Turkey/Iran weather advice
 

I originally planned to ride through Turkey and into Iran in late October. I applied for my visa months ago, but I've only received it now (actually, I'm going to the Iranian Embassy in Syria tomorrow to see if it's really there... I have my doubts.) Anyway, here's my question - is it even possible to ride through Turkey and into Iran right now (early to mid-December), or should I simply admit defeat and ride south? (I'm in Syria now, and it's a little chilly here!) I've really wanted to hit Iran for a long time, but I don't want to suffer needlessly in the snow. Advice is appreciated.

Hello,

It is not really possible to ride this time of year especially in the east of Turkey and West of Iran. You may try but it might be dangerous on some bits. (most bits actually). It is around 1-3C during daytimes and minus degrees during nights. On some parts of the road, elevation is as high as 2400+ meters. (meaning minus degrees even in daytime.) It snowed and it will snow according to weather forecasts.

Paul (karter257) is in Iran now. You can have more info from him. He took train from Tebriz to Tahran because of the snow. You can find more in his diary too. (PRExpressions)

Ozgur.

thanks for the reply. yeah, i've abandoned the idea to hit iran. i had everything all planned out, initially. i applied for the visa on august 3 - plenty of time to get it and ride across the turkish border in early october. the only problem is, i just finally got my visa today (december 5). that sort of threw a kink into my plans. those iranians don't like us canucks! (they just kicked our ambassador out of the country!)

Jeremy,

why don't you put your bike on a train, too?

Iran is great and for the Persian Gulf (and the Arab Peninsula) it is the only time of the year to visit by bike (and highly recommended, too) because it is too hot at other times of the year. (Everything else of Iran will be could though...)

Lars

Train across Turkey in winter
 

Hi there,
I was thinking going the same way (Turkey - Iran) at the very beginning of the new year and I was looking for trains for me and the bike to cross Turkey from Istanbul or the southern coast to Iran but there seems to be none in winter, does anybody has a link or a suggestion? Anyone has done it before?

January 2008 Ireland to Turkey.
 

I have been reading your posts here about weather in Turkey, I was planning on leaving Ireland early Jan 2008 to travel to Turkey heading for Alanya on the Med.. Any advice ?

Hello All,
SOme ideas about Turkiye;
From Syria towards east;
Make sure you have very warm clothing, heated grips and an electrical vest, good tires.
Hakkari will be cold and snowy. But maybe if you watch the weather you get lucky.
I had friends going through Erzurum in winter, not nice but they managed. What is you bike??? How are your tires??

From Istanbul to mediterranean,
If you do not get stuck in Istanbul and BUrsa, no worries. This is a different climate all together. I would take the ferry from Istanbul to Bandırma. Or better Istanbul to Izmir. Than you get in the warm zone.

Trains in Turkiye
Some have possibility to carry Bikes. Not all have cargo vagons.
General lines can be found on the below page. Yes it is in Turkish but city names can be found on a map.
TCDD-TÜRKÝYE CUMHURÝYETÝ DEVLET DEMÝRYOLLARI

Best of lucks to all of the travellers

Maybe I should go by ferry from Italy to Greece the weather would be milder this way ? My Bike is a BMW K1200R It has sports tyres on ! Not so good for snow :confused1:

Ferry from Italy to Greece
 

I will do the same:
Anek ferry from Venice (it departs 4 times a week, 26hours) to Igoumenitsa then two options (I neeed to go to Istanbul):
-around the coast of Greece it should be warm enough or
-straight to Istanbul across Greece via road E90 (around 600miles?) but I am not sure of the conditions of this road in winter, any advice from the locals?

Dear Johnymac,
Now wheater in Ireland and Istanbul should be similar? lots of rain at winter.
However the Balkans will be colder and snowy around january.

Yıu can take a fery from ANcona to Igoumenitsa. But the road to Istanbul maybe snowy. If it is rain and cold weather you should be able to make it.
Alternative is the ferries leaving from Trieste to İzmir and Istanbul. Put the bike on them and take the plane from Lubljana to Istanbul. Custome papers may be tricky though.

Regards

Thanks for the info.. I want to head south when I get to Turkey, I have friends and place to Stay in Alanya..I want to stay there and maybe tour around there for awhile and when im heading back to Ireland will go overland all the way back. What would conditions be like heading south ?

Around Alanya I would expect mostly rains bur also sunny wheater. The temperature should be around 15 to 20 degrees.
Mediterranean coast and Egean coast do not get snow really. It would rain and may be thunderstroms.
Balkans and Trakya region are what I would be carefull about.
Best Of lucks

If you like really cold weather do this trip. It will be certainly a bone freezing one.

If you and your bike is well prepared for the certain winter conditions riding (not sure about it) you can. I bet it will be an unforgettable ride of your life.

Too ironic, OK, personally I would definitely avoid such a trip. Too much snow and too cold also in daytime. You can easily meet - 10 C in day time these days.

Please share you experiences at the end with us,

Take care and anjoy it.

:scooter: I think i will wait until weather gets milder :thumbup1: When would you say is a good time to start trip/:confused1:

around the south coast of Turkey
 

if from Istanbul I follow the coast south all the way to Adana/Osmaniye is there a way to reach Iran from there without risking my life in icy mountain roads?

I can see the motorway O-52 ending at Gaziantep, and high mountains around the Van area further east, is there a passage through there or it's just stupid trying that way? Is there a railway going through the mountains?

Is the bike-on-a-train from Istanbul still the best option? I dont mind going straight past Turkey this time I can visit it on my way back in spring but I need to reach Iran before the my visa expires in February.

You need to plan carefully. Below is the link for the Turkish Weather Forecast site.
METEOROLOJİ GENEL MÜDÜRLÜĞÜ - Önümüzdeki 5 Gün Yurt Genelinde Hava
On the east it predicts snow coming.

Adana, Antakya would be warm. But towards east there ise Yüksekova and Hakkari. Both on the high plateu. Fİrst place not a safe site either.

Which border gate you plan on using? I am not sure but it loks like following are the options to cross (PLEASE CHECK AGAIN TO MAKE SURE)
- Gate Esendere, located in Hakkari,
- Kapıköy gate in Van/Özalp
- Gürbulak Gate in Ağrı/Doğubeyazıt

I would check carefully the forecast everyday and may be you have a window of no snow.
Good Luck

Nearly three- four weeks ago, Paul Read (karter257) tried to reach Iran Border. Roads to all gates were icy and snowy. Probably they are much worse now. He loaded his bike to a truck from Ercis, Van and went all way to Dogbiscuit (Dogubeyazit) by truck because of icy roads. Your best options is Trans-Asia train. You can find more info in Turkish State Railways website (TCDD - TURKISH STATE RAILWAYS) about the route it takes. They asked around €200 for 300 kgs + €35 for ticket from Ankara To Tehran. Loading In Turkey could be a problem but 3-4 strong man may lift the bike. People didnt have any problems in unloading the bike in Tehran as far as I read. Train crosses border from Kapikoy Gate. Be sure that you have the every document for the bike and they are valid cause people said some of the officers in Kapiköy Iranian border were picky.

Ozgur

Islahiye-Teheran train
 

Sorry to bother you (all) with this again.
According to this: TCDD - TURKISH STATE RAILWAYS , the Turkish State Railways timetable, route number 3 goes from Damascus to Teheran via Islahiye-Elazig-Van-Kapikoy.
My idea was: instead of taking the Trans-Asia from Istanbul all the way across Turkey, I could ride along the south coast where the weather should be less severe and reach Islahiye (a few miles past Osmaniye) and there get the train to Iran.
The only problem is: would they take my bike on the train?

I cannot think of a way to get in touch with the company that runs the service and ask more info, I suppose it would be either Syrian or Iranian, has anybody done this?

I will be on the ferry from Venice to Igoumenitsa next Sunday, then ride to Istanbul where I should make a decision on which way to take, I suppose riding along the southern coast will be more fun than sitting on the Trans-Asia Istanbul-Teheran but on the other hand i dont want to get stuck in the south.

Any idea?

Hello Alex,

I contacted with Turkish State Railways. They said there is a box car in the train so you may load your bike to the train. They stated that loading the bike is owner's responsibility and they dont take any responbility about loading. I dont know about Islahiye but probably you will need a platform to load your bike. So, It would better if you arrive Ishaliye half or one day before before the trains arrival to organize the loading because probably this will be their first time to deal a situtation like that.

The box car and passangers are loaded to ferry to cross Van Lake and after the Van Lake, they attach box car to Iranian. I talked with Kapikoy border gate when Paul wants to take the train and they said if your documents are all right, there would be no problem. Though, Craig (another HU member) told Paul that he had some problems on the Iranian side.

I dont know how much it costs from Ishaliye to Tehran for your bike but it shouldnt be more expensive than Ankara- Tehran.

I hope this helps a bit.

Ozgur.

Send me an e-mail if you need any help (kobold42@hotmail.com). :)