Hello,

We are going to visit Thailand (North), Cambodia (South), Vietnam (South-North) and Laos (North) in January. We are going to rent bikes in one of these countries and travel through all of them. I'm trying to find the best route for this trip. I found some new and old posts concerning these areas but I'm not sure about the current situation concerning paperwork, border crossing etc. in the whole region.

What do you recommend, what do you think?:
- is it possible to cross all countries with one bike rented only in one country?
- is it possible to rent bikes in Thailand and leave them in Vietnam ?
- where to rent bikes and start the trip? [Thailand, BKK??? ]
- which bikes should we rent (we think about dirt roads and maybe some soft off-road) [Honda XR 250 Baja??? ]
- how many days do we need for this tour (minimum)? [minimum full 3 weeks??? ]

Cheeeersss!!!

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Cheers!
Arthur

I would recommend you start in Vietnam with a Vietnam registered bike...I have heard third-hand (that is, other posts here at HU) of people successfully travelling from Vietnam to Cambodia and Laos (I do not remember if they went to Thailand) and BACK INTO Vietnam.\

Speaking to a Vietnamese police officer last week, I was advised that, although there are various restrictions on different capacity bikes in Vietnam, it was legally permitted to temporarily import a motorbike into Vietnam. I then described the obstacles mentioned on previous HU posts (but led him to believe they were my personal experiences) at not being able to import a motorbike. He then telephoned a "contact" (who just happened to be the boss of one of the more popular border crossings) and came back with advice that "it aint gunna happen". His border contact said there was no way they would let a foreign (Australian registered) bike into Vietnam. I even tried the idea of obtaining Vietnamese registration for the bike while it was still in Cambodia, putting the plates on it in Cambodia and then approaching the border, only to be told it can not be done as the bike must be inspected when it is registered. Having said all this, I have heard that Cambodian and Lao registered bikes (particularly of people living near the border) are allowed across, but I was unable to learn how far they could travel within Vietnam.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

John

When you find there some to rent - i would suggest to start in Laos.

I had a rental car there, and a legitimation to use the car too in Vietnam and Kambodga - i dont think that thailand would be a problem this was.

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About Overlanding, Travelogues, Equipment
Trans-Africa over the west coast

Thanks for your help guys!!

I got some info from rentals in SE Asia. It seems that it's not possible to go outside Laos with bikes rented in Laos. It's possible to go outside Vietnam to all other countries but you have to come back to Vietnam. It's possible to rent bikes in Thailand and go to Laos and Cambodia. It's not possible to go to Vietnam (but extremely complicated, maybe with an organized tour).

So can anyone confirm that?

bikes rented in Laos = only Laos
bikes rented in Thailand = Thailand, Laos, Cambodia
bikes rented in Vietnam = Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand

???

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Cheers!
Arthur

Hi,

Check out RideAsia.net there might be some usefull informations for your trip.

But you are looking for about 7000 to 10.000 km. 3 weeks is defenetly not enough if you want to do dirtroads and some sightseeing as well.
From my expirience I would recommend 2 to 4 month as travelling in Asia is slow.

If you only have 3 Weeks, plan a shorter tour, or fly to different places and rent local bikes for e few days there.

Greetings Heiko

Have a look at www.thaivisa.com and www.gtrider.com , the later should provide you with all the information you need for your trip

Thanks for your posts.

I still got the same answer: nobody knows for sure )

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Cheers!
Arthur

Gtriders is a good Source for informations.

Repeating: with the laos 4x4 rental i got the permissions to enter Vietnam and Kambodga.

I hit also china, while following some challenging dirttracks

So you have to find a rental service, who knows what he have to do - what seems to be the tricky Part.

For 3 weeks i would suggest to do one country, when you plan to See more than some capitals.

__________________
About Overlanding, Travelogues, Equipment
Trans-Africa over the west coast

You may also struggle to find a hire company willing to let you take their bike to another country ! And will border guards let you bring a bike not registered in your name into their country!
I've hired in Thailand and Cambodia, each time having to leave my passport as a deposit which wasn't a problem but I didn't cross any borders. I know of people taking their own bikes from Thai to Cambodia with no problems, Thai to Laos really depends on which border you arrive at and on which day, it appears to be hit and miss. I've heard it's difficult to enter Vietnam on a bike.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, GTriders is probably the best source of up to date information. The guy who runs the website is based in Chiang Mai in N Thailand which is a good base for starting a trip

As has been stated if you want to visit all of these countries with one bike you will need to start in Vietnam and you will have to buy one to take it out of the country.

As for the time taken nearer three months than three weeks to do this trip justice, at least six weeks to visit all four and that would be rushing. I would recommend you stick with one or perhaps two countries. If you have not been to SE Asia before I would suggest Thailand as a good place to start with plenty of dirt roads in the north to explore.

As many said before: limit to one country if you only have a couple of weeks.
The only sure way to cross borders is to have a local bike, registered on your name. If you buy in Vietnam, no problem taking it into the other countries. If you buy in Cambodia, no problem to take it to the other countries, except Vietnam.
In Cambodia, buying is easy, but registering can take time, at least one month, sometimes up to three months before you get the license plate, which you need to cross the borders. A local scooter/bike is available (new) for $1300-2500, depending on the model.
In Vietnam, I think you can buy a second hand bike, and have it registered pretty fast. But I have no experience with it (as I'm living in Cambodia).
But, if it's only for a few weeks, just stay local, rent a bike, and tour around. Take in the next country on an other trip.