New bike regulations for Jordan

[jeromedelay]

greetings... crossing from Israel to jordan a couple of dqys qgo, was told by the jordanian authorties that since jan 1st, there is q new law, and bkes are only allowed to TRANSIT through Jordan. They gave me 24 hours....
but they still sold be a Three month insurance policy...
I had no problem when coming through Jordan from Syrialast december. the bike stayed in Amman for weeks before crossing into Isr.
I'll go to the customs house in amman sunday and try to get extension (from the advise of a nice border guard...) and let you know

all the best
jerome
R1150gsadv, still trying to get to baghdad..



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[malmoerik]

Ouch,
I'm about to spend 6 days with my bike in Jordan in May, I really hope they don't enforce that rule on me... Do you think it could have something to do with you entering from Israel?
Please let us know what happened.
Erik

[mauro]

I am planning to travel to Jordan as well, it would be really nice to know if is possible to stay longer. Hope to read from you soon.
Mauro

[POB/London]

Ditto!

[french]

There seems to be some new regulation that is increasingly being enforced since a few weeks, although I cannot assess how rigorously.

We got stuck in Nuweiba, trying to get into Jordan, because minitery of civil security had told the ferry company to not take any motorcycles from Egypt to Jordan anymore.

After many phonecalls with the tourism ministry in Amman and then Aqaba, we found somebody who was willing to talk to the authorities, who in turn were then willing to give us a 2 day transit visum. They than called the ferry company and authorized us to take the boat.

Upon arrival in Aqaba, we got a 7 day transit visum, but we could not negotiate more. It is important to note here that the 7 transit papers are related to the motorcycle and issued by the customs. You as a person still have a (extendable) 15 day visum.

Not being able to figure out what to do, we ended spending 10 days in Jordan and arrived 3 days late for our motorcycle, but still in time for our visas at the border with Syria.

There our delay was not an issue. One just has to pay 5 Dinar for the 1st week of delay. No questions asked. And in the end cheaper, since we only paid insurrance for one week ;-)

In the country, nobody seems to worry about the motorbikes, except the occasional policeman who walks up or stops to compare his honda with whatever you have.

We also met people coming south, who got issued 14 days for the motorcycle. Trying to extend the transit visum for the motorcycle seems a hopeless case. We tried in several cities, but not Amman and never got anywhere, since nobody understood the problem, since we had a valid visum.

Hope this helps.

[mauro]

Well,is not very encouraging but what to do ?? I think the only way to know is be there and try to get trhu ... At least this is what i will do .....
Mauro

[malmoerik]

I'm going to enter Jordan from Syria on 4th May. Maybe a silly question. But the thought of the Jordan authorities not letting my bike in leaves me in a bit of a situation, since a single entry visa to Syria doesnt allow me to go back. Any suggestions? How well does bakshish go down in Jordan???
Erik

[Stephano]

I experienced Jordanian bureaucracy with motorcycles last summer when we tried to take our two bikes (which had been shipped by lorry through Saudi Arabia) out of Amman Customs and both bikes were registered to one owner. This is not allowed in Jordan (or Turkey!)

We were met with total intransigence from lower level bureaucrats and had to keep pressing and moving higher up the chain of command to make progress. The matter moved slowly from customs to a downtown ministry where I eventually secured release of the second bike by being very polite and respectful. Knowledge of Arabic also helped.

At no stage was a bribe suggested and I would strongly advise against offering one. If you are asked to pay a fee that may be different but don’t go around the Middle East thinking you can buy your way past every obstacle.

Good luck with your trips. Jordan was a fantastic place to ride around.

[This message has been edited by Stephano (edited 22 April 2004).]

[jeromedelay]

After spending 7 weeks working inBaghdad, we returned to Amman Monday by place and picked up the bike ( Had left it in the royal hotel garage)... then we headed to the sheik hussein northern jordan vlley crossing into israel.
though the bike had only be allowed into Jordan through the same crossing for a 24 hour-transit to Syria (so what we lied...), the customs agent on the way out just did his math, said "you have been here almost 8 weeks, it's 5 dinars per week, you owe me 40 dinars (70 US$)..... and that was the end of it. No Hassle, no problem.
So I suggest when you cross into Jordan from anywhere, just tell them it is TRANSIT. enjoy your stay, and pay the 5 dinars a week on the way out.

One trick though: Purchqase insurance for the length of your stay... they dont mind... I'd bought 3 month just in case. and if you want to extend your visa, a quick trip at the main police station in Amman will do the trick.)

All the best to all,
Jerome
now heading to greece/macedonia/Kosovo....

[malmoerik]

Two weeks ago I entered Jordan from Syria and had no problems at all. I just had to buy a one-month insurance and that was it. Nothing about any new regulations at all!
Erik

[mauro]

Originally posted by malmoerik:
I'm going to enter Jordan from Syria on 4th May. Maybe a silly question. But the thought of the Jordan authorities not letting my bike in leaves me in a bit of a situation, since a single entry visa to Syria doesnt allow me to go back. Any suggestions? How well does bakshish go down in Jordan???
Erik

You should be in Jourdan by now, any problems with the "new" regulation for the bike ??
WOuld be nice to read from you

[Douglas Hackney]

We toured Turkey, Syria and Jordan in May / June 2004 and experienced difficulty getting our bikes into Jordan. After about two hours of negotiation we were able to get the bikes across the border.

I would suggest getting a fax from the tourism people giving you permission to tour the country prior to showing up at the border.

The problem lies in the fact that motorcycles are illegal in Jordan except for the royal family.

We had two mid-level officials lobbying to let us in and one senior level official who didn't want to let us through. Eventually the mid-level guys talked him into it. We paid no "fees" or other payments beyond the normal costs to cross the border and tour the country.

You can learn more about our tour at:
http://www.hackneys.com/travel/jordan/jordan.htm

http://www.hackneys.com/travel/syria/syria.htm

http://www.hackneys.com/travel/turkey/turkey.htm

You can follow our travels at:
http://www.hackneys.com/travel

Doug

[esteban]

we just entered jordan from nueiba by ferry. there was no problem to get a ticket and in aqabah all we had to do was to get a permission from the police.

they told us that for safety reasons there were no motobikes in jordan but that we could travel in the country. all very friendly.

we were asked how many days we wanted to stay in jordan and we took three (which is free of cost). but i think we could have gotten more.

so far, that's the good news - let's hope it lasts.

cheers,

steven

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