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Trip to Turkey
Hi new to this forum & looking forward to contributing & receiving information.
My wife & I are touring Turkey in April May 2013. We have planned a route & booked Hotels. But some hotels don't have secure parking. How do we safe guard our bike in such situation? Is a bike cover a good idea? A bit worried about navigation. Is a GPS phone with its ability to access maps the way to go ? I like its portability. Any advice good ideas very welcome. Our route is Istanbul ,Black sea coast. Capadocia, Med coast, Gallipoli , Istanbul. Starts Late April ends Late May. Cheers Clive & Agi |
Welcome to the HUBB.
I do hope you will not regret pre-booking hotels as this will tie you to a fixed schedule loosing flexibility in your trip. We found that all accommodation used in Turkey, the majority in the lower price bracket, had some way of providing security for the 'bikes. This was parking in Reception, just outside the front door (in full view of staff), a garage nearby (or in one case the other side of town where the owner drove us, collected and returned us to the machines the following morning), etc. Take a good quality disc lock with you as added peace of mind. Although I believe Garmin now offers mapping for Turkey we found the Euromap map of Turkey (1:800,000) was more the sufficient for our trip and is readily available here in the UK. I have ben to Istanbul twice, but never on a 'bike, no doubt others will be along to advise you on riding and where to stay there. I am certain you will have an enjoyable experience. It is my wish to return to Turkey in May/Jun of next year. |
Hi & thank you for your informative reply. Pre booking does restrict a bit but I dont like not knowing where I have a bed. We have made plenty of time on most days so I hope it works out.Thats good to hear about bike security I hoped it would be like that.Will check out the maps.In Australia we sometimes have a problem getting maps of Europe, I have one but would not like to be navigating from it. Thanks again Clive
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My wife and I toured Turkey a few months ago. See my blog www.oldfartsonabike.blogspot.com.au. There's lots of info that you might find useful.
We didn't book any accommodation in advance and meandered along minor roads through tiny villages as much as possible so a sat nav would have been useless to us as it would have taken us from point to point on the bigger roads. At several hotels I was able to negotiate the price down as much 25%, which wouldn't have been possible if we had pre-booked, and some hotels we walked away from after inspecting the rooms. I gave no real consideration to bike security, leaving the bike in hotel carparks or in the street overnight with a disc lock on it and a bright yellow plastic coil from the lock up to the bars to bring attention to the fact that it was there. We did take a bike cover with us but it was stolen from the bike a month before in Marseille, France. We saw very few large bikes in Turkey outside the major cities, so our Honda ST1100 would have been almost useless to any thief. We loved Turkey and had a great time. |
Doh, I missed the fact you were based in Australia. A major supplier in the UK for maps is: Maps, Travel Books, Guides and Travel Information - Stanfords who will no doubt deliver to you at home or wherever you are starting your journey.
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Mapworld at www.mapworld.com.au have the Hema map of Turkey which is one of the best. Another supplier I have used in the past is www.travellersbookstore.com.au.
Cheers John |
Hi Clive & Agi,
Except Istanbul, your bike would be pretty safe in front of the hotel. I usually use secured parking lots in Istanbul. In most cities, it is okay to park your bike in front of the hotel onto pavement (and even sometimes encouraged by hotel staff) if pavement is large enough. In small cities, your problem would not be bike theft but curiosity. R1200s, DL1000s, Tenere 1200s are not common in small cities so people are curious about those bikes. As for gps, for offline coverage, garmin and magellan are both offering routable and topo maps of the turkey. (Baytekin for garmin and Geomatics Group for magellan). If you have a Nokia phone with gps and Nokia's own maps application works offline has good coverage of Turkey. You can rely on online map apps like iphone or android ones for the most part but cell coverage at dirt roads etc. is not good. Btw, if your route passes through Ankara, send us a message when you are near. I would like to buy you beer and meal. Cheers, Ozgur |
Thanks everyone for your invaluable advice.It all ads to the picture. I an feeling happier about bike security now.Also had planned to use a Nokia gps phone together with Hema maps so that sounds like a good combination from the advice given.Sorry we won't be in Ankara area so will not be able to take up your offer of a drink, Ozgur, next time OK. Would like to meet some bike enthusiasts while riding so let me know if interested can give you my itinerary.bier Clive
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I am still experimenting with GPS which I have found to be useful when the wandering comes toward an end and it is time to get back onto the beaten track, find a hotel or a particular address in a strange city or in similar circumstances. So, it doesn't have to be used as a point to point device :thumbup1: I have also visited Istanbul and cash is king when negotiating with hotel staff; even more so in a "hard" currency, especially the Euro, which is favoured, but UK £ and US$ can be used quite freely - you just have to be aware of what exchange rates are being used by hotel staff, but there are lots of exchange kiosks in the main streets which give a good idea of the current going rates. That is funny! Fancy stealing the anti-theft device!!:innocent: |
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Give me a shout if you plan on coming anywhere near Kas on the Med coast. Cheers, Dickyb DickyB's Turkish Delights - ADVrider |
Hello Clive,
Şooks like you will see a large part of the country. I suggest you take a lonely planet or rough guides for Turkey with you. They will contain lots of good information about the locations food etc.. I prefer to call the advised hotels before arrival checj prices and availability. Usually it works. A practical tent may be nice and may give you even more freedom. A gps would be nice to have. Samsung phınes which can access to the google maps could be even better. Download the maps to your phone and you will see lots of paths. I am not sure what type of bike you have but it could be ineteresting. I see you mention Gallipoli, Med, Blacksea, İstanbul. Blacksea is beatifull fewer tourist and lots of green hills mountains plateus etc.. Blacksea alone can take 2 weeks easy. You need to plan in order to make the best of it. When in Istanbul let us know via community pages of the HUBB. We meet every thursday at EMOK. EMOK :: Enduro Motosiklet Kulübü Regards Burak |
Hi Burack we are planning 9 days for the black Sea not enough but where do you find enough time? Your info much valued thanks for the reply we value all input. Have hired a Honda transalp which I think will be a good all rounder. Ride a Suzuki V Strom here in Oz but have now changed to a Bonneville for a change even though we will miss the off road ability a bit, always fun to swap around.
Thanks again Clivebier |
Bike security is not an important issue in Turkey. As said before be careful in big cities.
Have some Turkish maps for GPSes, no problem. Booking hotel doesn't look sensible to me. Lots of hotels, pensions in Turkey. I f you like somewhere much but has a booking at the next town ! When you go to Black Sea Coasts, be careful about the season. April & May can be heavily rainy. I am not sure if you can enjoy there when it rains like cats&dogs. You will have a lazy and enjoyful time in Cappadocia area. I can recommend you Goreme House pension there... You will like. You can google it... Enjoy your trip... |
hello
i have been many times to Turkey I have a Garmin ZUMO 550 with Turkey on SD card i got the map from AMAZON much cheaper than Garmin shop i also got the Middle East maps from Amazon you need the Middle East maps if you want to go to Morocco last time i was over i went to Syria and Jorden too good job with the problems over ther, It is nice round lake van you will enjoy your trip a cover is good to keep eyes of your baby i ride a BMW K1200LT i have 54000 miles and still going strong have a good trip......Mike
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Hi Clive:
I toured Western Turkey (the 'Europe' portion) on my ST1100 18 months ago, and have spent some time in the country since for work purposes. I wrote a small post about my experiences, that post is here: Notes from a September 2011 ride through Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece, perhaps some of the information in it may be of use to you. I would not be too concerned about security of the bike in Turkey, unless it is something really big and gaudy (such as a full-dress Harley). In the smaller towns, I just parked the bike near the reception area of the hotel (exactly the same as I would do in any Western European country), and in the cities, I either parked it in the hotel's underground parking, or in the hotel's secure parking area. I honestly had no worries at all about the bike going missing in Turkey. In Bulgaria or Ukraine, I might be a bit more worried. Concerning navigation - I do highly recommend that you get a portable GPS. I have a Garmin Zumo, and have had many motorcycle-specific Garmin devices in the past, but if I was going to buy a new GPS (for Europe) for my motorcycle, I don't think I would buy a motorcycle-specific one again. I'd get one of the very small and thin 'Nuvi' devices, and just mount it on the handlebar or on the clutch lever bracket using a RAM-MOUNT base. The reason for this change of heart - after 12 years of using half a dozen different 'waterproof' Garmins - is that the new Nuvi devices are so small and thin (about the size of an iPhone) that I could just remove it from the bike anytime I got off the bike and slip it into my pants pocket. Plus, it's not often that I ride in the rain - so, I could do without it for the 1 day every 2 weeks that it is raining. Finally, the new 'Nuvis' are so inexpensive (typically about $150, complete with cartography) compared to the motorcycle-specific ones, it's hard to make an argument for a motorcycle-specific waterproof device. In smaller marketplaces, such as Turkey, Garmin sells the devices with only the Turkey map installed, which further reduces the price. They also offer simpler, less feature-rich units at prices below what you and I are used to paying in Australia, Canada, or Western Europe. I don't recommend you even dream of using your phone as a navigation device while riding the moto. It's generally a bitch to try and touch the tiny little touch-screen buttons on a phone GPS with bare fingers, let alone with gloves on. And, if you drop the thing while riding, you are SOL (a Canadian Expression) for both the phone and the GPS! Concerning hotels, I suggest you don't book ahead. Doing so will only increase your stress level because then you will have to be in a certain place on a certain day. Instead, get Trip Advisor on your smartphone - when you have finished riding for the day, you can look up hotels near you (or near anywhere you specify), it displays all the detail you want, and you can then phone the hotel to see if they have space and ask them what their 'best rate' is. I've been riding in Europe for about 8 weeks a year since 2000, never booked a hotel in advance once, and never had to sleep in the ditch, either. Finally, a word of warning about Istanbul: It is HUGE! The traffic is beyond comprehension. It is a very stressful city to ride in. I had a couple of minor collisions while riding in Istanbul (folks sideswiping me), and, I guess because I never tumbled off the bike, the other drivers didn't think it was serious enough to warrant stopping. If you do plan to tour Istanbul, I suggest you drive into the city at a time when you are going against the rush-hour flow, park the bike at your hotel, and leave it parked for the entire time you are in that city. When it comes time to leave, hit the road at the crack of dawn (05:00) so you can get well out of town before rush hour starts. Other than traffic issues in Istanbul, the country is delightful, I think you will really enjoy your trip. Michael |
Cheap backpackers place Istanbul. Sinbads in Sultanahmet. You chain your bike to the window bars of the reception there - manned 24 hours.
Take a ferry across to the Asian side for a few pennies. Have a mackerel baguette on the European shore near the ferry point. |
Hi Michael thanks so much for all that info, very useful stuff especially about the navigation.We are starting & ending our trip in Istanbul & do not plan any riding there apart from departure & arrival, will make sure we do it early in the day.Have booked accommodation already so will think about canceling & doing it on the fly.Thanks once again Clive
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Maps
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Can you get english directions etc when buying in Turkey? Thanks Clive |
Hello,
Just send me a message while you are in Turkey, I will bring your hotel English editions of a Turkey highway map,istanbul city map,istanbul catalog..These are free here and also available in different languages.. Also available by information office at Sultanahmet,white building near the metrostop.. Roadsigns on mainroads and historical areas are in Turkish and English. Wish you all the best. mehmet zeki avar |
You are most generous, will give you a call ,thank you . Clive
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Hello
I went three times in Turkey without provide hotel or guesthouse, I never had no problem finding a sleep. the bikes are to be kept or retracted in the hotel. for the map GPS Garmin NT Turkey is quite precise. To the East the landscape are beautiful The Turks are very nice. You can see my trip to Turkey on my site in the travel tab. good preparation houps, www.lesroutesdailleurs.com |
Turkey in May
Hi Clive
We leave the UK on the 21st April and plan to be in Turkey early May. Our route is pretty much the same as yours although we will stop at Marmuris and catch the ferry to Rhodes and then mainland Greece for the return journey. Nothing is booked room wise as we are hoping at that time of the year they will be readily available, plus we will be taking a tent for when the temp picks up!! My dilema is whether to stop off at Istanbul for a few days or pass through and take it in as a seperate holiday another time (by plane). It looks a fantastic place and I am not sure a couple of days would do it justice. We only have 15/17 days in Turkey and I would like to get as far as Trabzon before turning south to Nemrut then Cappadocia. Will you have some sort of travel blog as it would be good to know of any great places to stay you come across as looking at the timings we will be following you around? Bikewise we will be on a 955 Sprint ST , so only the black stuff for us!! Kev |
Hi Kev we may do a blog ,hadn't really given much thought to it as yet.Hate spending time in a new place on the key board when I could be eating or drinking or both! Maybe we will just so people& family can keep up to date.
We are having 5 days in Istanbul at the end of the trip, not enough I know but it never is. Better to have a dedicated visit but that may not happen so 5 days it is. Lots too much to see in the World. Hope you have a great trip, will send you a line if we blog it. Just hope we don't spend the whole time lost! |
Well gradually getting sorted for the trip. GPS ,done. Most of the gear ready to go.
Just a bit concerned. When I read anything about riding in Turkey there are nothing but horror stories regarding the horrendous drivers. Seems it's the most dangerous country in the world. Well I hope not. Have ridden in South America with the fantastic Ferris Wheels Tours, that was no problem. Have ridden in Cambodia, a bit scary but they understand motorcycles. Seems in Turkey they don't. What I would like to hear is peoples strategy for dealing with this type of driving. Is it worth wearing high visibility jackets ? Does it annoy other drivers if you ride lights on all the time? Quite used to defensive riding tactics but always worth knowing how others deal with the problem. Drop us a line if you have the time. Can't wait to get on the road in Turkey.bier |
Having lived here for 8 years and travelled extensively throughout the country I would offer the following;
1. The country is vast and sparsely populated away from the coast and big towns/cities. Riding in these areas is a pleasure. Turkey is spending huge amounts on the road infrastructure and the main trunk roads have been, or are in the process of being upgraded, to wide dual carriageways. I've often wondered why as the light traffic doesn't seem to justify the expense. Main dangers here are stray dogs, melting tarmac in high summer and dozy drivers, through tiredness and heat. 2. In big cities there does tend to be a bit of a free for all attitude. A two lane road will turn into a four lane highway as drivers vie to be the first away from traffic lights whilst nattering with other occupants and answering their mobile phones. Indicators are a fashion statement rather than a means to signal one intentions. Vehicle horns are used to let you know you are being overtaken or you have dawdled too long at traffic lights.I always drive defensively in towns/cities. 3. Speed limits for motorcycles are lower than those for cars and speed traps are very common. Make sure you know the speed limit for the type of road that you are on. The traffic police are always friendly and polite when issuing fines/checking docs. 4. Modern bikes run with headlights permanently on so no problem there. Wear a high-vis vest if it gives you peace of mind. 5. I seldom ride in the dark here. Too many stray dogs/cats/kids wandering around. Additionally, in rural areas, cars and tractors often run without rear lights though they will have headlights so that they can see where they are going! 6. Petrol stations are modern, clean, plentiful and rarely self-service. In summary, if you drive defensively and within the speed limits you should have no problem with the odd pothole, loose gravel on a bend or farmer on his way to market. Have a good trip, it's a beautiful country.:thumbup1: Cheers, Dicky |
Hi Dicky Once again many thanks for your confidence inspiring reply.
I thought it would be the case with country riding I know we will love it. In the city the biggest problem is trying to navigate aswell as avoiding trouble. Luckily I have my wife on board so will let her tell me when to turn & I will concentrate my efforts on avoiding trouble. Hope the GPS does its job & all will be well. Not sure about high viz clothing from what I have read it makes little difference, but you never know, if it works just once in your favour you are a winner. Should I get a tag for the Toll Ways or just use them as some reccomend & see what happens ? How do they work on a bike, they don't work here in Autralia for bikes. Thanks again Clive.:scooter: |
Never used a tag for tolls. I always buy a card from a petrol station BEFORE I get on a toll road. Here's a linky;
Turkish Toll Highways & Bridges Let me know if you are coming to Kas on the Turkish Med and maybe we can meet up. Cheers, Dicky |
Since end of Jan.-2013., system is HGS.for all toll roads and bridges.Thats available in all Turkish Post Offices PTT..Deposit is 5 TL. and minimum credit to be uploaded is 30 TL.(Turkish Lira)
Photo of the HGS toll pass card is here. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater Wish you all the best... |
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