How much interest could we get to go on a Bahamas wheeling trip next year? ECI guys interested? I don't have the funds to pull it off this year but could potentially have them together for a trip next year. I figure that I would rather have my Jeep with me to personally survey the islands than be on some ginormous cruise liner with a bunch of retirees with nothing better to do with their time. Also, hopefully uncletiffy's Cherokee would be finished and ready for a wheeling expedition by that time. Judging by his current progress, that shouldn't be a problem. We could also shuttle any missing pieces out to uncletiffy via our vehicles if necessary.
I guess my basic outline plan would be to trailer (personally or transported by a third party: BostonBob?) my Jeep to Miami and put it on a cargo ship for the Bahamas. I would fly to the Bahamas and pick it up for the remainder of the trip and visa versa to get it back home. I would camp out of my truck, snorkel wherever we may be, bonfires, cheese crisps... whatever happens happens. I couldn't think of a better group of people I would like to see the Bahamas with than this crowd! If you are more of a cruise liner type and didn't want to bring your Jeep, we could potentially meet you at the harbor and whisk you away from the cruiseliner for a couple hours with some new friends too.
Here are the questions that I posed in his build thread:
How much did it cost to ship your Chero from Florida to the Bahamas one way?
Is there a discount for both ways?
Is there any discount for multiple vehicles going together?
How much does it cost to ship your Chero from one island to another?uncletiffy wrote:I am sure discounts could be worked for multiple vehicles.
Is there a discount for both ways?uncletiffy wrote:we are friends with the folks that own the local roll on roll off Ferry boat service, so again I am sure that discounts could be arranged
Are there any height/width/length restrictions to this shipping arrangement?
Would you and your family be up to "guiding" (used roughly) a trip with a bunch of mainlander gringos?
Is there any discount for multiple vehicles going together?uncletiffy wrote:I and my wife would love to make this happen !
Does the "importation" apply to vehicles that will permanently reside in the Bahamas or would they issue a "play visa" for temporary importation?
Are there any special permits that I might need to know about?
Here was his response to my post in the build thread:
Is there a prime season (not hurricane season) that works best for a trip like this?uncletiffy wrote:If you guys are really serious, this is something that can be done.
I can get the ministry of tourism involved.
My Wife and I have been taking the Defender or the Wrangler to the Islands for years and know quite a lot of folks that would want to make this happen.
I will get some prices and info together.
Where I work we are closely tied to the local shipping company so I am sure discounts could be worked for multiple vehicles.
Also, we are friends with the folks that own the local roll on roll off Ferry boat service, so again I am sure that discounts could be arranged.
I suggest if we are going to at least consider this that we start a special thread.
I and my wife would love to make this happen !
How long of a trip do you normally take island hopping? For the $$$ outlay, it would make sense to take perhaps like 2 weeks for me to make the whole thing pencil.
My wife is definitely on board with this plan! She had a dream about it last night!
My hope is that if we can get enough of the costs arranged and a time that works... this would be an epic wheeling event for all parties involved!