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Italy-->Greece-->Turkey
Hi everybody,
me and my wife are planning a trip to Greece and Turkey, do you have any advice for Turkey ? We will ride an Honda Varadero 1000, I'm Italian and she is american. With an american passport we would like but gave up on go further on. |
I'm afraid you might have trouble riding from Italy to Greece, there a quite a few countries in the way! Turkey is easy, nice people, great culture, very respectful (apart from in the South West touristy area where they have seen to many of us and the way we behave to have much respect left). The biggest culture shock you might encounter will be in Albania, some people love it, some people hate it, I loved it.
Given that you are travelling with an American I recommend that you get the hang of spitting on the ground immediately at the mention of George Bush - scored me a lot of free tea and food in Turkey. Along with the rest of the Islamic world they are quite rightly very angry at the current US administration and Al-Qaeda dragging the planet into a religous war between the two closest religions. Luckily the Turkish model of Islam is very moderate and most people have actually read the Qor'an so can see the bigger picture. |
Haha... thx henryuk :biggrin:
Ever heard about ferry boat ? Between Italy and Greece it's only 5/6 hours (Brindisi-Corfu), that's what we planned, then may be when we come back we will ride by ground to Romania, nice place either ;) Btw, about spitting on the ground, bush and so on, that's what we do constantly everyday and on religion we are quite open minded, always remembering that they could be less, so avoid if possible. |
I highly, highly recommend the coastal route through the balkans to Greece, there are some great spots to visit.
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Hello Sergiobodyweb,
If you like hot weather, touristy places, Historical sites like ephesus, beaches and more hot weather, Aegean coast and Mediterranian Coast is good for you. Ephesus, Bergama, Troia, Asos are a few well known places from Aegean Region. Black Sea Region is less touristy, less hot and more scenic but even in August, there may be rain showers. There are lots of historical sites in Black Sea Region too but fewer are available for visiting. Sumena Monestry is a nice place to visit. Central Anatolia is hot, arid plains, and also historical sites. Cappadocia is a must see place in Central Anatolia. Also Hattusash is a nice place. East Anatolia is a bit higher than other regions so cooler and less touristy. It is kinda scenic also. You can find lots of historical sites there too as Black Sea, a few of them are museums or open air museums. South East Anatolia is another hot region. Mnt Nemrut and Old Mardin City are the must see places in South East. Every Region has its regional cousine. Aegean, Mediterranian regions' food are more vegetable and fish oriented. Black Sea Region foods are fishes, meat and kinda vegetables. In Central Anatolia, it is more about grain products though Konya has its own local cousine. South East is all about the Kebabs. East is more about meats. |
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Sergio
Most of the coast road has been rebuilt. The road down to Split (Croatia) was brand new 2 years ago, very fast, quite direct and some amazing long sweeping open bends... was wishing for a Fireblade when I was there. The rest of the roads are all pretty good, a very winding coastal section near Dubrovnik. I am sure that your friend would like Dubrovnik, all the class and elegance of Monaco without the price tag or the ar*&eholes, stunning town. The only bad roads I cam across were in Albania, these were being rebuilt and sections were short-lived. The ride up to lake Ohrid and then through the mountains into Greece was fantastic and the lake itself betters any of those in the Alps. Unfortunately I guess you will have to draw the line someplace, otherwise every ride to the shops would turn into a RTW! |
I copied the following from myself that I did write in another thread in HU
Either start with Istanbul via Greece border and TEM highway or first take a ferry to Cesme-Izmir from Italy (Brindisi) or from Aegean Islands and start from Western Anatolia. A few suggestions: 1- Istanbul 2- All the way down from Istanbul down to Antalya either via Troy, Assos, Pergamon to Izmir or via Bursa, Bandirma, Gonen, Balya, Ivrindi, Allianoi, Pergamon, to Izmir and regions. 3- Two options from Izmir: Ephesus - Priene - Denizli (Hierapolis) - Konya - Cappadocia or 4- Ephesus - Priene - Heracleia (Bafa lake) - Bodrum (via ferry) Datca - Marmaris - Elmali - Antalya 5- Antalya - Mersin by the seashore (for motorcycling fun with curves and curves) 6- Mount Nemrut - Adiyaman 7- Antakya (Antioch) - and even a daily trip to Halep (Aleppo) in Syria 8- Van lake and regions 9- Dogubeyazit / Ishakpasa palace 10- Black sea and inland Turkey: see Ride to Blacksea Coast of Turkey - Report - ADVrider for a detailed report 11- Safranbolu (near Kastamonu) 12- Places like Goynuk (near Bilecik city for being far from the madding touristic crowd and hot weather in june/july.) ... and cold beer in Izmir if you happen to pass by. Send PM for possible routes and details. |
I've covered a bit of the route you're outlining. I hopped across the Ionian Sea Brindisi-Corfu (or the mainland port that services it), and got over to Meteora before heading south. Excellent road over the Pindos Mts past Ioaninna. It's still the main road route in that neck of the woods until they finish the super-highway that'll punch right through the Mountains there...Until then watch out for the heavily-laden trucks that're still on the road, oh and the tarmac is catching out bikers (2 went down on my few hours there), so make with plenty of scenery stops rather than doing it on-the-fly. Scenically superb!
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Right now we are at 70% going trough ex Jugoslavia and 20% Ferry boat to Greece. We just need to ride, feel free, mess around, eat, drink, relax from the everyday life, so we do not have exact plans. Any advice about security, possible dangers ? |
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Let me ask something "noobish" : everybody use to camp in a tend or they were more on a wild kind of trip ? I mean, I planed to rest in hotels, rooms or whatever as close I can get. |
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In terms of wanting a blade I just remember loads of long sweeping bends, great road surface, the perfect camber - they were just asking for a knee down - but to get your knee down on most of them would mean 140-150 mph entrance speed. My dual sport wont do that! |
My only concern is for my wife, I'm kind of like you, she is the same but I don't want to risk for her too.
We will bring some small sleeping bag or cartboard and newspapers LOL... It will be a much more free trip, sometime we will ride without be worried to be looking for a hotel. |
Too true, I had a big argument with my girlfriend about whether or not she could come on my next bike trip sitting on the back - when I thought about it properly I decided it would ruin it for me. One of the things I liked best about going solo (last trip) was that you can just flick that switch in your head to 'off' and throw yourself into everything with little or no thought, planning, anxiety or doubt. With a potential mate on the back my natural instincts to protect would probably be an overiding concern the whole time (for me anyway)
Thinking 'this is going to hurt' is a lot less painful mentally than thinking 'this is going to hurt us' |
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