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  #1  
Old 21 Nov 2011
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Location: Guangdong, China
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Red face Entering Vietnam from China
Hello,

My friend and I would like to enter Vietnam from China. I'm from the U.S., he is from France, and we are both full time residents in China with working permits, residence visas, Chinese driving licenses, and 100% legal Chinese registered 250cc motorcycles.

We would like to cross the border in Guangxi province, as we will be riding from Guangdong heading west. Does anyone know a "fixer" that works on the eastern border of Vietnam that can help us get in? We plan to ride around for a few weeks and will probably exit back into China from the same place we entered.

I know some people have crossed from Laos into Vietnam, but it would add a lot of extra riding time for us to go through Yunnan and Laos just to get to Vietnam.

Thanks for your help.

Cheers!
ChinaV
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  #2  
Old 22 Nov 2011
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Hi ChinaV,

I looked into this exactly 12 months ago.
It is just too difficult, I live up in Shandong Prov.
I was going to ship the bike down to Nanning on the train, then ride from Nanning to Dongxing, through passport and customs, and into Mong Cai.

I gave up in the end and just did a short trip in Vietnam, without the bike.

Now 12 months down the line, and the plan is almost the same as previous, execpt not going to even bother taking the bike from China at all.

The first plan was to buy 2 x small bikes in HCMC, then ride North.
Now, we have been having a "rethink" and we are thinking about buying the 2 x small bikes in Hanoi, and riding south.

The reason for this is we can get the last of the remaining decent weather in the north of Vietnam, and then the weather will remain good, as we head southwards.

So, to the question about taking the bikes from CHN into VN, if you find a way, then let me know, but I had a royal "run around"

Vette
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  #3  
Old 24 Nov 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by uk_vette View Post
but I had a royal "run around"
Did you try contacting a "fixer" in Vietnam? I've been sent contact info of a guy in Vietnam that should be able to arrange the documents for temporary import. It takes a couple weeks to process, and is a bit expensive, but it appears that it is possible. I will keep people posted on how things work out in the upcoming weeks.

If anyone has good maps, gps tracks (GPX/KML) or advice of best places to go, it would be greatly appreciated. We don't want to bother with cities, so please let me know your favorite scenic roads.

Cheers!
ChinaV
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  #4  
Old 24 Nov 2011
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You probably are aware, that entering Vietnam from Cambodia or Laos with foreign registered vehicles is known to be very difficult?

There were some reports of success within the past 1-2 years, but it seems that either they got very lucky, or then they paid very big time – a bit like when foreign vehicles go to China!

I do hope your ´fixer´ can turn that around. I think that unless it really is your lucky day, some kind of official, written permission from the provincial authorities in Vietnam will be required. The language barrier is often a high one, too. But who knows, may be it can be different, if your coming from China, or with a Chinese registered vehicle (actually haven´t heard of anyone try either of those yet?)..... so please keep us informed, how it went!
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  #5  
Old 25 Nov 2011
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Maybe try asking Franki and beemer boy.While beemer boy is from Thailand I think he has done alot of riding in that area.
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  #6  
Old 15 Dec 2011
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Why don't you just rent a couple of Honda's when you arrive in Ha Noi.

$45 for the month, - , unlimited miles.
In my opinion, it's a "no bainer"
The roads here in Vietnam are shocking to say the least.
The roads here will knock sh1t out of you bikes.

Vette
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  #7  
Old 17 Dec 2011
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some information
Here you can find information Got entered to Vietnam with BMV 1200 - Lonely Planet travel forum
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  #8  
Old 5 Jan 2012
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Location: Guangdong, China
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Just wanted to post a quick follow up to this thread.

I contacted Mototours Asia and discussed options with Mr. NGUYEN Anh Tuan. He was able to handle our request for bringing our bikes in from China, but after much thought, we decided to rent XR250's from Flamingo Travel. If you really want to bring your bike in, you can, but it's going to cost a bit of time, planning and cash. The price varies, plan on 500-1000 USD to do it, and Vietnam will beat the snot out of your bike if you visit the kind of places we went.

We had a limited amount of holiday time, and crossing southern China would have used 5 valuable days. Overall, we had 18 days in Vietnam, covered over 6000 kilometers and saved a lot wear on our personal bikes by renting there. There's no need for anything larger than a 250cc dualsport for most of Vietnam, so I think the XR250's were a good choice.

Cheers!
ChinaV
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