Shipping gear to Palau

scubanimal

I've booked a trip to Palau this winter and have been trying to determine the best way to get my YBOD over there. When I started looked US mail sounded good, but now I 'm hearing I have to pay some one to get it out of customs.

Has anyone shipped their gear to Palau and if so how did you do it, what kind of 'extra' costs did you incure?

Thanks,
Ian

teksimple

Living in Hawaii, shipping to Micronesia is pretty easy and cheap. Even from California shipping it on a..ship is the best way to get heavy stuff to Palau. Assuming you don't mind waiting a month or so. Certainly WAY easier and with less customs hassles than more corrupt countries like Ecuador. Try Triple B Forwarders out of Guam, they have an office out of Carson, CA, and would probaby help you get your stuff up from San Diego. Brian Greene, a Kwajalein local and current resident of Honolulu, and also a member (BGreene) of this board, will probably have very good sources, too. FYI, I am considering going again in February, when it requires fewer frequent flyer miles with Continental. May I ask with which outfit and what time frame?

scubanimal

Any idea of customs issues if you use one of those shippers? In my naivety I thought I was going to be home free when I found out they have a US zip code and I could ship US Mail.

I'm headed there just before Thanksgiving for a week on the Ocean Hunter liveaboard then a week on shore using Neco Marine. I going as part of Ed Robinson's group out of Maui.

They have Inpiration tanks and scrubber material, and are supposedly very rebreather friendly, although as I see the rental rates and these 'fees' I'm wondering about the definition of friendly.

teksimple

Good choice. I dove with Ed last summer in the Galapagos and was the only closed circuit diver on the boat. I was going to go on Ed and Suzzy's Palau trip with my girlfriend but was not excited about being the only closed circuit diver again. I feel jipped when they cut my dives so short. In Palau, you will want to be under a lot, trust me. So are YOU now the only closed circuit diver on the trip? Crap, for those dates a round trip is only 40,000 frequent flyer miles. If only I could get a spot. I may consider just doing a shore based trip.

Unless something has changed recently, customs duties for visiting Palau is negligible (if anything) for your stuff that you are going to use personally. Might want to confirm with the Palau Visitor's Authority if it will be arriving separately from you. So if you are leaving your sorb and tanks behind, what do you need to ship, certainly not your camera and YBOD, right?

FYI, I thought renting gear in La Jolla (and certainly here in Hawaii) was no less expensive than the rates posted on Neco Marine's site.

scubanimal

I had to back out of the Galapagos trip, I did not think my wife would be up for it. I was really bummed it looked like an amazing trip. But reading your nightmare getting sorb there sure helped ease the pain of not going. The rates Neco wants is 37 a day for tanks plus gas, ouch, but they also want 100 bucks to get the gear through customs, so it looks like they get me one way or the other.
Actually I usually ship my Rebreather gear and camera, having taken computers all over the world, FedEx is much better at handling gear then the airline handlers. I once watched some handlers actually toss a $100,000 computer from the plane to the cart. All the drives and most of the socketed parts came loose. Been shipping ever since and never have had as much trouble as I did bringing things on the plane.
I did the Solomons trip with Ed 5+ years ago and it was the best trip I've done. He booked both boats so it should be really nice. Oh, and since my wife easily gets 90mins out of an 80, and is a great photo-buddy, I don't get the out-of-the-water speech as much.

I hope someone pipes in that has taken their gear to Palau though.....