Central + South American Carnet Needs
 

Will I need a Carnet for a trip through Central and South America?

This seems to be a murky area but will have a big influence on the decision to go ahead with the trip by bike given the costs. I did the Bullet trip from India to the UK a couple of years back and the carnet was quite affordable and simple to arrange.

What is the best approach for a 2001 Africa Twin? What value should I state for the purposes of the carnet? Does £200 sound too low?:-)

After all it's only paperwork!

Cheers, matt

No.

£200 - um, they aren't stupid. They can read a blue book. Besides, you don't need it anyway.

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Grant, what do you mean with "besides, you don't need it anyway"? According to AIT, the organization that registers all carnets, Argentine, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela and other South American countries use the carnet, at least officialy. I am interested in this matter because I plan a trip through Asia to South America and my carnet will expire while I am in South America.

Mart Heijnens

Hola Folks,
As Grant says you do not need a Carnet for South America, I am in Argentina at the moment on an Irish reg bike and each time you cross a border you get a 90 days temp import for your moto, its as easy as that I have not had a problem so far, So save your money and go without the carnet and enjoy the place is fantastic......
regards
jose

This is great news about the carnet. I have just one complication with this arrangement. What would happen if I wanted to leave the bike in Colombia for 2 months while I return to the UK mid-trip? Presumably the bike details are stamped in my passport on entry and leaving by air (minus moto) would cause a problem. Would a new passport in Colombia get around this?

Bike details are not stamped into your passport in Colombia - the paperwork is done seperately at the aduana - although immigration will take a copy of your license & rego details and therefore probably have them recorded in their system which 'losing' your passport won't help. If you want to leave a bike somewhere in Sth America while you temporarily leave the country you can do so easily in Chile by filling out a form leaving it in the custody of a local; it's probably the case here in Colombia - but if you want to know for sure let me know and I'll check it out for you.

Suerte,
James

what about Ecuador? I was under the impression it was the only country to require a carnet??

cheers

Huey

Hola a todos:
I’m from Argentina. In Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil, You don’t need a carnet. Joe it’s right; you only need to fill a form, to present your document and the paper of the bike (it has to be at your name) and says that you are tourist. You do a temporary importation, the custom will ask you how much time you will stay and they will give you a permit to stay 90 days.
Enjoy my country and if you need anything here, send a mail.
Javier………………….

Just to reemphasize that a carnet is not needed check out the following links.

This is a post from a buddy of mine, Riccardo Rocco Paz. His contact info is included at the bottom of the page.


http://users.rio.com/tynda/Page421.html

Steve


http://www.bikerswithoutborders.org




This is Riccardo's site- it may be likewise useful.

www.andesmoto-tours.com

NO carnet required in Central and South America. You CAN use one, and when I was there I did, but only because I had it from Africa, and it was marginally cheaper and less hassle than filling out - and paying for - all the forms. Absolutely NOT worth getting one just for C&SA.

Technically Ecuador requires one for all entries, and by air they used to absolutely require it. But with Ricardo's help we have educated the customs guys in Quito, and it is no longer required. Just be nice and friendly and smile a lot.

By land a Carnet is not needed anywhere in C&SA.

Re leaving a bike, also note Bolivia - Walter Nosiglia's shop in particular - is a good place to leave a bike for any period of time.

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------

One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

[This message has been edited by Grant Johnson (edited 25 January 2004).]