Hi Simon,

Apologies i'm doing research for a big trip this year and i haven't used HU before. As i'm not able to send you a pm would you be able to send me one?
(Currently looking at Carnet and it's making me ****ing miserable.)

Thanks

Ignorant US traveler who wants to ship his bike to Europe this summer for an 8 week exploration of Europe. I have been under the impression that as long as I have green card insurance and an international driving permit there is NOTHING more I need to legally ride Europe.

Am I in the clear with what I have done or am I about to get hosed?

NC

Nope, you're good! :clap::clap:


Do be sure to have all registration documents, your drivers license and an International Drivers License available from the AA. Almost certainly not needed, but depending on where you go and who you get pulling you over, it's nice to have, eliminating hassle.

To be clear for all, a Carnet is absolutely NOT needed in Europe, North, Central or South America. Not needed in much of Africa either. You CAN do a big trip without one, you just have to pick your route.

Start Carnet information hunt here: Carnet links | Horizons Unlimited

Maybe, maybe not Grant. It depends on where you intend to travel in-and-around Europe.

Green Zones are popping-up around the continent, particularly in France, where your vehicle will be required to display a 'clean air' sticker (Crit’Air vignette), especially if you intend to visit the bigger cities such as Paris, Lyon, Lille and Grenoble. Indeed, some whole French departments have, or are just about to introduce these 'Pollution Tax' zones.

As I shall be riding through some of these areas this coming May/June, I've just purchased an Air Quality Certificate sticker for the grand cost of 4.21€ (including postage) from this website: Air Quality Certificate Service
[beware there are other sites that will charge a lot more - this is the official site.]

For more information go to: Green-Zones.eu

Thanks for this useful information!

When I click on the link for France, it shows the regions that the new law applies to in green:

https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/de/map...6/46.324/2.153

I take it that you can still drive through those regions in green on the main autoroutes/motorways?!

I dunno Dave, I'm really no expert. See, it's all fairly new stuff.

But for the inexpensive cost of €4.21 (£3.75) .. why risk it?

Without the sticker you could be fined between €68 and €135 (£59 - £117) for vehicles, including motorcycles, that don't display an appropriate sticker.

But don't leave applying to the last minute, as I've heard reports that the French authorities are struggling to cope with demand for Vignettes, resulting in significant delays beyond the estimated 30-day delivery time.

Thanks for the update Keith, things do keep changing!

I've now added it to our links page at:

Green Zones Europe | Horizons Unlimited

Got my stickers already!
 

Incidentally, my Crit’Air vignette stickers arrived today in the snail-mail.

• Applied for last week on Thursday, March-8th
• Arrived today, Thursday, March-15th.

The application process, therefore, took just a week (5 working days) from start to finish!

:mchappy:

AA huh? Since when does Alcoholics Anonymous offer International Driver's Licenses? I would interested to find out whatever other permits they may offer.

NC

Carnet for landy
 

Looking to travel in next couple of years ( planning a big trip ) , any idea what the cost would be for a carnet ? Seen that the carnet itself is £250 , but how do they work out the deposit / indemnity cost??

Thanks

CDP is worked out by the value and age of your machine + the fee as you mention.

All the info you need;

https://www.carseurope.net/carnet-de...n-douanes-cpd/

APPLICATION FOR INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES
AVAILABLE FOR UK REGISTERED VEHICLES ONLY

International convention requires that the original registration document (V5) or certificate of registration (V379) accompanies a vehicle when it is taken overseas. However, although a British registration document is recognised in many countries, it must be accompanied by an International Certificate for Motor Vehicles (ICMV) when temporarily importing a vehicle into Egypt (from Israel -subject to certain conditions), Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia or Uruguay. Possession of an ICMV is recommended when travelling to Russian speaking areas of the former USSR, it is also advisable outside Europe when travelling in those countries where the French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Arabic or Persian translations of vehicle details may be more readily understood than English.

Please note that as of 31 January 2019, the AA will no longer issue ICMV's.

Carnet
 

Just working on this myself for my (our) trip London - Nordkapp - Cape Agulhas BigTrip19

The quote for my Africa Twin (I suggested £6500 value) is as below:

'Our quotation is based on your vehicle valuation of £6,500 for the following countries: Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana.

OPTION 1 - Security/premium fee: £1,080.20 of which £250.00 is refundable once your carnet has been successfully discharged.

OPTION 2 - Cash deposit of £3,000 includes a non-refundable fee of £500. We will refund £2,500 once your carnet has been successfully discharged.'

What I discovered later in a telephone conversation is that the cash deposit refund - if you go that route - takes four years to make its way back to you.

This map is useful - but isn't necessarily definitive (eg, it suggests that carnets are recommended for certain countries which are not actually part of the carnet scheme - Cote d'Ivoire, eg.): https://overlandingassociation.org/carnet-de-passage/

At Cars Europe (the only organisation in UK that provides 'leisure' Carnets - as opposed to carnets for business purposes), speak to Sukie - she's very on the ball.

+44 (0) 1284 850 950 - https://www.carseurope.net/carnet-de-passage-en-douanes

To add to this, for our bikes, each valued at £2000, I paid ( option 1) : £850 per bike and got very quickly back 250 pounds ( per bike) at our return to the UK. For me option 2 was not worth it.
So total cost of the carnet was £600 ( per bike). It goes quickly up depending of the value of the vehicle, so a way to keep costs under control is using a cheaper bike if possible.
I second what is said above, Sukie is great and very informative. She also answers emails very quickly.