Is it possible to go on a road trip by car from, let's say, Berlin, Germany to Doha in Qatar or Dubai in the UAE? I have heard of people doing it, and I would love to try it myself?
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4According to most evaluation I have seen you are 20 years late. I am pretty sure this question, or a near copy, has been asked before on the site.– Willeke ♦Feb 10 at 7:57
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8There is for sure a road connection, just try Google Maps. However, you will need to cross Iran or Irak and Saudi-Arabia. So it's a question of visas, if they let your car in and, of course, safety.– SebastianFeb 10 at 8:53
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1This is the most recent, similar question Getting foreign license plates remotely (for specific countries). Is this possible?– Bernhard DöblerFeb 10 at 12:14
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1A similar question, but by train not by car: Quickest way from London to Dubai without flying? From there, a second hop leads to Road journey from Europe to Mecca?– mouvicielFeb 10 at 13:04
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3Does this answer your question? Road journey from Europe to Mecca?– DavidRecallsMonicaFeb 10 at 15:46
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1 Answer
You obviously don't want to enter Syria and Iraq. Don't even think about it, these countries are off-limits due to countless reasons.
The best you can do is an overland journey via Turkey to Iran, and then a ferry across the Persian Gulf. Looking at a map, I see a ferry route between Bandar Abbas, Iran and Khasab, Oman. From Oman, you can continue overland to the UAE, Saudi Arabia or Qatar. (There might be other ferry connections as well.) Since 2019, after decades of isolation, Saudi Arabia is now quite easy to get into using an eVisa.
I have no idea about the paperwork you need in order to get your car into Iran and the Gulf countries. It's doable, but probably not easy. However, you should keep several things in mind:
- You will need to get an Iranian visa from an embassy. A visa on arrival to Iran is only available if you fly into Iran, not when you enter the country by car.
- Visiting Iran will forever "taint" your travel history. It'll make you forever ineligible for the United States ESTA; you will have to mention your visit to Iran every time you want to visit countries such as Canada, Australia, Israel etc. and it might lead to additional questioning. If you fail to mention it when asked and they find out, you could be forever banned from visiting the country in question, or any other country it shares information with.
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To avoid Iran, they might want to do Marseilles to Algiers (or Italy to Tunis) via ferry, then take another ferry from Egypt to Saudi Arabia.– ChrisFeb 14 at 22:35
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3@Chris that would mean travelling via Libya, correct? IMO Libya is much worse for tourists than Iran... Feb 15 at 8:30
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3@njzk2 personally I would never go there, but it's much safer than Iraq, Syria or Libya. The Mahsa Amini Protests seem to be over. Feb 15 at 8:42
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@Johnnyjanko Not necessarily. You could go down through Niger and Nigeria then over through Cameroon and Chad. But that puts you at Sudan, which is another country you probably don't want to be visiting.– A. R.Feb 23 at 12:51