Ferry Russia - Turkey across Black Sea?
 

Anybody knows if there is a ferry going from Novorossijsk, Russia to Turkey going across the Black Sea (and if they transport motorcycles)? I know of ferries from Ukraine.

We would like to exit Russia that way (coming from Mongolia). I found a reference regarding the ferry: http://travelers.israel.net/middle-east/turkey.htm#get
but it lacks specifics regarding schedules, name of the company etc.

We thought we could avoid going through Ukraine, getting the visas etc., although it may come down to that.

Any info appreciated.
Stan

Daily the ferry of Sochi - Trabzon.
Cost of transportation of a motorcycle 150 USD Cost of transportation of the passenger 60 USD goes

Thanks Deamon!
That's great news.

Stan

I wrote some notes about how shipping bike from Sochi works:

Here's how shipping a motorcycle from Sochi to Poti happens:

* Visit the port commercial office (Kommercheskij obdel) and tell them you want to ship a motorcycle to Poti ("motorzikl na Poti")
* They will want to see your vehicle papers (the ones given by Russian customs at the border)
* They'll give you a document about exporting the bike which needs to be taken to the harbour police (militsiya)
* The police will examine the vehicle papers and your passport and stamp the document
* Take the document back to the commercial office and they will calculate the shipping costs
* Pay the shipping at the office's cashier (kassa). For me the price was 100 USD
* Take the payment receipt to the commercial office and they will give you the stamped shipping document
* Buy regular passenger ticket to the ferry from ticket counter 3 (kassa n3). This costs about 44 USD, and requires passport and Georgian visa (I passed this by explaining that I'll get it from the border)
* If the queue is so long that getting tickets to the same ferry seems impossible, appeal to the other passengers and explain that you must be on the same ferry as the bike, and they'll let you pass
* Fill the regular customs declaration papers, including your motorcycle information
* Arrive to the harbour at least hour before the ferry departs

http://www.routamc.org/journal/to-th...black-sea.html

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Ein Schwein, das nicht fliegt, ist nur ein gewöhnliches Schwein

Deamon was right, there is a ferry from Sochi in Russia to Trabzon in Turkey which I used a couple of weeks ago, so here is the scoop:

The ferry is operated by a turkish company and has offices in Sochi (tel. 609 702, 620 221) and Trabzon (0462 326 4484 – 321 7797). The name of the ship is Apollonia II, name of the company is Sari Denizcilik.

The office in Sochi is at the Morvokzal on the right side of the main lobby. In August 2005 the ferry ran Thursday and Sunday, and possibly also earlier in the week. Cost 4500 rubles for the bike and 2500 for person. One dollar = 28 rubles. The passangers load at the Morvakzal. However, with a bike or a car you will load at pier-14 (pierchatok 14) which is not marked, it is up the street from the Morvokzal near a gas station, going the wrong way up a one-way street. We were asked to come at 4pm but loading did not start until 8pm (Russia).

The trip takes about 13 hrs. My cabin was tiny, no windows and very hot and difficult to sleep in. Showers and toilets are in the hallway. You may opt not to purchase the cabin, just a seat (and pay 500 rubles less, i.e. 2000 for a passenger ticket). Than you can set up your mat and sleeping bag on the deck, providing it does not rain.

There is also a ferry from Novorossijsk to Istanbul (company name Novoship, tel 8617-60-70-66, email transflot@nvrsk.ru) which I believe does not transport motorcycles or cars. But check with them to be sure. They were fully booked when I arrived so I headed on to Sochi on a winding road along the mountainous Black Sea coast. Very hot and heavy traffic with slow buses and trucks and few opportunities to pass. I was in the first gear a lot. There were some campsites about half way through in vicinity of Lermontovo and Dzugba.

Hope this helps. Thanks Bergie for the info regarding shipping to Georgia. I did not go through Georgia since I did not have their visa. On the map it looks like a short ride to Turkey from Sochi through Georgia, though. But one needs to check on the latest as far as the political situation and fighting in the area goes prior to entering. When I was on the ferry from Sochi to Turkey this August, there were guys from Georgia who could not drive into where they lived (Suchumi) through Abchazia and thus had to do the loop through Eastern Turkey and use the ferry with us.



[This message has been edited by Traveldog (edited 23 August 2005).]

At the moment I think Georgia doesn't require visa from EU or US citizens. Even if visa is required, you can acquire it from Poti harbour.

It is impossible to cross through Abkhazia at the moment as the border is closed. Even locals were taking the ferry across it instead.

The ship Mikhail Svetlov that goes the Sochi-Poti-Batumi route is a large waterbus
that can take couple bikes or cars with it. Loading in Sochi was easy, but unloading in Poti meant riding the bike to the pier over a single plank, with the Black Sea below...

Main roads in Georgia are in quite good shape and the entry to Turkey from Batumi is fast. However, beware of smaller roads in Ajaria, as many of the bridges were blown up in the May 2004 conflict.


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Ein Schwein, das nicht fliegt, ist nur ein gewöhnliches Schwein

Hi,
Can this ferry also take a 20 Ton truck?
Many thanks in advance
Albert

Yep, the ferry was full of big eighteenwheelers. You may want to book in advance to make sure they have space for you.
Good luck!