Istanbul to Italy

[KevinW]

Having spent longer in Istanbul than we anticipated we're on a tighter schedule than we'd like. I've plotted a course from Istanbul to Igoumenitsa for the ferry which has us staying one night in Kavala (only because that seemed far enough for the first day), a short stop in Thesaloniki then 2 nights in Kalambaka so we can have a look around the monasteries at Meteora.

Are there any must-see places not too far off that route we ought to be diverting to to see? We'd sooner spend an extra day or so on the journey than miss something we really shouldn't.

Thanks.

Kevin

 

[spot]

The route from Istanbul to the greece border is fairly dull. Although i havent been (I would if i were going again) Its a more interesting route apparantly along the south of the sea of marmaris and across the ferry at the dardanelles end .

 

[KevinW]

Thanks. We thought it might be but we're prepared to put up with the boredom of that bit in the interests of speed to Greece.

We've already seen some of the coast around there having been down through Eceabat and Kanakkale, the west coast and back up to Bandirma to catch the ferry to Istanbul. We've been in Turkey for around 10 days and, while I'm sure we could spend weeks here as there is so much to see, we're keen to move on to Greece for the next bit of our journey.

Kevin

 

[piskoGSA]

if there is anything i can do or suggest please say so.

 

[Deleted Member I]

Thanks. We thought it might be but we're prepared to put up with the boredom of that bit in the interests of speed to Greece.

We've already seen some of the coast around there having been down through Eceabat and Kanakkale, the west coast and back up to Bandirma to catch the ferry to Istanbul. We've been in Turkey for around 10 days and, while I'm sure we could spend weeks here as there is so much to see, we're keen to move on to Greece for the next bit of our journey.

Kevin

That sounds familiar

 

[L]

YOu can cross Greece in a day if you push it, so don't fret about times. The main motorway (sections of which are under construction) goes from the Turkish border pretty much to Igoumenitsa and is fast, if not exciting.

Istanbul to Kavala will take you about 4 hours at a steady pace if you leave early in the morning to miss rush hour traffic. If I remember right, there is quite a nice harbour there to meander around, though its quite a big city.

Instead of stopping in Thessalonika (bit of a dump IMO), head north into the sticks. Some great roads, values, lakes etc. and a bit of proper rural Greece. You can get all the way to Igoumenitsa that way, or cut back through to the E90 and get to Kalambaka if the monastaries are your thing.

Ioanina took me by surprise last time. Nice little-ish town with a massive lake. Quite a nice place to stop for a coffee or meal at the very least and about an hour from Igoumenitsa.

 

[piskoGSA]

tell me what would be a perfect site/road etc for you and how much time you have, so I could come up with a schedule for you.
The time you have at your disposal is importand.

 

[piskoGSA]

YOu can cross Greece in a day if you push it(you'll miss the good stuff thus) , so don't fret about times. The main motorway (sections of which are under construction) goes from the Turkish border pretty much to Igoumenitsa and is fast, if not exciting.

Istanbul to Kavala will take you about 4 hours at a steady pace if you leave early in the morning to miss rush hour traffic. If I remember right, there is quite a nice harbour (used to, too crowdy now)there to meander around, though its quite a big city.

Instead of stopping in Thessalonika (bit of a dump IMO), head north into the sticks. Some great roads, values, lakes etc. and a bit of proper rural Greece. You can get all the way to Igoumenitsa that way, or cut back through to the E90 and get to Kalambaka if the monastaries(must see) are your thing.

Ioanina took me by surprise last time. Nice little-ish town with a massive lake (you should see Kerkini Lake close to Serres, vast. Activities like cayak, trekking and Buffalo meat for supper). Quite a nice place to stop for a coffee or meal at the very least and about an hour from Igoumenitsa.

ought to spend more time if you got any to spare, it's worth it. Who knows when you'll get that chance again.

 

[KevinW]

(various bits of snipping) Istanbul to Kavala will take you about 4 hours at a steady pace if you leave early in the morning to miss rush hour traffic...

Instead of stopping in Thessalonika (bit of a dump IMO), head north into the sticks. Some great roads, values, lakes etc. and a bit of proper rural Greece. You can get all the way to Igoumenitsa that way, or cut back through to the E90 and get to Kalambaka if the monastaries are your thing.

Ioanina took me by surprise last time. Nice little-ish town with a massive lake. Quite a nice place to stop for a coffee or meal at the very least and about an hour from Igoumenitsa.

4 hours to Kavala? Mapsource (and admittedy the maps around Turkey and Greece and prety dire) reckons it's about 280 miles. I thought that a border crossing and that was probably about a day's worth. We'll probably get out of here around 08:30 as they don't start serving breakfast until 07:30 and we live on that all day until our evening meal so we don't want to miss it, especially as it's a nice one!

Instead of stopping in Thessalonika (bit of a dump IMO), head north into the sticks. Some great roads, values, lakes etc. and a bit of proper rural Greece. You can get all the way to Igoumenitsa that way, or cut back through to the E90 and get to Kalambaka if the monastaries are your thing.

Ioanina took me by surprise last time. Nice little-ish town with a massive lake. Quite a nice place to stop for a coffee or meal at the very least and about an hour from Igoumenitsa.

Oh. Thessoloniki had been recommended to us as a stopping point which is the only reason we were gong to stop there. Sounds like a detour may be in order.

Monasteries and such are very definitely our thing so we don't want to miss Meteora.

Kevin

 

[KevinW]

tell me what would be a perfect site/road etc for you and how much time you have, so I could come up with a schedule for you.
The time you have at your disposal is importand.

We've currently allowed 3 nights (1 in Kavala, 2 in Kalambaka) to get to the ferry from Istanbul. If it took us another couple of nights it wouldn't be an issue.

We like monasteries, castles, ruins, old, quaint villages and similar, and spectacular natural phenomena in terms of sites. We don't much like motorways except as a way of getting quickly from A to B but are happy to use them, we like mountains and roads off the beaten track where we can just amble along at 25mph taking in beautiful scenery (bearing in mind we do need to get there).

Out trip diary will give you a good idea of what we like. It's fairly lengthy but you could just scan the photo's to see where we've been.

No pressure but we're currently scheduled to leave in the morning (Friday)!

Thanks.

Kevin

 

[KevinW]

No pressure but we're currently scheduled to leave in the morning (Friday)!

Scratch that. We're now meeting ExpatinIstanbul in, er, Istanbul tomorrow so will be leaving on Saturday.

Kevin

 

[KevinW]

An aside: We've got the Rough Guides for both Greece and Italy but experience is showing me that here is the best place to ask about places to see and roads to ride so I'd like to ask a similar question about Italy but can't see a forum for it. I can see one about the Dolomites but we'll be coming up from Southern Italy. Is there a forum I'm not seeing?

Thanks.

Kevin

 

[piskoGSA]

Scratch that. We're now meeting ExpatinIstanbul in, er, Istanbul tomorrow so will be leaving on Saturday.

Kevin

stay tuned I'll have you ready by tomorrow evening,

 

[L]

ExpatinIstanbul is a good bloke (dont tell him I said so though!) so worth meeting up with him for an insight into Turkey.

The road from Istanbul to Greek Border is pretty much motorway/dual carriageway all the way, so if you want to, you can average about 80/90mph without a worry. Passing out of Turkey is unbelieveably easy and should take you about 15 mins max - it wont hold you up at all. My passport wasn't even checked by the Greeks!

From the Border on to Thessalonika can also be done on very boring motorway/dualcarriageway (with the odd exception), so 280 miles is piece of cake and should take 4-5 hours... unless you want the scenic route at any point, if you want/need to stop etc. Personally, I'd recommend getting it out of the way as its not particularly interesting without taking some hefty detours.

The other alternative is to follow the old main roads, which are more interesting, almost no traffic, but will take you a lot longer. Then you're into the question of how long do you want to spend getting from A-B. I recommended the northern route from Thessalonika as its a different side to what you have probably seen already, but it depends on how long you really want to sit in the saddle and if you are prepared to sit on a motorway...

Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure it will be fun!

My point about being able to ride across Greece in a day was meant to provide reassurance that you shouldn't fret about having to burn across the country without seeing anything. Not necessarily a recommendation!!

 

[L]

oh and I really enhoyed riding the mountain roads in central greece. Lots of fun riding!

 

[piskoGSA]

oh and I really enhoyed riding the mountain roads in central greece. Lots of fun riding!

anything particularly L ?

 

[KevinW]

ExpatinIstanbul is a good bloke (dont tell him I said so though!) so worth meeting up with him for an insight into Turkey.

I agree, he's been very helpful both before and since we arrived in Turkey. The route we rode through Turkey - Eceabat down to Selcuk then up through Bandirma to Istanbul - was his suggestion.

Thanks for the other info.

Kevin

 

[piskoGSA]

Good morning, now listen .
Mark on your map the cities and villages below.

Now, after passing the borders drive towards Alexandroupoli on the national road, at some point near Alexandroupoli (dont go through the city) there must be a sign "Sapes" get off the national road and follow this path:

Sapes, Komotini (see the mosque), Xanthi, Paranesti, Drama, Nevrokopi, Kato Vrontou, Serres, Kerkini(village and lake, try the buffalo dish) Kilkis, Axioupoli, Skra(waterfalls), Arhaggelos, Loutra Pozar, Edessa(Waterfalls), Florina, Drosopigi, Kastoria (try to go there through Vitsi, the citi has a nice lake), Neapoli Grevena, Kalabaka (monasteries) Metsovo (traditional village), Ioannina(lake), Igoumenitsa. No tolls, beautifull country site, cheap meals and accomodations, lots of turns.

enjoy your trip, drive safely.

I will be following your posts in case you need anything.

 

[KevinW]

Thanks. We're currently plotting this route and trying to get it nto Mapsource. We're struggling trying to find some of the places but still looking.

I don't suppose there's a 3rd-party Garmin-routable map for Greece available is there? It would have to be downloadable as well (I don't want much do I!) but I'd happily buy one if such a thing existed.

Kevin

 

[Deleted account W]

Thanks. We're currently plotting this route and trying to get it nto Mapsource. We're struggling trying to find some of the places but still looking.

I don't suppose there's a 3rd-party Garmin-routable map for Greece available is there? It would have to be downloadable but I'd happily buy one if such a thing existed.

Kevin

I used this earlier this year and it worked a treat