SO YOU WANT TO DRIVE INTERNATIONALLY?
Over the last 3 years, I’ve had a chance to drive either a car or a motorbike in Mexico, Croatia, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. A lot of ex-pats seem to think that if they have a driver’s license from the U.S, that enables them to legally drive in every country, but that just isn’t true. And because its not true, occasionally we see ex-pats complaining in Facebook groups about why they aren’t allowed to rent a car in this country or that, or why they got a ticket for not having a valid license while they were driving a scooter that they rented (legally) in Vietnam and Thailand. Honestly, there is quite a bit of confusion out there, so I wanted to write this blog in order to share what we’ve learned about driving internationally.
Before Michelle and I left America, we did a lot of research regarding what it takes to legally drive in many of the countries we planned on visiting. Each country has its own laws, so we wanted to make sure that we knew what to expect when we arrived so that we didn’t end up either not being able to rent a car or scooter, or worse, getting a ticketed for not having a valid license.
The most important thing we learned is that’s it’s really important to obtain an International Driving Permit.
FIRST GET AN INTERNATIONAL DRIVING PERMIT!
In order to drive legally, and to even be able to rent a vehicle in many countries, you’ll first need to obtain an International Driving Permit “IDP”. In America, only one organization is legally allowed to issue one of these, and that is the American Automobile Association “AAA”. I highly recommend obtaining your IDP before you leave the U.S. Although it’s possible to obtain an IDP after you’ve left the U.S., it’s not easy. With AAA, everything is done through the U.S. Postal Service if you’re not in the U.S., so it’s much easier to get your IDP before you leave.
Please note that there are fake websites that offer International Driving Permits online, but most of these are scams, and are not valid for Americans to use. The ONLY place authorized for US citizens to legally get an IDP is AAA. I wish this wasn’t the case, but as of the date I’m writing this, sadly it is!
If you’re in the U.S., the process is fairly painless. Simply take your valid driver’s license to most any AAA branch office, fill out a quick application, pay the fee (which when I got my last one was $20.00USD) and they will issue you the IDP within a few minutes. The IDP is valid for one year from whenever you specify the start date. In other words, if it’s May 30th when you apply, but you won’t be traveling until July 1st, you can mark the start date to be July 1st. The IDP won’t actually be valid until that date. Once it starts, it’s good for one year from that date.
If you’re overseas already it gets a lot more complicated. You’ll need to go to the AAA website, download the application, then mail the application along with a copy of your U.S. Driver’s license, 2 passport photos, and a check or money order to cover the cost for the IDP to the following address: AAA/IDP. 1000 AAA Drive. Heathrow, FL 32746. Attn: Mail Stop #28
Their website says “Please allow 5-7 weeks for return mail”. I don’t understand why there isn’t an online application through AAA for the IDP, but there isn’t, so this is the fastest you can get one from overseas.
DO YOU HAVE A MOTORCYCLE LICENSE IN YOUR HOME COUNTRY?
In order to legally drive a motorcycle in another country, you must first have a motorcycle endorsement on your home country’s driver’s license. This also needs to be annotated on the IDP that you already obtained in the above paragraph. Without a motorcycle endorsement on the IDP, you won’t legally be allowed to drive a motorcycle in another country, and in fact you might not even be allowed to rent a motorcycle or scooter without it.
Having said that, some countries are more legalistic than others. Here’s what I mean by that.
In Vietnam, I didn’t need to show anything in order to rent a motor scooter. The person who rents you the scooter couldn’t care less whether you have any type of license at all! If you have money, they will rent you the scooter and whatever happens to you after that is your problem. The police can stop tourists on scooters and fine them for not having a motorcycle license endorsed on their IDP. Many tourists simply take the chance they won’t get stopped, and probably most don’t. Just know that if you’re driving a motorcycle without a motorcycle endorsement and you get into an accident, it could ensnare you into a nightmare scenario where you end up in the hospital and your health insurance won’t pay because you weren’t supposed to be on the motorcycle in the first place. It’s a gamble. Is it worth it? That’s totally up to you!
In Thailand, you’ll definitely need to show your IDP with motorcycle endorsement when you rent the scooter. Most scooter rental places will need to see it before they’ll rent you the scooter.
In Malaysia, you’ll also need to show your IDP with motorcycle endorsement in order to rent the scooter.
In Cambodia, it’s different! Here you don’t need anything at all in order to legally drive a scooter or motorcycle as long as it’s not larger than 125cc. Most scooter rental places only have scooters that are 125cc and below. It’s absolutely legal to drive your scooter on the roads in Cambodia without any type of license at all as long as it’s not over 125cc. It’s not uncommon to see kids who are 10 or 11 years old going down the road driving their family’s scooter. When you go to rent your scooter, they won’t ask to see your IDP, but some will want to hold onto your driver’s license for the duration of your scooter rental in order to ensure you return the scooter to them. This isn’t done for them to “check” that you have a motorcycle endorsement. It’s strictly done as a “deposit” so they know they’ll get their scooter back. A number of people take their chances here in Siem Reap by having larger scooters, without having a motorcycle endorsement on their license. Again, this is a gamble. Being the rule follower that I am, I decided to be totally legal here. I got my Cambodian driver’s license that clearly shows I am allowed to drive both cars and motorcycles. I don’t want to be the one guy who gets caught here not having the proper license!
BUT WHAT ABOUT MEXICO AND CROATIA?
In Mexico, US citizens can legally rent and drive a car or motorcycle for up to 6 months as long as they have a valid driver’s license from their home state. No IDP is needed. I’m sorry that I can’t speak as to what someone who comes from a different country might need, but that information is always available on the Mexican Embassy’s website.
In Croatia, I needed to show my IDP in order to rent the car that I drove.
HAPPY MOTORING!!
I hope this helped to answer any questions you might have as to what are the requirements for driving a car or motorcycle overseas. If you have any other questions, please feel to reach out to me HERE.
As always, please do your own research before traveling to another country to find out its laws regarding driving there. The information in this blog is from my own experience only, but clearly things change and I don’t want you to be misinformed.
Have a great day everyone! Safe travels! And God bless!