Entering Vietnam with no guide -- can be done!

[KTMphil]

BigTom is currently in Vietnam with his BMW 1200 gs and no guide needed, I got this message from him today:


"Hey Phillip! All info at Vietnam border crossing - Page 4 - Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB. We took Route 12 in Laos to Vietnam. Costs: $60 for the Vietnam visas, 1 month. 30 day permit (temporary import form), NO GUIDE"!

"First the good news: We also crossed the boarder at Cha Lo successfully on May 1st, 2013. Laos exit is super simple and easy, as usual. We arranged our Vietnam Visas in Paksé, Laos, 1 of 4 points you can obtain the Vietnam Visa in Laos.
Immigration on Vietnam side also quick and simple. As for our big bikes (BMW 1200GSA and Honda Transalp), custom first sent us to lunch as they made some phone calls. On our return, we were brought back to the same room where the passports got stamped and a lady with glasses (not speaking English) started to fill out the "temporary import forms". We were not asked for Carnets. My international motorcycle registration with many import/export stamps from Cambodia and Laos were helpful, but also the regular English registration documents from the Honda Transalp went ok.
Previous travellers received a 14 day "permit" on the import form. As we plan to stay the max duration of our Visas (30 days), I pointed that out multiple times and the correct day was written down. Yeah!
Everything went smooth until a higher ranked guy showed up and checked the documents over and over again. He stated that we miss the driver's license, which we could only obtain in Hanoi. Both of us carry the International drivers license (translation of our regular EU licenses in a grey book) with us, so we presented it to him and was fine with it in the end.
Then he suddenly made the lady change the duration of our import forms to 9 days. I explained our Vietnam itinerary to him and that we'll have a visitor from Europe and at the end he made the lady change the date back again. Huh, that was a shocking moment".




More on the HU page



Vietnam border crossing - Page 4 - Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB

 

[KTMphil]

Some of Tom's photo's are on his public Flikr page


Flickr: Please wait...

 

[The Bigfella]

Fabulous news. I so much want to ride there again, having done it on a bloody scooter

 

[Just Bob]

The photos are spectacular! I need to go back, soon.

 

[activechina]

Surprisingly good news! Gotta ride again in Vietnam with my own bike!

 

[VietHorse]

Hey guys, welcome coming over here!
Enjoy Vietnam traffic.

 

[2wheels]

Thanks for sharing the good news Tom.

Having ridden a bit around the Nha Trang area, and like others say, I'd return to Vietnam without hesitation.

 

[KTMphil]

Two more rider's getting into Vietnam without any prior permits or a Vietnamese agent or guide, just with Vietnamese immigration visa's that they obtained in Luang Prabang, Laos. One of them was even on a rented CRF 250 from C & P Rentals rented in Chiang Mai (Lan told them there was no way they'd get in!)


So it loos like the Cha Lo international border crossing is your best bet for getting in to Vietnam


Co-ordinates of the Cha Lo, Vietnam international border crossing (from the Laos side):


N17.67130

E105.76568







Alas, upon arrival at Cha Lo our hope of entering VN was crushed by the VN customs officers, who refused to let our 'big' bikes in. We could enter VN on condition that we left the bikes at the border.
They told us the reason for their refusal was the fact that a few months ago a bike traveller had overstayed his temporary import permit because of a traffic accident (I suppose they referred to the same guy who posted about this incident on the VN border crossing thread on the HU forum). As a result of this incident, the customs chief of Cha Lo had decided to revert his initial approval to allow entry to foreign-registered big bikes.
This was exactly what I had feared would happen, namely that this window of opportunity to enter VN on a bike would not last long. I pleaded at length with the second-in-command, a very polite nice young lady who spoke excellent English (supposedly the same officer mentioned in the relevant thread on the HU forum), but she stood her ground and said she was sorry but that there was no way they would let us enter VN on the bikes. As we were not getting anywhere with her, I asked if I could perhaps talk to her boss, the customs chief of Cha Lo. She replied it was useless, as it was his decision. A bit earlier I had noticed an older guy listening in on our conversation from a distance, but then disappeared into his office. He turned out to be the boss. When told I shouldn't waste his time, I went to tell Rob it was 'game over' as far as riding into VN was concerned. He could already tell my sense of defeat from the look on my face. I was really bummed...But just as we were about to mount our bikes and head back to the Lao border post, I had an idea. I held one card in my hand that I thought was worth playing. I was about to play my 'V.I.P. status' card...I returned on my steps and went back to see the young lady officer. I told her that the refusal to let us in on the bikes was a painful disappointment, especially for me given my personal history of many years of serving the nation of VN in my professional capacity. I told her that more than a decade of professional involvement with the most prestigious university of VN should warrant a reconsideration of my request to enter VN. From the expression of disbelief on her face, I could tell she thought I was bullshitting her on the spot...So I told her to go online and verify my credentials, which would show proof that I wasn't making up a story. She and two colleagues sat down at a PC and googled my name, and bingo!... the website of the prestigious N.E.U. in Hanoi showed I was indeed a member of their faculty. She rushed to see her boss in his office who came out to welcome me back to VN. A few words to his underlings who scrambled immediately and asked us for our PP and bike registration papers and prepared the necessary documents to clear our bikes into VN. Fifteen minutes laterm, walking out with our temporary permit in hand, I told Rob jokingly that "After all these years, I was finally able to put my PhD to good use..."OK, I'm signing off here, we're heading back to Cha Lo today and into Laos for the return leg.

 

[Forest]

hi VietHorse!do u have any recent reports of bikers crossing into Vietnam?
cheers!:RO

Hey guys, welcome coming over here!
Enjoy Vietnam traffic.

 

[DJKNOX]

I'm planning a 3 month drive thru Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam with my Thai 197cc Shadow, registered in my name and complete with an official Thai Registration Certificate translated into English. I am flexible on my routes and border crossings. Does anyone have updates on crossing into Vietnam. I understand the chances are not great, but would like to try and am wondering if the Cha Lo crossing is still a successful one? I depart mid Feb from BKK and so will be arriving in Vietnam in mid March.

Also, if anyone has recommend routes for the best drives (ie low traffic, nice scenery etc), I'd love to hear from you.
thanks
Doug

 

[Serdar]

Recently, in luang prabang, I met a couple of Australian riders with a Laos reg. bikes who told me that they were able to get into VN thru the Nam Can border, after having tried and failed at the two other crossings further north. They got the visas on arrival at the border, and paid $20 or so per bike.

We tried the same border this morning, but got turned around because our bike is Thai registered

The officer was friendly, but made it clear that our bike could get in only with special authorization from the ministry of transport.

She did add that if the bike were registered in laos, we'd have been good to go.

If so, I wonder why the Australian guys were not let in at the other two borders they tried.

If anyone can clarify the VN entry requirements, I really would appreciate!