Greetings,

A friend will be riding solo across Turkey in a week’s time, on his way east to Georgia. First time in Turkey. Will be entering from Kapitan Andreevo in Bulgaria, and hopes to cross to Georgia in 2-3 full days. He doesn’t have access to this forum now so asked me to post a couple of questions:

-when filling up along the roads, are there better quality / reliable stations, or ones that should be avoided if possible?

-what’s the situation with toll roads? I tried working out the explanations given on this forum about the pre-purchased cards, but there’s nothing too recent on the subject. Can one just pay with a credit card at the toll gates? Or coins/notes are the only way, or that pre-paid card? Sounds a bit confusing.

-on the way back from Georgia westwards he will most likely have to get new road tyres. Pirelli Angel GT, 190/55ZR17 MC (75W) is what he’s using at the moment. Is there a recommended shop/chain of shops along the route where you can rock up, buy the tyres and get the changing job done without much waiting?

-along the way to the east, what would you recommend - camping or hotels with secured parking? Why? Is camping wild with a tent a good idea at all?

-any other practical advise for him - what to look out for, how to choose roads, safety etc?

Thank you in advance for any expert bit of local knowledge you can share.

Peter

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https://famous-walker.dreamwidth.org - in Russian but with lots of photos

Tolls - probably the only road of interest will be from the Bulgarian border to Ankara and even then probably only part of it. The bridges at Istanbul are tolls as well

You can sign up for the toll system at the first toll gates (office on the side) or at a post office or some Shell petrol stations, or you can just blast straight through and keep going because you get 7 days to pay any tolls and join the system. If you don't do the right thing and want to sign up for the toll system in the future, the fine will be ten times the toll for the total length of that tollway regardless of the distance you traveled. No toll booths are manned and they are all prepaid and non-contact drive through. I accidentally got onto the toll road twice and didn't know about the 7 day grace period, but I didn't need to use any tollroads anyway so I'm a marked man if I ever go back and want to use the toll roads.

The tolls are pretty cheap so for a bike I imagine the minimum load on the prepaid card would get him all the way in both directions.

Fuel - if you stand on the side of the road and look in both directions and can see more than 4 fuel stations it means you are on a main road. Only one fuel station and you are on a back road. See none at all and you are likely way off any road. Turkey has more fuel stations per mile of road than any other country i've driven in. I suspect all of the fuel comes from the same place and unlike say south America, I didn't hear any warnings to avoid any particular brand.

We wild camped all over Turkey, but during high season there will be lots of campsites open so that would be an easy option. We did come across bikers who were tenting it too and we considered it a very safe country to do that in. Way east near the Syrian and iraqi borders we did have the Jandarma (security police) suggest we were camping in a dangerous place and would we mind if they escorted us to somewhere safer - but that was because of a flareup involving the PKK rather than ISIL.

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Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

Privet Peter,
Eto budet ochen xorosho i on budet ochen rad v Turtsii i v Gruzii...

[/QUOTE]
-when filling up along the roads, are there better quality / reliable stations, or ones that should be avoided if possible?

> All the gas coming from same source. None of them different. he can choose what is best for the bike RON 95, 98, ....

-what’s the situation with toll roads? I tried working out the explanations given on this forum about the pre-purchased cards, but there’s nothing too recent on the subject. Can one just pay with a credit card at the toll gates? Or coins/notes are the only way, or that pre-paid card? Sounds a bit confusing.

> He need to buy a HGS card for the bike before entering to TOLL. Easy to buy. No need to worry about. Aprox. 20 TL (8 $) will be enough to cover until Georgian border.
Turkish Toll Highways & Bridges: HGS Toll System

-on the way back from Georgia westwards he will most likely have to get new road tyres. Pirelli Angel GT, 190/55ZR17 MC (75W) is what he’s using at the moment. Is there a recommended shop/chain of shops along the route where you can rock up, buy the tyres and get the changing job done without much waiting?

> I use Bora's service. Happy so far. Pls contact him on bora@eris.com.tr He can be able speak English.

-along the way to the east, what would you recommend - camping or hotels with secured parking? Why? Is camping wild with a tent a good idea at all?

> Camping is OK and safe. No worries. If he would prefer to rest in a hotel it is not so expensive. I recommend to have rest especially in Black sea coast. Also food is tasty.

-any other practical advise for him - what to look out for, how to choose roads, safety etc?

> If you tell more about the route, time, prefer tolls or backroads etc. I can be able to give better advice...

[/QUOTE]

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

Tony, Samy,

Thank you for your quick and detailed replies. I have forwarded them to my friend who’s on the road now - he is very grateful for your help. He will be in Turkey in a few days.

Samy, I don’t know about his preferred route - I doubt he knows himself. But the contact for the tyre dealer is much appreciated, as well as the comments both of you gave regarding fuel and toll roads - it does give one a piece of mind to have this simple info.

Peter

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https://famous-walker.dreamwidth.org - in Russian but with lots of photos

Privet Peter,

In any case, some more additions which can be helpful:

your friend (definitely) shouldn't miss these spots:

1. Sumela Monastery in Macka-Trabzon
Sumela Monastery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sumela Monastery

2. Ayder Plateau / yaylasi (he must continue to ride until Yukari Kavron)
Ayder Yaylasi Map: Explore Rize on TripAdvisor
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...Q.ku7R1f0_mrHE
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...PWhJQ&hl=en_US
Ayder Map | Turkey Google Satellite Maps

3. Husrev restaurant - Cayeli Rize (definitely Lobia with rice, yoghurt and kavurma)
Husrev, Rize - Restaurant Reviews, Phone Number & Photos - TripAdvisor

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "

My friend will now be riding back, via Turkey to Italy. He tried working out ferries, but doing that online with a slow connection where he is now is impossible. It’s a bewildering number of options, and not clear from all those agency websites whether it’s passenger only ferries, or they take motorcycles too.

My question is: could anyone please suggest a ferry from one of the Turkish ports like Cesme, Izmir or around there, to one of the Greek islands with good vibe and good beaches? He wants some rest before taking another ferry from there on to Brindisi or some other Italian port. Motorbike and solo rider. We’ll be very much obliged.

Samy, thank you for your suggestions in the previous post, about Sumela and the restaurants! He went there and had a great time!

Peter

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https://famous-walker.dreamwidth.org - in Russian but with lots of photos

Privet Peter,

Your friend should take the ferry from Cesme to Chios Island. Daily ferries about 50-60 usd.

After he reach to Chios he can decide where to go?
An island or Piraeus (Athens) and to anywhere in Italy from Piraeus is possible.
I recommend him to ride up to Patras and take a ferry to Italy from patras. Easier, faster and cheaper. So he could enjoy the Greece a bit too...

Nice to hear he enjoyed the advices

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"where the traveller goes, nobody knows ! "