I'm planning to get to Thailand and to avoid the massive complications of Pakistan, a country I'm not bothered about visiting in any case I figure the easiest thing for me is to ride from london to Iran and then load my bike as freight at Bandar Abbas and ship directly to Thailand with me flying over.
My questions are, has anyone done this? What sort of costs are involved and how easy is to enter Iran? I know they don't legally require a Carnet so how easy is it to cross the border without one? Is it possible? I'm in the UK so the Carnet cost and hassle is a serious problem for me with the RAC charging 500% of the cost of my bike and they look to only pay back half of that to me. I'm still looking into this though as I had hoped to visit India.
Any help gratefully received.

Why do you think that Pakistan has "massive complications" and what are you refering to?

In fact Iran visa is much harder to get than Pakistan. Iran has higher CDP garantee 400% or higher.

Don't dismiss Pakistan, it all too often is overlooked and wrongly so, I think you'd be plesantly surprised by Pakistan if you gave it a chance. There are only some areas that are off limits. IMHO I personally felt much safer in Pakistan than in India plust think of all the flood damage that was caused just recently, you would help contribute to the recovery by bringing your tourism $$ to Pakistan.

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

As far as I know, you definitely need a Carnet in Iran. We used it a few months ago.

If for some reason things go wrong and you have to leave the bike in Iran, you may to import it, get a stamp in your Carnet and then the deposit back in the UK, just in case. We had to do it with our car, a Renault 5 (my girlfriend said plainly NO to Pakistan right after the floods). Here's the post.

In our case, it took as TWO months to get the Iranian visa -we applied for 60 days-, although I had already gotten it two years before. Intrincate but wonderful Iran, worth any effort.

We met a couple who was shipping a VW T3 van from Bandar Abbas to India and it cost them a lot (they argued there is little traffic). Don´t know for a bike, but I wonder if it wouldn't be worth shipping it by plane: avoid extreme heat, distance, save time and even heavy Indian bureaucracy may be also easier (and that counts a lot in India).

Anyway, I still regret having missed Pakistan... (probably she doesn´t ). Maybe you are still on time.

I loved Iran and would happily go back and I don't blame Jtw000 for not wanting to have the hassle of escorts and police checkpoints in Balochistan (Southern Iran and western Pakistan), but in an effort to paint Pakistan and India in a realistic light and not have cheap unfounded shots let me clear the air.

Yes a carnet is obligatory in Iran. Without it you won't be allowed to enter.

That's a shame, have you seen the 'From Estonia with love' thread in ADV rider, these two fearless beings were airlifted during the floods by Pakistani military, with their R1150GS! Not to mention all the amazing photos.

Yes, it was the same issue with us, it took over 60days then they only issued a 7day visa. But in Iran it was easy enough to get the visa extended. It's also worth saying that you need to go via a MFD authorised Tour Agent to apply for the Visa and pay them a processing fee on top of the cost of the visa.

This is irrelevant. India is not hard, heavy or more bureaucratic than other countries. For gods sake the west is far more bureaucratic than India or most of Asia for that matter and anyway as a traveller the only paperwork you need to get is the Carnet and a Visa, not more than for most countries. Once you've got those things then why not use it.

Afterall I have more paperwork at home then when travelling, all the banking, credit cards, rent, car insurance, house insurance, and it goes on an on.

Take it from me, 15days in Pakistan was much too short (read our journal entry & newsletter). I now wish we'd stayed there longer, one month would have been great. The roads are good (coming from India) and People in Pakistan are extremely friendly and fare more genuine than in India which has been spoilt by tourism and is over populated.

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

Nothing personal but the fact is the amount of paperwork and trouble to get into Pakistan and India makes it a lot less worth it for me. They're just places I am planning to pass through on my way to SE Asia. In SE Asian my money goes further and it's a lot easier to see where the road takes me. My biggest issue is the carnet about which we, in the UK get a very raw deal. I'm busy working it out but horror stories on here are making it look like the RAC basically keep half your money and I'm looking at a £12k bill which is just not going to happen. Hopefully these are just horror stories but I don't know yet. On top of that the other people posting on this forum are saying Pakistan is very difficult to get the Visa for. Marrying up the short term visas to three different countries all making access difficult sounds like we're stepping into the realm where it isn't fun any more and frankly, if my cash is going to the flood victims then they should make my money more welcome. As it is it's a battle to cross their border, that's not very welcoming. I'm aiming to get to Thailand by the most expedient route. I'm looking forward to the journey but I have my eye on the goal. Once I arrive I'm joining others to go touring Asia so the journey there is just a part of it for me. The touring Asia is the part I'm looking forward to. If Iran is also going to make this hard I'm also looking into just shipping my bike from the UK but where is the fun in that?

You want to avoid the presumed hardships of Pakistan & India - but you´re still headed to Thailand? If I´m not completely mistaken, that leaves China as your only option, (and that´s been discussed here so many times, maybe its not worth repeating any more). Or maybe you plan to ship your bike to Thailand from somewhere. That should be possible.


India - to me - was tough, noisy, hot, smelly, with a fair bit of bureaucracy (especially when sending the bike to Thailand from there!) - and probably some of the worst traffic on this planet, and lots and lots of it!! So a bit of a crazy experience - but still do-able, and very much worth doing, even though I´m not sure, if I´d want to go with a bike again. Maybe I´ve grown old, and I´ll just fly to Goa next time!!

Oh yeah, and both Iran & Pakistan were much better than you´d think from the news!

edit. There have been some reports on this website of entering Iran without a carnet. But how this works (or if it works at all) I cannot comment, because I had this paper, when entering the country. Pakistan & India you won´t be able to do without it.

just come across this thread.
Jtw000-have you had a chance to have a good chat to Paul Gowen at the RAC in the UK. A great and very informative and helpful guy. The RAC (issuers of the Carnet) do in no way keep half of your money....there are many ways in which to 'sort-out' a carnet. And it has been worth its weight in gold for us during our 8 years on the road.
You have the option of securing a Carnet in many differnet ways and not all countries require 500% security.

I am almost 100% sure that you will need a carnet in order to enter Iran with your vehicle. ...but things are always changing and we were in Iran at the end of 2009. We did not have too much of a problem getting a visa for Iran. we used David at Stantours in order to get our letter of invitation and authorization number etc. but we were doing it whilst on the road and did not apply in the UK. We hear things are a little more difficult when applying in the UK on a UK passport.

If you do change your mind about entering Pakistan I do not think you will be disappointed. Have a read of this
2ridetheworld.com : diary
but I do understand if this holds no interest to you. Im not trying to 'push' Pak but it is a fast and cheap way to get across from Iran to India. Shipping/flying is going to cost £££ and like most travellers, you are on a budget.

getting into India is not too much of a problem for those with a UK passport. Visas are quite easy, you always have to jump through a few hoops....and pay some ££. in order to get that precious visa stamp! You do not say where your girlfriend is originally from (I dont think...but I have only had a quick read through) so cant comment on the visa issues she may or may not have. I am assuming too that you are travelling on a UK passport.


BTW you havent said which bike you intend to use, but a 10litre tank should not be a problem in the countries you have stated you wish to visit as fuel is usually readily available.

You also say that you are keen to go to Iran - we are pleased that we were able to visit - just make sure that your girlfriend is fully aware of the 'respectable' dress code for women. I am sure she already is. but note that some cities are more conservative than others.

kazakhstan was a great country to visit.....we also have a complete section on this country on our website too....so its best to just go and read if you have the time and are considering going. We place information up on our website in order to 'help' others learn by our mistakes...and believe me..we have made many in 8 years!

As you really want to visit both Iran and India please really do consider a quick hop through Pakistan. You will be escorted. We suffered no additional problems with this, or additional paperwork or costs. Infact it all turned out to be rather favourable and less costly than shipping directly into Thailand...although Im not too sure you can ship directly into Thailand from Iran? As I said, things change rapidly and I last researched this almost 2 years ago.

One of the fastest, cheapest and easiest ways of getting into Thailand from travelling overland through Iran is...Iran - Pak - India - Nepal - Thailand.

the shipping from Nepal is inexpensive and fast. I can receommend a very good company if you are interested. We did this in Nov 2010. this also gives you the chance to visit Nepal....what a beautiful country this is. Riding through the foot hills of the Himalayas is a real priviledge...but there again...so is travelling generally!

I hope that your planning goes well...it is definitely the most stressful part of the pre-journey. Once on the road you'go-with-the flow'. How do we deal with the bureaucracy of other countries...? Well, we have visited 70 so far and have learnt to take a deep breath, put our feet up, make a cup of tea and smile!

safe travels.

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Lisa
www.2ridetheworld.com

Thanks Lisa, that's a very encouraging post. I want to do this overland but am hedging my bets. I have 6 months before I leave so I'm still optimistic of arranging the paperwork.
My partner is from Thailand hence heading that way. We have plans once I reach Bangkok including a lot more traveling, she is currently in the UK with me and yes, I hold a UK passport.
As for my choice of bike, it's a BMW G650 and the 10 litre fuel capacity is currently being addressed. The bike is now in my living room having brackets made up to support a 5 litre booster tank which takes my range up to 200 miles, I will carry about 100miles range in bottles as well to top up as I go.
I believe you can ship directly from Iran to Thailand by boat but that is not my first choice. I have not spoken to anyone about the carnet but am going on horror stories I have read on here. Although they paint a grim picture I am applying in any case. The RAC apparently do charge 500% to enter these countries although the countries require only 100% approximately. My bike is only worth about £2500 but that does make the money side a bit unmanageable. Of course this information is based on things I have read.
As for renting my place I am in a lucky/unlucky position of having been made redundant and homeless last year so am living currently in rented accommodation in a place where I have to take my bike indoors so it doesn't get stolen.... again. I am out of work still and have plenty of time and have a bit of cash hidden away. Not enough to waste but enough to make a big difference to my life.

i am in thailand and as far as i know you will need the carnet for laos and cambodia. vietnam is impossible to go (cc limit 250).
if you ship to malaysia you need also the carnet. not when you enter overland.
does everyone quote the real price of the bike when applying for the carnet?
i do not think so. so a lower but still realistic value helps you as well.

.Jtw000 .pm sent.
rosner walter...yep, I think you are right on all counts :-)
do you live in Thailand or are you traveling here at the moment?

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Lisa
www.2ridetheworld.com

Still not sure what your concerns are with the Carnet. Assuming you tell RAC your bike is worth say £2k, @ 500% that's a bond of £10k. You take the insurance option which is 10% so you only pay £1,000 and get half back when you return the Carnet. Just call Paul at RAC, he sorted mine out for me while I was in Australia.

Regarding the visas, I got all mine on the road with no forward planning. None of it is hard. Although I was not able to get a Pak visa in Bangkok (told me I needed to get it in my own country), I got it in Kathmandu, no big deal. Indian visa was got in KL, just fill in the form, hand over the fee and passport and pick it up 5 days later. Iran visa was also got on the road, first applying through Iraniavisa.com to get an approval number, them picked up my visa in Quetta. It's all do-able wherever you are really.

Regarding fuel tanks, I'd really try and get a 20L after-market tank and forget about the bottles, they'll just get nicked.

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Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
www.argentina-alaska.blogspot.com
My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

Carnet for Laos & Cambodia - really? I know you won´t need it for a Thai-regoed bike, but then again I never went there with my Finnish-regoed one, so actually I´m not 100% certain of this. I don´t think Laos & Cambo were listed on my carnet. And also note the difference between countries requiring a carnet, and those, that allow you to use it to facilitate temp import.

Vietnam, I don´t think there´s any size limit, they just forbid foreign bikes. But it appears you could enter á la China (not easy or cheap, though!!)

Malaysia is officially a carnet country, but I agree it seemed pretty relaxed at the land border with Thailand. Maybe you could enter without the carnet, but would that possibly get you some trouble later on, I cannot tell.

I shipped my car into Malaysia in Feb 08 and was asked for a carnet (which was stamped), and was asked for it again when leaving via the Kota Bharu border crossing.

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