[Diadre]

Hi can anyone give us advice about driving to Turkey, what the best route is, any problems we may run into. We are thinking of doing this journey regularly and would appreciate any advice. Thank you in advance.

[Slick Rick]

I drove to Dover - Calais. then through France to Italy via mount blanc then to Ancona italy .
theres a ferry that takes you the rest of the way well almost.
ancona to Chios I i think,
I came at the wrong time so went from ancona to Patras. then drove to Athens took a ferry to Hios then took a little ferry to cesme.

I was told by loads of people to avoid driving through Romania. thats why I went via Italy.
France was boring and we used the tol roads which speeds things up but it cost over 120 euros to go through france and Italy on the tolls
Didn,t use one toilet through the whole of France , they really have dirty toilets there.
I was so relieved when we got to Italy, they have better standards.

it took us about 18 hrs to get from calais to Ancona with 2 or 3 stops and shed loads of fuel stops as I was driving a 3.9 discovery not the best choice for economy.
France has expensive fuel , Italy is slightly cheape , but Greece was the best. at 1 euro a litre
in all it cost me £500 in fuel and £400 in ferries. but my car wasn't economic and we had lux cabins on 2 of the ferries. so you could do it cheaper.
its about a 2.5 day sail from Ancona to hios then you need to tally up with the local ferries to get to cesme.

Ancona ferry port was hard to find its not sign posted and we got there at dawn so when there was no ferries in. its like Kusadasi port . if there arnt any boats in you would never know its a port.
Hios was a nightmare as the main ferry Ehturk wasnt running and I was left with Sunrise tours and they where crap. please dont use them I beg you.
thats all the bad news ,
the good news was that its a scenic route apart from France being boring that is.
Mount Blanc tunnel is an expeience in itself and looking up at the highest peak in Europe is awsome its 4008 metres high.

oh by the way we used sat nav for a while and it was useless. I think your best driving with yor own senses.sat nav drove me mad. its a straight route but we took a wrong turn in Turin and that place is manic. it didnt work in ancona either. the 2 places where we wanted it.
we had a good laugh on the way its an interesting trip and if you get a good ferry from Italy to Turkey then its like a mini cruise thrown in.
not the cheapest route in but its safe.
becareful what you bring in as it you may have to pay a import charge espeacialy on electric item such as TV's and computers.
I think I was lucky as I arrived on a saturday and I ve been told they are more relaxed.
you need to have a Turkish insurance cover as yours will probably only cover Istanbiull. but the good news is its cheap.
cost me £8 pm for a 3.9 land rover disco. Bargain. I canceled my UK insurance straight away.

[Anthony07]

Thanks for that Rick, one day we /I will be driving over to Turkey so all info is greatly appreciated.

[babypud]

Originally Posted by Slick Rick

Didn,t use one toilet through the whole of France , they really have dirty toilets there.

please Rick remember this is a multi national site (racist remarks can offend), we have had no more problems with the French loos than we have with any other country we have been to

[Slick Rick]

quite right
I ment what I said. they are filthy toilets. I am not putting false info on here its a warning to others sorry if the truth offends.
but I have edited it a little bit for you .
thanks

[karinbea]

Where have you been to the toilet in France? Everywhere along the Autoroute there are self-cleaning toilets,they are even clean enough to sit down! Also we didn't find it difficult to get to Ancona port, as there are lots of signs, the blue ones with the ship on it! There is
a direct ferry from Ancona to Cesme, Marmara Lines, takes 3 nights for the crossing!

[Slick Rick]

All along the toll roads Hun. and there was a big difference in Italy.
I like the way your trying to trick me I said we didnt go to the Toilet. The Toilets where filthy everywhere we stopped.
they wernt self cleaning in any of the service stations we stopped at.
Ill get my map out if you like but its a fairly straight route from calais to Mount blanc. the toll roads and service stations we used where along that route.
(If you tell me the ones you used then I will look out for them next time)
As for ferries we went at the wrong time and Marmara lines were not running at that time in fact there where no ferries at all going directly to Turkey from Italy. trust me I would have been one if there was. Mamara lines were not running in April. I think they started the first week in May
Well done for finding the port with ease, lets hope the everyone else does.
It was still a good trip over for us like i said.
How was yours ? ours took 5 days. including the ferries and an unsheduled stop over at Hios.
no doubht driving across Greece shaved some sail time of our trip.

will look forward to your reply on the toilets to use
Thanks

[Haggis]

Originally Posted by Diadre

Hi can anyone give us advice about driving to Turkey, what the best route is, any problems we may run into. We are thinking of doing this journey regularly and would appreciate any advice. Thank you in advance.

I can get lost going round the corner so I would not dream of advising you of the route to take !!! However, I do have a word of warning.

Some friends of ours came over last week from the U.K. Whilst travelling through Italy they arose one morning to find one of their car tyres had been slashed - they drove to the nearest garage -unbeknown to them a car had followed them in to the garage and as soon as the car doors were opened and my friends got out some thugs came running over and stole my friends handbag - and raced off. Of course, they could not give chase - slashed tyre !!! These thugs were caught on camera, however, there is probably little chance of them being caught.
My friends were left with the ferry tickets (above the windscreen) and 70ytl to last until they got to Ancona. The Police helped them to go through the toll gates and they had a full tank of petrol.
What should have been a wonderful journey became a bit of a nightmare, however my dear friends picked themselves up and carried on with the journey.
This seemed to be a planned attack so just be careful and have a wonderful trip but keep your eyes peeled.
Last time we came out we travelled by eurostar and ferry at the same cost as flying. It took us six days as we stopped off wherever we wanted and saw a bit of each of the countries. This was a great journey and we would do it again.
haggis

[babypud]

Italy is well known for the crime on the roads (ask any continental truck driver), but we have had a few close calls in France as well, always while being in the car.

[DaveG]

because I was driving on my own my wife insisted that I take the way that involved the least driving. Coming from NE UK, I avoided the cones of Britain by using Hull to Rotterdam ferry. My Sat Nav was brilliant and guided me effortlessly through Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany and the fist night stopped in Switzerland. An early rise got me through Italy and in Ancona the Ferry allowed me to board a day early so I relaxed on the boat to Patra, Greece. Because I had a night to kill I stayed in Corinth before travelling to Piraeus and onto the Islands Ferry. Took this to Kos then over to Bodrum. If it wasn't for the fact that there is only one car ferry a week from Rhodes to Marmaris I would have got off there. I would love to be able to say how difficult it was but it was and get lots of "street cred" but it was easy and pleasurable. Down side? Watch the "con men" working in the motor way services in Italy. I have arranged to leave my car in Rhodes, having completed my first allowed 6 months. However, next year I will then have a problem with MOT and Insurance. Please can any one offer any suggestions as to ways of keeping my car legal and avoiding a premature drive back? Perhaps recommend a Turkish Insurance company who will look after me and perhaps even help me make my cars stay more permanent?