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Kenya without a carnet Kenya without a carnet
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Trip Paperwork Covers all documentation, carnets, customs and country requirements, how to deal with insurance etc.
Photo by Ellen Delis, Lagunas Ojos del Campo, Antofalla, Catamarca

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Ellen Delis,
Lagunas Ojos del Campo,
Antofalla, Catamarca



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  #1  
Old 4 Dec 2003
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Kenya without a carnet
We travel with our Landy through Africa (South African registered) without a carnet, and everyone keeps telling us Kenya will be a problem without a carnet.

Is there anyone who has experience with Kenya without a carnet, and what does this mean: bribe? pay duties?

We need to pass into Kenya 3 times: once crossing to Mombassa from Tanzania, secondly Uganda to Kenya and Thirdly back from Ethiopia to Kenya.

Thanks in advance for your responses!

Arnout & Saskia
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  #2  
Old 25 Dec 2003
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Well, I can answer now to my own question:

It is almost impossible to get into Kenya without a carnet. They only issue C500-forms nowadays which require you to execute a bond. You can either deposit the bond (of about 1.5 times the value of the car) at a bank in Kenya or buy a bond-insurance at an insurance company at 5% of the bond-value. All of this needs to be done by a clearing agent.

In our case the Kenyan Revenue Authority valued our car at 170.000 Ksh and put the bond to 270.000 Ksh (tax-value). 5% means 13,500 Ksh, which is about USD 190.

Pretty expensive, espcially if you go to Ethiopia and back through Kenya paying for another bond!!!

We now opt for trying to buy a carnet in South Africa, but have to see if we can manage as we are in Tanzania.

Good luck!
Arnout
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  #3  
Old 5 Jan 2004
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Hi Arnout,

While perhaps not legally possible, it is physically possible. When we entered from Ethiopia in January 2003, we were driving along the eastern shore of lake Turkana. There's no proper border crossing here so noboby to stamp your carnet. You just don't want to be caught by the Ethiopian police like us.

Once in Nairobi, we went to immigrations and got our Kenya visas no probs, no bribes. On the way out to Tanzania, we simply skipped the customes office and only got our passports stamped by the police.

Drop me a line if you want more info,
best,
Camiel

www.amsterdam2capetown.com
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  #4  
Old 5 Jan 2004
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Arnout,

One more thought: why don't you get Dutch motoring association ANWB to issue a carnet? As long as you put up a €3000 deposit and pay them €220 they'll issue the Carnet.

I have inquired in the past and they don't mind foreign registration of the vehicle.
Give them a call and ask for the "grensdocumenten" department.

Good luck!
Camiel
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  #5  
Old 27 Jan 2011
mkpeter
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Hey, its not able to imagine Kenya without a carnet. So, I think immigrations and got our Kenya visas no probs, no bribes. On the way out to Tanzania, we simply skipped the customes office and only got our passports stamped by the police.

For any further information you can contact me any time

Thanks!
MK
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  #6  
Old 7 Aug 2014
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Hi there,

we are travelling from Cape Town northbound. We came down the west side of Africa one and a half years ago on our motorbikes and now it's time to head east and 'back north'.

We were wondering if it's possible to enter Kenya from Tanzania without a carnet (we are thinking of going RSA - MOZ - Tanzania - Kenya ... and then onward)?

Are there any recent experiences? Especially on motorbikes?

Why am I asking: we would prefer to renew our carnets only when we get to Kenya, because we are very slow travellers and one year is such a short time ;-) - and we'll have to do some paperwork anyways when we get to Nairobi - talking about sending our passports back to Europe for the Ethiopia visas and stuff ...

Any recent info would be highly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
Sabine & Peter
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  #7  
Old 11 Sep 2014
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Pice of cake border crossing from Tanzania to Kenya
I'm glad to see you two back on the road,we had fantastic time in hippocampe. gintonic. Phost nazdrowie!
Back in 2012,it was so easy to cross,get your visa stamp and keep going don't stop at customs.
Down the road Few km,there is police check point,just go around them I went trough the bush LOL.do the same when you cross to Ethiopia.
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  #8  
Old 12 Sep 2014
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There are two africa round trips without carnet, one 2012 one 2013

4x4tripping: Transafrika ohne Carnet de Passage?: Es gibt Beispiele...

They just get stranded at egypt (and have to order a Carnet there), Kenya wasnt mentioned specially.

You will find their websites and too their posts at HuBB backlinked.

Too you will find a sample of a traveller who gots a TIP for egypt

All three cases was done by bikers...

Surfy
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  #9  
Old 12 Sep 2014
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Hi Roman, so good to hear from you! We're almost back on the road, leaving Cape Town by the end of September.

Thanks for your very helpful tips, they sound very 'Romnek'-style :-D (going through the bush and such ;-) )! We still fondly remember our time in Brazzaville and talk quite often about you and our time together. Chris (Cape Town) says hi as well!

In the meantime we've organized for our carnets, though, as a friend of ours vistited Cape Town and delivered them to us. We just had to renew them, so the money was still in the bank anyways ;-) - we were just not sure if a simple renewal would be possible after our old ones had expired almost two years ago. But it worked just nicely.

Hope you're doing fine and wishing you all the best,
cheers from Cape Town, Sabine & Hpe
Last edited by fm4fan; 12 Sep 2014 at 09:44. Reason: spelling
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  #10  
Old 12 Sep 2014
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Hi Surfy,
thank you very much for this very helpful info!

It really seems to be a lot easier to travel on a motorbike than in a car. That has been our experience throughout West Africa. So it IS (still) possible to do it without carnet on a motorbike.

Wow, I'd never thought there even is such a thing as a TIP for Egypt ...

Well, we will see. For now we've got our carnets renewed - but as we travel veeery slowly we'll see how long (far) they last ;-) .

Again, thanks a lot for taking the time to answer, highly appreciated and very helpful!

Cheers from Cape Town,
Sabine & Hpe
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