How Can Israelis Drive Legally in Vietnam?

As for every nationality you need 2 things to drive legally in Vietnam. The 1968 International Drivers Permit, IDP, with the stamp A and the domestic motorbike license. These are both available in Israel so it should be easy to get the correct documents for Vietnam. You need to get both of these in Israel before you leave the country. 

The International Drivers Permit

This is the simple part. In Israel the International Driver Permit covers both the 1949 and 1968 convention. This is clearly stated on the front of the IDP, meaning that it is the correct IDP for Vietnam.

It obviously needs to be in date, and it needs to have the stamp for A meaning motorbike.

In Israel A2 generally means about 125cc, A1 up to 500cc and A means that any motorbike is allowed. 

In Vietnam they have just A1 and A2. A1 means up to 125cc while the A2 means any cc is allowed. 

Because of this the police might not accept the A1 as being allowed for bikes above the 125cc. If you hold the full A license then this will be no problem. A2 could also be counted has having no license by some police. 

How to be sure you have everything you need?

The only way to be sure is having the full A Israeli license along with the International Drivers Permit with a stamp on A which is in date. 

What to do if you have the A2 or A1 License?

If you have the A2 license, and the IDP with an A stamp, then you are limited to 125cc by the Isreali license. But the police in Vietnam can say this is no license in Vietnam. 

With the A1 license it is hard to say what you can do. According the Vietnam rules you need the IDP which will be correct, and a domestic license matching the cc of the bike you will be riding. It does not specify if this is matching the Israeli or Vietnamese rules. Therefore the police can interpret the rules how they see fit. 

If you want to be safe then sticking with a 125cc bike is one option. If you want to risk this then the more information regarding this the better. If you are able to get something from the Israeli embassy clarifying the cc of the bike that the Israeli license allows then you are less likely to be fined. 

This could mean the semi auto Honda Wave 110cc or Honda Future 125cc, the manual Suzuki GD 110cc or Honda CG 125cc. 

Where are you likely to be checked?

On the Ha Giang Loop, it is very common to be asked to show your license. If you are only going for a few days, then we offer the 125cc manual bikes, making it an easier decision to stick with the 125cc limit if you have an A1 license.

While for the rest of the country, you can still be checked, but with the A1 license, you are less likely to have problems due to the issue of the differing rules between Vietnam and Israel. 

What to do if you are stopped with an A1 license on a larger cc bike?

It is important to remain friendly and polite with the police if they stop you. The rules for this situation are not clear, so they are not doing anything wrong. They are interpreting the rules to match the Vietnamese rules. 

You can explain for them that the Israel license of A1 allows up to 500cc bikes. Ideally you will show them this from a government website. 

You can also show them the following in Vietnamese which explains the same details. But they have the final say on what will happen. 

Bằng lái xe A2 của Israel bao gồm tối đa 125cc, bằng lái xe A1 bao gồm tối đa 500cc, trong khi bằng lái xe A đầy đủ bao gồm bất kỳ loại xe máy nào. Ở Việt Nam, bằng lái xe A2 bao gồm bất kỳ loại xe máy nào và bằng lái xe A1 bao gồm tối đa 125cc. Bằng lái xe A1 ở 2 quốc gia này không có cùng ý nghĩa.

Also the below website is a Vietnamese Government website about how the IDP works. 

Vietnamese International Drivers Permit Rules

One of the final paragraphs states – People with an international driving license issued by a country that is a member of the Vienna Convention, when driving on the road in Vietnam, must carry the international driving license and the national driving license issued in accordance with the class of vehicle being driven, with a valid term of use; must comply with the laws on order and safety of road traffic in Vietnam.