With working life, our leave and free time have shrunk, so instead of going to cities by bike we now try to tour cities by bike. Our solution here is that when we travel by car, the bikes come with us. How? Like this;
Because of limited time and few holiday days, trips abroad are generally made by plane. But for weekend getaways and 9-10-day bayram holidays, why not go to the countries we share a border with? Despite the recent rise of the Euro, there are countries that are still cheap for us.
That being the case, what do you need to do to go to countries like Greece, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and Georgia? Let's look together at what needs to be done;
- First, if the vehicle is registered in your name, or if the person the vehicle is registered to is in the car, you can carry on with your trip without a problem.
- If the vehicle isn't in your name, or in cases like a company car, you need to get a power of attorney before a notary from the person or company the vehicle is registered to. These rules apply to leaving Turkey, and this part doesn't matter for Greece.
International Driving Licence
When it comes to the driving licence, get the chip, that is new, driving licence without a second thought. By paying 15 TL you'll avoid both unnecessary procedures and high costs. Otherwise you'll need to pay something like 300-400 TL to get an international driving licence. You can also do this at the customs gate.
To get a chip driving licence, you can make an appointment with the police . With this licence you can travel easily to EU countries.
International Insurance / Green Card
You definitely need to get this cover, known in everyday language as the green card/green insurance. European countries will ask you for this document when you enter the country.
The green card is the abroad version of the traffic insurance we use within the country, which is why it's compulsory to get it to protect the other party.
If you want to cover your own car, you can call your comprehensive insurance company and get abroad cover for the car for the dates you'll be going.
2018 green card prices for a car come in at varying prices: 15 days - 47.25€, 1 month - 59.06€ and 3 months - 106.31€. For more detailed price information, click the link!
You can get international insurance from Turing offices or insurance companies and set off on your trip. If you like, you can also take care of this at the customs gate.,
Which customs gates have Turing offices; you can see the details at the link.
For Europe we've talked about the driving licence and insurance above, but for Europe the most important thing is the Schengen visa! It's worth reminding you that you can't leave without your visa.
If you're going to Georgia, you don't need a passport. When you leave with your identity card, you can leave without paying the 15₺ departure fee.
If you're saying it's now Greece's turn on your list of places to visit, starting from Alexandroupolis/Alexandroupoli, 300 km from Istanbul, you can start discovering Greece's calm, unspoilt bays and towns. Click here to see the places we visited in Greece.
If you love skiing, you have alternatives too. Bulgaria! Bansko, one of the famous ski resorts, is just 600 km from Istanbul. Compared with Uludağ prices, you can find accommodation for a fifth of the price.
To sum up what we've written;
- The vehicle should be in our own name; if not, a power of attorney must be obtained. 75₺
- We should get a green card for at least 15 days. 220₺
- We should get a chip driving licence. 15₺
- The information above applies to cars, motorcycles and vans (Ford Connect etc.).