Taking a cali to Canada

[Christine Kirk]

HI Has anyone taken their Cali to Canada from the UK?

 

[clarinetbcn]

HI Has anyone taken their Cali to Canada from the UK?

I have not, but I certainly would be interested in finding out more since my family moved to Canada 40 years ago and my nephew is a professional alpine guide in the Canadian Rockies. I hadn't even considered the possibility, but will now look into it.

 

[clarinetbcn]

HI Has anyone taken their Cali to Canada from the UK?

I would come from Spain, unless there were a compelling reason to leave from the UK, but I imagine that at least for the time being the circumstances would be similar.

 

[Ting Tong]

I remembered this post a few months ago but a search for Canada should reveal others.

https://www.vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/vw-california-spotted-in-usa.30121/#post-350744

 

[Christine Kirk]

I would come from Spain, unless there were a compelling reason to leave from the UK, but I imagine that at least for the time being the circumstances would be similar.

Why would you take it from Spain? We live in the UK so thought it would be easier to sort from here.

 

[clarinetbcn]

Why would you take it from Spain? We live in the UK so thought it would be easier to sort from here.

I live in Barcelona.

 

[Christine Kirk]

I have not, but I certainly would be interested in finding out more since my family moved to Canada 40 years ago and my nephew is a professional alpine guide in the Canadian Rockies. I hadn't even considered the possibility, but will now look into it.

We were talking to an ex pat friend last night. He has bumped into someone with an old Cali who had shipped it Canada to then 'do' the tour. They had said it was cheaper to ship their own rather than hire an RV out there. He didn't get any other details but has whetted our appetite to go and visit him. He suggested that we could park the vehicle with him for a few weeks and come and go over a year. He also said there are plenty of VW agents out there. We need to investigate but have to consider our aged dog in the short term.

 

[babble]

if you are not in a hurry, i would take it to iceland (easy and not too expensive (relatively)) then from there take the (relatively) short trip to Greenland, drive down the coast there, then take a last ferry to Canada from there. i suspect the trips to and from Greenland would be affordable.

 

[Christine Kirk]

I live in Barcelona.

Well that makes sense for you.

 

[babble]

We were talking to an ex pat friend last night. He has bumped into someone with an old Cali who had shipped it Canada to then 'do' the tour. They had said it was cheaper to ship their own rather than hire an RV out there. He didn't get any other details but has whetted our appetite to go and visit him. He suggested that we could park the vehicle with him for a few weeks and come and go over a year. He also said there are plenty of VW agents out there. We need to investigate but have to consider our aged dog in the short term.

ah, here you go! i posted my response at the same moment as this.

 

[Christine Kirk]

if you are not in a hurry, i would take it to iceland (easy and not too expensive (relatively)) then from there take the (relatively) short trip to Greenland, drive down the coast there, then take a last ferry to Canada from there. i suspect the trips to and from Greenland would be affordable.

That sounds like an interesting journey as well.

 

[subthree]

if you are not in a hurry, i would take it to iceland (easy and not too expensive (relatively)) then from there take the (relatively) short trip to Greenland, drive down the coast there, then take a last ferry to Canada from there. i suspect the trips to and from Greenland would be affordable.

We have spent 2 weeks sea kayaking around the southern tip of Greenland. The only way we could get in and out of the village we started from was via helicopter after an international flight to an ex-US Air Force base. I do not recall there being any coast roads, but I could be wrong...

 

[babble]

here's the first leg: https://www.smyrilline.com/

ah, but i just checked and it seems there are no ferries to N. America from iceland.

 

[babble]

this is quite interesting: http://theroadchoseme.com/shipping-a-vehicle-from-north-america-to-europe

 

[westfalia]

I was chatting to a couple from Canada last week, they shipped their
merc sprinter camper from Halifax to Antwerp but he said the ship stops
in Liverpool first.

Cargo Ship Voyages

 

[Big Bloke]

An old post that probably covers what you need to know.....https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/pan-american-highway.4168/

 

[Nick Stubbs]

Homepage - SeaBridge

Wir bieten Wohnmobil Touren auf allen Kontinenten und Wohnmobilverschiffung nach Übersee. Wir freuen uns auf Sie.

www.seabridge-tours.de

 

[Erbster]

What an interesting idea. Is diesel as readily available in Canada/US as it is in Europe? I get the impression it’s petrol all the way over there.


caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

 

[clarinetbcn]

What an interesting idea. Is diesel as readily available in Canada/US as it is in Europe? I get the impression it’s petrol all the way over there.


caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

It may be more difficult to find in city gas stations, but nearly all long distance shipping is by truck in both Canada and US, and virtually all long haul trucks are diesel, so it should be workable.

 

[Slovenia]

Motorhome Shipping - SeaBridge

We ship your motorhome to the most popular destinations on earth for your dream trip. To Halifax, Baltimore, B. Aires, ...

www.seabridge-tours.de

 

[Slovenia]

sorry, didn't see it has already been answered.

 

[DJ315]

if you are not in a hurry, i would take it to iceland (easy and not too expensive (relatively)) then from there take the (relatively) short trip to Greenland, drive down the coast there, then take a last ferry to Canada from there. i suspect the trips to and from Greenland would be affordable.

Do you know of anyone who has done this route before? How to get from Iceland to Greenland?

 

[flyingQ]

We have done that in 2013 to drive the Pan-America highway - that was discussed here in 2014.

We sent the Cali in a container from Tilbury to Vancouver, not quick and about £5k - Customs in Canada not slick and the Canadian handling company a bit of a joke, but all worthwhile. Diesel is not a problem at all, but the VW dealerships are a problem as the T5 was never officially imported to North America, so spares can be a problem. Following much mud in Alaska's Dalton Highway, we needed to replace the rear wheel bearings and had to have them sent from England - the local dealer didn't have the special tool to do the job and it was thanks to a great mechanic of theirs that we got it done within the day.

For all it's worth, the Cali was recovered Ro-Ro from Buenos Aires at the end of the journey and it was thoroughly thieved inside.

Have fun!

 

[TizzMe]

There was an article in the May 2019 issue of the MMM magazine, where a guy took his VW camper van from Antwerp to Halifax as Ro-Ro freight. It also mentioned that this can also be done from Liverpool as its on the same service/vessel.
The article details the process, pit-falls, timings and gives indicative/his costs.
I think you can get back issues on their web site.