Carnet needed for Sinai?
 

Hi All

I know many of you are now saying "what planet is this guy from that he doesn't know that he needs a carnet for Egypt".

I am currently in Eilat, Israel and would like to go to Dahab for a few weeks with my motorbike (no carnet). Somewhere I heard that the carnet rules for Sinai are not as strict as for 'mainland' Egypt. I was hoping someone could shed some light on this.

Thanks in advance

Hi
You will need to get a carnet for Egypt, they will not let you cross in to Sinai with a motorcyle with out one you will also need a visa,plus you will also need 3 copys of your documents reg passport licence, They will give you a set of tourist number plates at a cost but you will get your money back when you take the bike back out of the country. Skip

PS. And be prepaired for a long wait crossing at Taba it took me and a mate best part of 7 hours.

Egypt Carnet
 

Hey Skip

Thanks for the reply. I decided not to attempt crossing the border with my bike. Instead I locked it up at the hotel in Eilat (Israel) and bussed it to Dahab. I did speak with the Egyptian Customs when I passed through the border and they confirmed what you said. No carnet, no Egypt! :thumbdown:

They said I could buy a carnet in Nuweiba which I might do depending on the cost.

Cheers

To Sinai from Israel
 

Sorry for the late responce.

You CAN enter east Sinai with a bike or a car from Israel witout any Carnet.
It is an arragement that make entering East Sinai easy for tourists. It takes some time at the border with the Egypt burocracy. but no need for a carnet.


Ride safe

yoni

But I presume you are then restricted to the Sinai?

Rest of Sinai
 

The touristic points of Sinai are spread along the Eilat-Aqaba bay. all the wondeful great snorkeling areas. starting in Eilat at the North and Ras-Mohamed at the South. West Sinai is mostly desert and the Suez Bay side of the Sinai peninsula gets all the sand storms that come from the Sahara. So the Egyptians separate East Sinai from the rest of Egypt. BTW, also an Egyptian that wants to visit, work or stay at the East zone, needs a special permit (Tasrich).

Ride- thats the way to feel the world

Y.

Sinai Carnet
 

Thanks for the info Yoni. I went to Neweiba today to enquire about buying a carnet. They wanted 4,000 Egyptian pounds for the carnet and 20,000 Egyptian pounds as security with no absolute guarantee of getting the funds back....I decided to pass :-(
Your news is good. I will go back to Taba and check again about the east Sinai carnet situation.
Cheers

Damn, that's probably more than the Gross National Product of Egypt:welcome:

it's allmost my whole budget for my ME trip in april/may. Definately will pass the Egypt option......It's too bad, for us but definately for them, now were spending our money in other countries than Egypt. 3000 euros is just a whole lot of money....(for me anyway :-)

But hey, maybe Sinai is an option? Let us know!

Sinaï can be nice
 

Riding the Sinaï at this time of year can be quite nice but also quickly done. The road from Taba to Sharm along the Gulf of Acaba is a lot of fun most of the way, hilly canyon like road with plenty of curves, fascinating mineral colors and very interesting shades depending of the time of the day. It ain't that long though -- very unfortunately. A nice ride is crossing the St-Catherine national Park between Dahab and the Red Sea, quite scenic both ways, valley with palm trees on the Western part and hilly on the Eastern side, with the color desert. The good thing is there are many shops where you can actually rent dual purposes bikes in Dahab, mainly Honda XR250 for a day or more, just negotiate and pick a bike with brakes... So, crossing to the Sinaï just to drive 500-600 km total..? not sure. It would be though if you plan to ride the Western desert. If only Dahab would be closer to Cairo. /C

Carnet for Sinai
 

I went back to the Egyptian customs at the Taba border post. The head honcho there recognized me from the previous week, and after initially being a bit annoyed because I was asking the same questions again, he took the time to explain to me exactly how it works doh ….so here it is straight from the horse’s mouth: Only Israel registered vehicles are exempt from having a carnet. This exemption applies to all of Sinai but only at the Taba border post. All other foreign registered vehicles must have a carnet (No exceptions!). He then advised me to go to the Automobile and Touring Club of Israel (MEMSI) in Tel Aviv and buy a cheaper tripticket there….he even made a copy of another one for me to go show them. Turns out he is actually a nice helpful guy! :thumbup1:
Armed with that information I set off for Tel Aviv. To my disappointment MEMSI told me that the tripticket that I had a copy of was for an Israel registered bike and that they cannot issue one to foreign registered motorcycles. I have to add though that the forceful way in which she delivered this news made me question the accuracy, but I was screwed anyway. For now I have given up the idea of trying to get my bike into Egypt without a carnet.
Woeste Willem, I guess the way to get into Egypt is by getting that Carnet from the Automobile Association in your country of registration. Once you have the carnet, the additional costs to get into Egypt are: Customs charges 575LE, Insurance 58LE, Traffic Dept 70LE, and then an Arrival Fee for your bike of 35LE (there is also an arrival fee for yourself of 75LE)
Squire: The Sinai is definitely a place I would like to explore by bike but the desert gods and my bank balance appear to be working against me L. When in Dahab I looked at renting a bike. Although not quite the same as one’s own bike, those bikes seem to be ok. They rent them for 300LE a day, but I’m sure the price is negotiable.
I guess my options now are: 1) An expensive cargo ship from Haifa to Italy; 2) A ferry from Haifa to Cyprus and a Ro-Ro cargo ship Greece (no passengers allowed); 3) A ferry to Cyprus and a ferry to Turkey
Cheers for now

You know of the ferry between Tartous, Syria then via Alexandria to Venice?
Or does that not help?
Car & truck ferry to Syria – Egypt – Italy | Visemar Line
Or can you not enter Syria because of an Israeli passport stamp now?

Thanks for the info onlyMark. It's not the Israel stamp that handicaps me to go to Syria (I have 2 passports). To get to Cyria I must go through Jordan and they also want a carnet

I was always under the impression you don't need a Carnet for Jordan. It's handy to have one, but it isn't mandatory.

Here is my two cents

For me Egypt was the hardest Country to get in to. I was going from Israel side and I had a Carnet.
But it was a nightmare. The border guy wanted from us to make a new carnet as at the back of the carnet Egypt was listed under African countries and he wanted us to change that. (All the carnets last page look the same) He keep repeating 'Egypt is z center of z Middle East'

It took us 3 days camping at the border and a lot of copies and phone calls and faxing before they let us in the country.
At the end they have charge us for the parking on the border.

So the whole Egypt thing did not work for us that well. On Africa’s East side the more south you get the better it is.

All the best

Vaalseun - Still in Israel?
 

Hi there,
If you are still in Israel and want to join for a ride (on Saturday) you more than welcome.
PM me for that.
We intend to ride the east side of the country (north to south) - great views + great roads + bonus of some history of the area.
:welcome:

Made it to Greece
 

Thanks for all the advice. I took the easy way out of Israel....I shipped my bike with Salamis out of Haifa to Greece (Lavrio) and took an ELAL flight from Tel Aviv to Athens :D
Bike shipping cost Eur280 + NIS292 port taxes. Flight cost $230
The crew on the ship were kind enough to let me ride the bike on and lash it down myself, and even let me keep the keys (I had to promise that I will meet the ship in Lavrio when it docks on Monday morning 7am). So, another early morning for me tomorrow since the port is 2 hours away by bus doh
My only concern now is that I don't have European third party insurance and Greece Customs might send me back to Athens to go buy it (by bus again!)....any advice on buying cheap insurance in Greece will be much appreciated.
Cheers

Hi Shay
As mentioned in my PM, I would have loved to join you for the ride yesterday, but once again I was a pedestrian (no bike!)
I bumped into a Canadian couple (1200BMW) in Haifa who did a ride with you and your club. They speak highly of you guys.
Thanks again for the invite. Cheers

Update Middle East - (border crossing, shipping, taxes, etc)
 

Hi Guys

I have been travelling recently in the region and here are my country and border crossing experiences.

Syria

No carnet is requires, BUT, visa 30$ and they MAY ask you for 90$ tax and $30 for insurance. I say MAY because in my case I enter into the country without paying, but probably they didn’t realize it. This taxes are due to pay every time you enter into border so if you intend to cross to Lebanon note that at your return you will need to pay again.

If you decide to park your bike in Damascus and bus to Lebanon, the border guard may not allow to leave Syria o ask you to bring your bike and park in its park.

Tax To leave the country 10$

Jordan


Jordan is the most easygoing border crossing in the region. No Carnet is required, Visa 20 €, Tax import 20 €, Insurance depending number of days, but from 9 - 30 €. Please note if you enter again because your entry has been refused in other countries ( Israel, Egypt, Syria) you will have to pay everything again but insurance if still covers.

Taxs to leave the country 9€ for you & 5€ for the bike

Israel

No visa (USA, EU, Canada, etc.) and Carnet is required. If your insurance green card covers Israel you don't need to bay.

Hold your breeze at the border guards because they may take few hours ( 4h for me ) questioning, checking everything in you bike, bags, clothes. Especially if you have visited Syria.

BE AWARE THAT DESPITE THE BORDER OFFICIALS CAN PUT THE STAMPS ASIDE YOUR PASSPORT; THE CUSTOM WILL HAVE TO STAMP IT. THIS CUSTOM STAMP ONLY HAS LATIN LETTERS AND NUMBERS WITH NOT BUT IF YOU INTEND TO RETURN THROUGH SYRIA THIS CAN BE A PROBLEM, BECAUSE THE SYRIAN ARE SO PARANOID WITH ANYTHING NOT WRITING IN ARABIC IN PASSPORT DURING YOUR STAY IN THE REGION THAT THEY AUTOMATICALLY ASSOCIATE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN IN ISRAEL

Tax to leave the country 100 NIS. (20 €)

If for some reason you get stuck in Israel (Egypt and Syria don't let you cross) there 2 Ro-Ro ferry operating from Israel

Grimaldi lines :goes to Italy (not recommended, quite expensive and very unhelpful)

Rosenneft : goes to Cyprus and Greece for around 450€ (transport and harbour fees included)

EGYPT

CARNET IS REQUIRED, even for Sinai ( if you enter from Israel) if you don’t have an Israel plate. At taba border they may give the option to bay a "carnet" from a private agent in Nuewbea.

MY ADVICE IS " don't even try whatever custom officials says. You may will end paying 200$ paperwork, tax and insurance + 700$ for carnet with not guaranty of refund on top of the cost to enter in Jordan + ferry


Well guys hope this info helps you in your trips on the region.

Thanks for reading and good travels

Border crossing Jordan Israel Egypt
 

Hi Alcasi

I just have booked the Grimaldi passage from Salerno Italy to Asdhoh Israel for me and my motorbike.
Expexted arrival is of 15.07.2018.
My plan is after having visited Israel and Jordania to visit the valley of kings in Egypt.

Based on your experiences what is more feasible:
A. On land via Eilat, Sharm el Sheikh up to Suez.
B. Via ferry from Aqaba to Nuwaiba and further up to Suez.
C. Does the ferry Sharm el Sheikh - Hurghada transport motorbikes as well?
D. From Doba KSA to Safaga Egypt does a ferry exist, however to get a transit visa for KSA seems to be fare more difficult to obtain than a private audience at the pope in Rome...

By the way: I travel with two passports
My Swiss one is used for all the arabic countries, bearing all necessary visas.
My Italian one will be used exclusively for all issues related to Israel.

Thank you for your advise and kind feedback
Silvio