News

Apr 02, 2023

RTW Planning / The REAL Costs Of Sea Freight

Photo: rtwpaul Taking your motorcycle to South America is a great ride, but you

Photo: rtwpaul

Taking your motorcycle to South America is a great ride, but you also must consider the logistics and costs over and above the actual ride. These include fuel, accommodation, food, parts and miscellaneous on-the-road expenses.

I wrote an article earlier this year outlining options for your exit from South America: RTW PlanningGetting Your Motorcycle Out Of South America: Sea and Air Options.

To summarize that article if you don't have the time to read, shipping from South America to the United States is a major travel expense that you need to account for. If you have future plans to go there I strongly suggest you take five minutes to read the article.

Eighty-four days, or two months and 25 days, (I was quoted 30-45 days initially)… that's how long it took to get my bike back in my possession, from San Antonio, Chile to Phoenix Arizona! You might wonder why it took so long?

Shipping into the US as an individual is a complicated process and not as straightforward as you might think. Here is a rundown of how the timeline of a shipment works.

This is why it takes so long.

Now what I think most people are interested in, is the real cost. If you read the last article, was the quoted price actually the price I paid? The short answer is no.

Long answer…

My original shipping quote was $2,140 door to door San Antonio, Chile to Phoenix Arizona

Here are additional charges I faced:

That is a difference of $1301.65 or an increase or 60.7% above the original bid.

I had no choice or time to shop around as I needed to return to the US urgently for a medical issue and had no time to put in that additional leg work.

If there is anything to be learned here –

RTW – ‘Round the world’ travel is becoming an expensive pastime. Plan, and budget accordingly and be prepared for shipping your motorcycle between continents to be a major part of your travel budget.

With so many RTW routes now blocked for various reasons you will have no choice at some point but to crate your motorcycle and learn the intricacies of international shipping.

*Shipping companies use payment services that add processing fees on top of their quoted fees. Most were in the 3-5 percent range.

**Crate would have fit in a pick-up truck, but I don't have one!