What you Need to Know about Shipping to Thailand

If you’re planning a big move to somewhere a lot more sunny and tropical such as Thailand from down under, then here’s some info that you might find interesting. Whether you’re planning on packing up your entire house or just a few personal boxes of goods, shipping to Thailand has the normal services, costs and customs to go through. Let us at Transco Cargo help you when shipping to Thailand from Australia.

First off, let’s start off with the basics. You shipping to Thailand options are can be broken down into either air or sea shipping. Your choice of shipping method is usually dependent on the time you have and the budget involved.

Now, when it comes to air shipping to Thailand, it will be a lot faster, BUT you may have hefty shipping costs to deal with and a lot more limitations in what you can transport and  not to mention the sizing as well. If you need to ship a large quantity of items, especially those that are heavier, air shipping may not be the best option.

That’s why so many opt for the convenience of sea shipping, as restrictions are less, and you are able to ship larger and heavier items whilst it may take a few weeks to get to the destination. So let’s take you through estimated times and costs for the likes of shipping to Thailand on average a 1 bedroom apartment unit, a 3 bedroom house, or a 5 bedroom house.

The above are approximations of the costs involved in Australian Dollars with comparisons in terms of time and cost with three different housing situations factored in. In the event you choose to opt for sea freight, you would need to start planning months in advance in terms of booking either a 20ft or 40ft container for the day of loading if you are opting for FCL (full container load) container shipping, which would be at least 21-30 days prior to move. You would also need to acquire shipping boxes or shipping crates based on your needs and the proper packing and padding materials to ensure that your goods are safely packed and secure for transport.  For those with a lesser volume of goods, LCL (less than Container load) shipping may be the best option. This option is chosen often when the goods are anything less than 15cbm.

Most often, the port in which your goods will arrive in would be the Port of Bangkok, which would be convenient in terms of distance if you are moving to the capital city. However, Port of Laem Chabang, the busiest container port is 130KM away from the capital but it is well connected by rail and road networks. If you are moving to the south of Thailand, then Port of Songkhla would be most convenient. Thailand does have strict customs regulations, however, as long as your follow the rules and regulations, the process is fairly easy to process through. During the packing process, you are required to maintain a packing list of all items in your cargo shipment, along with accurate descriptions pertaining to each item and their monetary value. Once the cargo reaches Thailand, should your shipping document prove satisfactory to customs officials, then you should be able to have your goods cleared easily.

If you are looking for a convenient door-to-door delivery service inclusive of customer clearance when you are shipping to Thailand, give Transco Cargo a call.