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I know some people have entered Egypt without a Carnet de Passage so I know it is possible, what I need to know is how long can you drive it in Egypt that way, I know with a Carnet it is 6 months maximum but how long is it without?

Another question is: is it official? I mean is that how it is officially done according to laws and regulations or was that a way to get around them like almost everything in Egypt?

If anyone has done that before please give me all the details you have.

I have to take my car from Canada to Egypt and for a Carnet de Passage en Douane from Canada they require an irrevocable letter of credit for $120,000 US that's twice as much as the car's value (brand new) or instead I can pay an indemnity option for $55,000 which they will return $22,000 of when the car gets back to Canada (I lose 33,000 for EVERY YEAR), and I'm not sure if it will return so there's no way for me doing it either way. Then I heard about an Egyptian carnet you can get at the border for less than $1,000 dollars, which will totally solve my problem so I really need some information about this.

Any information will be highly appreciated.

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  • Can I ask why you have to take your car? Wouldn't it be cheaper to sell or give away your Canadian car and buy a new one in Egypt than to go through this process?
    – Kate Gregory
    Nov 11, 2011 at 2:36
  • by $10,000 you can be a brand new nice car in Egypt!! just go by plane and buy a car from Egypt!
    – Yousf
    Nov 11, 2011 at 10:00
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    first reason i just bought the car and i have to move to Egypt for some time, second reason my car is worth 70,000 dollars here in Canada while in Egypt costs 200,000 dolars, i need an extreme off road vehicle so brand new in Egypt the cheapest decent option is for 110,000 (Mitsubishi) @Yousf 10,000 can't get you a chinese car in Egypt and i already have a brand new discovery 4 with everything i need which if i sell now i lose at least 15,000 without even driving the car.(so i lose money on a great car, and buy a lame car for much more money!!!) my best option is to do this Egyptian Carnet.
    – msk
    Nov 11, 2011 at 19:31
  • i just read somewhere that its called a Triptyque and issued from the Egyptian Auto club, but i couldnt get any reliable information (since the auto club doesnt have a website and the customs website mentions nothing) i need someone who has done it before.
    – msk
    Nov 11, 2011 at 19:36

3 Answers 3

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I have done this last year (2010) with a friend of mine. We arrived at the Egyption border in Nuweiba (with the boat from Jordan) without a CdP.

It's not that you travel through Egypt without a carnet. We had to buy a local one (which is only valid in Egypt itself) on the spot. Actually, we had to get it in town (Nuweiba). So it's a process of getting yourself (or one of you, like we did) through the border first without the car, but with the papers of the car, get the local CdP in town, then return to get transfer plates for the car and then finally get through the border with everything.

It is not something to be taken lightly though. It took us a whole day to get sorted, and the guys at the border said we were lucky that we were actually able to get a local CdP (although that might have been just to scare us).

I wouldn't say this is how it is officially done (as officially, you should have a CdP before you arrive at the border), but as far as I know, it is legal and according to laws and regulations. You wouldn't get far anyways if it wasn't official, as there are roadblocks almost every 50 miles in Egypt where you have to show your papers (and those of the car) almost every time.

All in all, it cost us a bit more than 600 euros to get our car and ourselves into the country. Which is indeed very cheap if you compare it with the other options.

Afterwards, we heard from other overlanders they also still had to pay almost 400 euros to get their car (and themselves) in the country, even though they had a CdP. So I think we did very well.

As for the validity of that local CdP, it might have been a year, but could also have been six months, I'm really not sure any more about that. We were only there for about a month, before we drove into Sudan, so it didn't really matter to us.

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  • Thanks, this was very helpful. Another thing: what documents did they need? just the car's native registration, your driving license and passport? Or was there anything else?
    – msk
    Nov 14, 2011 at 18:40
  • About people with a CdP still paying, I think it's because you can't drive with foreign plates anyway in Egypt so it must be a fee for the transfer plates.
    – msk
    Nov 14, 2011 at 18:53
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    About the documents: yep, I think that was enough. Should be an international driving license though... I'd ask my friend for the specifics, but he's travelling right now... until the middle of january somewhere ;-)
    – fretje
    Nov 15, 2011 at 9:36
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After some trouble I managed to send someone in Egypt to the auto club and ask about how it's done. First time they told him that I have to get a CdP from Canada before I travel and this is the only way, but after the information I got from fretje here I asked my friend in Egypt to go again and explain the situation further. After telling them that there is no CdP in Canada "they don't have it there!!" and assuring them that he has many friends who have done it in the way fretje described. They changed what they had said earlier and explained to him everything about the Egyptian Carnet known as "Triptyque".

It is a new system, you DO NOT need a CdP any more for Egypt and the actual details are:

  • Documents needed: vehicle registration, international driving license & passport.
  • Issued from: Egyptian auto club offices in most Egyptian ports (land/sea/air).
  • Validity: 3 months, renewable once only.
  • Cost: $550 to $1,000 USD for each 3 month period.

After the expiry of the Carnet the car is not allowed a renewal for 6 months in which case you must either exit the country or place the car in customs storage. Another thing to do is pay 250% of the car's price and keep it in Egypt forever, but it's much cheaper to buy another car and drive each one for 6 months.

And I checked this, if you do have a CdP you still have to pay for transfer plates since no one can drive with foreign plates in Egypt except Libyan vehicles. It costs around $500 USD.

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MSK Try asking the same line of questions over at www.expeditionportal.com. It is a large international group of adventure travelers using 4WD and adventure moto to explore the world. Sure enough someone there will know your solution!

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