Print

Preparing for the Move

You can arrive to Colombia with little preparation and luggage. However, it is strongly recommended to prepare your move carefully, especially if you choose to bring most of your belongings to your new home.

Relocation assistance may be offered by some employees, and may include covering of the expenses related to the move. In this case, you can use the help of an international removal company to reduce the hurdles of the relocation.

Understand Pricing

There are three decisive factors that will determine the final price of moving your belongings: the value of your goods, their volume and/or weight, and the distance to be moved.

Note that many of the objects that you may need in Colombia may be purchased locally or obtained from other expats who are moving out. When deciding which items to carry along, therefore, consider the price of shipment and the cost of obtaining those goods locally, and try to bring with you only the indispensable items, in order to reduce the cost.

Once in Colombia, reach out to your country's embassy, search the classifieds websites and connect with the expat community in order to find any items that you may need.

Shipping Size

Basic shipping costs are generally computed on the volume (measured in Cubic Feet or m3) that your packed goods take up in the shipping container. Volume is calculated by multiplying height x length x depth.

An example is a full size refrigerator or freezer. If it is 6 feet (1.8 meters) high, 3 feet (.91 meters) wide and 2 feet (.6 meters) deep, its volume would be 36 cubic feet (1.01940 m3).

The containers can be 20 foot (6 meters), with a cubic capacity of 1172 cubic feet (33.2 m3) or 40 foot (12 meters), with a capacity of 2392 cubic feet (67.7 m3). A two to three-bedroom house will generally fit into a 20 foot container, while a 4 to 5 bedroom house will require a 40 foot container.

It is recommended to ship all your items in a single large shipment, as the rate per cubic foot decreases with the quantity.

Distance

Removal cost also depends on the point of origin and final destination. Colombia is not a cheap destination to ship to, but the prices will be lower if you ship from the United States than from Europe.

Common Additional Costs

Keep in mind that the final price will surely be more expensive than even the most careful estimates. Be knowledgeable about all types of costs you may incur, and budget for a buffer between your initial estimate and the final cost.

Examples of situations that may generate additional expenses are:

• Difficult access at the collection or delivery site. A larger or smaller vehicle may be brought or hired. 
• Collection or delivery is on higher floors, with or without a lift, which requires additional manpower and costs. 
• Parking permits required at collection or delivery addresses. Generally, the customer needs to arrange these. 
• Keep in mind that if the goods are shipped to one of the country's ports on the Atlantic or Pacific coasts, the transportation to Bogota will involve an extra cost. 

Shipping Options: Ground, Sea or Air

There are three basic shipping options to Bogota: by ground, sea or air. A combination of ground and sea may be required if the chosen option is not air. Usually companies will offer all options. It is good to inquire the differences in price, delivery times and other conditions in order to make an informed decision.

Ground

Moving with only ground travel to Colombia is not possible, unless you are moving from Ecuador. A combination of sea or air and ground shipping is necessary in all other cases.

Sea

Moving by sea takes several weeks or even months, but it is less expensive than by air. If you choose this option, your goods will be loaded into containers at your initial residence, shipped by rail or road to the nearest port, then loaded on the steamship container. The container is loaded on the boat as cargo. Once the shipment arrives to Colombia, the container is unloaded and needs to pass through customs.

The international removal company should help you with the customs procedures, as import duties may be required if the shipment exceeds a certain amount and value.

Once the customs procedures are cleared, the items will be transported by road to Bogota.

Air

It is increasingly popular to move by air, especially if you don't have many goods. Air shipping is more expensive than sea one, but it offers the advance of being a lot quicker.

Your goods will be packed into heavy cardboard boxes or, in some cases, containers. In some cases, shipping a umber of key items by air is more convenient than living in a hotel or renting a furnished place.

Airfreight is calculated on the weight of the shipment (either gross weight or volume weight), expressed in kilograms. The volume weight of a given item is calculated by multiplying height, lenght and depth in centimeters and dividing it by 6000. For household goods, the volume weight is usually higher than the gross weight.

Groupage

If you want to save money and time is not an issue, you may want to ship your items with other people's belongings. This is called "groupage", and it consists of combining the shipments of two or more customers. This is a more convenient option price-wise, but it can also take much longer, as other customers shipping on the same route as you need to sign up. The shipment is usually sent to a central location warehouse first, and later shipped to the final destination.

If cost is not an issue and your shipment is large enough to fill a container, direct shipping is better. Your items will be sent directly, without waiting in any warehouse.

Finding a Reputable Company

The best way to find a reputable international removal company are personal recommendations. Before committing to any company, make sure you get feedback from previous customers. You may find online reviews on MoverReviews.com or Good Migrations, but you can also speak to friends, acquaintances, fellow expats or co-workers.  

You should try to make personal contact with the company beforehand, in order to avoid any scams, and consider criteria such as the experience of the company with Colombian bureaucracy, safety records, shipping options offered, international license, cancellation and refund policy.  

You should get at least three estimates, and after you decide you need the estimate in writing as verbal agreements are not enforceable. On the basis of the estimates you should weigh the factors and make your final decision.

You can use our Recommended Service Partner tool below to compare prices and receive free quotes.