Overland with Kids

A large chunk of our time has been spent preparing for the China leg of our trip - to the point of fast becoming the pinnacle of the entire journey in terms of route plan, timings and dependancies.

This is because we need to know exactly what day and month we intend to transit China, for how long and the exit date in order that our chosen operator can inform the China government and border customs officials. This is also so we can let other travellers know who, may wish to join our transit / group to help reduce or share costs. Transiting China using your own vehicle is not cheap!

All forms of paperwork including vehicle & passport documentation plus photos of each angle of the vehicle/s must be provided approx 3 months in advance (could be less leadtime for others transiting depending on duration, borders etc.).  As we’ll be on the road well before this time, we think we’ll be better off having submitted all our bits and to be organised with our China plans before we go.

We’ve been debating alot - pouring over the China map, route, itinerary, timings, asking questions and performing as much research as we can.

We’ve been in contact with several China specialist agencies in the process to obtain help and determine requirements.

Given that there are four of us minimum to consider (plus there’ll be another 4wd with another 3 people for sure making the transit with us), alternative options to get us and the vehicle/s from Russia onwards are virtually cost neutral (e.g. shipping vehicles from Vlad and us flying onward or travelling through on foot using other means etc.).  But, we are very keen and want to ‘drive’ through and really see and experience China - an ultimate highlight in our view - and better to have the flexibility of using our own vehicles to do this.

We approached a total of 6 China specialist tour companies and the costs we have been provided vary wildly. Five out of six companies for 1 x 4wd and 4 of us (2 adults, 2 children) for an approximate 21 day transit quoted circa £4K - £4.6K. This cost excluding fuel, parking, tolls, food, accommodation, or any site entrance fees. In addition, we must also pay for the expenses of the accompanying China guide who must accompany us from border entry to border exit i.e. additional  food, accommodation, tips, fees etc. For 2 x 4wd, the cost increases to £6K+. Add a bike then quotes increased to £9K and not all operators are keen to take bikes, preferring to stick to highway routes.

It is more cost effective to get more vehicles to transit together and after much research, we think finally found a deal to suit our budget i.e.

£3.6K for 26 days for 2 groups i.e. 4 adults, 3 children, 2 x 4WD, 1 x off road caravan and 1 x trailer) and this cost includes the guides food, fees, accommodation etc. For an additional group (e.g. motorbike) the total cost would be about £4K. This still leaves us to pay for our own food, accommodation, tolls, site fees and fuel etc. but still a massive improvement from where we started.

Further Information re: China Transit

Things change so the following information is accurate as best we are aware:

The China Tour Guide

Travellers with own vehicles or motorbikes are not allowed by law to transit China without an official tour guide who accompanies you throughout the duration of the trip. The guide meets you at the border entry customs and stays with you right up to border exit.

For 4WD travellers, there must be a spare seat in your vehicle for the guide to sit.

Motorbikes

Motorbike travellers are subject to a tougher deal i.e. they not allowed to transit through without an accompanying 4wd. The 4wd can be brought in by another traveller/group (e.g. us) or hired by the China operator within China for the guide to sit. For Health & Safety reasons the China guide is not allowed to ride a motorbike regardless of whether a driver or passenger.

Motorbikes are not allowed to drive on highways or enter certain towns - this can be better / more interesting in terms of route and avoids tolls but also could make transit longer / more awkward for e.g. the co-4wd group.

The motorbike will likely be stuck behind the 4wd for the entire trip duration so could be a bit restrictive when compared to normal biking freedoms. But, for a bike wishing to transit, this is unavoidable unless considering flying and buying/selling a Chinese registered bike while there. On the other side of the fence, the accompanying 4wd will have to use national routes rather than major highways, possibly making the trip  less efficient with sometimes unnecessary added expense as can be done using shorter duration/routes if only 4wd group/s transiting.

We have seen £7K costs been quoted for a sole biker transiting China with hired 4wd option excluding all expenses and guide cost.

The best price we found for a solo biker with hired 4wd looked something like £3,250 for 26 days to include guide expenses.

Group Travel

Definately the way to go is as part of a group to get the best cost options except all will have to agree and follow the same itinerary, same points of interest, on the same dates and be transiting from/to the same borders. It is normal that the transit costs plus all guide expenses as appropriate are split equally between the total number of groups travelling - e.g. 2 groups 1) 4 people in 4wd and 2) 1 person with motorbike would each pay 50% of transit and guide costs. This sounds a bit of a raw deal for a biker but still considerably less than any solo entry option and also due to the highway and duration sacrifice the 4wd might need to make.   

We have been trying to get additional 4wd and/or bikers to travel with us to make as cost effective for everyone. The difficulty is meeting everyone elses dates and travel plans. So, for the moment it is 2 x 4wd’s.

Customs Declaration

A customs list detailing all items & equipment (including camping equipment, vehicle spare, tools, comms etc.) needs to be provided at latest 4-6 weeks before entry at the border to a China tour operator/agency.

Life essentials do not need to itemised but it might be useful to list briefly i.e. Books, Food, Clothes, Toys, CDs, Medicine

Communications equipment is normally required to be listed in detail i.e. laptop, mobile, digital camera including make, model and any accessories etc. These items will usually be closely checked and scrutinised by customs officials.

Mobile phones and laptops are allowed. Anything with GPRS is allowed. Use of radios to communicate between groups of one vehicle or more is not controlled but a border officials view can still operate according to old policy customs and there is a possibility of confiscation. Satelitte phones we understand are a definate no, no.

All items of camping equipment and vehicle spares should be itemised.

The Border Process

Borders do not tend to operate over weekends and it is worth checking any important or national holiday periods. Borders operate differing customs policies but it is our understanding that regardless of China operator, each group will meet the same policy at the specified border control. It can take several hours to process a vehicle team or group through the customs border point.

The process consists of:
• Visa check
• Form filling
• Parking vehicle/s in specified location
• Vehicle check
• Customs Declaration check
• Vehicle dis-infection process
• Official checks (e.g. contacting local provincial custom office by fax for which response required for signature approval, stamps and billing)
• License checks and provision and new vehicle plates for entry

Not forgetting, full co-operation with customs officials required during this time

Vehicle Customs Deposit  

The vehicle customs deposit (50% of the value of your vehicle/s) is usually paid by the China agency. One agency out of all those we investigated requested we pay the deposit in full ourselves, advising that this would then be returned 25-40 days after exit. When challenged, this then changed whereby, we were asked for a small interest fee charge against 50% of the total deposit being made on our behalf but that we must book and pay the majority of the tour a full 5 months in advance. We found that the other agencies didn’t even mention. When questioned, the other agencies advised they arrange payment with customs themselves - usually leaving a fee arrangement in situ to cover all vehicle groups transiting throughout the year. The agency we finally opted for advised, while paperwork has been requested 3 months in advance, we are not required to make any payment until 1 month prior to border entry (90% and the remaining 10% on exit made payable to the guide).

Tour Agency Cost Justifications

The same agency who advised us initially to make full custom border deposit payment and at least 50% tour payment 5 months in advance, advised the following:

Permits 47%, Vehicle and drivers license/s 10%, Customs entry and exit processes 12%, All expenses for the guide before tour meeting and following departure 10%. Remaining 21% goes toward guide’s salary and nominated tour agent.

We’ll provide some further detail shortly on a new China Transit Preparation page we’ve created, including what to expect in terms of ‘on the road’ expenses. We’re hoping to camp as much as possible but this is still a relatively unheard of concept in China and in some places this will not be possible.

We’ll also let you know how we get on post trip- once we’ve completed our adventure through China!

PS. It is the ‘Year of the Tiger’ in China and to help mark our trip, we’re thinking of asking the children to help us paint a Chinese Tiger along at least one of the caravan sides. The picture featured shows a design we quite like (though Andrew would prefer Tottenham football team colours instead - Boooo!!!!!) .