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Photo by Sean Howman, The Pamir highway in an unseasonably cold late October, Tajikistan

I haven't been everywhere...
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Photo by Sean Howman,
The Pamir highway in an unseasonably
cold late October, Tajikistan



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  • 1 Post By Donmanolo

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  #1  
Old 11 Sep 2018
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Southern Europe
I'm after some advice on border crossings. I'm travelling down from the UK to Istanbul next summer. Getting to Hungary should be OK (barring any stupid Brexit schemes!). I'm wondering how straight forward the crossings to Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey could possibly be? I appreciate these are, essentially, more straight forward than others in the world, but would you suggest a decent amount of time to cross or will they be fairly simple? Morocco was surprisingly simple, and perhaps I'm overthinking it?

Any thoughts from this'd who've done them recently would be welcomed!
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  #2  
Old 11 Sep 2018
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Not so sure about Turkey but the other two generally involve skipping up to the front of the queue, ( noone cares, and it's what bikes are expected to do) ; showing passport momentarily to the guy in the booth who may or may not take a glance at it before sending you on your way.

They might ask for your v5c just to be sure your bike does in fact belong to you , and they might even step out and check the VIN number on your bike, in this case the procedure will take a few more seconds than what it normally does.

On a related note, Serbia is in the green card system but your UK insurer might not feel inclined to extend cover there, in which case you have to find some other person in another booth who will sell you a few days' worth of insurance for a few euros.
Bulgaria is in the EU so if you're insured at home you're insured there. It's that simple.

Ps. Yes, you are over thinking it.


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  #3  
Old 12 Sep 2018
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Came back that way from Bulgaria in a van, Hungarians can be over enthusitic at checking your gear , which wasnt fun late at night in the dark.
Not all Serbia Hungarian Borders are open late, if you have issuse on the road.
Serbia Bulgarian border is simple formality and a stamp for the pasport.

Dont forget you need vingette for Austria and possibly Bulgaria ( def for cars but its cheap) We got fined 120EURO for not having the right one in Austria. You should have one certain roads in Hungary.
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  #4  
Old 12 Sep 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maddog68 View Post
Dont forget you need vingette for Austria and possibly Bulgaria ( def for cars but its cheap) We got fined 120EURO for not having the right one in Austria. You should have one certain roads in Hungary.
Only for cars in Bulgaria.
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  #5  
Old 13 Sep 2018
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I knew about the vignettes, thanks. Seems like it's fairly straightforward; I thought (hoped) it might be. Anyone any recent experience with Turkey?
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  #6  
Old 14 Sep 2018
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borders
did it 2 times in 2015 from bulgaria , one hour, last may from greece 15 minutes easy , no problem at all , more longer to live for georgia because of a lazy guy !
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  #7  
Old 23 Sep 2018
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The Turkish Bulgarian borders are fairly quick depending on the time of day, whether you are crossing on a weekend, and which border crossing you use. Obviously you will need the vehicle docs and, unless you are already covered, will need to buy the obligatory traffic insurance at the Turkish side of the border. The Turkish officials are generally friendly and welcoming.

Cheers,

Dicky.
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Old 25 Sep 2018
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Edirne border is crowded but you can skip the line with a bike and end up being No 20 or so, did it yesterday. Dogubayescit border x-rayed my bike some days ago, taking an extra 30 minutes. Both borders were staffed with extremely grumpy personnel.

Since you have decided to leave the EU the possibility should be expected that EU insurances will ask UK insurances to leave the green card system, so better check before departure.

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  #9  
Old 26 Sep 2018
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Last time I went to Istanbul (from Switzerland) with my Canadian plated motorcycle, my experience was as follows:

Into Hungary: I can't recall even stopping... I think Hungary is part of EU & Schengen. My basic European insurance was valid in Hungary.

Into Romania: Same as above.

Into Bulgaria: The border guy looked at my passport, stamped it, wished me a pleasant trip. Total time less than 3 minutes. I had to buy Bulgarian insurance (available at the border crossing). See this post for details about the insurance: Balkans Insurance - Here's the story, with details & sample documents.

Into Turkey: Immigration-wise, it was simple (quick look at passport, stamped it, have a nice day). Insurance took a little longer to get - again, bought at a booth at the border crossing. Total time about 45 minutes.

Out of Turkey into Greece: Border guy looked at my passport, stamped it, went back to his card game. Total time 3 minutes.

The greatest problem you might experience next summer is crossing the border from the UK into the EC.

Michael
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Old 30 Sep 2018
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Thanks for all the replies.

I'm still hoping we might not leave, but I fear that's serious wishful thinking on my part!
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