Information about Motorcycling in the Middle East, Central Asia & China

Last update 21st September 2015!

MOTORCYCLING IN OMAN

VISA FOR OMAN

You can apply for the visa on arrival at land borders, airport and even the port of Salaleh. The price is 5 Omani Rial for 10 days or 20 OR for a month. You can also extend your visa at the airport for the same duration.

MONEY

1 Omani Rial=3.5€. There are plenty of ATMs and you can pay with debit and credit card in most of places.

FUEL PRICE IN OMAN

This is your lucky day. Oman is a joy for overlanders as you have a lot of nice pistes, sand dunes and very cheap petrol.

1 liter=0,150 Omani Rial. You rather want to put super instead of regular petrol.

CUSTOMS IN OMAN

You need carnet de passage and insurance. I managed not to get an insurance and convinced them that I didn’t need but I think you are better off having one. It’s just I was sure that my home insurance would cover me and it was not the case.

ROADS IN OMAN

They are building highways everywhere and tracks or nice and narrow roads are disappearing quickly. So come to Oman as soon as you can. Generally the tarmac is of great quality.

BORDER CROSSING FROM OMAN TO UAE

They are at least 2 borders, one in Hatta and the other through Al Ain. Hatta is more frequented as it’s the closest one to Dubai. I took the Al Ain one as I thought it would be more mountainous but from Ibra to UAE it was all desert. The security form in Al Ain takes around 2 hours as it belongs to Abudabi and they are stricter. The advantage was that at the UAE border nobody expected a female motorcyclist and they didn’t ask me for my carnet do passage or insurance or anything at all. I just had to show the documentations of my bike from Spain and off you go.

SHIPPING A MOTORCYCLE TO OMAN

First I was thinking of shipping my bike by sea from Djibouti to Salaleh but it seemed kind of very expensive and complicated. So I decided to go to Somaliland, find a wooden boat in Berbera and get on the boat together with my bike and go to Salaleh. I met the owner of the hotel chain, Al Mansor and he said that they helped an overlander once and would help me too. In the end I shipped my bike from Ethiopia to Oman by airfreight with Qatar airlines. For more information on that check the Ethiopia post. The custom clearance in Oman was very easy and took me only 3 hours till I had the bike unwrapped. I just paid 60$ for the cargo handling fees.

MOTORCYCLING IN UAE

VISA FOR UAE

No visa for European citizen

MONEY

1€= 370 UAE Dirhams

FUEL PRICE IN UAE

1 liter: 1.75 Dirham. It’s not as cheap as Oman but still very cheap.

CUSTOMS FOR MOTORCYCLE IN UAE

You need carnet de passage and insurance but as I crossed over a border that apparently not many people take I was not asked for any of them. I was also lucky as I left UAE on the ferry but putting my bike in a van so that it didn’t pass through the customs and I didn’t get myself into troubles.

SHIPPING MOTORCYCLE AND CAR FROM UAE (DUBAI, SHARJAH) TO IRAN

It was a bit of problem finding reliable information. The Ferry company is Iranian but a bunch of quite unfriendly Indians run it under another name in UAE. The ferry itself should be quite cheap (150€) for my bike but then they charge you 250€ more for all the handling charges, port, customs. They don’t give you any option to do it yourself and are very rude and unhelpful too. The person in charge is Mr. Nazer and his mobile number is: 00971-50-4634379

AL HILI MARINE SERVICES LLC
Ground Floor
Al Ikhias Tower
PO Box 27522
Sharjah

Tel: +97165288575

E-mail: info@alhili.com

Sun. Tue. and Thu. the ferry leaves from Sharjah to Bandar Abas at 7pm arriving at 8am. The price is 300 UAE for the passenger and for the bike they were asking for 1300 UAE Dirhams.

Mon. & Wed. the ferry leaves from Dubai at 10am and arrives in Bandar Lengeh around 6pm. It’s a little port 180 km far from Bandar Abas. The only thing is that by the time your ferry arrives the customs is closed and you need to leave your bike on the port ground, either sleep there or go to a hotel and come back next day. There is a cheap guesthouse, not very clean right in front of the port and another hotel, called Diplomat.

And here is a good TIP: There are a lot of boats that go to Iran from old town of Dubai, Deira. I think it’s the port Mersi 6. They go to different ports in Iran. Just go there, find the captain, ask when they are leaving and which port they are heading, how long it takes and you will find a very cheap way to send your bike over to Iran. It will cost you around 100-150 USD plus 100Dirham for the crane to put your motorbike on the boat. You can even get an insurance for it! You can get a flight or the ferry to Iran then and get your bike at the customs. I think this is much more fun way to do it rather than accepting the conditions of the shipping company.

 

 MOTORCYCLING IN IRAN

VISA FOR IRAN

If you are from Canada and the USA and maybe UK you need a guide and a package tour to get the visa. If you are from anywhere else you can get your visa asking a travel agency to process that for you and paying them a fee around 40€. Just don’t tell them you are with your vehicle as they will try to charge you A LOT. If you need any help you can drop me a line and I will put you in touch with travel agencies and people I know. The process can take around 1 month.

FUEL IN IRAN

1 liter: 0.30€. Welcome to the paradise! But b aware that the distances between the fuel stations are much and there are long lines so make sure you put enough fuel each time you see a gas station.

CUSTOMS IN IRAN FOR MOTORCYCLES

You need carnet de passage to enter Iran. If you enter Iran through a certain border you might be able to leave a deposit and then get it back once you leave. For more info just write to me. I don’t think it’s worth it as you will pay around 400€ whereas you can use carnet for various countries. You also need an insurance that you can get in Iran too but again I was not asked for any! I was told that if you enter Iran from Emirates your bike can only stay 1 month in Iran. Otherwise your bike can stay up to 3 months. The customs at Bandar Lengeh was fine and friendly. The port wanted to charge us for having the car and the bike there for a night but the customs guys had a talk to them and we got away without paying anything such as port handling. Whereas that was a huge amount in UAE.

SHIPPING YOUR CAR OR MOTORCYCLE TO IRAN

Please check the section under UAE. The story ends like this: I popped into an overlander friend who was going to take the ferry and he kindly offered me to put my bike inside of his camper van so that I did’t to have to pay anything except for a small amount of money to him. You might think of doing the same.

SHIPPING YOUR MOTORCYCLE IN IRAN

Iran is a big country and I was kind of short of time to ride all the way long from the south to Tehran, where I had to process my visas for all the Istans. Besides I had been to many of the cities along the road before so I had a few options to send my bike from Bandar Abbas to Tehran:

– By train, this options didn’t work as they passed a law which forbids shipping of motorcycles from Bandar Abbas to Tehran!

– By passing cargo trucks and trailers. Right at the arrival port I met a trailer’s driver who offered me to take my bike but as I was sure that I could send it by train I declined his offer.

– Paying a lot of money to a transportation company to send your bike on a pick up or truck. It’s costly.

– In the end I used the old method of going to the bus station and asking which bus was going to Tehran. After negotiating the price during 10 minutes my bike was in the luggage room of the bus and I picked her up after 20 hours in Tehran. I paid in advance and also gave the driver my carnet de passage in case the police would ask him for that. Easy and fun but maybe not the best for the bike. it cost me only 90USD.

ROADS IN IRAN

Roads are ok in Iran and you have a lot of highways too. It’s just that people don’t drive very carefully, they change their lane without indicating it, many go as if they were on a rally. So be careful. Driving in big cities such as Tehran can be one of the greatest challenge in your life, very risky but also quite entertaining if you have the guts!

WOMEN RIDING A MOTORCYCLE OR DRIVING IN IRAN

There is a myth going around that women cannot drive or ride in Iran. Well, I have been there twice and travelled extensively there and can assure you that there will be no problem. People are very pleased and surprised to see a woman on a bike. Just go for it.

ROAD CONDITIONS IN IRAN

Iran is one of the major producer of petrol so the roads are pretty good in comparison to the neighboring counties. Most cities are connected via high way. Just watch out the traffic and try to enjoy it at the same time. Driving in big cities such as Tehran can be one of the greatest challenge in your life, very risky but also quite entertaining if you have the guts!

BORDER CROSSING FROM IRAN TO PAKISTAN

There is only one border crossing between Iran and Pakistan, which is from Iranian border in Mirjaveh, some 70 km  far from the city Zahedan. This border is open 7 days a week but you rather arrive early on festive days as well as Fridays as they might close the border at 2 pm! If you do get stuck there don’t worry much since there is a quite nice hotel in Mirjaveh itself for 20 USD. There is also a guesthouse inside the border but you might prefer to stay in the town itself.

You do need carnet du passage for both Iran and Pakistan. The Pakistani border is also quite hassle free but you will be escorted all way long to Quetta and further. This will make your travel much slower as you’ll depend on the speed on your escort, their availability, their lunch or dinner time. Forget about driving after dark as they will now let you. Initially we were told that we will be only escorted till Quetta but in reality we were escorted up to 50 km before Lahore. The funny thing was that sometimes we were escorted strictly and some other times the escort would accompany us only a few km out of the city and then will wave goodbye!

BORDER CROSSING FROM IRAN TO TURKMENISTAN

There are 2 borders, one from Sarakhs for which you have to pass through Mashahd. This is an good option as many people opt for picking up their transit visa in Mashhad. The Sarakhs border is also closer to Farab border crossing in Uzbekistan if you are heading to Uzbekistan and then Tajikistan. But hen you will miss out on seeing the gas crater and Kuhneh Urgench in Turkmenistan and beautiful city of Khiva in Uzbekistan.

The other border is the one that I took and is called Quchan because of the name of the border town in Iran. They open from 8am to 5pm and it’s not open to trucks only to tourists. The Iranian part is hassle free and fast but the Turkmen part gets very SLOW. I had to wake up 3 officers as it was 12 noon and wait for other 2 to finish their long lunch. Turkmens charge you a lot of extra fees too. 12 USD for passport registration and they don’t accept bank notes that look a bit old. another 65 USD for taxes and 15 USD for insurance.

I met riders that took the boat from Baku to Turkmenbashi and they had to pay 200 USD or maybe more for the ferry and were charged another 200 USD for the kilometers that they were going to ride in Turkmenistan apart from more insurance, taxes…. So Iran option might be a better idea.

SECURITY IN IRAN

Iran is one of the most hospitable countries in the world as Iranians still have the idea of accepting you as a guest in stead of a tourist. This way you will have the chance to be introduced to their homes, try home made food, taken out to their favorite places, you will be pampered  fed, spoiled… You might be warned about the security in some regions such as Baluchistan part of Iran, but great part of it is just a myth. Traveling in Sistan Baluchestan of Iran turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences in terms of hospitality and friendliness as well as landscape for us. The highest risk you can sense in Iran can be the traffic in big cities. Otherwise quite safe. Language can be a bit of problem too as not many Iranians speak English. But of course it´s not a risk! and Pakistan that we were almost about to drop the idea and travel somewhere else.

 

MOTORCYCLING IN TURKMENISTAN

VISA FOR TURKMENISTAN

You can apply for the 5 days transit visa at the embassy in Tehran.  The price is 55 USD in cash and you need 2 passport copies better in color, 2 pictures, a letter explaining your route and dates and borders. You can opt to retrieve your visa in Tehran after 5-7 working days or if you prefer to go around Iran and not have to wait you ask them to send it to Mashahd. One important thing is that you might go to the embassy but if the consul is not there or is on vacation you might have to wait days or weeks till he is back. They have very limited opening hours too. From 9am to 11am and don’t even think to call them.

MONEY

1 USD= 3.5 manat. You can change at banks

FUEL PRICE IN TURKMENISTAN

This is your lucky day. Turkmenistan is a joy for overlanders as petrol is cheap.

1 liter= 1 manat

CUSTOMS IN TURKMENSITAN

It’s quite slow and not very customer orientated ;). At my border I had to pay 65USD for the registration of my bike and 15 USD for insurance. I managed not to get an insurance. I heard that if you come by ferry they will charge you a fee for each kilometer you do as they ask you which border you take and will calculate the kilometers.

ROADS IN TURKMENSITAN

There is only 35 km from Quchan border to Ashghabad and it’s a nice road. The first 100 km from Ashghabad to Mari are also quite good but then it gets very bad, bumpy, dusty, under construction and with a lot of detours that are not signed and a lot of heavy trucks from Iran, Turkey and Uzbekistan. There is a bridge before Farab border where you have to wait for the bank to open (opinion hours from 9 to 4 maybe) and pay between 10-13 USD so that you can pass the bridge.

BORDER CROSSING FROM TURKMENSITAN TO UZBEKISTAN

There are 2 ways to cross over to Turkmenistan. The best way is passing by Darvaze and then head to Dashoguz and then Khiva. I took the other way. It will take you 2 days to cross the desert from Ashghabad to Farab border. Road in bad conditions.

SHIPPING A MOTORCYCLE IN TURKMENSITAN 🙂

When I was in Turkmenistan it was so hot that I could not see myself riding and crossing the desert during 2 days. So I opted to take a pickup and send my bike to the Uzbek border. It cost me 230 USD!  But I could have some sleep onboard!

MOTORCYCLING IN UZBEKISTAN

VISA FOR UZBESKISTAN

You better apply for the visa in your country and depending where you come from you it might take you shorter or longer and the price can be different too!

MONEY

1 USD= 3200 Som. You need to change at the black markets as the banks give you a very bad rate so don’t even think about it. It’s almost impossible to pay with credit or debit cards.

FUEL PRICE IN UZBEKISTAN

It’s hard to find high octane gas. They mostly have only 85 ocatane.

1 liter=

CUSTOMS IN UZBEKISTAN

It’s quite slow and they might ask you to show all your luggage. Make sure you don’t have any books on religions or medicine such as sleeping pills. It’s not allowed and they really go through all your stuff. They probably will look at you laptop and smart phone and check all the videos and photos!

ROADS IN UZBESKITAN

Roads are tarmac but with a lot of bumps and in bad conditions.

BORDER CROSSING FROM TURKMENSITAN TO UZBEKISTAN

See above.

MOTORCYCLING IN TAJIKISTAN

VISA FOR TAJIKESTAN

I got it in a matter of 1 day in The Tajik embassy in Iran for 50USD. Make sure to ask for a double entry visa as when you are in Khorog you can go to the Afghan embassy and ask for a visa for Afghanistan and visit the Wakhan part. Many travelers did it and it’s safe! We had only a single entry visa which we tried to extend but it takes apparently around 7 days that you have to hang around in Dushanbe with expensive hotels and we didn’t want to do it.

MONEY

1 USD= 6.5 Somoni. You can even try to take out dollars at some cash machines but success is not guaranteed!

FUEL PRICE IN TAJIKESTAN

1 liter= 5 Somoni

CUSTOMS IN TAJIKESTAN

We only had to pay 10 USD for the insurance and it was hassle free and straight forward.

ROADS IN TAJIKESTAN

This is the wow moment. The famous Pamir Highways is famous for something :). Horrible road with great scenery. From Dushanbe there are 2 ways one passes by Kulob and the other one which is the real 41 by Obigarm. We took the Kulob road but I heard that both roads are nice although in bad shapes. After Khorog there are 4 alternatives- one is to take the 41, the other one to go to the Wakhan valley, the 3rd one a dirt road in south of Khorog and the 4th one is apparently the most beautiful one and also the toughest, a 100% off road from the valley of Bartang to the Karakul lake. When we were there the Pamir highway/41 after Khorog was blocked as a dam broke and they say it was hard to repair it. It’s a paved road but not in good shape. Going fast is not an option. We took the Wakhan valley one and it’s dirt road but easy to manage. The scenery on the Wakhan Valley over the Hindukush mountain range is worth any detour. Once you are on the paved road (41) the tarmac is ok but horrible for the suspensions of your poor bike.

ANZOB PASS OR TUNNEL

We took both. The pass is amazingly beautiful. you would not imagine that scenery there. But you will swallow a lot of dust as it’s the main route and mostly is dirt. The tunnel is being repaired by an Iranian company and is only open at night in a certain direction. However, on our way back we decided that we wanted to try our luck and ask them to let us pass. They did 🙂 and gave us a full tour of the tunnel and the ongoing work. Maybe the fact that I was a girl on a bike helped too to open the tunnel gates for us! The tunnel makes it much shorter but then it’s not that nice.

BORDER CROSSING FROM UZBEKISTAN TO TAJIKESTAN

We went from Bukhara to Qarshi and then Boysun and Denau crossing Tursunzadeh border. Road is quite ok and can get scenic too.

BORDER CROSSING FROM  TAJIKESTAN TO KYRGYZSTAN

That was the best part of the trip. We entered Kyrgyzstan through Sary Tash and the although our Tajik visa was due (YES, it was so much hassle to extend our visa that we decided to risk it) and they did not even bother to check it. It’s high up in the mountains and it was raining :). The road is a nice mountain pass and you descend to Kyrgyzstan. The road was washed off and we had to cross a little river. I think I got a few fish in my boots!

MOTORCYCLING IN KYRGYZSTAN

VISA FOR KYRGYZSTAN

You get your visa on arrival at the land border. Traveling made easy.

MONEY

1 USD= 70 Com. You can even try to take out dollars at some cash machines.

FUEL PRICE IN KYRGYZSTAN

1 liter=

CUSTOMS IN KYRGYZSTAN

I only had to pay 7 € for the customs and  it was hassle free and straight forward. You can ask them to give you a permit for your bike up to 6 months. If they don’t you can definitely get it for 3 months free of charge.

ROADS IN KYRGYZSTAN

Amazing roads. Main roads are mainly paved and in good shape as they are constructed recently but you can find amazing off roads everywhere.

BORDER CROSSING FROM  TAJIKESTAN TO KYRGYZSTAN

That was the best part of the trip. We entered Kyrgyzstan through Sary Tash and the although our Tajik visa was due (YES, it was so much hassle to extend our visa that we decided to risk it) and they did not even bother to check it. It’s high up in the mountains and it was raining :). The road is a nice mountain pass and you descend to Kyrgyzstan. The road was washed off and we had to cross a little river. I think I got a few fish in my boots!

 MECANIC AND SHIPPING A BIKE TO KYRGYZSTAN

You can contact Peter and Patrik at muztoo in Osh. For shipping your bike contact Kryzstof. They are great and helpful.

CHINA & KYRGYZSTAN Borders, Just a few notes on the road conditions & a few pics

Last update September 2013!

BORDER CROSSING KYRGYZSTAN TO CHINA, IRKESTAN PASS

Be careful with the opening hours of the border. They Kyrgyz normally open around 8.30 and close when the Chinese close! The problem is that the Chinese tend to close some time between 11 & 14-30 Peking time their border for lunch and I don´t know what else! So that you might end up waking up early to get early to the border but then have to wait for the Chinese officials to way up from their loooong siesta. If you have to spend the night in Kyrgyzstan before crossing the border there are a few places to stay the night in the little town of Sari Tash on the way to Osh, Murghab and Kashgar. There is about 1 hour of drive from there to the Kyrgyz border. There are also a few cafes next to the border, where Kyrgyz people leave and they might be able to put you up somewhere. On the Chinse side the things get more complicated as the customs and immigration is not right at the border but about 30 min. drive and the second real border officials are after 3 hours drive after the first building. It seems that the Chinese have decided to mover their custom buildings closer to the cities. The road from the Chinese border to Kashgar is under construction and you´ll get a good overview of how the Chinese work. Be prepared for around 8-12 hours of drive through detours, sand roads, passing by big trucks,…. before arriving in noisy Kashgar. The last gas station on the Kyrgyz side is also in Sari Tash. Bear in mind that Irkestan pass is a high mountain pass over 3000 meters and it can get very cold and even there can be snow in September.

BORDER CROSSING CHINA TO KYRGYZSTAN, TOURGAT PASS

The road is much better on the Chinese side but it gets worse on the Kyrgyz side till half way to the city of Narin. Here again the custom and immigration building is a few hours before the actual border which consists of a pretentious gate and nothing else! The Kyrgyz immigration building is a few kms after the border set next to a beautiful lake. The Kyrgyz officials are quite friendly and fast. Again bear in mind that the Tourgat pass is a high mountain pass over 3000 meters. It can get very cold and even in September there can be a lot of snow.

 

Last update January 2013!

MOTORCYLING IN PAKISTAN

 PAKISTANI VISA

We had to ask for an invitation letter in order to ask for a visa and in the end as the invitation letter we received was from a company we were given a business visa instead of a tourist visa. Although we first wanted to ask for a double entry visa we were only given a single entry one.

MONEY

1€ = approximately 125 Rupees. There are ATMs only in big cities and most of them DON”T accept foreign credit cards!  We could change money right at the border on the Pakistani side, which had better rates than the Iranian side. Don’t forget to bargain.

 

 FUEL PRICE IN PAKISTAN

1 liter of gas approximately 105 Rupees. In Baluchistan it’s a bit more expensive than in other provinces.

Generally it’s quite easy to find gas stations every where except for Baluchistan part, close to Iranian border. Even there you can always come across shops selling petrol in gallons.

ROAD CONDITIONS IN PAKISTAN

The road from Taftan border to Quetta is ok with some parts badly pitholed, some others covered  with sand. But, as there is not much traffic it’s not dangerous. apart from the last, part it’s mostly flat and with moon-like landscape. From Quetta to Shikarpur the road is ok too and with not much traffic. Although it can get at some parts quite dusty so that you get a good taste of sand. You can continue to Lahore from Shikarpur but it’s much wiser to continue to Sukhar and from there take the high way with 2 lanes and a lot of gas stations along the road to Lahore. There is no toll for motorbikes. We didn’t see much if any road accidents maybe because most of the cars are just so unbelievably slow. In fact we were the only speedy ones!

BORDER CROSSING FROM IRAN TO PAKISTAN

There is only one border crossing between Iran and Pakistan, which is from Iranian border in Mirjaveh, some 70 km  far from the city Zahedan. This border is open 7 days a week but you rather arrive early on festive days as well as Fridays as they might close the border at 2 pm! If you do get stuck there don’t worry much since there is a quite nice hotel in Mirjaveh itself for 20 USD. There is also a guesthouse inside the border but you might prefer to stay in the town itself.

 

You do need carnet du passage for both Iran and Pakistan. The Pakistani border is also quite hassle free but you will be escorted all way long to Quetta and further. This will make your travel much slower as you’ll depend on the speed on your escort, their availability, their lunch or dinner time. Forget about driving after dark as they will now let you. Initially we were told that we will be only escorted till Quetta but in reality we were escorted up to 50 km before Lahore. The funny thing was that sometimes we were escorted strictly and some other times the escort would accompany us only a few km out of the city and then will wave goodbye!

SECURITY IN PAKISTAN

We were so warned about the security in Baluchistan part of Iran and Pakistan that we were almost about to drop the idea and travel somewhere else. Traveling in Sistan Baluchestan of Iran turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences in terms of hospitality and friendliness as well as landscape. In Pakistani part we were most of the time escorted by police (sometimes without any uniform) and warned about the security but we never felt any problems or risk.

In some small cities they do force you into staying at the police station due to lack of guesthouses, etc. But no complaints at all about their service and the way they treated us. At one point and taking advantage of the lack of security we decided to camp in countryside and met some villagers who invited us to their village. After some time the police arrived and they insisted to take us to the police station for the sake of our own security. We stood our ground and refused the idea of packing again and suggested instead that they send 2 policemen to look after us and that is what they did after some thinking and a huge number of phone calls! That was the perfect night with full moon and I’m glad we didn’t spend it in the police station.

In the city of Bahawolpur and as we were not escorted by anybody we looked for a hotel and found out that they don’t accept any foreigners  The only hotel that accepted us had to ask for permission  This turned out to be a mistake as the police came and made us move to another hotel that they considered safe and was 3 times as expensive. After 5 hours of discussing we agreed that we only pay the part that we were supposed to pay in the first hotel!

Once in Quetta or Lahore, we could stay wherever we wanted to and move freely. We never really understood this arbitrary way of providing us with security but the way the countless police escort treated us was most of the time just perfect.

We were also denied the permission to travel from Quetto to Pishawer or Islamabad so that we had to change plans and first for to Lahore (it takes 2 days from Quetta to Lahore).