TRIP TO TURKEY

[Archie Adv]

I will be departing for Turkey within the next 10 days and wondered if any of the seasoned travellers on this site could shed any light on a couple of questions as I have come up against some conflicting information.

1. Is an international driving permit required for Turkey? Personally I thought not and my rationale for this is based on the fact that I drive in Turkey 2-3 times a year when I go to my property down there. However I hire a car locally and have never been asked for IDP.
2. Similarly I was under the impression that you could ride or drive a car without the use of a Carnet. This being based on the fact that you are a tourist and only require to declare your intentions to leave within 3 months vis-à-vis the 90 days visa purchased at border control and this does away with the need of the Carnet as they record your bike/car details in your passport and will not allow you to exit without said vehicle at border controls on departure.

Any information on these points would be very much appreciated. I’d hate to travel all the way down there only to be turned around through stupidity in not ensuring everything was right before I depart.

Other information on routing would also be greatly appreciated from those of you have already undertaken this trip. I am planning on using the train to take me from Dusseldorf to Villach in Austria as an overnighter. Then my currently thinking is of going south east through Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria crossing the Turkish border at Edirne and on South to either Cemil Kebir – Cardak or Kilitbahir – Cannakale on the Dardanelles and then on further south to my destination of Dalaman. I absolutely no desire to go anywhere near Istanbul! To me that is a long road for a shortcut..!! And there are I’m sure other places of interest without getting hung up in such a metropolis.

I plan on staying there until at least the end of May as my significant other will be joining me there for the last week of May and then I will start to make my way back North. Where I plan on visiting some old haunts from time I spent in Bosnia and Croatia in the early to mid 90’s. I will try to look up some old friends and reacquaint ourselves.

Views and comments would as mentioned already be very much appreciated.

Thanks

ArchieGSer

 

[bladerunner]

Ask the guys at one more mile (OMM website below) - they are bound to know.

I would guess neither essential, but the international driving license is £5 and easy as to get and may calm a traffic cop down.

I doubt a Carnet is required, but Horrizons Unlimited would confirm.

I'd be interested in ride report/pictures - we intend Turkey 3 weeks next year.



http://www.ommriders.com/t/01/
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/

 

[Archie Adv]

Ask the guys at one more mile (OMM website below) - they are bound to know.

I would guess neither essential, but the international driving license is £5 and easy as to get and may calm a traffic cop down.

I doubt a Carnet is required, but Horrizons Unlimited would confirm.

I'd be interested in ride report/pictures - we intend Turkey 3 weeks next year.



http://www.ommriders.com/t/01/
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/

Thanks for the OMM reminder, I do have them on my list of contacts. Unfortunately it was HU info that caused me the concerns as up until last night when I had a look there just for general info I would have been going just as I had planned (yok problem) No IDP or Carnet. Sometimes ignorance is Bliss although your point about police could well be worthy of obtaining one for, I do already have one but it ran out end of March and had not decided until recently to make the trip although it has been on my TTD list for some time.

I'll do my best with the pictures on return.

Coktessekuler.

Archie

 

[Timolgra]

We're coming back through Turkey (hopefully) late july, you don't need a carnet.
Some of the GSers who live there should be along soon to help you out

 

[spot]

The boat from italy to greece is not expensive and it makes a good circular trip.The road from Igoumenitsa to the turkey border is a great ride. Insurance for serbia is expensive and mandatory at the border unless you manage to blag it but is much cheaper for turkey although of doubtfull value. Bosnia require insurance aswell but no one asked to see ours (which was a good job). No carnet or international driving license is needed for this trip. Bulgarian police make a good living out of issuing speeding tickets but usually hide in fairly obvious places. If i was going again i would visit Albania.missed it last time and regret it.

 

[Archie Adv]

Spot, thanks for the words of encouragement and advice on insurance and carnets.

Archie

 

[Sir James]

I passed through last year and all i needed was my Euro Driving License plus Counterpart ,
Bike insurance Policy and Green card for relevant countrys ,
Log book ,
Passport and a pen for your forms

 

[spot]

Forgot to mention, the original log book is required at several borders

 

[ExpatinIstanbul]

Although living here I can't give much advice on paperwork. I should add though that I've only ever used my British licence and have never had any problems. Insurance can be arranged at the border and is not expensive.

As for a route. You've already outlined a way down to Cannakale and i'd suggest you head down to Asos once off the ferry there, then follow the coast road all the way south. It gets a bit confusing around Izmir, but staying off the motorways will reward you with some great views and brilliant roads.

When you get to Cannakale, look up a place called the Australian Bar (it's actually in Eceabat) and ask the manager if he still wants me to buy him a new door.

Let me know if you need anything.

 

[D6]

watch the serbian guards, they like money, get on the motorway outa soija, bulgaria,
lovely, fast road, nice scenery,takes you to the coast, then a nice good road thro burgass to turkey,(stop in burgass an av a look at the women,)

 

[Archie Adv]

Sir James, Spot, Expat & Digger,

Thanks all for the tips; I'm feeling more in the know now with these points cleared up. HUBB caused me to revisit these points, as I said I drive in Turkey 2 or 3 times a year and have never been asked for the IDP and I already new that the carnet was a bit of a misnomer but thought it worthy of checking on here. How daft would it have been to have turned up at the Croatian/Serbian Border only to have to turn back.....? Through not checking..!!. All other documents are in hand and ready to go.

I've only got to decide now when I'm leaving as I still have to get a few bits and pieces for my breakdown kit/replacement parts Etc and then book the train from Dusseldorf. The long ride down through Northern Europe does nothing to enthuse me hence the train. Arrive in Villach Austria fresh after a decent night sleep and then hit the road. I had considered stopping off in Zagreb as a have a few old friends there who I would love to meet up with but the later in the month I leave my departure the less time I have for getting to Dalaman meaning I have to rush which I really don’t want to do.

Expat I trust you have an arrangement with the bar manager… do you really think I’m going to ask the guy a dumb question like that? Fcuk he is likely to take the money off of me and tell me to get it off of you…LOL. Man your sense of direction leaves a bit to be desired, Eceabat is on the peninsula and Canakkale in on the eastern mainland after getting off the ferry. So how should I do this? Stop in Eceabat before getting the ferry to Canakkale or get ferry to Canakkale just for the hell of it and then return to Eceabat to see your friendly bar manager……FFS? Excuse me I’m having a laugh it’s my warped sense of humour…. !!

Digger it’s good to know that the women in Burgas are still to be drooled over… Women in Croatia have the same effect and I worked with a guy in Split who had spent 12 months in Burgas and he raved about the women from Burgas…!! Not sure I want to go that far East, before going south on the way down. My return trip will be more leisurely and it could be on for a visit then. I’m also struggling a little with your chronology. Looks like you have been adding to much whisky to your water….. Where is Soija? Serbia or Bulgaria? Or did you mean Sofia to get on the motorway?

Thanks all and I look forward to some informative responses or a bit o banter.

CFN

Archie

 

[ExpatinIstanbul]

I should have noticed, are you crossing at Gelibolu? I assumed you'd want to ride around the Anzac memorial sites....it's really worth staying on the penninsular and heading to the end, going through Eceabat to Seddulbahir. It'll only take a couple of hours out of your day but will be well worth it.

 

[L]

Getting your bike into Turkey is pretty straight forward. When you get to the border crossing, ride straight to the front, don't worry too much about the queues and park up somewhere in the shade. Then walk between the various checkpoints to sort out the paperwork (again, don't worry about queueing - you're in Turkey now!) which is as follows:

1) get a tourist visa (£10 or 15Euros). They'll put a paper stamp in the book
2) get tourist visa rubber stamped at first office
3) get insurance certificate (last time was about £15, though that was a couple of years ago) from the second office. You'll need your V5 and newly stamped passport. Interesting to note that the insurance certificate, when printed and given to me said 25YTL but they charged £15. (should have been about £7 at the time!)
4) get details entered into computer and passport stamped from the third office.
5) collect bike, drive out of final checkpoint showing passport and insurance certificate.

Don't forget that you can only "import" your bike 2 times in 2 years for a max of 180 days out of 360. i.e. if you bring it in this time, you can bring it in next year too, but then you couldn't bring it in the year after. (this has caught me out).

Don't worry about the driving licence. I use my UK photocard as "official" ID all the time without problems. Its better to use that than the Passport (less problems if you lose it!). It probably can't hurt to get the IDP for other countries and whilst it does "expire" after a year, I've used my original from 2003 numerous times without problem.

Get up to speed with the speed limits in Turkey - lower than cars - and keep your eyes open for speed traps. Luckily they'll often put out signs saying radar traps so only a numpty gets caught.
Category

Urban Centers - 50 Km/h
National Roads - 70 Km/h
Motorways - 80 Km/h

Be prepared for absolutely no respect from motorists. Generally they're not sympathetic coz they're only used to the psycho couriers, or have never seen a proper bike in real life. Also watch out for roadkill, dogs, cows, horses and carts, slow moving lorries, cars driving on the wrong side of the road, melting road surfaces, goat herders etc. etc. But you probably know all this anyway, and its not a problem if you expect the unexpected to happen.

Be prepared for loving locals in villages who love the sight and sound of a BMW.

If you want an "easy" and hassle free ride to Turkey come via Italy/Greece. No borders to worry about except the Turkish one. Good roads across Greece and doable in two days if you're in a hurry. You can also ferry across to Izmir from Greece if you fancy.

Agree with Expat about the Gallipoli peninsula, though don't go to the Aussie Bar and talk about doors It's all national park, so if you decide to camp around there, then do so off the beaten track (not hard to find) and don't leave evidence. Neither Cannakale nor Eceabat are particularly interesting places to stay, and they are about 10mins apart, so it doesn't matter what you decide. Have a look at http://www.nisanyan.net/harita.asp?map=keg for small hotels of Turkey if that's what takes your fancy.

Ephesus is popular and if not a million miles from Izmir, so if you've not been before, I'd recommend it.

 

[Blowzorn]

Getting your bike into Turkey is pretty straight forward. When you get to the border crossing, ride straight to the front, don't worry too much about the queues and park up somewhere in the shade. Then walk between the various checkpoints to sort out the paperwork (again, don't worry about queueing - you're in Turkey now!) which is as follows:

1) get a tourist visa (£10 or 15Euros). They'll put a paper stamp in the book
2) get tourist visa rubber stamped at first office
3) get insurance certificate (last time was about £15, though that was a couple of years ago) from the second office. You'll need your V5 and newly stamped passport. Interesting to note that the insurance certificate, when printed and given to me said 25YTL but they charged £15. (should have been about £7 at the time!)
4) get details entered into computer and passport stamped from the third office.
5) collect bike, drive out of final checkpoint showing passport and insurance certificate.

Don't forget that you can only "import" your bike 2 times in 2 years for a max of 180 days out of 360. i.e. if you bring it in this time, you can bring it in next year too, but then you couldn't bring it in the year after. (this has caught me out).

Don't worry about the driving licence. I use my UK photocard as "official" ID all the time without problems. Its better to use that than the Passport (less problems if you lose it!). It probably can't hurt to get the IDP for other countries and whilst it does "expire" after a year, I've used my original from 2003 numerous times without problem.

Get up to speed with the speed limits in Turkey - lower than cars - and keep your eyes open for speed traps. Luckily they'll often put out signs saying radar traps so only a numpty gets caught.
Category

Urban Centers - 50 Km/h
National Roads - 70 Km/h
Motorways - 80 Km/h

Be prepared for absolutely no respect from motorists. Generally they're not sympathetic coz they're only used to the psycho couriers, or have never seen a proper bike in real life. Also watch out for roadkill, dogs, cows, horses and carts, slow moving lorries, cars driving on the wrong side of the road, melting road surfaces, goat herders etc. etc. But you probably know all this anyway, and its not a problem if you expect the unexpected to happen.

Be prepared for loving locals in villages who love the sight and sound of a BMW.

If you want an "easy" and hassle free ride to Turkey come via Italy/Greece. No borders to worry about except the Turkish one. Good roads across Greece and doable in two days if you're in a hurry. You can also ferry across to Izmir from Greece if you fancy.

Agree with Expat about the Gallipoli peninsula, though don't go to the Aussie Bar and talk about doors It's all national park, so if you decide to camp around there, then do so off the beaten track (not hard to find) and don't leave evidence. Neither Cannakale nor Eceabat are particularly interesting places to stay, and they are about 10mins apart, so it doesn't matter what you decide. Have a look at http://www.nisanyan.net/harita.asp?map=keg for small hotels of Turkey if that's what takes your fancy.

Ephesus is popular and if not a million miles from Izmir, so if you've not been before, I'd recommend it.

L
Do you have any advice on parking whilst in Instanbul?

SAU

 

[L]

L
Do you have any advice on parking whilst in Instanbul?

SAU

Anywhere but my garage!

Seriously though, if you just parking up whilst seeing the sights? the Hotel you're staying at should recommend somewhere close by and may even have a space for you and keep an eye on it.

If you are using the bike as transport to see the sights etc, you can pretty much park anywhere, ride anywhere, do what you like in fact, though remember that in Istanbul other drivers will not think twice about moving your bike if its in their way, irrespective of whether they have touched a bike before or if it really is in their way or not. I find it more reassuring to park on the pavement than on the road/in carparks. Just use a bit of common sense.

Also worth noting is that the theft rate is pretty low, so if you leave bits on the bike for a short while (e.g. whilst going to the loo, sitting in a cafe etc. the chances are they'll be safe enough. GPS etc. still attract a lot of attention but because the majority don't know what it is, , and very limited resale opportunity, there is no intrisic value and the common bloke in the street won't be too interested. You're more likely to get a cheap mobile phone taken than a £500 GPS.

 

[Archie Adv]

Blow and L,

Once again thanks for your tips. I'll certainly give Ancona - Greece some thought. I worked in Ancona for a wee while back in the 90's and although I know of the crossing I hadn't really considered it but it certainly seems to be popular with many of the riders on here. The points about Eceabat and Canakkale are noted and as I said previsously my timeline going south could be tight so I doubt very much I'll be doing any sight seeing on the outbound trip. On the way back I will have all the time in the world unless someone offers me a job.... that right now I really don't want. Fcuk that....! for the time being anyway. I will have to go back some time but not too soon I hope.

Blow, thanks for the reminder on the speed limits. WAFPITA they are too. How ludicrous are they nowadays. I was reading elsewhere about these and it was really putting me off the whole trip which I know is stupid. Just a little more vigilance is required. But WTF travels at those rediculous speeds on a bike? not even the Turks'. More likely to be the cause of an accident watching out for the Polis ratherr than concentrating on the road and all the loonies 'Insha allah'

Comments and pointers appreciated.

Thanks
Archie

 

[D6]

i meant sofia,

 

[mozencesme]

mehmet

i meant sofia,

well,as I am turkish living in scotland and 12 gsa owner I would like to go down with my gsa like I did with my car last year,it was a long trip crossing over bulgaria and the roads are very very bad and coming back I tried chios island boat ot athens and 2 hours drive to ancona and to italy this way is the best I think..you can ask me any questions on your turkey trips..

 

[Archie Adv]

Mehmetbey,

Tesekkurler, for the advice, I am looking at the options and currently looking at Ancona to Igounmenitsa and then crossing Greece to Turkey. I had not expected so much feedback from people on here.

Guruzuruz.

 

[mozencesme]

mehmet

Mehmetbey,

Tesekkurler, for the advice, I am looking at the options and currently looking at Ancona to Igounmenitsa and then crossing Greece to Turkey. I had not expected so much feedback from people on here.

Guruzuruz.

gorusuruz,,iyi gunler