Best RTW route without the need for a carnet? - your opinion please.

From what I can gather, I am required to pay more than the value of the vehicle, for entering a certain country, then do the same again for another country, then again for another country. - So I am expected to pay thousands of pounds to take my bike through certain countries.

talk about jump through hoops!!!!!!!!

I aim to avoid as many piss taking, money grabbing, bulls**ting, bast**ds, as I can and this just appears to be a money spinning idea someone thought up in order to discourage RTW travel.

Thanks in advance.

You have got completely the wrong end of the stick here about carnets, you put down the deposit in your home country and get the carnet so you do not have to pay money at borders, that is the point of it. They are not cheap and the price varies depending where you want to go and how much your bike is worth but you get the deposit back minus the carnet fee on your return.
Countries you can enter without one are listed here somewhere and some others can be entered with time and hassel at the border.

Mark's post above is spot on...

But if you do want to avoid a carnet here's a route.

Dificult to advise as you don't say where you are based or where you want to start from !!

UK - east any route you decide upon through Europe to Russia. Belarus will need a visa, Ukraine won't, nor will Baltic States.

Across Russia eastwards or divert via Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan again, Russia again into Mongolia.

Exit Mongolia and head to Pacific coast via Magadan to Vladivostok, or to Vladivostok directly from Mongolia's Norther border.

Vladivostok to South Korea by ferry. South Korea to Canada or USA via plane or boat.

Trans USA - back to Europe.

Visas will be needed but no Carnet...

Simples...

Oh... And I'd go to anger management classes before you go... You'll meet plenty of people that will try it on with you as you travel... But with the right attitude that's all part of the adventure. With your "money grabbing, bull... " comment you'll just end up getting into a heap of aggro

Calm down. Do some proper research. Get your facts straight. And you may enjoy it Carnet free !!

There is no 'one size fits all".
It depends on your citizenship (for Visas) and the Country of Registration of the vehicle (for Carnets).

And, of course where you are starting/finishing from !!

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Ok, I've calmed down a little now..I was outraged to find that a major portion ofmy spending money would be used up just getting into a country. I still don't understand the need for carnets, and I certainly cannot understand their pricing structure, and it is certainly a discouragement, which I am certain has prevented many tourists entering certain countries.

If carnets were to disappear, what would be the outcome? would people start riding bikes to these countries, then sell them?

Perhaps it's a way of ensuring that citizens return to their country of residence, rather than riding to, say, sri lanka, and staying there.
By the way I am starting and finishing in the UK.

No.
A carnet is not about citizens - it's about vehicles.
And it's not about them returning to country of residence - just leaving certain the countries that require carnets or advance payment of potential Customs Duty.

As Mark said it is effectivly a "returnable deposit' equivalent to the possible liability should the vehicle not properly exit a country within the permitted time. In such circumstances that country is entitled to assume the vehicle has been imported and would expect to receive Import Duty.

That potential for Import Duty is what the carnet guarantees to the Customs of the country you are entering should the vehicle not exit properly.
The issuer of the carnet would require to hold a deposit from you to cover his potential pay-out. (Would you trust a stranger?)
The deposit you leave with the Carnet Issuer will be fully returned to you when you return the Carnet with all the pages whole or properly completed and stamped in and out of countries requiring it.

Sure they charge a Fee for doing this - but think of the paperwork, hassel and risk it saves from carrying equivalent amounts of cash in each local currency to deposit on entry and later collect on exit, for each country on your journey that requires them.

Back to your other question - as your start/finish is in UK, I assume you have UK citizenship and a UK registered bike as well,
You can very easily RTW with only one Visa and no Carnet at all. You only need buy additional insurance to your normal UK/EU insurace in 2 countries.

It's so easy even actors and OAPs can do it!

From UK - ferry/tunnel to France, ride through EU to Latvia - ride across Russia to Vladivostock (insurance & visa needed) - ship to USA or Canada (insurance needed) - ride to east coast and ship back to EU.

Russian insurance should be no more than about GBP 10 per month. Visas costs vary depending on type, duration etc.

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Or, as I said in the first response to the OP, if he has an appetite for getting a handful more visas he could see Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia carnet free...

Worth adding here, that the majority of south america and africa don't require a Carnet, it's just a nice to have.

Countries that you definitely won't get into without a Carnet (in my personal experience) are:

1. Australia
2. Iran
3. Egypt
4. India

All other countries have varying degrees of enforcement of the use of a Carnet. I know of a few RTWers that due to their extensive travels and patience at borders managed to get into most countries without a Carnet, with the exception of the above. But be aware, that you will be made to do more paperwork without a Carnet as you need to fulfill the temporary import/export requirements of each country. This is really where the Carnet (for me at least) has it's advantages. Think about the language issues the cost for every border crossing and the time when you add it all up the Carnet has it's place.

@Tony P, BTW the Carnet is actually used to guarantee exportation of a vechicle on temporary importation. This is important for countries that want to protect against potentially illegal and illegitimate important of vehichles. It also protects a country's economy from bulk import of used vehicles and keeps more strict controls on the local markets.

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TurboCharger + Francois (our BMW R1200gs) '07
www.riding2up.net, blog.riding2up.net

Actually it seems plausible, that you could enter Iran without a carnet (by arranging a kind of substitute for it at the border) - I don´t know for sure, because I had one, and so I naturally used it. But there´s been several threads about this subject here at the HUBB. It probably won´t be as simple at the border without it, though.

And yes, the carnet is a sort of a pain, but the upside is, that you can (and usually will) arrange it before leaving home. So it won´t be so much of a pain during your trip, except for keeping it safe, and making sure it gets stamped properly.

Sure everyone´s totally free to decide for themselves, what they want to do, but personally I wouldn´t plan a major RTW-tour around the carnet-thing. Instead I´d think about a suitable route (&timeframe) first, and then arrange the necessary papers to do that route. And of course, if there would be, say, only one country on the whole route, where I´d definitely need it, then I might consider if it´s worth it.

In some case you can purchase insurance that will cover the carnet cost in case of lost of motorcycle, that can be cheaper than putting the price of the bike in escrow ( but you will not be getting back the moeny of the insurance at your return ) , I used carnet in many country in Asia and Africa and they did make my life easy , consider it a cost of travelling just like visa , they sometime are expensive but evenif you were on foot you will still have to pay for it. Just remember that you may travel in country where they do not speak your language and where they may just refuse your entry and that can worst to your trip than paying upfront money for some papers needed anyway.

guess it's a bit of a realization day, it's easy to think about just getting on the bike, and riding round the world, but when you start putting things together, you understand that overcoming difficulties or frustrations will become second nature in fairly short order. Maybe my impatience is a part of me that's changing! thanks for your comments.
Note to self....enjoy!