Hi guys

Currently the plan is to purchase/register/Green Card Insure a bike in Ireland and ride it hopefully through to Nepal.

For some reason I'm struggling to get my head around carnets a bit, though I think I have grasped the concept however I can't find much information on obtaining a carnet in Ireland (yes I googled "site:horizons unlimited.com carnet ireland").

The one piece of information I found was that someone bought a bike in Ireland and managed to obtain a Carnet in the UK, but there was no elaboration on how/where/cost etc.

I've read the RAC stuff about UK carnets, I just wanted to confirm what the process is about obtaining a carnet for an Irish bike in the UK. Does it even matter? Can I just go into the RAC in the UK?
[EDIT: Just found an answer to this:
"My vehicle is not registered in UK - can RAC still issue a carnet to me ?
RAC can issue a carnet to a UK, Channel Islands or Irish registered vehicle. For vehicles registered in other EU/overseas countries, application should be made to the national motoring authority of that country. RAC can advise."]

This leads to a couple more questions:

1) So if the above is the case, the RAC reckon that it takes a month to issue a carnet. Is this a typical wait time and if so, is there any way to organise this remotely (from Aus)? I don't have any major issues hanging out in the UK for a month if necessary but it would be good to know if it can be organised in advance.

2) Which is the most common/best option to take - the 500% value of bike security guarantee, or the insurance option with 50% rebate?

3) If I don't ever actually make it to Iran/Pak/Nepal/India and the carnet is never stamped... do I still get my $$$ back? Sounds like a stupid question but I may as well double check.

4) If i were to FINISH my trip in one of the countries requiring a carnet... well, what it the best option with what to do with the bike? Clearly I can't sell it so.... hmmm.


If it makes a difference, I'm an Aussie, with an Irish passport as well.

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

Regards,
Nicola

Hi, hope this helps -

1) A month sounds about right from my experience. It can be challenging to get through on the phone sometimes. I don't think you would be able to organise it in advance of buying the actual bike...

2) Depends on the value of the bike, what funds you have available to allocate etc. If you take the deposit option bear in mind there are other admin charges e.g. if you use bank guarantee then the bank may charge for this. For us it worked out about the same to use the Insurance option after rebate.

3) I'd imagine so? So long as a bike is not stamped into a country without being stamped out again I'd imagine you get the money back. Best to check with RAC I guess.

4) You would have to take the bike out of the carnet country to get the liability discharged. Depending on the figures involved I think that leaving it there could be quite scary? An option from Nepal is airfreight to UK (or Thailand then ride on to Aus?).

With Irish passport you will need visa's for Iran, Pakistan and India. All these need to be obtained in advance in your origin country although the Iran one can be collected at an embassy of your choice. Turkish and Nepali visas were available at the border. Its worth checking all these in case the situation has changed.

Neil

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Belfast to Kathmandu on a Diesel motorbike 2010/11 www.suckindiesel.com