From Trieste, Italy to Istanbul, Turkey - April, 2001

...Everyday there is a ferryboat (Ro-Ro) from Trieste to Istanbul. The bike is loaded by the owner on the ferry and few days later the riders goes by plane from Istanbul to Lubjana (Zagreb) and by bus to Trieste where the bike is taken out of custom directly.

Kazim used this service recently and he writes: "Just show at the port; find the dock of the Turkish ferry. Allow time for this, as the port is 12 kms long along the sea! One does not need any reservations as they can always find room for a motorcycle. I paid 60,000 Liras (about 30 US$) to Samer for port handling fees. After you get your receipt you are ready to load the bike. Loading starts at 2 PM, and normally the ferry leaves around 7-8 PM.

After tying and strapping the bike, there is lots of time to kill at the Turkish Cafe, frequented by all the truck drivers, until the bus comes to haul you to Lubjana, capital of Slovenia. The ride from Trieste to Lubjana takes around 45 minutes, but the plane is at 00:30, which meant along wait at the airport for about 4 hours. I was in my bed at 4:00 AM, Turkish time.

The boat comes to Istanbul in 3 1/2 days and you pick up your bike in Harem. The cost of freight ($150) and the one way plane ticket ($250) was a total of $400, payable in cash only at UND's office in Harem. Not too much considering the amount of time spent on the road, money spent on hotels, ferry from Bari to Igoumenitza, and gas. Custom formalities took only about 15 minutes, everybody was very helpful.