Overland to Turkey

Appleyard

Appleyard

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We are due to fly to Turkey a week today.
the way things are looking,the eruptions could continue for a long time ,the last eruption lasted about 18 months I believe,so flights could be off indefinitely.

So to the alternatives...we are considering driving there,A long way i know,but having met a bloke last autumn in our yard who had driven from the UK,it is a possibility.
I would appreciate hearing from anybody who has experience of the trip,what is the best route,how long,any advice or other information.
I would be thinking about Rosyth-Zeebrugge or Newcastle-Amsterdam, through the Netherlands,Germany and so onwards.Car is a biggish Diesel estate,good MPG ,2 sharing the drive.
In the meantime I will trawl the interwebbie re ferries etc. Thanks in advance
 
It's a tough drive but definitely doable. I regularly drive to Austria (750 miles) and South of France (690 miles) and they're not too bad journeys even for an old codger like me (I normally do all the driving but that distance is about the maximum I would consider in one go). However a couple of points to think about:

Even with two drivers it's a long way and you should consider finding a stopping off point for a bit of R+R or even a decent sleep somewhere round the halkway mark.

If you do book a hotel (cheaper if done on line in advance) bite the bullet and find one with secure parking. It's worth it for the peace of mind.

European roads are much quieter at night and you can knock out an awful lot of miles during the hours of darkness.

Routing is more of a difficult question as there are obviously a lot of choices. Belgian and German auturoutes are toll free but Austria and Switzerland will certainly charge you for the use of the motorways. There are a number of on line routing services, AA etc who will give you more of an idea on mileage, tolls etc. Worth a look.

On the plus side you can load up the car with all those bits you can never take on the plane. Antifoul and new flares jump to mind but there are others I'm sure.

Customs wise you should be fine across the EU but not sure of the Turkish position, someone else will be along soon with more info.

On the whole it's nothing to be too wary of. Just take your time and enjoy the road trip.

Good luck and good driving.

Chas
 
new route to Turkey

try this route to Turkey : ferry from Venice or Ancona to Igoumenitsa then take the brand new motorway that runs from west Greece to east Greece straight through to the Turkish border . we travelled it weeks after it became fully open in February this year and it was a fantastic drive . very little traffic , scenic mountains and its possiblke to keep high averages . it was built at huge expense and it was comletely free in Feb !
 
BobnLesley;2486951I was advised (I want some white ones said:
We were quizzed getting on LD lines ferry in Portsmouth 18 months ago. Towing a rib it was difficult to deny we had flares on board. The expression of despair on my face probably said enough. However they then asked if the flares were securely stowed and inside a yellow flare box, which they were so allowed on board.

Pete
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Entering Turkey

My experience of Turkey is somewhat out of date but I suspect that things haven't changed much over the years.....
When you cross the Greek/Turkish border, you will be issued with 90 day visas at the current rate (think its £10), which you pay in cash (euro, sterling or US$). At the same time, all the details of your car will be entered into your passport; you need to ensure that the car doesn't change when you take it out of the country. If they enter the engine number and VIN, check to make sure they've got the number right. Don't forget that you need to take you car and yourselves out before the 90 days are up or the border police and customs get quite upset.
Be prepared for it to take a bit of time to clear, as you're coming from Greece and will therefore be viewed as a bit untrustworthy.
As far as I'm aware, there are no import restrictions on what you can bring into the place but be aware that if you're bringing stuff like electronic equipment, there will be a need to demonstrate that you've fitted it to the boat and not flogged it locally. I once imported a new set of headlamps for my car when I was living in the country and had to produce the broken remains of the old ones before the customs would relase the new ones to me!
As regards the route, I can recommend going via Greece as opposed to further east as the roads are better and the whole place is more geared to helping people on the move.
For the route in Turkey, do cross the Dardanelles by the Chanakale ferry. Don't go via Istanbul; it adds days to the trip and is a boring road to boot. Have a great trip!
 
charles_reed said:
Best to have posted this on a truckers' website.

Most seem to drive to Italy - ferry (usually Patras) thence through Greece to the Turkish border.

The ones I've spoken to reckon about 60 hours to Istanbul ferries.
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It's OK you've got one here.

I've got to go back to1976/80, so things will have changed, But I drove to Saudi/Kuwait/Iraq. 25 times, so done Turkey about 50 times, there and back.

The quickest route was Belgium, Germany, Austria Yugoslavia (Whatever now) Bulgaria, Turkey. I did it in a truck and had to have permits for different countries, so went lots of diffferent ways.

If you look on the M2 down to Dover, it, or was also called the E5, check it out on a map, but mostly your on the E5 all the way to Turrkey.

It's 2000 miles to Istanbull, if I remember right. Course there will be loads of new motor ways built since then.
 
I drive from Brighton to Trieste in two days, about a thousand miles. Another two days will get you to Turkey. Not sure a ferry from Italy to Greece will be quicker, probably not.
 
Truckers use the ferries to help keep within their time limits within the EU. The ferry from Brindisi to Corfu/Ignoumenitsa I took a couple of years ago was full of trucks mostly Greek and Turkish. Understand the new road across northern Greece is very popular - built primarily for the truck trade.
 
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