfi.com

Thanks for the info
It is much needed :thumbup1:

Seadogs ahoy
 

Great Post everyone, much info gained.

Has anyone tried to get from Panama to Ecuador by boat? ie miss out Columbia altogether.

18 hours on water both myself and the dogs can do-no matter that after 13 months living by the ocean in Costa Rica they still can't stand the stuff. :-( Very helpful tips from all, thanks. And alas, the smuggler route seems a bit too involved with two dogs. Next time.
Lorraine

So I just went to Mamallena's today, the cheerful Aussie guy who runs it knows a bit about the boats and everything. Basically, he, the Voyager folks, and Zuly's work together to get boats filled up. They know the same boats and everything.

However, he implied that only a few bikes have ever gone via boat. He said the Harley shop on Brazil has information about shipping (via container), then the people taking a boat or plane.

So we went over to Zuly's, since we have been following this thread. The guy over there had more confidence in what was happening with the boats, where they were currently, and who would likely take a motorbike.

Basically, we are in a holding pattern till the next boat gets back into port. It sounds like the current boat is full. Not sure how it'll work out, but we were disappointed because we thought it was a little more straightforward.

Basically, we are in a holding pattern till the next boat gets back into port. It sounds like the current boat is full. Not sure how it'll work out, but we were disappointed because we thought it was a little more straightforward.[/QUOTE]

Lol! Straightforward it is NOT! I think the idea of this post was to give you all the information that the people who HAVE done this managed to gather. Whether you can get this info to work is up to you and more importantly how lucky of a person you are.

125' S/V Stahl Ratte is still in the boatyard, I believe in Colombia. I was talking to them to try and jimmie a ride back from Cartegena to Portobello just one week ago. Have you contacted them?

I am going to fly back to Panama from Quito. I am rapidly running out of time and money.

Captain Mark on '41 S/V Melody would be the next option. Maybe that is the boat that is booked already.

Also thier is a racist, drunk German agent in Cartegena that might be able to line something up for you.

I can dig up contact info if you need it.

Stay out of Colon. Portobello is where most of these boats leave from. Colon sucks.

Is it crazy hot in Panama City right now? I took us ten days and five trips to Colon to get this info and eventually a ride. Good luck.

PC is alternating between hot and wet/hot. I tried sending an email to Stahlratte, haven't heard back. I think his mail server is rejecting mail.

I'll figure out what the next boat(s) is/are and post back here.

I called Stahlrattes office in Berlin. The guy who answered the phone spoke English and could answer my questions. You might try giving them a call with Skype. It sounds like they have no idea when the boat will be out of the yard.

I think Mark on Melody is freshaircharters@yahoo.com

This is the German Agent in Cartegena
Manfred Alwardt
manfred.al@gmx.net
hansapro@hotmail.com

he might have a new lead!

Do you want the Portmaster of Colons info? He is a touch shady though and has no problems with putting you on a smuggling boat.

Speculation...
 

Maybe try the Marina on the pacific side of the canal - try for passage to Buenaventura? Have never heard of someone doing this. You are not obliged to go through hostels, they just have contact with a few captains for Cartagena. Keep your eyes open about sobriety of captain/general seaworthiness of boat.

If you do this, don´t stay in Buenaventura. My favourite quote of Colombia from Mr Tim of Salento is, ´Buenaventura gives other shipping ports a bad name!´

Good luck

be wary of The Melody's timescales...
 

Just a wee word of warning to say that Mark of the Melody kept us waiting for about 3 weeks in Cartagena. He told us to be there for the 15th March so we were there a few days earlier. Once there, I somehow managed to get his mobile no (507 666 99359) and then found out that he was still in the San Blas and were presented with a few other `moving` dates. I told Mark that we still wanted to use his boat but to be honest, I`d have taken the first suitable tub that came along.

Mark Melody eventually did turn up in Cartagena on the 30th March, but despite promises of a quick 2 day turn around if there were 2 other people (which there already were), it was the 4th April when we left with 9 people on board a boat that only sleeps 6!. Also around midnight, the Captain will anounce that he`s not so good between about 1 and 6 am so goes off to bed leaving, thats right, you guesed it, YOU the paying customer (remember that you have paid twice what the backpackers pay to ship your bike) to sail his boat through the night because he doesn`t pay for a crew member to do it. As we`d been very patient customers, he also anounced to everyone that we were going to be given an extra day to visit a Kuna village on the San Blas islands which turned out to be a farce as he was going to church in the village anyway.

Manfred the (insert your own expletive) didn`t really come up with anything substantial either despite having to meet him on more occasions than I care to remember. Honestly, some of the shockers that we were presented with, generally dangerously overloaded dirty old supply ships with no real accommodation and who`s captains couldn`t actually tell us when or where we would be dropped off and how.

However, although Mark`s timescales may be less than helpful, the food was actually pretty decent and he did get us and the bikes over to Panama in one piece. Just listen to the stories about some of the numerous other charter boats which do this run that have either sunk, nearly sunk or ended in mutiny- I`m not kidding!

I know some people have had good experiences with these boats and I`ve heard that the German owned Steel Rat is probably the best one to go on (unfortunatelly it wasn`t available when we were there) but next time I think I`d probably fly.

crossing
 

I've nothing to add ,other than to say I think you did it right. In my dreams to cross from one contenient to another by sailing vessal is the ultimate. I mean think about it , have you ever arrived by air to anywhere and felt satisfied?
Carry on.

trying to organize...
 

Just got to Panama City today. Hot, cool, windy, wet, sunny at different times. I love variety! I'm wanting to get to Cartagena with my two dogs, and am wondering if I can be the PC person, and someone else can scout rides from Portobello? There's suddenly so much on this thread, there's got to be some way of working together on this... It also seems this is really a case of being at the right place at the right time etc. etc. Who is actually out there trying to get to Colombia now???
Lorraine

Another option
 

I´m heading south. Currently in Bogotá.

In panama I met up with an Argentinian who is driving his Jeep Grand Cherokee from New York to Buenos Aires.
So in order to reduce costs we paired up........

I completely stripped my bike and put it in the back of the Jeep.
The Jeep was then snuggly fitted into a 20ft container in Colon and sent off to Cartagena.

In total the cost of the container was US$1300 (including the paperwork).
and by putting my bike in the back I avoided the landing fee.
I worked out at the marinas in panama for a couple of weeks, as a mechanic, which helped to fund my part of the container deal.
I know there a ways a lot cheeper to get a bike across to Cartagena but after working on some of those boats that take backpackers around the San Blas islands, those people are either running away from something or have a serious alcohol problem. Bloody sailors.

Anyhow after spending 9 hours at the Cartagena port we reclaimed our vehicles. This involves running back and forth between the port authority, customs and immigration.

I rebuilt my bike in the car park behind the Cartagena Convention Centre, where I met the Colombian Tourist minister. He gave me free Colombia t-shirts.

Not too informative I know but I had a good time. Just get down there and figure it out.

With that new idea, if there's anyone out there who'd like to put their bike in my van, which would probably only entail taking the front wheel off, I'm open to discussion for a small fee.
Lorraine

sailboats
 

It seems sailboats are now leaving Panama every few days now that the storm season has passed. Zuly's has the info.
Lorraine

Whatever you do, don't go with Captain Steve on the Shenanigans. Zuly's and Mamallena will know about it soon, they already didn't trust him, but our trip will be the last time they recommend him.

There are a lot of sketchy boats. Just FYI.

It seems going to the marina in Colon is a decent option, actually. A friend of ours (notthemotorcyclediaries.com) just went on a really tricked-out 43 footer, arrived the same day as us. It's all the same price, though (250-275 per person, 350-400 per bike).

-ted

i´m leaving to venezuela tomorrow from manaus and hope to cross the border on monday. i´m planning to ride through venesuela and not stop to do the touristy stuff. i think i should be in cartagena in 10 days or so. i contacted Ludewig and he is off to panama on the 14th which i can´t make. what is the next best option?

hi salvador! we are quite sure to leave on 14th but it may happen that we have to
wait one or two days but not more because we dont find enough people to sail.
the best guy for customs is
Manfred ALWARDT
Mobil1: ++57 -311-400-6394
Mobil2: ++57 -301-222-1255
Home: ++57-5 -666-3230
E-mail: Manfred.Al at gmx.net

he is my shipping agent and he has all knowledge about custom procedures.
we have no problem to take one or several motorbikes save and well stowed on our
deck. we charge 300 us per person and 250 for a bike.
the next possible cruise from cartagena to panama could be about the 10th to 12th
of july. good luck and a good trip! ludwig

The Melody (Marco) should leave for Panama on about the 19th, and another boat with Guido as the captain a few days after that. Then on the 23rd or so, a couple who have a dog will be going. I've heard it's best to go with these three boats and skip the others as they're crowded, and try and cram as many backpackers on board as they can, and don't always have enough life vests etc.

I've had some complications, so am delayed!!!! Hoping to leave for Cartagena in the next 1 1/2 weeks....
Lorraine

Clearing customs Panama-Colombia
 

We are in Costa rica now and are heading to Panama this week. The info here is great, but does anyone have specific info on where and when to clear the bike out of panama customs before putting it on a boat to cartagena?

Then where and when do you clear Colombian customs?

Is Manfred in Cartagena the only customs agent/broker?

Cheers

As far as clearing customs in Panama..... Isaac and I didn´t clear out at all. I am not suggesting this by any means, we were just caught during the holidays, our boat was leaving and the immigration and aduana offices were closed. Our fingers were crossed and Manfred sorted it out in Cartegna for no extra charge.

Manfred took care of us in Cartgena for $20 USD for us and the bikes. He is not entirely pleasant to deal with but who cares, the Colombian import fiasco in Cartegena is not easy and you will need help.

Cameron, no worries about checking in to Colombia. Make sure your captain checks you *and the bike* out of Panama, very likely he'll do so in El Porvenir. He'll radio ahead or wait till you get to the harbor in Cartagena- there are two agents (we used the 'other guy' than Manfred, but can't think of his name). We got in late, it was until midday the following day before the bike was cleared. No matter.

Make sure you DO NOT take Shenanigans. It was hell.

Thanks guys, any additional info is appreciated.
Cheers

hi guys
 

i recently got a boat from colon to cartagena and all i did was turn up at panama canal yacht club and wait ,i camped out on the canal land over the other side of canal and a few nights at the shelter bay marina as well ,they did not mind if you bought there food and drink from them ,i paid $600 for me and bike and included food and beer ,the boat was Sacanagem with skipper frederico ,awesome boat, he only does panama to cartageana for backpackers, as he does charters for rich colombians to the san blas and they fly home from there ,and he nips across to colon to make some money to get back to colombia ,his boat is the best i saw by far ,i checked my bike out at the customs office just near the yacht club ,they did not ask for any papers to verify this when i was in cartagena ,i went down to the docks and found the right office and with little fuss ,a few fotocopies and i was set .
not sure what the go is with these vests you are meant to wear here though

Nice one dude! I am glad it was easy for you.

I rode through Colombia twice with no vest. I´m sure other people have thier own opinion on this but I say...... don´t bother. I was pulled over a few times, no tickets just conversations. None of the conversations involved a vest either.

Keep an eye out when you leave Cartegena towards Medellin (if you go that route). Once outside of Cartegena there might be some check points for mandatory insurance. Nowhere else in Colombia was I asked for it. We managed to talk our way out of it because we really had no idea that you needed, but I have heard tale of foreign bikes being impounded by these guys on the side of the road. When in doubt ask a cop on the street about Seguro Obligatorio, when you are not on a bike. As a matter of fact I would ask a couple of them in Cartegena before you leave town.

Just my two cents.

Good luck Brother!

no ferry to turbo
 

Hi, just my 5 cents. I crossed a few months ago from Puerto Obaldia (Panama) to Capurgana (Colombia) - Turbo. There is no ferry from Obaldia to Turbo. More details on From USA to Venezuela , solo motorcycle trip Cheers