Middle East - Anthony Ham [554]
The mountains of paperwork and red tape before you leave home – documents usually take a month or more to obtain, and just finding out the current regulations can be difficult. It’s best to get in touch with your automobile association (eg AA or RAC in the UK) at least three months in advance.
The expense of getting hold of a carnet de passage (Click here).
The often hair-raising driving in unfamiliar territory.
The variability in the quality of the roads themselves.
The sheer distance between places of interest.
The millstone-around-the-neck worry of serious accident, breakdown or theft.
If trouble flares in a particular region, the option of circumventing it by travelling by air won’t be possible; air freighting even a motorcycle can be prohibitively expensive. Selling or dumping a temporarily imported vehicle in the Middle East is more or less ruled out by customs regulations. Car ferries can get around some of these problems, but shipping a car isn’t cheap, often requires an advance booking and won’t help you out in every eventuality.
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Hire
Car hire is possible in all Middle Eastern countries, and international hire companies such as Hertz (www.hertz.com), Avis (www.avis.com) and Europcar (www.europcar.com) are represented in many large towns. Local companies are usually cheaper, but the cars of international companies are often better maintained and come with a better back-up service if problems arise. Local companies sometimes carry the advantage of including a driver for a similar cost to hiring the car alone. A good place to find competitive rates is Imakoo Cars (www.imakoocars.co.uk/directory-in.php/middle-east), a clearing house for cheap rates of international companies with services in all countries covered in this guide, except Egypt.
Reputable tour agencies can also be a good source of cars, offering competitive rates, decent cars and often a driver thrown in for little extra – usually the best option for short-term travellers. Some agencies can arrange vans, minibuses and buses for groups, but most deal only in cars; very few rent out motorcycles or bicycles.
To hire a car, you’ll need any or all of the following: a photocopy of your passport and visa; deposit or credit-card imprint; and your driving licence or IDP. The minimum age varies between 21 and 25 – the latter is most common, particularly with international companies.
Always make sure that insurance is included in the hire price, familiarise yourself with the policy – don’t hire a car unless it’s insured for every eventuality.
Before hiring a self-drive vehicle, ask yourself seriously how well you think you can cope with the local driving conditions and whether you know your way around well enough to make good use of one. Also compare the cost with that of hiring a taxi for the same period.
Insurance
Insurance is compulsory in most Middle Eastern countries, apart from being highly advisable. Given the large number of minor accidents, not to mention major ones, fully comprehensive insurance (as opposed to third-party) is strongly advised, both for your own and any hire vehicle. Car-hire companies customarily supply insurance, but check the cover and conditions carefully.
Make certain you’re covered for off-piste travel, as well as travel between Middle Eastern countries (if you’re planning cross-border excursions). A locally acquired motorcycle licence is not valid under some policies.
In the event of an accident, make sure you submit the accident report as soon as possible to the insurance company or, if hiring, the car-hire company, and do so before getting the car repaired.
Road Conditions
The main roads are good, or at least reasonable, in most parts of the Middle East, but there are plenty of unsurfaced examples and the international