Europe to…?

After dreaming about road tripping in our VW Bus through the Rocky Mountains, Pacific North West and speaking to a few travelers who had shipped vehicles across continents, we worked out that it might actually be doable. We quickly discovered that shipping our vehicle from Europe to Canada or any other another country was not as easy as it sounds. Try googling it, seriously. There is no definitive guide and there are so many options, rules and nuances all dependent on where you are going and what vehicle you have. After we researched the shipping process, sent countless emails and asked a million questions, when we finally had all the pieces of the puzzle in place we decided there and then that we wanted to share what we had learnt. We have shipped our vehicle to Canada and back and driven 10,000 miles in between, we can confidently say that having our own vehicle we know and love with us was totally worth the small hassles shipping involves!

We ended up shipping our vehicle to Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia and driving from coast to coast in the USA, then back up to British Columbia, Canada and shipped back to England from Vancouver, BC.

There were many factors that steered us in that direction.

Considerations and costs

The cost to ship to the west coast is higher than the east, due to the distance and Panama canal. The most cost effective and quickest option was to ship to the closest port (Halifax, NS) from the UK. Also Canada has slightly less complicated legislations when importing a vehicle temporarily into the country than USA. We have family in Nova Scotia so it was all around our preferred route.
This will of course vary on the current prices but to give you an idea of our approx costs: £1000 Shipping, £200 shipping insurance and $200 for landing / admin costs. This was for a Roll on Roll off (RORO) service where you simply drive the vehicle to the port in the UK and it gets driven on to the boat and secured down. At its destination it gets driven off ready for you to pick up once you clear customs.

Container vs RORO

Container shipping is more secure however is more expensive than RORO and can be subject to more checks and delays at customs which could end up costing you more admin/ release fees.
RORO is less secure, you also have to ship the vehicle empty, no pots and pans, bedding, gas bottles, tools, spares. We have known people ship RORO with stuff inside as their shippers said it wouldn’t be a problem. However our shippers specifically advised that our insurance would be invalid and the vehicle would not be loaded if there were any loose items inside the vehicle. (We flew with what we could pack and purchased the rest when we arrived).   The plus side of RORO is that it is much cheaper and the procedure is pretty straight forward.

We’ve included the full details of the shipping procedure from our experience.

Contact shipper and advise on:

* Where you want to ship from and to.
* Whether you want RORO or container.
* Your vehicle make, model, year, weight, dimensions, Reg, Vin, value.
* Approx date you want to ship.

The shipping company will then look at providing you pricing and approximate shipping dates. We found there is a sailing from most major ports on average of every 1-2 weeks.

Shipping Insurance
Some companies offer insurance as part of the price, for others it’s an additional fee. They do however work out to be about the same overall cost. Insurance is based on a percentage of the value of your vehicle, its contents (if you are doing a container) plus the cost of shipping. We had agreed valuation insurance in our home country so could show our vehicles worth but you could get a separate valuation done just in case you need to prove your vehicle’s value later on. Please note that our UK insurance did not cover us in America or Canada (this is a separate issue covered here)
So for shipping insurance if your vehicle is valued at £10,000 with £150.00 contents, the shipping rate of £1000, then with a 2% insurance rate the cost would be £223.00 to cover your vehicle for damage and loss. Please check with your company what it covers exactly as like most insurances they may not cover certain things.

What Next?
Once you have confirmed the date and paid you will be given a date where you can take the vehicle to the port. This can include a window up to 2 weeks before sailing, however bear in mind you may not get a massive amount of notice and as the timescale is subject to change based on shipping delays and bad weather (not great if you are booking flights!)

When you get the green light take your vehicle, shipping documents and vehicle documents with you to the port so that they can verify all details before you hand over the keys. Get a ‘received’ receipt.

As part of your insurance they will take images and do a condition report, enure this takes place by contacting your shipping company. We also took pictures and did our own report for peace of mind.

We were also advised by a fellow traveler that customs in Canada like clean vehicles! We checked with our shipper and he agreed, you are less likely to have customs checks, delays or be charged for cleaning if any potentially hazardous or harmful contaminants are not on your vehicle to start with. We cleaned our vehicle several times and then gave it a wash in a carwash / jet wash on the way to the shipyard. We retained the receipt and provided that to the shipping company as proof that it had been washed. This was in the aim that our vehicle would be viewed to not have any contaminants potentially harmful to Canadian soil. We had no issues.

Bill of landing, time to fly
Shortly after sailing you will receive your bill of landing from your shipping company via email. RORO shipping from England to Halifax takes approximately 10 days.

You are required to be in the destination country when your vehicle arrives and will be asked the address and contact details of where you will be staying, a hotel address is fine. We were lucky enough to stay with family. This is so that the shipping agent can contact you once your vehicle has arrived and inform customs that the vehicle and owner are in the country. Bear in mind that ships and customs can be delayed frequently so you might need to wait for your vehicle longer than anticipated. You will be advised that your vehicle is due to land by the shipping agent and be instructed on how to pay your customs admin / release fee. This needs to be in place when you physically pick up your vehicle and can take 2-3 days to clear so pay it immediately!

The date of arrival will be on the bill of landing, for us it took additional 2 days due to port delays and vehicle checks. Your best bet is to contact the local customs office and provide them with your consignment / ship details, they will be able to tell you if it has landed and when to call back.

Once your vehicle is physically in the country you will need to go to the customs office with all your paperwork. This can be a little intimidating as the customs people might grill you a bit! They are just ensuring you are not planning to permanently bring the vehicle into the country and that you are also not intending to stay illegally. Be prepared and have a clear plan /route if you are going as a tourist. Also have a clear answer to when and how you will be leaving the country. We know things change as you travel, and we’re very go with the flow people but it’s good to sound confident when speaking to customs 🙂 They are only concerned about you and your property overstaying, they are not concerned about your vehicle insurance or legalities. We were also informed that if we leave the country and our vehicle is left behind for whatever reason it becomes the property of the government. All in all apart from answering a few questions, this was a fairly straight forward and quick process.

Once the paperwork is stamped, then all you need to do is head to the port, show all your shipping docs, proof of customs paid and authority stamped and you can drive away!

Who we used – Shipping my vehicle from Europe to Canada

We used a shipping company recommended by a friend who had just emigrated to Canada. We have been extremely impressed with their service, super speedy responses to emails, good advice, rates and a no nonsense approach. We used them to ship from Southampton UK to Halifax, Canada.

Shipping company contact details:
KRL (Kingscote Rojay Limited)
www.KR-l.com
jordan.parker@kr-l.com

We also received a personal recommendation for Interglobal Shipping GMBH from a friend who was impressed by their service. Initially this was the only company we liked that came highly recommended but it would have involved us shipping from Germany which is where they are based. Great communication both in German and English and good rates too.
www.interglobalshipping.de
gabriele.fischer@interglobalshipping.de

We shipped home in a container from Vancouver. There were only a few differences to the outward RORO shipping.
*Higher cost due to using a container and shipping from the West coast as opposed to the East.
*Longer shipping time due to the distance and Panama canal, approximately 45 days.
*The need to itemise the contents for insurance and customs.
*To ensure there is no more that 1/8 fuel in the tank.
*That any batteries can be easily disconnected for transit.

The company we used came highly recommended by some fellow vanlifers who shipped from Vancouver to Europe for a roadtrip. We also love that they have their own Instagram so you can see all the interesting things they ship! https://www.instagram.com/goworldcargo/
World Cargo
Matt Bryson
9295 SHAUGHNESSY STREET,
VANCOUVER BC, V6P 6P4
TEL:                 604 305 0337
TOLL FREE:  1 877 232 0204
FAX:                604 608 5562
WWW.GOWORLDCARGO.COM

We hope you find the guide useful, we have received lot of helpful advice and good Karma from fellow travellers before, during and after our adventure so we wanted to pass on our knowledge 🙂

Get in touch if you end up shipping your own vehicle, we’d love to follow your stories!