Vietnam is now possible!!!
 

HI, While browsing over on GT riders I read a report by Mark and Nikki. They have entered Vietnam two up on a big Harley. It had to be done like China with a guide, who has arranged all paperwork etc. I know its not everyones cup of tea, and the cost will be an issue with many...but hey you can now ride through Vietnam .....

Have fun Jimmy

Hmmm
 

We met these 2 in Chaing Mai with David from GT rider,
what isn,t mentioned is the fact that the presidents son rides a harley and they had an invite from him, so for us mere mortals it remains a deam mate.
That was what they told us anyway,Pete n Brucella

The subject on this thread really got me excited but it looks like its not possible afterall. Seems a little bonkers to go though with a guide. We are going to have to leave our bike at the border and then hire one in Vietnam, that way you get to go where you like and no guide. Shame!

I re-entered Vietnam 2 days ago in Lao Bao and they customs didn`t even looked to the bikes.
Both bikes are Vietnam registered, but they simply didn-t checked it, only our passports.
Leaving Laos 1 minute, enter Vietnam, 1:30 minutes.

Returning to VN with a local bike has never been a problem. I met a French guy with a truck who got in, see here: busaroundglobe

Would be interesting to see whether anybody else can pull this off.

Cheers,
Peter.

I´ve heard it can be done on a Vietnam-regoed bike. But it may be a whole different story on any other bike.

And I believe you might actually be able to sneak in at some border, while the customs are not looking. I´ve been trying to cross there a total of 5 times, from 4 different border stations in Cambodia & Laos in December 2006, and had we not been a group of 8 big hairy falangs, that´s what we probably would have tried (our bikes had Thai plates). Some of the borders we went to, had lots of traffic going both ways, surely a small group like 2 or 3 people could have gotten through. Our group was too big, and we didnt want to split it, in case some had got in, and others had not. And we were also offered to smuggle our bikes inside a truck through the border, but didnt go for that either.

I´d advice to think carefully, before you decide to do something like that. It means, that you have brought your vehicle illegally into the country, so there are no guarantees, that you would not get into trouble either trying it, or later on inside Vietnam. Remember your foreign plates may also attract the attention of the authorities.

I would not say, that Vietnam is now possible - or at least it does not seem to be possible in the same way than, say, Thailand, Cambodia or Laos.

Not sure how applicable this is to bikes, but I met a Swiss couple in India (and agains in Laos) who got their camper van into Vietnam in spring 2008.

Easy to get in
 

Having spent some time in Chaing Mai last month with both local and expat bikers we did not meet any one who had got in succesfully and got out!!
We did however hear horror stories of people who had been let in but not let out with their bikes, as the bikes were not imported properly, they had them impounded at the border.
David at GT Rider is the fountain of all knowledge on this subject(he does the maps for the whole Golden Triangle area) and he says you will loose your bike if you try to sneak in. Pete n Brucella