I'm looking for options of getting myself and my motorcycle from The Netherlands to Turkey.

In 2018 I rode to Venice (3 days), took the Venice to Igoumenitsa ferry (1 day) and then across Northern Greece towards to Turkish border (3 days). Great journey but with limited time off I would like to focus my trip on Turkey only. Highways aren't an option for my motorcycle.

I looked at the Optima Express train from Austria but that looks like it doesn't save me much time. 2 days to ride to Villach, then 2 days on the train to Edirne. €1742 return-trip with a sleeping compartment in the off-season seems excessive.

Motorcycle transport companies in The Netherlands offer services for Spain, Austria, Italy and various other Western holiday destinations. So far I haven't found a company that ships to Turkey (or a neighbouring country).

Does anyone have other options beside the train or ferry? Are there transport companies that ship bikes on this route?

You might want to investigate trucking companies that provide LTL (Less than Truckload) service between Netherlands and the closest EC country to Turkey. Or possibly investigate household moving companies (what the UK users call "removal" companies) that offer services between Netherlands and the closest EC country to Turkey.

I think it would greatly simplify things if you shipped to an EC country that is close to Turkey, rather than attempting to ship into Turkey, because then you would avoid all sorts of customs and importation issues that you could not handle in person. For example, if you shipped the bike to Greece, it's just a short ride along motorways to get into Turkey, and it would be a heck of a lot easier (and less expensive) to ride the bike into Turkey than it would be to ship it - unaccompanied - into Turkey.

The same concept applies to the return trip.

Thanks for that. Shipping to Greece or Bulgaria seems like a good option. Does it need to be a Schengen country for easy transport? Bulgaria is not in Schengen yet (I have my own government to thank for that).

Schengen is an agreement for free movement of PEOPLE. Your concern is that you want to ship your moto (an OBJECT) between two countries that allow free movement of goods.

So, don't be concerned about Schengen. What you need to research is customs, not immigration.

After doing some research, Wim Bosman Groep used to do motorcycle transport including crating from their Dutch warehouse in 's-Heerenberg to their warehouse in Ploiești, Romania. They have been taken over by Mainfreight and have stopped crating services. If I crate it myself and use expedited shipping to Bulgaria it would cost me €591 and take five days. No other options are available with this company. So I'm still looking around for better alternatives.

I'm interested to know how this works out C-Freak. Could you share information on the shippers if you find someone suitable?

Thanks

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Where Next Barney? Buenos Aires to Lima 2015 | London to Sydney 2015/6 | Armenia, Georgia & the FYR 2022 | Algerian Sahara 2023.

Would be interesting if you could post the names of companies you find.

I'm doing a tour through Turkey and Georgia and have to find a way to ship my bike back to Barcelona, Spain.

I bet crossing outside EU borders with a vehicle that's not your own, as cargo, is automatically a LOT more paperwork than just crossing the Single Market area. Turkey has a customs union with the EU, but I'm not sure how that affects used vehicles in this case...

Schengen is indeed not relevant, but the Single Market very much is - which is why Bulgaria, a non-Schengen country, is a practical shipping destination.

Honestly, that's not a terrible option. I just paid the same to ship my bike from Tallinn to Milan and back, but that's only because I used a specialist shipper who bundles multiple bikes, has their own transport frames, and crucially *stacks them two-high* - buying one bike's worth of space on a truck and shipping two bikes in it - so yeah, it's the same as what I paid, and I think I got a good deal compared to riding all the way myself.

I know that DSV, the very large European truck shipping company, has been used by people who crated bikes themselves. Try contacting your local DSV office and ask them for a quote - two europallets worth of space is enough for even a large bike with luggage.

EDIT: Amsterdam to Plovdiv is over 2300 kilometers and 24 hours of straight riding, let's say that's 3 days of all-highway. At 6L/100km, that's about 140-145 liters of fuel, let's say 250 euros in fuel alone. Plus 3 nights' accommodation, let's say cheap F1-style motels - another 200 euros. Plus food, road tolls, and crucially - wear on your bike, maybe a quarter of the entire life of your tires? And three days of your holiday time. Given that, 591 euros for shipping the bike and all your luggage, plus maybe another 50-100 for a Ryanair flight, is actually a really good deal.

Try https://www.dsv.com/es-es/.

Thanks for the comprehensive response. I've already set my sights on an EU country as it makes everything a lot easier. Just need to find the right company.

Crating myself is something I'd like to avoid. Acquiring a crate from a dealership, renting a van to drive it home, crating the bike, renting another van to bring it to the shipping company, dropping it off, asking the company to please keep my crate in storage for a month after picking it up. At that point I might be better off to simply drive there.

I have a motorcycle that is not entirely comfortable on the highway, but I can do 500 to 600 kilometers of B-roads in a day (8 to 11 hours of riding). That would make it around five days of riding to the Turkish border. Money isn't the main focus, I can get the month of September off from work but not more. Which is why I would like to spend as much days as possible in Turkey. Hence why I'm looking into transport options. I've done similar with Morocco, where I had the bike shipped home just to spend a couple more days in paradise.

And for everyone asking, yes I will post my results when I find a company that can crate and ship the bike. So far I have found one company that ships between the UK and Bulgaria, but post-Brexit I'm not sure if that is a good idea with paperwork. Not to mention the ~900 kilometers between Amsterdam and Lancashire.

Bulgaria Bike Shipping

Ciao,
I did not read the entire thread, so maybe s´one already mentioned the train carrying cars and motorhomes going from Villach, Austria to Edirne, Turkey:

https://www.optimatours.de

I believe they carry motorbikes, too.

Coming from the Netherlands, one could use the shuttle by train service of Deutsche Bahn/Schenker Logistics in Duesseldorf going to Munich or Innsbruck and then continue over tarmac towards Villach.

https://www.autoreisezug-planer.de


Enjoy your trip

If you are shipping only a single bike and don't need to stack them, then you don't need a frame - you just need two europallettes, four ratchet straps, and some nails.

If you are afraid of scratches etc., wrap clingfilm around the bike. Pretty much any truck shipping depot should have europallets and clingfilm available.

Second photo is my own bike, as it was transported on a flat frame - you could definitely nail together two europalletes and make the same structure.

Of course, if you have the option of dealing with a motorcycle shipper, that would be better - but this is quite doable too.

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Thanks.

I've gone inside their website and in all their contact forms, they ask for a Company name and state that they do not work with private individuals.