A couple of friends and I are planning a 2 week trip around the Black Sea (Turkey / Georgia / Russia / Ukraine / Moldova / Romania / Bulgaria / Turkey) in July. We're intending to stay as close to the sea as possible, taking small roads and tracks wherever possible. The bikes are 2 1150adv's and 1 1200gs.

Any hints or advice on what to see, where to go, what problems we might encounter would be much appreciated.

David

Hello David

I rode from Istanbul clockwise and coastal to the Ukraine-Roosian border at Kerch this year.

So.. first advice/ problem you might encounter: getting a Roosian visa. I applied to the consulate in Odessa and was told it would take a couple of days -- fine -- until they realised I was British. Then it became "two or three weeks.. at least". And would have cost $300. And they wanted details of every night's accommodation and my itinerary for every day -- morning, afternoon and evening. Part personal vendetta from the visa official -- "He is an angry person" -- and part, I guess, a hardening of Roosian attitudes to Britain.

I turned round instead.. as there were no ferries bypassing Russia in November/ December to Poti, Trabzon or even Istanbul.

Remember you cannot, at present, ride through Abkhazia so you'll have to cut inland or take a ferry Poti-Sochi or more likely Poti-Yalta or Odessa. The ferries will be working in the summer months.

So much for what I didn't see;-)

Crimea is extraordinarily beautiful. You won't see or hear much Ukrainian.. ethnically it's very Russian and pro-Moscow. Yalta, Balaklava, Sevastopol: absolute highlights for history, architecture, context.

The main road out of Crimea to Odessa isn't close to the sea. Yo may find smaller tracks but be prepared for large diversions at the deltas of the several great rivers.

Odessa: another highlight. Watch out for the Bentleys and Ferraris -- the drivers are too busy laughing at the poor to pay attention to other road-users.

From Odessa to Romania via Moldova -- take the E road and you cross Moldova twice. I hugged the smaller coast road but you have to transit landlocked Moldova at Giurgiulesti because the roads shy inland away from the Danube delta. Worst roads of my 43,000 mile journey. Truly shocking. Many, many memorial markers to traffic accident victims.. it'll surprise even someone used to Turkey and S-E Europe.

I saw 1.4miles of Moldova -- $10 road tax and 150 minutes through customs -- to enter Romania. If you meet the friendliest customs officer I've ever met-- he speaks no English but very good French -- please say Hello from me.

Romania has quite a short coastline. Avoid the only hotel in Isaccea -- owned and run by a bigoted, racist drunk with a big, shiny pistol. Constanta looks good and will be busy in the summer.

Bulgaria: I'd be interested to hear what the locals think of you living in Istanbul. There are lots of so-so resorts aimed at Brits -- they may be your kind of thing. They, err, weren't mine. Even so, I found a really warm welcome and decent breakfast at the London, a pub in Burgas. Expats, some happy and some happy to complain, but a good atmosphere and some excellent people.

Turkey... I'm jealous that you live in Istanbul. That's all I can tell you that you don't already know.

Lots of words and pictures at my website -- if you have more specific questions, feel free to email mikewith .. at.. hotmail dot com

--Mike

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Hi Mike, lots of useful info there, and on the website.....thanks. I don't think we'll have too much bother with Russian visas, One of the friends I'm doing the trip with works for a large multinational, who have a travel dept that have said they'll sort this out for us.

Thanks for the offer of more information, I'll probably take you up on that.

David

David, you should consider that there is no pass between Georgia and Russia or the reverse. Best is to take a ferry from Sevastapol or Sochi to Trabzon. I planned this trip before but gave up becauze of this issue.

Go forward and do it. It will be marvellous.

Enjoy,

Samy

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Hi David,

Seems like Bulgaria would be the last one on your trip.
So,maybe you'll cross Romania(close to Mangalia-Vama Veke)/Bulgaria(Durankulak) boarder,heading down to cape Shabla(wonderfull),Kavarna,Balchik(very nice town with former Romanian Queen Castle and Botanic Garden),Albena(nice resort-expencive),Golden Sands(one of the best resorts in BG,but really expencive),further down to Varna(very nice city,rich with night life,nice restaurants),just before hitting Varna(let say 15km)try to vizit Aladzha Monastery(very,very nice UNESCO heritage site,not to be missed).Further down,heading to Bourgas with scenic panarama road,just after the mountain,let say 35 km before Bourgas,you'll find the best sea resort in BG called Sunny Beach,mega croudy and mega expencive,but just 4km after the resort you'll find a town called Nessebar-UNESCO Heritage-very nice athmosphere...brilliant small fish restaurants,close to the port of Nessebar.
Once you hit Bourgas,further down to Sozopol-just go to the old part of the town-fantastic.
Heading your way to the turkish boarder,you'll hit onother small town and villages,like Primorsko,Kiten and Tzarevo(nice and much cheaper,B&B cost just 10-12 EUR),here you have to turn right to Malko Tarnovo wich is BG/TR boarder.
Hope this help you.

Have a nice trip

Regards,

Simon

Hi Samy,

I checked this morning, and you're right, there's no border crossing between Georgia and Russia. There is a ferry service though, that goes between Batumi and Sotchi, so that might be a good option. We'd intended to stick to coast roads as much as possible, but because of the Georgian/Russian border problem we'll have to scrap that plan.

Hi Simon,

Lots of info there, so many thanks.

David