I arrived in Vladivostok on Wednesday evening and by 1:30pm on Thursday I had the paper work done (including Russian registration and insurance) to get my bike and if it weren't for the inconvenient location of my container (buried deep) I would have had my bike that day. I came back next day (Friday) and by 3pm was riding out of the port, free to go. I pretty much followed the advice provided above (THANK YOU ALL) and had all of the papers ready for the famous lady at counter number 1.

The Letter of Intent is most definitely required and we had to get the Chief of Customs to sign it (after making some minor edits). I got my insurance from "alphastrahovanee" on the 2nd floor of the morskoi voksal (sea terminal behind railway terminal). I paid 650 rubles for 2 months insurance and had to pay about 1500 rubles to release my bike from the port - that was the total cost.

Adrian

Go Adrian!

gday all
we have been crossing in and out of russia for the last 2 months and this is what we have found nessesary .
you must get an immigration card from immigration and you may have to ask for it , also you need compulsory insurance and we have so far only succedded in getting 15 days at a time , but it is available at any decent size city .you must then get a temporary import document and make sure they put the a maximun time of 2 months on it or more if you can .
a gps is no problems at all and it has actually saved a search or two as the guards where more interested in the gps than searching us , just told them it was an electronic map .
we are of course heading west to vlad so the european russian borders may be a little easier.
hope that helps , but to date the russian borders have been some of the easiest .
mick
www.thelaststans.com

Arriving in vladivostok soon
 

Dear Hu Community
we arrive at sunday in Vladivostok (24th June)
If anyone posseses a copy of a letter of intention and can scan it , it would be very gratefull.
Yuri the suggested Agent is unfortunately busy in next days, so if anyone knows another good and perhaps english speaking custom agent in Vlad please post it.
Thank you and greetings
Rocco

Custom Finished Today
 

Dear Hu Community

we just finished the custom in Vladivostok after arriving from Japan yesterday.
The whole process took us 5 hours, so much less then expected and we did it by ourselves.

1. Bill of lading copy we got on the Ship paying 10 USD
2. Immigration card also on the Ship
3. The passenger officer on the ship (office beside the stairs 1st floor) had an computer and wrote us a Letter of Intention including a map where to go...
4. Arriving in Vlad we filled custom declaration (they took the bike which i mentioed there out and said bill of lading is for this) got stamp on immigration card and thats all what you can do on sunday (they take the bike themselves down you cant do it)
5. Morning at monday 8.40 we went as the Passenger officer told us, two rooms beside the store room of our bike to an Agency Wladpaccko, they made copies of everything, said they have no time but told us friendly each next step. Diman was the name of the person
6. He organized within 1 hour the Original bill of Lading in the same time we went to the insurance company at 2nd floor abtostravanee

7. We entered the famous Strelnikova but not 9 it was 14, here we went at first with a russian letter of Diman to the Chief of custom Room 804 ground floor left. he was not there so we went in 803, the lady was very friendly and commented my passport pictures, wrote a type of bill and brought me directly to the second counter in the main hall (not window 1,2,3 it was one before this windows an there was written kacca)

8. Now our lucky road seemed to be finished cause the lady here was not really happy to see us and shouted we have to go at first to a bank and pay 100 Rubel with the bill of this only we can proceed. (the did not give us our copies back they kept it at the counter)
9.So we went to Svetlanskaya 47, Primorye Bank, went in ground floor to the left where there is written tamoschenje/ Custom and paid after some discussion the money
9. Back in the taxi we came to the same counter back, the unhappy lady had not really changed her mood, but proceeded to type all details in the computer, the pink/ green document came out, she stamped the copied bill of lading and gave it to us. She kept the original and copies of Visa, Bike license, Insurance, Passport and Dimans letter.
10. We went back to the Sea terminal Diman told us we should go to the customs kacca to pay the store fee . So we went in the backside of the See Terminal in the 2nd floor, paid 2550 Rubel went down to the store room and drive the bike at 2 pm out of the custom.

Thats all, if we left Russia i will place some copies of these documents at my webpage that you can see what is te target (Manu & Rocco on Tour)
Regarding previous comments thanks a lot for the informations, we felt prepared, copied everything allready sunday 2 times and had a big shock to get everything so easily;)

Safe ride and bye
Rocco:cool4:

Help!!
 

Hi Rocco or who ever is reading this,

Ive got friends who are in Irkutsk at the moment having a day off after a tough 3 days in Mongolia due to bad weather, they need info on travel from Vladivostok to either Japan or South Korea and onward to the U.S.A., also whether a carnet is needed for both countries and possibly the cost of the relevant documents. They need info on ferry or flights to either country asap please!!

Sorry for the short notice but any help or info recieved will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,

Roi. n Bron.

There is a weekly ferry from Vlad to Japan.
You need a carnet for Japan.
Cost of such document varries accourding to the country issuing.
Check with your auto club.
There is also a ferry to Korea.
Carnet was not needed in the past for Korea. Don't know about now.

For onward shipping to USA, you will have to find a shipping agent. Look in the shipping section.

Look through the HUBB or use the search function. Most of the info is already here.

Sounds like pretty poor planning if they are all the way to Irkutsk and just now in a hurry for info on how to get out of Vladivostok...

Info Greatly recieved.!!
 

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the info, will check the hubb out, sorry to tell you its not bad planning, they were going to Magadan originally but circumstances have changed in Magadan so the other alternative is to cut there losses an go via Vladivostok. There not on the H.U site so no access, im doin it all by text for them on the phone thats why its my headache.

Thanks again Chris, your the only one that has info'd me in the last 3weeks, so now i'll have to get my thumbs working, to text them.

Roi. n Bron.

Vlad
 

Hi,
sorry but we had no connection in the last days. We had to come from Vladivostok to Ulan Bator in 6 days cause of our visa date, and it meant to ride without stops and internet. Finally we did it, i can only upport what Chris said. I was with Carnet in Japan, but as a German rider i had to drive non legal cause of a treaty in 1948 which was not signed by my country....
Rocco

WOW! That is fast!
I think it took me 10 days in 2003 (not inlcuding days spend partying with local bikers in Vlad and Khabarovsk). And we used the train for part of the way...

How are the roads this year?