Hi Everyone
I am Rex, a not very experienced traveller from Australia. I will have my Triumph Tiger 1200 in Europe later this year for about 4 months ending in Turkeye in late September. From there I would like to ride "home" to Australia but not sure of the best route. I understand some countries are basically closed eg Myanmar and Turkmenistan. Also Russia is problematic at the moment.
I have no set time frame so if it takes a year, so be it. I would prefer to ride around problem areas rather than ship the bike anywhere if possible. Also I know the start time in late Sept is leading into the northern winter but cold weather does not really bother me (but I would prefer not to die of frost bite either..
Any and all suggestions and advice re a suitable route will be very graciously accepted. Also if per chance I should meet any of you on the road I am always up for a and a chat.
Cheers
Rex (Tassie Trex)

Hey mate
My name is Mitchell. I'm in a similar boat, not a whole lot experience with international motorcycle travel. I have planned a trip for middle of this year to leave from Singapore and make it to Scotland.

I've found that you need to be aware of some countries entry requirements and it's crossings. The first leg of my trip is a tour of South East Asia and Laos has Visa on arrival for australians but only through 1 crossing from Vietnam so i can't enter from the north.
I've also found that Syria and Iraq will not allow entry if you have a Israeli customs stamp in your passport.

So the plan for my trip to avoid troubled countries and make it easy with little to no visa applications is...:

Singapore -Arrival card/ 90 days
Maylasia - Digital arrival card / 90 days
Thailand - 30 days overlanding (Visa free/ 60 days if flying in)
Laos - Visa on arrival/ E-visa/ 30 days
Vietnam - E-visa/ 90 days
Laos
Thailand (Air frieght the bike to Kathmandu)

*reason for this is i want to go through nepal and india. Myanmar is out of the question and China wont allow entry through tibet without a goverment approved guide.*

Nepal - Visa on arrival/ eVisa/ 150 days
Bhutan - E-Visa (90 days after issue)
India - I'm applying for a year long multi entry visa to allow entry twice, 1 from nepal, 2 from bhutan.
Pakistan - Visa Required (eTA 30 days)
Iran - Visa on arrival/ eVisa/ 30 days
(Short ferry to Dubai)

United Arab Emirates - Visa free 30 days
Qatar - Visa Waiver
Kuwait - Visa on arrival/ E-visa
Saudi Arabia - Visa on arrival/ E-visa/ 90 days
(ferry to Egypt)

Egypt - Visa on arrival/ E-visa/ 30 days
(ferry across to jordan to avoid enting israel)

Jordan - Visa on arrival/ E-visa/ 30 days
Iraq -Visa on arrival/ E-visa/ 30 days
Turkey - Visa on arrival/ E-visa/ 30 days

Double check the info i'm providing but this atleast a starting point to help you. The Australian Passport is quite handy.

Would love to hear if you find any hidden details while planning your trip.
Cheers,

Hi Mitch
Awesome! This is exactly the kind of stuff I have been looking for. Sounds like you have dived a little deeper into it than I have so far but I will get there in time. Any links to websites with info about visas and borders would also be greatly appreciated. Also a good source of paper maps (yes I'm old!)
My preferred route is looking likely to be Turkeye, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Timor Leste, OZ. I realise it will be F...ing cold in some parts but as previously stated I really don't mind.
Any other info you may stumble across I would love to hear and I will be sure to share anything I find that might be of interest to you.
Sounds like a spectacular journey you have planned. I wish you all the best.
Rex

PS. If you happen to be anywhere within a couple of hours of Melbourne perhaps we could meet up and compare notes.

Hey fellow convicts (being Australia Day )

Sounds like fun.

Just on Iran, I think Mitch said he would like to go that route, just a tentative word of caution.

My son’s partner is Iranian and her parents live in Iran. We were planning a bike trip to Iran later this year and they practically begged and pleaded with her to persuade us to put it off. She won’t elaborate but things seem to be heading somewhat captain rats there atm.

Not saying don’t of course, but maybe have a plan b just in case.

Have fun.

Unfortunately Rex I'm in Yeppoon QLD otheriwse would love to. I highly recommend using 'Furkot' to plan your trip. Super useful website designed for planning overlanding trips, you can set the desired amount of distance and time you'd like to travel each day. Include stops, breaks, fuel and it can automatically suggest where to stay the night and then you can filter hotels, camping, hostels from a radius around that suggested stop area. Super useful app that was so much easier than everything else i tried to initally plan the trip on.
I would also love some paper maps to take with me, however I dont want to be carrying 28 different paper maps to mark my travels so I haven't worked out that part just yet.

Hey Homer, thanks for the information. I do have an alternate route in mind that will steer me clear. I'll just have to stay up to date with the news and keep an eye out.

Happy Australia Day

Hi Rex. I will not recommend riding through Stans in winter. Kyrgyzstan is small, Uzbekistan may be bearable, but Kazakhstan in winter is deadly dangerous even riding a car .
But there's a lot to see here. You can shoot any questions bout it here or pm me

Hi Rex, VicDavion is right. The Stans are in fact difficult if not dangerous to ride in Winter. Even Georgia, although next to the Black Sea, has heavy snow in Winter. We only travel Georgia earliest end of June. No mountain passes earlier in the year.
If you're fixed on your route I'd suggest to park the bike in Europe, fly to OZ and return in Spring to carry on. I've met several Ozzies and Kiwis doing it this way.
A favourite place to park the bike for a period of time is in Bulgaria at the "MotoCamp". Check their website. Absolutely trustworthy. I've been there several times on my trips eastwards and have met people from all over the world there. In Turkey it isn't easy to park a bike and fly out. Alternatively you could PM me if you're interested to park the bike around Munich.
Last not least: Check for countries where you need a carnet (CDP).


Happy planning!
Hans

__________________
Only when we pause to wonder
do we go beyond the limits of our little lives.
(Rod McKuen)

@Mitch in Gear

If you are taking your own motorcycle in to Vietnam you will need to go through a tour agency for your guide

Depending on which crossing you are using into Thailand you may have to pay for a guide. There are threads on here with other information

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...-permit-105214

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...ng-info-105484

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...am-laos-105747

If you get near my location then pop for a brew

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...un-khon-105387

Wayne

__________________
The Balkans
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/poi_entity/8417

Hey Rex,

I rode my DR 650 from Brisbane to Europe between 2016 and 2019, back when you could do the trip without shipping the motorbike over closed borders. I followed the classic route of:

Timor-Leste - Indonesia - Malaysia - Thailand - Myanmar - India & Nepal - Pakistan - Iran - Armenia - Georgia - Turkey - then up to the EU via the Balkans

Unfortunately my bike was stolen from a mate's shed during COVID, but I'm currently planning to buy a bike in Europe and carry on through Central Asia and the Middle East later this year.

As far as I know, your route is the only realistic option of doing the trip overland at the moment (due to the situation in Myanmar) - but there's some significant obstacles along the way.

Azerbaijan's border crossings have been closed since COVID. No one knows when the border will reopen, it seems to be in response to the conflict in Ukraine and a fear of attacks on their oil/gas pipelines. Your only option is to ship the motorbike from Georgia in a truck and then fly in to Baku. I'm currently contacting a fella in Tblisi so I'll let you know how that goes. It is also possible to ride from Georgia to Kazakhstan via Russia if you can get a visa.

Central Asia is all pretty straight forward, but if you're there after September it'll start getting bloody cold and might have some early snow up on the mountain passes. Black ice on the road is a bit of a showstopper for motorbikes.

Riding through China is only possible with a guided tour through an agency. They'll help you get a temporary Chinese driving licence and registration. Dunno anyone personally who has done it, but I've heard it's pretty expensive.

Not sure about Laos, but I believe Thailand still technically requires a permit and guide although that may no longer be enforced. Unfortunately Indonesia now requires a Carnet de Passage.

Timor was an absolute highlight of my trip, and shipping from Dili to Darwin is fairly straight forward. It's a lot cheaper if you find people to split the cost of a container. You'll have to completely strip your bike down and clean every bit of dirt off it before shipping to pass Aussie biosecurity. There's a company in Dili that can do it for you.

Paperwork

Georgia and all the Stans (excl Turkmenistan) are visa free for Aussies

Russia needs a tourist visa from an embassy in the country you reside + a Letter of Invitation (LOI) from a Russian travel agency OR a transit visa from the embassies in Tblisi/Yerevan (sometimes difficult to get)

Caravanistan is a great resource for up-to-date reports on visas/border crossings in Central Asia - both the guides and the forums. Also has this handy map of which border crossings are open.

Getting a Carnet just for Indonesia could be difficult/expensive - maybe better to ship from Malaysia or Singapore to Aus. BUT, if you are going to get a Carnet that opens up the Iran - Pakistan - India - Nepal route. There are shipping companies in Kathmandu that are familiar with flying overlander's bikes to Thailand or Malaysia - might be cheaper than crossing China.

Iran and Pakistan were my other highlights of the trip. Incredibly beautiful countries, great riding, and some of the friendliest and most hospitable people I've met. Didn't have any problems back in 2018/2019, but obviously things in that region can change in an instant and it's unlikely you'll find travel insurance that covers you for those countries. Getting a visa for Iran can be tricky as well, my eVisa applications were denied three times (they still took my money), but I still have contacts there I can put you in touch with.

Regarding paper maps, if you're in Aus at the moment, check out MapWorld. They have paper road maps for most countries. Just ordered some for Central Asia myself.


More than happy to answer any other questions you've got, although aside from Central Asia my info might be pretty outdated - same goes for what I've written above.

Hey Durrieking
I have a question about thailand, I'm seeing some people say you need a FVP (foriegn vehicle permit) and some border crossings will ask for one.

I've never heard of it did you have nay experience with it?

Thanks

Hi
Traveled to a Iran a while ago used key to Persia for visa
not sure visa requirement are now, but really helpful people
https://en.key2persia.com/home

cheers nobby