getting the bike to Egypt

[ianbaker]

help!! anyone have any ideas on how to do this?

Its a nightmare
I want to start in Egypt but how do I get there? Ferry from Greece? Fly from the UK? Anyone got any help on this?

Also, whats the deal with devaluing your bike for the Egyptian carnet? Is that the done thing, and how much can you get away with? (can i say my new bike is worth £300, basically...)

cheers
Ian

[Grant Johnson]

Oh boy, where to start....

First, not in Egypt! It's a nightmare! Ride in, not fly, in if you must go.

Second, the guys in the UK who give you the carnet know bike values, they see them every day, and know what they're worth. Low street price is the best you can do.

Third, get our DVD on "How to ride the world!" - it will give you a LOT of great info.

Shipping starts this weekend!

[Del Boy]

I agree with Grant about doing Egypt. Apart from anything else the carnet is 800%! Yes, 8 times the value of your bike. Although you will be economical with the truth as to your bike's value, the RAC are not stupid and you won't get away saying a new BM is worth a few hundred quid!
Derek.

[petefromberkeley]

My canadian issued Carnet was only 120% of vehicle value and it was fine for Egypt 18 months ago.

You might ship the bike to Jordan, then take the ferry over to Egypt. Upon arrival in Egypt, there is TONS of paperwork to do, but the tourist Police will do it for you. You just follow the guy around, pay the fees and collect the recipts. It only took me a couple of hours this way and the tourist police guy didn't want a tip or anything

[jamieT]

Different countries carnet issuing associations do have different rates, but yes the underwriters have insisted that RAC in UK demand 800%. Absolutely no idea how they justify that, I paid less than 100% to fully import my KTM.

Must agree that flying a bike in to Cairo is asking for about a week of hassle to release it, and shipping to Alex is meant to be worse.

Alternatively, the Ferry into Nuweiba is a fairly painless experience. Tourist police walk you through the customs without too much hassle at all, and yes, would nt even take a tip in my case.

People I know have shipped in and out of Israel then Jordan and the ferry, but you ll have to consider the consequences of an israeli stamp in your passort.

[skip]

Hi Ian
As the others state it is hard work to get to Egypt. I did a trip to Egypt in 98. I got my carnet from the AA, the carnet was ready in 7 days. I'm told now that only the RAC will do a carnet in the UK.Its not worth messing them about with regards devaluing the price of your bike, they have there own price guide for new and used bikes.
Its worth appliying in good time for your visa, it took longer for my Egyptian Visa to come through than the carnet, nearly 6 weeks.
To get there i rode down through France switzland and into Italy. I took the twice weekly ferry from Brindisi (Italy) to Piraeus (Greece)I had wanted to take the ferry straight to the Egyptian port Alexsandra but this crossing was stopped in the early 90s, so i was told. So i then took the Posidon ferry to Hifa (Israel) this stops in Limassol Cyprus and a couple of the smaller Greek Islands including Rodes. The crossing takes about a week, i then rode down to Tarber the border between Israel and Egypt. Here the fun starts you will have to use Egyption tourest number plates for a small fee returnable when you leave the country, and you will need 3 copys of all your papers.As i said i did this in 98, but now with the troubles in Israel getting worse this route may not be open. I have been told of a ferry that go's once a month from Pireus(Greece) to Libya, this may be another way of getting ito Egypt, may be some one on HU has been this way its would be worth checking. Skip