Shipments done by Travellers

We arrived at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 9th in Mumbai (Bombay)... The better part of the first two days were spent trying to figure out who to talk to and what procedures to follow in order to extricate the motorcycles from the customs officials at the airport...We didn't spend all of our time hassling with the bureaucracy though, the cargo/customs were closed for the weekend so we managed to squeeze in a bit of sight-seeing...we finally got our bikes released on December 13th.

Details and costs:

3 Days (5 including weekend)
Fax to FIAA (Indian AA) from CAA (Canadian AA) authorizing authenticity of Carnet - We sent an email request Thursday evening and the faxed documents were received Friday morning.
Authorization letter from FIAA to Indian Customs officials
Visit to Customs Office at Mumbai docks (most vehicles enter Mumbai by sea) for Carnet paperwork
Roughly 27 signatures from various offices (Mumbai and at the airport)
$211 in fees (+ $2,200 for shipping and $1,100 airfare)
Flew Ro-Ro (uncrated), but price was same with/without crate: US$1,800 + $300 for paperwork and handling.
NOTE: Clearing agent requested $175 for 2 bikes (1 bike for $100) -- We did it ourselves, but it required a lot of leg-work.
Overlanders claimed it only took about an hour at border.
Upon reflection, we should have ridden across the Middle East.

"... The only route from Sudan into Egypt (except flying)is via this ferry.

Officially it is only for foot passengers, but we were allowed to put the bikes in the corridor, after a hair-raising gangplank entry. As an extra tip - we put our tent up on the deck of the ship.

Midhat is an extremely knowledgeable and helpful person who helped with all the bureaucracy of taking our bike out of Sudan as well as helping us save quite a bit of money. He is easily found by asking in town. If anyone does meet up with him - say Hello from Tiffany and Maggie."

Additional info from various sites:

Ferries depart from Egypt (High Dam) on Saturdays, and from Wadi Haifa (Sudan) on Tuesdays.

1st class fare is LE 131.00, 2nd class fare is LE 77.54. No prices for motorcycles, but as Tiffany says, it's officially a passenger only ferry!

Boats, about 30 metres long, run at varying frequency between these two ports. They run more often in summer than winter because of storms. The boats follow the coast to the bottom of Yemen then between islands to the African coast and down to Djibouti.

We were informed that at the time of year we travelled, depending on weather, they averaged about two a week. They normally take about 24 hours for the trip. Much longer in bad weather. They vary in cargo and size but all can and do carry passengers sleeping on deck, some have the most basic cabins for one or two passengers total. They are generally old and overloaded, but seem to arrive safely.

Our motorcycle was winched onboard by the boat's winch used to on and offload its more usual cargo. Negotiating the price, first with the agent and then with the ship's captain and clearing customs seems to involve the local mafia who controls the port for illegal alcohol. All is friendly but slow and barganing hard.

Once on the boat the staff fed us adequately with local foods and fresh fish caught on the voyage. A tip (for ghat) for the crew is expected after offloading and as they were very helpful was given.

....no crating just on pallet. GOOD service. You can take your bike by plane from Magadan to Anchorage for $5.5/kg with Air Magadan. This is the only airline between Far East and Alaska. Trip to Magadan must be great adventure in the right season of course, can bring you in contact with people who did it.

Normal rate is about $2.65/kg + DG and handling -- bikes were both crated in BMW crates obtained from dealership.

Royal Air Maroc: The onboard service was terrific, the food was even better. When we arrived in Casablanca the next morning at 7:15am, Mr. Mohamed Chakil was there to greet us. He helped us load our gear into his car, and took us over to the cargo terminal. Mr. Chakil was able to expedite things, and by the time Erin got the bikes cleared through customs, I had the bikes uncrated (with some local help) and ready to go.