Driving abroad

When you’re driving abroad, planning your expedition or tour, it’s vital to assess what documentation you will need to satisfy the authorities in each country. This is particularly the case when you’re travelling overland across borders. You are often required to have an international driving permit (IDP), a green card and a carnet de passages for example.

We’ve tried to summarise lots of the information for you. So if you’re interested in learning more, click on an image below to find out more. The information on international driving permits is broken down by continent to help you plan overland journeys.

You may also find it useful to refer to our information on visas.

International driving permits issued by the UK

There are three types of permits: 1926, 1949 and 1968. For UK citizens, international driving permits can be bought from the post office.

The 1968 permit lasts for 3 years or until your UK driving licence expires, whichever comes first. A 1926 or 1949 permit lasts for 12 months.

Carnet de passages

We always try to make sure that we’re aware of the different regulations prior to setting off on our travels. If you ignore the rules and you get caught, you may find yourself receiving an on-the-spot fine, or worse. Not having a carnet can potentially leave you considerably out of pocket in some countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Carnet de passages

Toll roads

In many parts of the world, and in particular across Europe, countries have toll roads that you have to pay to travel on. You can mostly still pay for use of toll roads in cash or by card at toll gates. However these are slowly being phased out in favour of online charging. Many toll road payments can be now be accessed online – and some countries even insist that you can only pay online, so best to be aware! In our opinion, if we can pay online, we do. As, if you’re driving solo in a RHD car, toll gates can be a real pain, and paying online can help alleviate climbing across the inside of your car!

Driving abroad – useful information by continent