Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Information and Services in Turkey Section => Cars, Bikes, Scooters, MOTs, Speeding... => Topic started by: Old Daffodil on May 21, 2010, 11:09:46 AM
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If you drive into Turkey from Greece the border officials want to see all you vehicle documents including a GREEN card.Some insurance companies in England say this is not needed for Turkey, ignore them it is when you arrive at the border. They also want the chassis number of your car.
We drove from Cannakle along the coast and it was a very pleasant ride. There was a little car ferry which brings you across from either Gelibolu or Kilibahir to Cannakle (Burgher King is also here!).It was a sunny day and the crossing was very pleasant, only about half an hour.We just drove straight to the port and bought a ticket.The D550 takes you along the coast road past Truva (Troy).There is a modern shopping centre at Akcoy (Waikiki,Koton,Benetton,Billabong). There are a lot of outlet shops here and La Tazze coffe or
Burgher King is you do not want a Turkish restaurant.
Once you reach Izmir keep to the left hand lanes and head Bornova then Aydin on the motorway.
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You can purchase a green card at the border though and pretty inexpensive
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The motorway toll from Izmir to Aydin cost 2.75 lira. :)
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Spoke to a British person who had to buy green card at border and it was 95 euros.
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bit of an increase since I did it. Was 30 lira for 3 months. Then again that was in 2002
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I suppose that it increases with inflation. We had brought a green card with us which the insurance company gave us for free. They did say we would not need it but it was the first thing we were asked for on entering Turkey as well as the chassis number of the car and documents.
We had trouble when we entered Greece at Igoumenitsa getting on the the motorway as they had put a huge lump of concrete across the motorway (built with European money)and sent us up a diversion across winding mountain roads until we eventually found the motorway.I wondered how the lorry drivers managed to get up there.
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Gosh how things have changed as when we came off the ferry in April the motorway starts right at the ferry terminal exit. There was only about 50mts of motorway not finished and that was about 2 hours further on from Igoumenista.
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We could see the motorway but there was a lump of concrete blocking it. I thought maybe we had taken a wrong turning but we met some other people in Ovacik who had also just returned and they also had been in the same situation climbing over mountain roads.We will check it out on our return! :)
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Hi ,very interested as I plan to bring a brit car here later this year.Sorry but I dont understand why they want the chassis number.If you give them the vehicle docs its on the V55? May I ask exactly what they ask for and what they do with it.I am particularly interested in what is stamped in ones passport.Thank you J
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quote:
Originally posted by captainjon
Sorry but I dont understand why they want the chassis number.If you give them the vehicle docs its on the V55?
Is it a big problem to give them the chassis number? :D
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quote:
Originally posted by captainjon
Hi ,very interested as I plan to bring a brit car here later this year.Sorry but I dont understand why they want the chassis number.If you give them the vehicle docs its on the V55? May I ask exactly what they ask for and what they do with it.I am particularly interested in what is stamped in ones passport.Thank you J
Because, just like everyone else, they know how easy it is to swap the number plates on a vehicle. Not so easy to swap chassis or engine VINs though. :D 8):D
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I also assume that when dealing with dozens of nationalities equivalents of the "V55" form, unless they are fluent in all languages they may not know for sure which field is the VIN number. They probably concluded it would prevent errors and be quicker if they just asked the owner to confirm it. Quicker that is until they met the British lol
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Our Chassis number is barcoded into our windscreen as well so easy enough to find.
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So what happens when you need a new windscreen[?] :)
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Actually Brian it could be a problem here, the little "window" at the bottom of the windscreen where you can see the chassis No, is missing on my recently fitted windscreen, the number is behind it but no longer visible. No idea what will be made of that if needing to be checked, take the windscreen out I suppose!!!!!
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The chassis number will also be stamped on at least 1 other part of the vehicle. Most customs officials are familiar with where they appear on most vehicles.
Take a look at this site for advice on how to find the VIN on most makes.
http://www.autohausaz.com/html/vehicle_identification_numbers.html
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Originally posted by Diverbaz 1
Actually Brian it could be a problem here, the little "window" at the bottom of the windscreen where you can see the chassis No, is missing on my recently fitted windscreen, the number is behind it but no longer visible. No idea what will be made of that if needing to be checked, take the windscreen out I suppose!!!!!
Baz, it's worth having a look around the frontdoor frames, possibliy under a small metal flap or under the carpet around the driver's seat for another VIN plate. It was recognised by the industry in the early days that VINs attached near the windscreen could be easily damaged and manufacturers fitted at least 1 more plate elsewhere.
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Thanks Alan, I will have a look around.
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We noticed that the car make is also known under a different name in Europe for some cars. For example a Vauxhall is known as an Opel. This information is also needed at the border as they have a drop down menu on the computer I think which they have to click on with the make of vehicle you are taking in.
More than one stamp is made on the passport by different border officials. Three at least as far as I can make out. There are also numbers written on which tie up with information they have put on the computer.
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As I had not received the registration documents from the DVLA before I left I wrote the number on a piece of paper and give it to them at the border and there was no problem. They never checked it. They were much more interested in whether I had a green card.
I parked the car about 50 meters from the customs box and the customs officers did not check the car. i think it helped that I spoke to them in my very basic Turkish about the weather and who won the Turkish league and this may have helped. Before we left the border control point they did make someone empty his car and they went through everything.
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We filled up with petrol before entering Greece and did not see a service area or lay by the whole width of the country.You have to pull off into the villages and hunt for anything like a garage.I think it would take about seven and a half to eight hours to travel the whole way across Greece.
A pleasant place to pull off was at Kavala which has the island of Thassos off the coast. There are hotels there, The Imaret which is five star and the Egnatia which is four star are two of them. There are also some lovely restaurants on the yacht harbour and banks and garages in the town.
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Also remember those people that are thinking of bringing their car here. Once you have entered the country you can not leave Turkey without your car. The car can stay for 180 days but you will get a 3 month visa. So you either have to go to Greece for the day to renew your visa, get a 6 month residency or leave your car impounded at customs whilst you get your visa changed.
Once the 180 days is up then you must take the car out of Turkey and the car can not come back for another 180 days at least. Then you can do the same process again but you would never be able to bring that vehicle back in to Turkey again.
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Daffodil, also from what I can remember Kavala has the biggest mozzies on the entire Greek coastline, they're like flying maneating dragons, in fact the mozzies in Calis are in comparison almost akin to tame pussycats. The memory of them will live with me forever :o :ough!!!
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Which hotel did you stay at?:DKavala is a sea side place where were the mozzies? We were high up on a cliff overlooking the sea.I think it is the second largest town in northern Greece and there are loads of yachts which sail in there. I never saw any mozzies. Did see an Ulusoy bus with some tourists visiting though!:DSail up there in you boat Peter and check it out again!
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Hi Daffodil,
I know its a long while since your post, but I presume you still drive to Turkey and back to the UK? I was wanting to know if you think it is a worthwhile journey. It seems expensive and a long trip compared to flying what with fuel cost, hotels, food etc on the way. Obviously, many more things can be brought into Turkey, and taken back, than travelling by plane. We are in the process of collecting maps and planning the route. I would appreciate any advice, pros and cons..of doing the journey with your UK car, and back. Thanks for anything, good or bad.. to help us decide whether to travel this way or not. Benefits that appear obvious are the scenic side, and visiting other countries, carrying more, being able to use your car in Turkey for 6 months. The cons?? I bet there are a few of those...cost of petrol, hotel, food, length of trip..any more? ...
quote:
Originally posted by Daffodil
If you drive into Turkey from Greece the border officials want to see all you vehicle documents including a GREEN card.Some insurance companies in England say this is not needed for Turkey, ignore them it is when you arrive at the border. They also want the chassis number of your car.
We drove from Cannakle along the coast and it was a very pleasant ride. There was a little car ferry which brings you across from either Gelibolu or Kilibahir to Cannakle (Burgher King is also here!).It was a sunny day and the crossing was very pleasant, only about half an hour.We just drove straight to the port and bought a ticket.The D550 takes you along the coast road past Truva (Troy).There is a modern shopping centre at Akcoy (Waikiki,Koton,Benetton,Billabong). There are a lot of outlet shops here and La Tazze coffe or
Burgher King is you do not want a Turkish restaurant.
Once you reach Izmir keep to the left hand lanes and head Bornova then Aydin on the motorway.
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Hi bunny4jeff,
We drove to Turkey and back as we wanted to bring our dogs into England without putting them in quarantine. {A Link to an old CBF topic was here - no longer available}35961 We also visited a lot of places to make it a holiday as well. Quite a few people on the forum have travelled over and taken different routes. We travelled with Sat Nav and maps and made for Clerment Ferrand where there is a volcanic area to visit which is interesting.There are hotel chains in France and they have good web sites.We stayed there for a look around. The crossing into Italy at the Frejus Tunnel in Modane cost 35euros and took about 12 minutes.Rivoli near Turin (Torino) was our next stopping place for a rest.We made found the Davide Hotel there which was convenient for a quick rest and then we visited Pisa, Florence and Rome for a few days staying in hotels. I would not advise driving in Rome but stay outside near a train station.There is a bus travelling in a circular route in Rome which you hop on and off with one ticket.
We then caught the ferry from Brindisi,just turned up and bought a ticket.Brindisi was a very pleasant area and we went for a meal whilst waiting for the overnight ferry to Igoumenitsa. We then drove across Greece to Kavala for a night in one of the hotels and a lovely meal on the sea front.There are no service areas on the Egnatia motorway that I saw.We had driven to Thessalonika but did not like it there much so did not stop for long. We crossed into Turkey at Ipsala quite early in the morning and were asked for our Green Card and papers but not searched. Some cars are searched.We then made for one of the ferries across the Dardanelles 25TL.If you want to visit the wartime landing sites make for the second ferry crossing and it is in that area. The ferry itself does not take long to cross the Dardanelles and you catch it at Gelibolu or Lapseki (Lord Byron swam it). It was a very pleasant short journey,just time for a cup of tea!The road to Izmir is coastal and passes Troy(Truva) .The big wooden horse near a cafe gives it away.We also stopped at Akcoy where there was a small mall with toilets and La Tazze Coffee etc.Once at Izmir head for Bournova and pick up the toll road to Aydin 2.5TL,then make for Mugla and then Fethiye.
On the return journey we crossed to Ancona in Italy (Superfast Ferry)and a very helpful steward called Georgiou) and stayed in the Asti area overnight at the Cascina Bella Vista.Once in France we lived there for seven months and visited loads of places!
I am sure others on the forum can suggest different routes for you.
As to the expense. I would use a RAC or AA route planner to work out the cost of petrol by expected mileage. The cost will depend on if you stay in hotels,visit places,eat out etc. On the ferries you may or may not book a cabin.People were sleeping on deck with sleeping bags and pillows. I wish you luck with your plans! :) I am sure there are cons but can't think of any at the moment! :)