UK to Iran in the blink of an eye... how long?

[nico-la-vo]

hi all,
leaving for our rtw to oz in 1 week!! woo!!
but... with the whole exchange rate cock-up we're realising we cant be bothered with europe draining our expenses for asia, and that we can go back there any time really.
So now we're looking to find the quickest timescale and route across from the uk to iran, so that we dont have to cut the other end of our trip shorter.

how long does it take if you ride every day, say 250k (not far i know, but we like to ride slowly), in a straight-ish route with maybe the occasional nice stop along the way, but not much more, from calais to van in turkey or the iranian border? (the only bit i did really want to do was the coast road down south-west italy that everyone harps on about)

i will have to work it out from maps eventually, but just a guide would help.
cheers guys,
nicky

[mcgiggle]

try here http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichel...ing_directions

They say 48h 52m and 4600km

HTH
Pete

[nico-la-vo]

that site's brilliant!! why didnt i know about it? thank you very much.

[Brian and Marie]

Hi, we just did a very quick ride from London to Istanbul for the same reason you state (arrived in Istanbul last week). Our route could have been quicker but we wanted to see France.

In total it took us 17 days to get to Istanbul which includes 4 rest days. The route was France (avoided tolls), Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. If you wanted to do this quicker you could just go through Germany rather than taking a detour to France (we had friends to visit). Another 3 days would have gotten us to the Iranian border so you are looking at about 3 weeks. BUT... if you are riding only 250 kms per day, then add another week or more.

I think if we would have had better cold weather gear, wanted to drive bigger days and took the Germany route we could have made it in 2 weeks.

By the way, brace yourself for some cold.

[OrangeDub]

Took me two weeks to get from Amsterdam to the Iranian border at Dogubayazit. Included an extra day in Istanbul and in Urgup (Cappadocia).

If you decide to pay a visit to Urgup, I could highly recommend the Kaya Campsite! Central and Eastern Turkey is really nice!

[JoeSheffer]

I did London to Istanbul easily incoluding two rest days in 7 days. From there you could get to Iran easily including a couple rests in another 7. It's very easy going.

[jopos]

12 days from holland to border Iran, including 1 extra day Istanbull and 1 extra day Balkan: Going East - Home

[Lighter]

Hi everyone,

I am about to start my ride to Kathmandu (from Paris) next week. As I am not a big fan of motorways, I decide to save some time by taking a ferry from Ancona (Italy) to Igoumenista (Greece). From there, the route to Istambul is only a one-day ride and I have the opportunity to go on some pretty nice roads. The ferry leaves at 4 pm and arrives the next day at 8h30. It costs aroung 100 euros (for the bike and myself). So in the end, it appears to be a pretty good deal I believe.

I can't remember the name of the ferry company but let me know if want the info.

Have a safe ride. I will probably be two weeks behind you.

Sheers,

Alex

[nico-la-vo]

so about two weeks is the general consensus by the looks of things, thanks guys! and do you really think its going to be v chilly still? oh dear. surely it should get warm towards south turkey??

and alex: yep, was thinking of taking the ferry, not sure of where it gets in in greece, but it leaves from bari in italy? is that the same one? and actually you will prob be slightly in front as we still have to visit various family members for 2 weeks after we leave our house. so maybe see you en-route, we're on a black & yellow '88 R100GS if you spot us!!

have a great trip!

[ta-all-the-way]

Greekferries Club Travel Booking Engine

Just an idea of ferry destinations.