Is a carnet neccesary to travel western route though Africa
 

Is it possible to travel the length of Africa without a carnet as mine is running out and im sick of paying out for bits of paper.

Thanks for the help
Tim

Hi,

it is necessary to have the carnet with you in Africa. It is required by certain countries, where you will find specific information on their websites.

I myself am preapring a Transafrika Trip on the eatern route and it is not possible without the Carnet.

Good trip for you.

Regards,

Jan

Hi,
It looks like a no, it's not possible without, i'm afraid

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

Safe travels
Sam

West Africa
 

Only speaking for West Africa, Mauritania down till Nigeria. You need one for Nigeria and Ghana, the others till u reach Nigeria are poss without.

AGAIN ???? I am starting to suspect that HUBB has some interest on the carnet'- thing

DEFINITELY AS of 2008-9 YOU DO CAN RIDE YOUR BIKE FROM EUROPE TO SOUTHAFRICA WITHOUT ANY KIND OF CARNET .

and here again , people should differenciate "Countries in which a Carnet is accepted" (i.e. Burkina -as they accept , will use and validate the Carnet ) and "Countries that REQUIRE a carnet to get in ). In Africa there is ONLY one country and this country is EGYPT.


Every now and then someone claims "you need a carnet to enter X". Bullshit . They should say "We had a Carnet , and we enter X" . As of today I confirm that the western route is totally carnet-free. I have done it twice (bike , car) and thinking doing it again in a 4x4 truck and NEVER HAD A CARNET .

so pls. Stop misleading people , 'cos this bullshit about all those countries requiring carnet is putting lots of people off about planning their trip . Who / WHO ? is affirming that you need a carnet in Burkina ! Who ** f**CK says you need one in NIGER ? or in CHAD ? -Names ? Experience? or "they have heard from someone/read it somewhere?" -seriously , I can't figure out why people mislead travellers so much -or why-(unless they are on the business of selling carnets)/

i am assuming that those people can differenciate "Can use a carnet in Niger" from "Should produce a Carnet to get in Niger"

Carnet
 

I have to agree with Javier, to many people giving advice on things they know nothing about!!!
I have crossed Africa twice, once with a Carnet (because I did not know better) and second time without.
I have been to Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Algeria, DRC Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, CAR, Nigeria, Niger, Algeria all without one.
Sometimes the border guards will ask for one as it makes there job a little easier but with a little patience you will get through. As you cross Africa you will learn crossing the borders is the hardest part of the whole experience.

This is some very refreshing info, as i've been researching and preping for my up-coming ATW and this carnet bulls**t is getting rediculous! 500% for India?? when you can travell all of the Americas without one, even though the international website states that you need one :confused1: It would be a great service to everybody who is planning to get some real up to date information by people who have entered countries which suposedly need a carnet without one, maybe start a new thread? Javier and Quads, i thank you both in advance :thumbup1:

Take the example of Nigeria: The Nigerian Customs Service website
Nigerian Customs Administration has this to say about temporary import of vehicles

"(b) Motor Vehicles:
As temporary visitors you may bring your own private motor vehicle into Nigeria for a period not exceeding six months from the date of importation, provided that it is covered by a valid carnet or triptyque: an international touring document, you will be required to provide financial cover for the Custom duty involved. Such cover will be a bond (the surety to which should be a Bank or an Insurance Company established in Nigeria) or a Cash Deposit equal to the duty involved. The Bond will be invalidated or the deposit refunded immediately the car is re-exported".

It would appear that, based on the experience of some here, that they are not following their own regulations.

Rules are rarely followed in Afrcia, especially by the police and border guards. I have been to Nigeria twice, neither time was a Carnet required.

Hi there,

I'd be interested to know the costs of entering countries without a carnet. I'm in the process of getting one anyway as I'll need it for Egypt, but it would be good to have a comparison.

For a 25 page trans Africa carnet issued by the NRMA in NSW, Aus I'm paying just short of AU$1000. AU$250 of that is a refundable deposit, so long term cost will be AU$750, which I think is pretty reasonable for potentially 25 countries. I'm sure there are going to be additional costs along the way, but I'd like to know how people who've travelled without a carnet have got on.

Interesting reading, not sure what justifies all the swearing. People are sharing their knowledge and advice, sometimes what they interpret from their experience is right, sometimes not. When we went trans africa, we did have a carnet but didn't always need to use it. We met several other travellers who seemed to be getting through without but there are some risks.

1) Some countries that we passed through wanted to enter the vehicle details in my passport. This happened in Mauritania for example. In theory this would of made it difficult to leave the country without the vehicle, if for example I needed to fly back home for an emergency. I didn't test this, maybe they wouldn't have been that organised and it wouldn't have been a problem but its certainly a risk. Obviously if you stay with your vehicle and exit then not a problem.

2) Getting through depends who you meet on respective borders. Obviously people are managing to get through without it but not always the case. We met three travellers in Nairobi who were travelling north in two vehicles. They had been made to leave their vehicles on the Tanzanian / Kenyan border, take public transport to Nairobi to sort out a carnet before going back to retrieve their car. Raises lots of may bes - may be they weren't good at talking their way through, may be they just got unlucky with the particular customs border agent, may be its worth running the risk and dealing with that if you have to as they did.

Depends on cost versus hassle / risk. We took out a double indemnity insurance policy against ours so we didn't deposit the money. Cost a bit but not that much and removed that level of risk.

A few points from my end:

- $750 Aussie dollars is a complete rip off for a piece of paper (as is the hundreds of pounds I have just paid). The carnet system is slow, expensive and annoying, however it does shield you from potential abuse at borders by corrupt or otherwise guards.

- I think Morocco has a good system - the vehicle is in the immigration database against your name, so you can't leave the country without it or customs clearance. For countries with no computer systems, a stamp next to your entry stamp is fine.

- Having no Carnet with a motorbike and having no Carnet with a car/4x4 probably evokes different responses at some borders. So please state which your experience was with.

- I have traveled without a Carnet and found it a hassle, but doable. I've just started another long trip and have gotten a Carnet for a few reasons, one of which is to make border crossings easier, or at least more predictable.

- For those new to all of this overland travel stuff, perhaps bare in mind that some of these people are 'hardened' African travelers who are able to sort things out even if it takes some stress and hassle where others may be put off.

- It depends where you are in Africa - West African borders are very loose for example - you could drive from Mauritania to Burkina across Mali without doing any immigration or customs and probably not have any problems with this.

- Good to know from those others who have not used one - constructive accounts of countries/borders/paperwork/procedures always welcomed (else it came come across as macho posturing as a heroic traveller ;-).

Christ! "AU$750" for an Egyotian Carnet! Ithought they had to be for 800% of the vehicles value in egypt? South of Egypt you can get away with 150%.

I cant comment on West Africa or Central Africa - I am sure it is much more difficult there - however i find it really speeds things up in EA and Southern Africa and this big orange document,with lots of stamps in it, is quite an impressive thing to slapdown on the table especially when these little kings in the bush get bolshi.

You also don't have to use it all the time - tosave pages sometimes we used a TIP.

With the carnet you're more in control -you dictate the procedure - not the man with with bad breath and a chip on his shoulder - saying that I've only had one or two difficult experiences and I've been driving in East and Southern africa since '91.

You know what? Sorry didn't check if you were on a bike or in a 4x4 - they seem to be treated completely differently.

I agree AU$750 is a rip off for a piece of paper, but my question is how much does it cost without a carnet to enter countries.

Bundubasher, you mention TIP - do you have a rough cost for this? If I use all 25 carnet pages the average cost per country is AU$30 / US$25 / GBP15. I'd be interested to have a comparison.

For some reason a carnet issued in Aus (I'm travelling with a 4x4) for Egypt is 200% of the value of the vehicle. I have no idea why it's such a difference compared to a UK carnet but other countries are also at different rates, not just Egypt.

From my hazy memory I have found 3rd party insurance (the TIP) to be around 50 usd a pop, so a carnet is really only effective if you are doing a span of countries.

What makes the difference is that it was a legal requirement for us to get our Zim reg'd truck into Kenya - however once we had it, and the COMESA yellow card insurance, border crossings became relatively easy.

However my experience is only of southern and eastern africa were the carnet is for 150% of thevehicles value - I've always been put off Egypt by the high carnet so if you can do it cheaper go for it.

Lets start a list:

With no carnet, here are the customs costs/experiences for bringing in a vehicle:

Free:
Morocco - free and efficient - can have in country 6 months out of the last 12 months.
Mali (they sometimes want up to 10 euro's, but the paper is free and mentions no payment)
Burkina Faso - free and easy when I crossed
Guinuea - techincally free, but depends how you present yourself I think.

Payment (official/unofficial):
Mauritania - usually 10 Euro's (unofficial)

Come on the rest of you, I have managed that on the day I am moving out of my house! ;-)

I have crossed africa -i mean crossed- from top to bottom a few times, being in every major country in africa other than somalia and ethiopy and never ever I needed a carnet other than in egypt.

the rest of the countries you can enter without a carnet. of course there are people that -after spending hundreds and putting their house on the line for the carnet- they will very much tell people how witty they were and how usefull and critical the carnet was.



you can travel africa all around without it. people who get carnets are simply people misled -ussually due to posts like the one originating this thread- that keep the whole ball of the carnet rolling .

you don't need a carnet. I very much hope that those people that tell the opposite are aware that they are ruining adventures and trips before they start , by misleading about the carnet. you do not need a carnet in Africa/

-of course there are people who like to do everything by the book .the kind of people that carry 2 fire extinguisher in a car and paper toilet seat covers.a "ned flanders" attitude that is very very bad in Africa. for the rest of us people used to cross borders , we can do perfectly without the carnet , using all that money in something more usefull .

javier carrion.
btw. in 3 days I am Landing in brazzaville -the bike is parked there- and travelling eastwards DRC , Zambia , malawi , tanzania , etc.. Anyone around ?

By 4x4 or bike? Bikes seem to get away with alot more than trucks. However all this macho posturing doesn't do anyone any good -different strokes for different folks :)

I have been asked to show my fire extinguisher at a road block at least once and, if it came to it, I'd rather have an extinguisher to hand than watching the back of my truck (where I cook) and all my kit go up in smoke!

I do however see your point - alot of westerners over prepare and try to cover every eventuality - you don't really pick up the African laissez-faire attitude to life and travel until you've got a bit of experience under your belt...and that, my friend, is the fun bit.

Carnet... sure
 

That must have been because you did not have the carnet (the second time!!)


We have travelled down the west and up the east side, with carnet and we found the border crossing surprisingly easy. Hardly any bribes, no difficulty but sometimes time consuming. On both sides the Carnet is like a magical document, like Bundabasher said. It works miracles and it is your argument against crooked cops about your vehicle when they claim that it does not comply with local rules. We have used the Carnet many times for this with the argument "it has been admitted by your customs...see !! so it is accepted as it is and you have no right to fine me because of the roof rack, because of the bull bar, because it is two tone coloured, because of the air horn, because of the sandladders on the side, etc.....

Maybe you can get around without it but I don't recommend to do that. There will be plenty of other challenges waiting for you in Africa.

Cheers,
Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl

On the one hand the carnet is an expensive anacronism but on the other hand it has probably reduced overall levels of bribery fees for termporarily importing vehicles, as far as overlanding goes.

I suspect you can quite easily get across africa without one and I feel that the internet now makes it so much easier to "know how to do things" that, where appropriate, a carnet should be seen as a 'convenience' tool not a 'requirement' and the forum should recognise that (as one post rather forcefully tried to elucidate).

Carnet
 

Good for you Javier...... but how much does a carnet cost? Yes, about Euro 200, WOW! The bond is returned afterward, no harm done, and like I am saying, we used the Carnet more frequently in the interior country bluffing off cops than on the borders themselves!

Your normative insulting opinion about people who choose to travel with Carnet is realy not appropriate, they are only advising from their perspective. Also note that you are not consistent in your "advise" and argument because you say you don't need a Carnet in Africa except for Egypt...well 80% of all overlanders travel via Egypt!!

Cheers
Noel

Everyone who is saying they have done xyz without a carnet- i'm assuming they mean also without paying a bond at the border to temporarily import and guarantee they won't sell their vehicle while in country without notifying the authorities? I thought that was the point of the carnet, my money will be held via the RAC in the UK, rather than forking out money to a random border guard on entry and hoping they will know when and where I'm leaving and have the money waiting? Ready to be paid to the next random border guard!
I'm sure a carnet from your home country is not a requirement anywhere, its just easier than paying the local man on the spot surely? And if he wants 20US in his pocket rather than doing things by his rulebook then a risk worth taking for some?

Hi
We traveled july-aug maroc-senegal without any carnet. In fact we didn´t have any documents of the car. The car was even registred on a person who wasn´t with us on the trip. The car was from 1990 and we had no problem entering and selling the car in Senegal. Yes of course it was some husteling at borders but thats normal even if you have the required documents. It was a blessing we had stashed up with french porn magazines. Othervise we might not have been able to cross the borders :)

I'm sure all French women following in your wake will be very appreciative of you efforts with the porn mags. :thumbdown:

This makes for some very interesting reading.

Im planning west route of Africa at end 2010.

According to the RAC here in the UK it would appear that one IS required, and then reading on the South African AA website it says a carnet is compulsory ONLY in Egypt, Uganda, Kenya. (Not my route)

I've asked them for clarification, but it looks like I'm going to take the +-£1000
I would have spent on a Carnet and use it for any TIP's, "greased palms" etc and probably come out at the end with some money left over.

It does seem a case of "asking your barber if you need a haircut". The RAC will be inclined to say yes you do need one.

Gracias Javier,
you gave a lot of encouragement with your posts. Because of this carnet matter I canceled Africa completely before my travel, and now, because of problems shipping the bike and myself to South America, mainly because of little money and NO PLANING, only the carnet thingy was giving me doubts. I have some money to buy visas and petrol and bribe, but not for carnet.

Now the plan is to ride as far as possible to South Africa, sell the bike, if it still runs, and all the gear somewhere, and take a flight to S. America and travel hitchinking. If sb have any postive thoughts on selling the bike and taking a cheap flight, very welcome.

so .. the west coast route is essentially carnet-free. You can still use it -if you want- but It is not required .

Is it cost effective ? -Id say no. A carnet is around 250 Euros + bank costs -. In mosts customs people either pay or not . But that doesnt seem to be carnet-related. In one of those nasty borderpost (Chad's Bol , p.e ) everyone paid. People without a Carnet -me- paid for the passavant. People with the carnet -now becoming rarer - paid exactly the same for the stamps. It seems It doesnt make a difference.

Even now Egypt allows cars without a Carnet .So I really can't see a single reason to spend money on that outdated-pointless thing.

Also there is the issue that losing/abandoning the vehicle is a very *real* possibility in Africa . A Carnet thus doubles the risk , bringing no apparent benefit. If you get your car *and * your carnet stolen , then It would be a nightmare to recover your deposit.

Really can't see the point of reccomending a carnet -other than people having realized the pointlessness of it , still triying to convince themselves of the astuteness of the carnet thing- .

you will rarely see someone admitting "we paid 250 Euros + 5000 Deposit for a piece of paper that later on we realized is useless , as everyone elses crosses africa exactly the same without it"

It is not required , It is very seldom used , It costs a lot of money , It is a hassle to keep it safe at all times , and then , It is simply not needed .

So what is the point of getting it ?

Wow! That's great news - I'm in Mali, looking at buying a bike for travelling through Africa and the only thing holding me back was no-one here seemed to know about this 'carnet' thing!
So I don't hijack this thread if anyone can give some information on registering, insuring the bike in Mali and what documentation and paperwork I will need to get at the borders (without the carnet!) :) http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-in-mali-48498
Thanks for the help - great website! :thumbup1:

P.S. Egypt is one of the only places definitely NOT on my route...

Just crossed to Nigeria from Benin at Tchikandou, this was the first place customs asked for carnet, and were surprised I didnt have one. At first they did not know what to do, and as the the border police stamped me in, they were thinking just letting me go just like that, but eventually gave a nice paper, which had all the stuff of temp. import, like lasser-passer. Not sure why they need the carnet if they have this nice paper. Very helpful guys, and also, there was a gorgeus babe working there, and I did not want leave the post anymore. yeahh

by the way, they gave me that paper for free.

Hi Motango, useful info you gave us - directly from the ground.

What countries have you crossed until you reached Benin? Have you been to Guiné-Bissau?

Best Regards,
Luis Cabrita
Portugal

Hi Luis,
crossed Marocco, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina, Benin.

Edit: Cameroon lasspasser 8000 CFA, crossed about 5 days ago, no problems, the babe working there took 10 000, 2000 cfa *for the form*, no pay for sure, but did not feel like fighting that time. The road from Ekok was big fight after the rain.

3 days ago crossed into Gabon, funny, customs officer did not have any lpasser forms and stamped my camerounian lpasser on the back, for free. Glad I did not gave the paper away when leaving Cameroun.

also, a spanish guy crossed into Ghana without carnet

Congo lpasser 10 000 CFA, no problem.

Cabinda LP free, stamps on the back of Camerounian one.
DRC free, stamps on the back.
Big Angola free, stamps on the back.
Namibia free, just the ****ing road tax

maybe with a car would be a different story, dont care, some people dont have money for the carnet and this false info on the hubb puts them off from going to Africa, hight time updating it.

total for crossing Africa by W. Coast without a carnet: 70 euros
no bribes, no problems, no headaches. Still wanna buy a bullshit carnet?

I'm in the process of applying for my carnet. I've not paid any money yet but i'm about to.

I'm travelling from the UK-Capetown down the east coast going through Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, SA

My costs will be with my DRZ worth £1055 with 800% for Egypt = £8044

So...

Carnet Document = £195
Bank guarantee admin = £55
Bank guarantee fee from barclays bank = £120

Thats about £370 in total, NONE of which I will get back.

I'm still getting the Carnet as it's my first time overlanding in Africa and it's a big piece of mind and a bit of comfort. Also, I can't be bothered with the stress that some people seem to relish at borders. It also gives me the freedom to go where I chose. Once I've done the trip, I might not bother the next time.

No disrespect to people who say it's not needed, but it's hard to just trust info pulled off a website by someone I've never met. You're probably right but I just dont know that do I !!!

I dont think £370 is that expensive considering im away for 7 months and crossing 12 African countries. I don't know how much the border costs may be without a carnet accross those countries but they could be the same or more.

I'm not prepared to be turned back from a country because I don't have a document that I could of easily obtained.

Carnet?
 

I think that's fair enough really Ted and to anyone who chooses to do so.

I'm heading the same route as Ted but a little later and there will likely be three of us NOT taking carnets. I think we agree that going via Egypt may be 'difficult' ... it may be 'impossible'... either at first, on day one - it may be possible on day 2 of waiting there... then again, it may not be. It has NOT been 'impossible' for everyone.

As an idea of how little temporary tax documentation is understood - the response this week from the Egyptian embassy was:

'I believe you will need a Carnet. You should speak with you automobile association.'

With respect to the RAC their role is to administer the process, not enforce it. They can only be expected to assist with questions about the administration process.

Coming from a legal perspective I like to be certain of what it is and why I'm required to comply with a certain procedure. 'Believe' makes me smile, and makes me fancy my chances. But then its all about chances really.

Thanks to every one who has conributed a bit of their personal experience.

We've just come back from Western Africa.
Morocco & Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana
We had a 10-page Carnet.

It was NECESSARY only for Ghana but we used it in Burkina Faso as well instead of paying for a Passe Avant/Laisser Passer.
We had to explain to the officials how to fill it in but it wasn't a problem.

Note: It's no longer accepted by Senegalese authorities.

Ted, if you dont trust the people writing here, not sure what da **** are u doing here.

Milton, hmm, no comment..

About Ghana: it is not necessary, as I wrote above, my spanish friend crossed without a carnet, no prob. With bike. You might get problems depending who is working at the border that day. Try next day, if unlucky. Dont shout.

Tom, dont listen to what an embassy said or whatever, they dont care, I had ambassadors telling me that it is impossible to cross into certain African countries without a carnet.

Sb wrote that Africa is impossible on a shoestring. Bullshit. Visas and and lasser passers all across west coast was about 580 euros. No bribes paid, and no insurance bought, exept for a couple of countries.

I dont see any point in this discussion anymore. javier already in 2006 wrote about this carnet necessity thingy, nb gives a shit, and info on the carnet page is kept unchanged. Those who have money, will keep buying carnet, I am writing for those guys, whose whole budget is the cost of the carnet, or even half of that. Just go guys.

The vast majority of advice on the hubb is spot on and accurate but some of it isn't ! Some of it is plain nonsense too. Some people will write anything for the sake of writing it..

I know through experience...

There are some people who I will listen to without question because I know them or built up a sort of trust in what they're saying over the years. There are some people with only a few posts who I have no idea who they are or where they've been. Ill read what they're saying, but i'll make my own mind up whether to take it on board.


If you took for gospell everything you read off the internet without question or cross reference, you're a friggin idiot. Ain't you got your own brain ?

Collecting opinions and information of a few people, cross referencing it and making my own judgements is " What "DA ****" am I doing here"

Like everyone else with half a brain no doubt !!

:thumbdown:

I wasn't going to get a carnet for my West-Africa tour, but since we're going with Mafratours (ferry) from Antwerp to Dakar, they demand we get a carnet. According to them, when you arrive in Senegal by sea, you need a carnet. Does anyone know what's the deal here? Others say a carnet is simply not accepted anymore in Senegal, so I risk buying a expensive carnet I don't use.

leaving the car in west africa...?
 

Hey everyone - great thread, very interesting and informative - and recent!

Travelling West Africa... UK to Cape Town in November...We were going to get carnet... as advised by a tour company, websites etc... but I dont think we will bother now -not really because of the cost of the carnet, but the hassle of underwriting it - bank / insurer. Theres enough to organise already, so if we dont need one - great ! Plus we dont actually want to comply with the carent :confused1: - we will be 2 riders to CapeTown, and 1 driver will be leaving us from Accra and we want to leave the 4x4 there as it is not worth shipping anywhere. If Accra is not the best option due to being stricter with paperwork etc, we coulf leave it in Ivory Coast... maybe Benin..Originally wanted to ship the bikes (which we will buy in the UK) back to Australia, but we cannot import them. So unless we can sell them in CapeTown with prior arrangement (????) anyone? , we will have to ship them back to the UK ($$$) to be bought back off us there... unless any other ideas,,,,

I read Motango talk about no need for a carnet in Ghana.

There it depends on where you wan't to enter - which borderpost. The one on the main Ouaga-Accra has it's own counter where they issue some kind of Laissez-passez for about 20 Cedi (that was late 2008). We tried to enter at the Hamale-border, took us a whole day and in the end the sent us back to Burkina. At the Leo-border also not possible.

But . . . if you really HAVE to enter at one of these two, tell them that you're going to leave at their border again. That way they think they don't run the risk of getting into trouble.

cheers & good luck

PS. that was by car, i could imagine that on a bike it might be easier. We crossed Mauretania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina, Togo, Benin without carnet - starting from nigeria all the way down to SA we used a carnet.

Hi everybody!

Great thread - very lively and packed with useful personal experiences on the whole "to carnet or not to carnet" issue.

For me, given the expense involved in getting one (especially for a 4wd), it's tempting to just forget it and "wing it" along the way. However, research into potential costs of TIPs and other border costs seems to suggest that this could be as costly, if not more so.

So I guess it just comes down to personal preference in the end. Whichever way you look at it, travelling with a vehicle across Africa is a pricey undertaking :( so I've resigned myself to the fact that I will bankrupt myself doing it, whichever course of action I take!

Jeanie

99.9%
 

Is this not a case of 99.9% of the time you dont need one (getting away with it) but if your there on the wrong day at the wrong time with the wrong boarder guard ...... your in the brown stuff?

Politics plays a large part in who gets away with it.

I would go without one but understand that i may have to re-route/plan for the Africa effect :confused1:

You pays your money ... or not :biggrin3:

Tom

Hi Javier,
Sorry to bother you but I was wondering if you could help me.... ? :helpsmilie:

We are wanting to drive a 4x4 from London to Accra, and leave the vehicle there, as it is not worth shipping to anywhere ($$$). Are we then best not to get a carnet? We do not care to make any money from it, but what should we do regarding registration papers?

I dont think we will use a carnet for the bikes (x2).... travelling UK, France, Spain, morocco, mauritania, senegal, gambia, guinea, guinea bisseau, sierra leone, liberia, ivory coast,ghana (where our driver flies out from ) then continuing on bikes ...benin, togo, cameroon, congo, algeria to capetown. Shipping the bikes back to UK. Bit costly as we are from Australia, so we are buying bikes in Lon, and cannot ship them home due to import laws.

Thank you,
Carolyn,
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ns/forward.gif

Funny fred this, so far.

Me thinks it is your personal choice to have one or not. Initially, I am one of those pro-carnet persons, probably because I am in shipping. But after reading all these posts, I realize you don't need one.

This is Africa. There are also a lot of people here who have by far less money available than peeps who travel around the world for what it's worth. Yet they also do travel and cross borders. Most of them probably never heard of a Carnet.

Every single country will have some kind of formality to be done to use your means of transport. Now that can be clarified at the border. Sometimes it may take some "convincing" and will require lots of time and talking, but that is part of travelling through Africa.

My real problem would be to asses, which option is going to be cheaper, the Carnet or the tea money option?

How are you going to plead poverty to the Customs official, arriving on a R1200GSA?:D