whats the situation here, do you need a Russian Visa or Ukranian one?

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1990 Landcruiser H60. Full rebuild completed 2014

Crimea is now part of the Russian Federation so all rules apply as for the rest of Russia so you NEED a Russian visa (Depending what passport you hold)

As far as i am aware as a non Ukraine/Russian national you can NOT cross into Crimea via Ukraine as Ukraine considers this "Occupied land" so you can only enter via the E97 Kerch/ferry route

Its a very nice place to visit but maybe because you have to leave the way you come it will put many people of, as for the registering in Russia i did this in Sochi which was very easy (in a few hours) and since they had the winter Olympics there it was set up for this i would say its more easy to register than say finding a place in Crimea to do it if you are passing.

Sochi & Yalta are both very nice places to visit

As Wes says ... Russian visa...

But I have heard Ukraine is stamping passports in and out of Ukraine into Donbass. If they are doing it for Donbass they are probably doing it for Crimea. http://www.scoopnest.com/user/DougSa...32527258804224

Russian border site says the main road border at Armyansk between Ukraine and Crimea is multilateral and open. Армянск | Крымский филиал | Филиалы ФГКУ Росгранстрой | Филиалы | ФГКУ Росгранстрой

Also recent international news stories seem to be reporting a flourishing border: Checkpoints on Crimea-Ukraine border fully in use - UPI.com

Would be good to have a guinea pig test it out for us ...

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Things might have changed but when I was there at the start of July I was warned by a Canadian diplomat in Georgia not to risk crossing from Crimea to Ukraine, or even going to Crimea if I later wanted to get to Ukraine. The problem was exactly as described; considered occupied territory by Ukraine, apparently some bikers tried to cross, got visas stamped out of Russia, threatened with arrest trying to enter Ukraine, couldn't get back to Russia with an expired visa. Five days in no mans land :/
I rode round and entered by Shebekino, dodging the war. Budget a week apparently for very unreliable Batumi/Odessa ferry I was told.

That said yes I'll buy the guinea pig a

Thanks for the info MotorOlly, very interesting!

Also just to note a motorbike traveller from Asia just tried to cross into Crimea the other week via the Ukraine border post side and was stopped by the Ukraine guards who stated that only Russians & Ukrainians can use this border post as it is not a recognised border for international travel.

He said they were very friendly but they turned him back.

As mentioned above I would take caution as officially Crimea is now part of the Russian federation after they held a vote however Ukraine does not recognise that so still class's it as they own territory which is currently occupied so if you visit Crimea and then decide to travel to Ukraine you could technically risk running into problems as they could class you having entered Ukraine illegally

Just recently the former US boxer Roy Jones Jr visited Crimea, and now the Ukraine government has put him on the black list for life for visiting Ukraine territory illegally and also they are considering taking legal action although it must be taken into account maybe this is a slight overreaction given the former boxers high profile so they want to set an example to others

Ukraine also adopted Article 332-1 to try and prohibit foreign citizens from entering Crimea, which is now under Russian jurisdiction. Violators are threatened with imprisonment of up to eight years, if the “crime” is committed repeatedly by an “organized group” ... apparently, even tourists.

So basically take caution, this now falls into the same category as the following areas in the nearby South Caucasus regions

Entering Abkhazia via Russia as Georgia class's this as there "occupied land" so this will cause problems when entering Georgia if you entered Abkhazia via Russia however if you enter via Georgia its fine


If you enter Nagorno-Karabakh Republic you will be permanently banned from entering Azerbaijan as they class this as there occupied land. They even have a banned list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._in_Azerbaijan

Even last month a group of Russian bikers went to Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and some how due to social networks the Azerbaijani embassy in Russia is "investigating" what they state is a illegal crossing into there territory


I guess this is where blogging a trip on the move sounds fun at the time but can also bite you in the ass if you don't know

Interesting stuff, and good point.

That said, I have to think that for the average biker, if you enter/exit Crimea via Kerch (ie, Russia) and don't go out of your way to raise your profile, your chances of having any problems with Ukraine are very low, because there won't be any stamps in your passport, etc.