We were looking for our next big Wonderfully Wild Adventure and were inspired by our friend Kate @overlandingsolo who had shipped her van to Canada. It hadn’t occurred to us just how accessible it is to ship a vehicle half way across the world and so we decided to do just that. However in recent months Canada had made it a little more difficult in that they brought out a new policy where foreign vehicles must have unlimited insurance, this is both costly and difficult to find. So here is how we shipped our van to South America…
Part one – Research!
Having done some research and asking questions on forums we excitedly settled on Uruguay. Why Uruguay you may ask? There are many options of countries to ship to including but not limited to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the United States. Brazil was a good option but given that they speak Portuguese rather than Spanish and Will being fluent in Spanish it just made sense for us to rule that out. Again doing our research we learned that Uruguay is one of the least challenging in regards to customs for bringing the van into the country, therefore it was the best option for us.
So we have decided where we want to go now we have to figure out how to get there.
Choosing Roro or Container shipping
There are two options of shipping, roll on roll off or in a container. As you would imagine, roll on roll off is when a vehicle is driven directly onto the ship and off again the other side, this method of transporting has both pros and cons. For one, it is certainly a cheaper option, it’s already a big expense so why add more cost with a container? It is also easier as you don’t need to find a ‘container buddy’ and it is all in all pretty straight forward. However on the flip side, it does leave the vehicle vulnerable to theft and or damage, especially on a journey that makes many stops. Using a container, though a slightly more expensive option, was a better fit for us. We felt comfort in knowing our van was safely stowed away and locked up to keep it safe. The company we used to ship, called Overlander Shipping Hamburg, did all the hard work in finding us someone to share the container with, which meant halving the cost of the container itself. They were always very quick to respond, very helpful and knowledgeable. It took a little longer to find a ‘container buddy’ than we expected and dates of shipping moved around a few times but eventually all was set into motion, we had someone to share with and a date was set. Hurrah!
It would take approximately 4-5 weeks for Solero once he left Hamburg to arrive in Uruguay, as it has many stops along the way and travels across the treacherous Atlantic sea.
Preparing Solero for his trip across the Atlantic
And so the preparations begin. Solero was fitted with all we could manage to squeeze in, both summer and winter apparel, books, the usual cooking equipment, new roof box, new solar panels, we even fitted new windows! You name it, it was in the van. Leaving out just a ‘few essentials’ to keep us going whilst we worked our last several weeks and waited for our next journey to begin. Now I say a ‘few essentials’ with a ton of mockery as we have never really been known to pack light and this was no exception!
Waving fairwell to Solero
The next step was to drive to Hamburg and say ‘hasta pronto’ to our Solero as our van was shipped to South America. We took several days to make our journey across the channel and up to northern Germany. Meeting a friend on the way to travel with, sharing in good wine, good company and of course a bbq or two! Solero went in the container along with his travel companion, a little VW Caddie camper van . A sense of elation and apprehension of the unknown as we watched the doors close.
Last moments in the UK
In the weeks to come, though we did have a home to live in and rental car to get around in, it did seem very strange not having Solero around us, a strange feeling of loss, like we had no abode to call our own.
It wasn’t long for the time to come to say our farewells. Over several weeks and several gatherings we slowly said our goodbyes to friends and family.
So that’s all on how we shipped our van to South America, Solero was packed full and when the time came so were we, with bags stuffed full and hearts a little heavy. A long journey ahead of us flying from Luxembourg to Madrid, Madrid to Sao Paulo and Sao Paulo to Montevideo a total of 24 hours travelling.
See you on the other side.
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