Travelling overland from Europe to India by car; info. on Carnet de Passage

Edit: This thread was an offshoot from the thread on overland travel to India. It specifically covers travelling by car, and some basic information on the Carnet de Passage. The trip was done in October 2000, and initially I feared most of this info may be outdated. In fact, for many years post 9/11, Pakistan were not even letting people in on a Carnet de Passage. However, I think this situation has now changed. I have done a bit more research, and I can say that the info below should be more or less up-to-date. I have some more general information, so please feel free to ask. However, I cannot comment on current political trends, and how safe it is travelling around these areas in your own car. Personally I am glad I did this trip when I did as the world was a much happier place pre-9/11!! (At least it appeared like it was).

The question was asked on the other thread by someone who was wanting to take herself and 2 dogs to India in her 2003 Renault Clio:

I did this trip 9 years ago. I know some things have changed since then, but not everything. I did the trip with a CDP (carnet de passage) issued by the UK Royal Automobile Club (RAC). I did initially consider getting the CDP with the ADAC in Germany, but their rules were slightly different and it basically would have worked out more expensive in our case.For most people this is not the case.

Firstly, you should know this: Going by car is certainly not cheaper than going by air. I would hazard a guess and state that as a single person in a car, the cost of going by car versus going by air is at least 5 times more expensive these days. Of course this does depend on what sort of a car you take and what type of a CDP you manage to sort out for it.

However, I am certainly not implying don't undertake such a trip! It was the most enriching journey I have ever done, and I do not regret the cost one bit. However, a lot has changed with the world since then (especially since 9/11) and in my opinion, I just do not think such a trip is particularly feasible any longer. Independent road travel through eastern Iran and Western/Northern Pakistan is simply not safe any more for the majority of western travellers.

Now for the bits on the CDP. First of all, let me just say that you do need a CDP for Iran, Pakistan and India. You will NOT just be able to turn up at the border and enter these countries without a CDP.Many people do just this, and so get caught up. I even met some people on the Turkey/Iran border who had valid Iran visas but could not get their car in.

Remember that a CDP is basically a passport for your car and more importantly it is something that allows you to temporarily import and re-export a car into and out of a visiting country. Normally for these countries, you have to pay a very high import tax for importing a motor vehicle. The level of deposit that you leave behind against your CDP, reflects the price of your car. Generally, the less value the car has, means a smaller deposit.

Below I am cutting and pasting some useful information on CDP's that we wrote up 10 years ago. It was for our travel website, but this has since been taken offline. In the end, we actually did not pay much at all for our CDP. We had an old 1967 Volvo Amazon that we "self-valued" at £350. In this way, we put down a bond of just £1750. We did eventually get this back completely after we eventually returned the car to the UK! To be honest, I am not sure if the simple trick of undervaluing a car is possible anymore. In our case, the car was so old, know records could be found on what a current commercial value could be for it. They just took our word for it.

Here is the bit that was on our website:

General information on the Carnet de Passage (CdP)

Summary:
* CdP is required for travel past Turkey.
* It financially obliges you to bring the vehicle back home (by land or sea).
* Upon return your CdP deposit will be refunded.
* There is no "road insurance" (what in Britain is called car insurance) attached to the CdP, it merely permits a vehicle to enter a foreign country.
* In the UK a CdP is obtained through the AA or RAC; you must be a member but there is no difference in pricing.
* It is cheaper to obtain a CdP through motoring organisations in continental Europe.


Details:
The CdP is a passport for the car, valid for one year, allowing your vehicle free entry into countries you would otherwise not be permitted to drive in. For this trip you would not get further than Turkey without one, meaning a CdP is required for Iran, Pakistan, India and Nepal.

CdPs are issued by national motoring organisations (the AA or RAC in Britain), of which you must be a member. Essentially the CdP is a guarantee from the AA or RAC that your vehicle, once having entered a foreign country, will later leave it - i.e. ensuring it will not be illegally sold, with the owner then leaving the country and pocketing the cash, so avoiding paying any import tax. If this happens the AA or RAC is liable to pay any duties to the relevant country. To cover themselves and safeguard their guarantee (indemnity) the motoring organisation requires the vehicle owner to deposit a sum of money with them (counter indemnity) which is returned upon the vehicle returning to the UK.

For travel to Iran, Pakistan and India, the sum is calculated as 500% of the value of your vehicle. It is less for other destinations. This means for that a £1000 car, the CdP will cost £5000 which will be refunded on the vehicle's return home.

Hence it is beneficial to under-insure as much as possible. The RAC did tell us it was unusual for them to accept a valuation less than £400. The minimum is £200, try it and see what happens. We insured the Volvo for £350 and regret not coming in lower, if you get refused just up the valuation by £50 until it is accepted. Also try both the AA and RAC as one may accept a lower valuation than the other.

There is an alternative method of payment whereby you share the cost with an insurance company. Here you pay 50% the value of your vehicle but do not recoup all the money. For a £1000 car you pay £500. If the car successfully returns you get back £250 if it does not you loose all £500. The problem with this method is that only modern cars will be insured as the insurance company thinks it is likely that an old car will not make it and they will just end up paying out. Also by this process it is harder to under-insure your vehicle.

The grey area in this system comes with the vehicle being either written off (chassis number illegible) and therefore unidentifiable, or even stolen. You would have a tough time proving that you hadn't sold the car illegally, especially in a country where the authorities are always looking to make money out of you by means fair or foul. It is important to realise that through circumstances beyond your control you could lose your vehicle and your deposit. This is one of the risks of overland travel and is best guarded against by being cautious. Equally, should the worst happen, a police report should prove enough to safeguard your deposit and permit you to leave the country. The bringing-in of a vehicle is also recorded in the owner's passport, which makes it difficult to leave the country without the vehicle.

Along with the 500% deposit, you must pay for the carnet book itself. Currently in the UK this is £55 for a 10 page one and £65 for a 20 page one. Each country uses up one page with an entry and exit stamp. You must ensure the CdP is properly stamped otherwise you risk forfeiting your deposit. Although Turkey does not require a CdP, upon noticing ours the customs man stamped it, losing a page. But every country after Turkey, including those further than India, will definitely stamp a page, and you must allow a second page for any return entry.

To apply for a CdP, contact your national motoring organisation. In Britain this would be the AA or RAC. You may repeatedly get put through to the wrong department, as the average phone operator doesn't seem to know what a CdP is. Either organisation will send you an application form complete with details about the CdP. We went through the RAC dealing with a very helpful lady called Sue Collins in the Travel Research Department.

It is cheaper to obtain a CdP through motoring organisations in Continental Europe, this is even possible with British-registered cars. The ADAC in Germany issues CdPs dependent on one of 4 price bands that your vehicle falls in to, and should work out less exorbitant especially for more expensive vehicles.

Glad that that HUGE misconception has been cleared up! Too many people speculate this and it couldn't be further from the truth... especially given how ridiculously cheap petrol is in Iran!!

I think the ADAC will just point you to their website, which others here have already kindly included links to. In a nut-shell, here is a summary of the costs that you need to consider if you do consider getting a CDP with the German ADAC.

1. For a non-ADAC member (which I presume you are), the cost of your Carnet alone (the fee) is €260 plus a €10 delivery charge.

2. The amount of guarantee depends on the countries you are visiting and the value of your car. The ADAC only charges this in set price bands. You will not be able to undervalue your car as it is relatively new and has a set market value. You will actually have to leave a lot less than 500% of the value of your vehicle as the ADAC accepts some of this risk. The 2003 Renault Clio that you describe will fall into their minimum category (valued under €7500). However, according to their guarantee bands you will need to leave a €5000 cash guarantee. REMEMBER: Under most circumstances you will get this back, but do not EVER expect to get this back!! You have to be prepared to lose this entirely, even in the unfortunate event that you car gets stolen! This is a fact that few travellers are prepared to accept!

3. You also need to apply and pay for an International Drivers License. (I am guessing this is around €30- €50 these days)

4. You will also need to consider buying car insurance for every country you visit. Your Bosnian/Serbian car insurance will not cover you. The price of this varies a lot, so I cannot list the prices here.

5. Consider the potential cost of shipping your car home if it breaks down (or you have an accident) on the way or in India. According to the rules of the CDP, your car must be brought back so that you might be able to see your €5000 deposit again! There are of course exceptions to this, (such as if the car is considered written off) but you will need to deal with a lot of red-tape. You always have to be financially prepared to ship the car back to your home country. This is likely to cost over €1000.

6. Also consider the cost of visas for Iran, Pakistan and India. Other costs are more obvious items like travel insurance, potential medical costs for you and the dogs, food, accommodation etc. .

Mod Note:
This thread has just been created, due to popular demand, as an offshoot of the thread where they were originally posted.

This is now a sticky thread, to be used for reference purposes.

Thank you! I am honoured!

This now makes me want to at least edit it and make it more readable! It was mostly a quick cut and paste job done in the middle of the night in reply to a rather fruitless discussion on the other thread! I will see what I can do with it!

Some useful info on the Zahedna to Quetta stretch here - http://www.quetta-overland.com/

i am thinking of driving my indian bike (indian papers) to austria.
you have any idea if its possible to get a cdp as a foreigner in india?
or is it possible to get this done by an indian friend?
i have an indian adress and indian driving licence.

hi,
somebody knows is carnet de passage required for Marocco, Tunis, Alzir, Egypt and odher african countrys? or if you can point me proper site to look on. thanks, Lana



Mod note: Hi wilderose, please don't post the same question twice Your duplicate post has been deleted.

I've no idea, but if you're planning on driving across North Africa, you should know that the Moroccan/Algerian border is firmly closed.

thanks...but only on sundays its opened for humanitaryan convoy and sometimes there is a chance to get throo...but doggy... also is posibile to go from Tangery on a ferry to Tunis, not expencive too. or to cross on a ferry from Tanger to Spain and take a ferry from there to Tunis. i hear it is not needed carn....de pass.. for Marocco, just some pay tax on entering, i have finde one site, so now, patients entil i get some replys... i quit my trip to india because carnet de.... if also needed for Africa, i will burn my kamper :-))

Ha ha, ok well good to luck to you!

carnet de passage for North Africa is not question on this thread or forum here, so if enybody knows something about, please sent me a massage. thanks

Hi! I'm planning a road trip from Kolkata, West Bengal to Stutgart, Germany. Is it possible to go to russia via nepal and china in my car with a CDP? From russia it should be easy to go to germany I guess. Also, apart from visas, int. drivers license and CDP, are there any other formalities that I need to consider? Any help is welcome. Thank You.

Hope this helps: http://www.londondelhibyroad.com/

Wao, nice link, WOuld love to do the same some day

tnis is amazing. how come i never come across all this stuff? youre the man! btw, do they issue int drivers licenses to 18+ or 21+ people?