# Updated Turkey Travel Info from Don Madge



## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Hi;

Had an email from Don today, he left for Turkey on Boxing Day and is now lounging around on a site near Kusadasi, lucky bugger.
He asked me to pass on the following information which will definately be of use if anyone intends to travel to Turkey in the motorhome this year.......

_EGNATIA ODOS (The Northern Greek motorway) A2 E90 January 2010

The A2 (E90) motorway from Igoumenitsa to the Turkish border near 
Ipsala is fully open except for one bridge that has a 400 metre detour. 
The total distance is about 420 miles we do it in two days and then 
have a couple of nights at the municipal campsite at Alexandroupoli 
(€18 per night).

Stopping places on the motorway are few and far between, the only 
service area we saw was 94 miles from Igoumenitsa; it is accessable 
from both carriageways. There were also fuel stations marked off the 
motorway.

We went through two toll booths but both were unmanned. The only toll 
we paid was €2 near the start of the Thessaloniki Ring road.

TURKEY UPDATE JANUARY 2010 
Ipsala Border crossing.

The first kiosk you come to when entering the border complex you just 
present your passports.

We then drive into the main complex and park in front of the duty free 
building, in there are two banks, ATM's, currency exchange counter and 
an insurance office for those who have no Green Card. We priced a 
Green Card for three months and they quoted £136 for third party cover.

You will see about four or five lanes with the first kiosk marked 
"passports". Don't go down the lane until you have got your visa from 
the main building on the left, enter the building, turn left and the 
visa counter is on the right. The visa costs £10.

Once you have your visa drive to the passport control kiosk, here they 
record your details again. Once that's completed drive to the other 
end of the lane which is the customs kiosk. Here they will need your 
V5C (registration document), Green Card and drivers passport. 
The customs sometimes check the van but in our case they are mostly 
interested in our back box.

Once you have finished there you drive out of the main complex and 
present all your documents to the last kiosk, where they are all 
checked once again. Then you're free to go.

This year (Jan 7th) we completed all the procedures in about 20 
minutes, bearing in mind this was winter time and we were the only ones 
going through at the time. The Turks have really got there act 
together, we can only assume they are trying to pull themselves into 
line with the EU.

Note.
The registration document and a Manual GREEN CARD are required to 
enter Turkey. Make sure the Green Card covers Asian Turkey as some 
insurers only cover European Turkey also the cover is fully comp and 
not just third party. They will not accept a photo copy of any of your 
documents, they must be the originals.

A point worth remembering is the vehicle details are entered on the 
driver's passport and under normal circumstances the driver will not be 
able to leave Turkey without the vehicle. Make sure you have Travel or 
Vehicle Insurance that will cover the Duty/Customs Bond if you are 
taken ill and have to fly home or the vehicle is written off in an 
accident.

Wild camping is not a problem in Turkey we have spent four winters 
there and never had a problem. The days of a cheap holiday in Turkey 
are long gone.

Using an exchange rate of TL2.4 to the £Sterling the latest 
approximate fuel prices per litre are:-

Diesel £1.30

Petrol £1.54

LPG £0.83

The rural areas of Turkey are policed by the Jandarma (Military 
police) they set up road blocks but usually wave you through when they 
see you are a tourist. Don't under any circumstances park or camp in 
the vicinity of a Jandarma Post they will move you on, the posts are 
marked with plenty of white paint, large Turkish flags and soldiers 
with guns. The coastal posts are usually situated in very picturesque 
spots and it is very tempting to park/camp near them just for the 
views.

We have always found the Jandarma to be very correct and polite. The 
rank and file are conscripts the officers and NCO's are usually the 
only ones who speak English. They also have a traffic division. The 
town/city police (Blue uniforms) are usually a scruffy lot compared to 
the Jandarma. _


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

A very useful post, thank you.

Does any one know about going to Turkey with a dog, we know we cannot take her back to the UK for six months but is there any problem travelling in and out of Turkey with a dog, Alan.


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Sorry Alan, no idea, but if you don't get an answer here you could always ask on the >Turkey Travel Planner< forum.

Pete


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## wilse (Aug 10, 2007)

How was Berlin PJ?


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Berlin was 'ok', checkpoint charlie we found very tacky but its somewhere you have to go see for yourself. The Xmas market wasn't much to write home about, the Braunschweig one was much better.
The rtu via Rotenberg ad Fulda and the Harz was lovely though with all the snow about.

How was Kaysersberg, much snow?

Pete


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## eddied (May 9, 2005)

*Turkey update*

 Many thanks for that peejay. I'd been wondering how Don had got on transiting Italy during the bad weather we've been having. Obviously all OK.; and glad to hear he's arrived safely in Turkey.
PS and Off Topic - 'tacky' is the last adjective you would have used to describe Checkpoint Charlie in the 70's and 80's!
saluti,
eddied


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