Panama to Columbia

[Campbell NZ]

Hi guys ,we have our GSA 1200 stuck in a warehouse in Panama for the last 3 years , we intend to continue our journey to Columbia and south in May of this year , could any one please give us some advice on the best way to send the bike and us to Columbia, Regards Kiwi’s touring 2up

[Sjoerd Bakker]

I have never done it but have investigated in person in Panama and from collected stories from internet .

Fastest method is airfreight to COLOMBIA ( with an O ) from Tocumen International Airport at the east of Panama City.
You will likely need to spend some time in a hotel and there are suitable hotels in the town on the main highway quite near the airport . However it will be fairly rapid to clear it through customs procedures and get it on a plane .

Second choice would be to contact an ocean shipping service in hopes that you may add the bike to a partially loaded container , or find overlanders who are shipping their big vehicle in a container to which your bike may be added, for a share in the cost of the container . This may entail considerable time spent waiting to find a suitable container . Cost of moving the bike may work out less than airfreight , but you still need to fly and the wasted time at hotels in either country also costs , so the real costs may work in favour of air .

Third choice would be finding some private vessel which is large enough and capable of transporting a bike and the riders .
Least attractive among these are the tiny sailing boat and motor boat owners who hire out for inividual cases and which trips can be very risky due to piracy among some of the Caribbean islands . See last years episodes of Itchy Boots for a canoe voyage with a motorcycle from Colombia to Panama.

Caveat emptor

[Flipflop]

We used Overland Embassy (6 weeks ago).
Very easy and smooth - we went to his warehouse, in Panama, on the Monday and drove straight to the airport to drop the bikes off. We flew to Bogota on Tuesday and we picked up the bikes on Wednesday.

It’s probably not always like that but it was for us.

We paid for the full package of help in Bogota - well worth it imo.

[markharf]

My information is dated, but…I showed up at the airport (freight side, opposite the passenger area) without any appointment or advance calling, and spent 2 hours making arrangements. My bike shipped the following day; I bought a ticket on the spot and flew to Bogota to meet it there. Took me a couple of hours to get it out of customs in Bogota, and off I rode.

I’m not sure what an agent, whether Panamanian or Colombian, could have done to make things happen more smoothly, but maybe there’s something. I did have to insist on clearing my Panama TIP against advice from the shipping airline AND the aduana themselves. This took a half-hour, and was proven worthwhile when I returned with the bike 6 or 8 months later.

I can’t speak to other options. I took the Stahlratte heading north, but that’s ancient history.

Mark

[mojos]

Hi.
We have just crossed the other way a few days ago. We used Cargo Riders from Bogata to Panama city. It was a bit pricy but they were quick and super efficient. Plus at both ends the process was painless for us. I have also heard that Overland Embassy are also good and the costs are on a par with Cargo Riders.
The other options to cross are a bit sketchy since the steelrat used to do the sea run a while back.

[Kerschbaumer]

Dunno how much help this will be. We rode to SA in 2017-18 (and took Stahlratte down) and at one point made friends with Argentinian rider while in Ushuaia. We stayed in touch after we returned home and at one point he reached out to ask if his friend from Buenos Aires could crash with us on his trip north, which he did.
What he did was go to whatever town at the end of the road in Colombia where many boats travel too and from Panama. He patiently sat for a week in port and watched who was who and eventually settled on a captain he felt was not a bandit. Cant remember how much he said it was but was a fraction of air freight. Yes there are risks involved and he is a native Spanish speaker but he made it just fine.

[Erik_G]

Originally Posted by Campbell NZ

Hi guys ,we have our GSA 1200 stuck in a warehouse in Panama for the last 3 years , we intend to continue our journey to Columbia and south in May of this year , could any one please give us some advice on the best way to send the bike and us to Columbia, Regards Kiwi’s touring 2up

Do not send it to Columbia. Because than it will go north

[markharf]

I believe the previous poster is subtly pointing out that the name of the country is Colombia, unlike the name of the river, province, sportswear company, and a wide variety of towns scattered across the US (Columbia).

On the other hand, he might be even more subtly pointing out that many destinations in Colombia are actually further north than, say, Panama City. When I took the Stahratte from Cartagena we sailed west by southwest to arrive in Panama.