riding to jordan - bike documents etc
 

hi all,

we are planning to ride to jordan by last week of september for 10 days.

What kind of documentation (apart from the regular papers like registration, insurance etc) would we be required to carry, considering that we would be crossing into Jordan from Saudi arabia ?

Do i need a carnet or something (gosh, i dont even know what a carnet is !!! ) ??

what about insurance for the bike in jordan ? (i should check with my insurance agent ... i know..)

thanks for any / all advise & tips.

br
vicks

Yes, you need a carnet. Get it from your local Automobile Association. The deposit you must leave is dependent on the value of your vehicle as well as where you want to travel. E.g. if you plan to visit Egypt or Lebanon the deposit will increase quite a lot. You will get the deposit back when you return the carnet correctly completed. Basically, if you get an "in" stamp in the carnet, as you will at the Jordanian border, then you must also have an "out" stamp before you cross back into Saudi Arabia or Syria etc.

You must also pay to have the carnet issued which is non-refundable. The fee will depend on whoever issues your carnet.

Insurance is available at the Jordanian border. Last month, I was offered 3 days for 9 dinar but chose a week for 14 dinar. (You will also probably pay entry and exit fees for Jordan and other countries in the region: I think it was 20 dinar to enter & 10 to exit. Make sure you keep some cash at the end for these hidden extras.)

Oh, and if you are traveling on a bike you might have to hang around while they 'get permission' for you to bring your bike in and if you have a visible GPS you might have to hang around for a bit more while you 'get permission' for that too. You have to learn to love Middle Eastern border crossings. :confused1:
Stephan

Planning to tour Syria and Jordan next year, entering via Turkey. I was led to believe that a carnet was not a necessity.

Carnet de Passage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(I realise that wikipedia may not be 100% accurate)

Has anyone crossed these borders without a carnet?

Trying to save the expense of buying a carnet, has anyone managed to get into Iran without one? It would be a shame to miss out on Iran whilst I'm in the neighbourhood.

baswacky.

Like a lot of things in this part of the world, I think this is a grey area and I was aware when I wrote the above post that there may be others who have entered Jordan without a carnet. I have even heard of people eventually getting into Egypt & Iran without one.

I honestly don't know what the 'official' position in Jordan is, but the border authorities most definitely ask for it and expect to see it. Perhaps, you can get in without it if you say you haven't got one. It's a bit like whether you can enter Syria by obtaining a visa on the border: technically you can't, you must get your visa in your country of residence but it seems that it is possible on the border. (Other examples of 'flexibility': last month I had a Syrian visa that I should have used 'within 15 days of issue'. I didn't and no one said a word. I also had a 3-day transit visa for Saudi Arabia and popped out on the 4th day and that was OK too.)

Regarding the Wikipedia list, I would take it with a pinch of salt since it lists the UAE as requiring one. Whereas I have had European travelers staying with me who either had to ask the border authorities to stamp it or simply didn't bother.

Stephan

Thanks for the reply Stephan.

Like you say it is a bit of a grey area with plenty of flexibility as well. Other posts on the HUBB would indicate that it is possible without a carnet, even Iran - apparantly!

Anyway, I will find out for certain next year!

baswacky.

For an explanation of carnets head for the menu on the left. There is also a list of countries where one is required. In the Paperwork forum there is a sticky thread with some interesting discussions.

Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia and requires published sources. I have had my corrections there reversed because of this. Own experience is not acceptable, making the page useless to anybody. That's why I started our own page here on HU:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tri...t-of-countries

No Carnet required
 

Coming from Syrian Arab Republic (الجمهورية العربية السورية) we didn't need Carnet. They issued TIP (Temporary Import) documents at the border.

Also vehicle insurance was issued on the border.

We did Syria and Jordan both without the Carnet without any problems, although they're market as Carnet-obligatory countries. But they did know how to issue a TIP at the border :)

It was around 80-120USD-ish to enter both countries (VISA+TIP+insurance for 15 days) per 1 motorbike and 1 person.

Ride safe, Margus

hi all,

thanks for all the informative posts. I am going to call the jordanian embassy and find some more info and keep my fingers crossed during the border crossing, as it more or less looks like i wont be buying a carnet.

thanks again
vicks

Vick, a friend just rode from saudi to Finland (on a Harley no less, and in Agust too)

No Carnet required anywhere. He got all paperwork at the border.

thanks ric,

but currently all my plans (including the riyadh challenge) are unfortunately on hold due to some utterly disturbing events in my life ... called work !!! :(

hope to ride to europe via jordan-turkey et all some day .....