Passport has to be valid for at least another 6 months
but no visa was required.
Insurance
Nobody checked if we had valid insurance, but our European
insurance (green card) includes Turkey.
Drivers License
Nobody checked if we had valid drivers licenses, but I
am sure you are required to have it.
Motorcycle papers
Vehicle registration papers (gray card) were needed and
checked.
License plates
-
How it went
Very quite border crossing. There was hardly any traffic.
Stopped at the Immigration Office. There our passports got stamped.
Then we continued to the customs office. Here a "scribe" copied the
relevant information of our swiss vehicle registration papers onto a
form with 3 copies. These we had to take to the office of an other Customs
officer. He entered all the data into the computer, stamped all
there copies and handed one of them to us. On the form it said that
you need this copy to exit the country and that you are allowed to stay
three months.
Point of Exit
Sarpi border to Georgia
How it went
Immigration:
This part was very easy. Go into the immigration office and have the passport
stamps. Customs: It looked easy enough.
In the customs office they looked over our papers and then sent us to
another customs officer in a booth who had a computer.
He entered the data from our bikes into the computer in order to sign
us out. Once that was done he handed us a white paper slip.
With that in hand it was back to the customs office , where they stamped
the bike out of the passport. Now we were allowed to go up to the gate
and leave Turkey.
There was a light complication however: the computer did not like our
data, at least not the data from my bike. The officer tried it every possible
way he could think off, but the system refused to cooperate. Behind me
a the line of inpatient Georgians and Turks also wanting to cross
the border kept growing and grumbling. Unimpressed the officer tried and
tried. But after an hour he finally gave up and just signed us out by
hand.
Additional Information
Changing money:
Syria/Turkey border:
There was not Bank at the border so we couldn't change any money there,
but there was a ATM in the next town, only 10 km away.
We did not have to pay any fees to enter the country.
Turkey/Georgia border:
On the Georgian side there was a small bank where we could change our
left over Turkish money into Georgian currency.
INFOS
These
are the details of the border crossing into this particular country.
The information is correct as of the date on which the border was
crossed. But, due to the stability and vagaries of the regimes involved,
it is prudent that you get additional data directly from the embassy
involved, preferably in your own country. Also you should keep in
mind that the procedure can vary depending on exactly who is on duty.
So never assume anything is a particular way, and regardless of what
anyone says, the impossible is often possible if you are in the right
place at the right time. Good Luck.
