Job Discussion Forums

[teacherdude]

Guys I'm planning a Visa run to Greece in the new year.

Just wondering how to get there, and a decent place to go not too far from the border. i'm hoping to go for two days max.

Where would I get the train?
What's a good bus service?

And any other useful info you can give.

Thanks,
TD

[yaramaz]

We just did the run with a few teachers during the bayram (I didnt need it but tagged along anyway). You can get a direct coach to Alexandropoli for 44 milyon return on Kamil Ko�. I think its the nearest city to reach. It leaves at around 10am most days. It drops you off across from the train station there and there are a few hotels across the street. We stayed at Hotel Erika and they speak English (my greek is non existent). The return trip leaves from a travel agency further up the coast road at a frustratingly early 7:30 or so am.

Do not take the train. We had to take the train on our way back because the bus didnt run on the monday because of bayram. The bus took about 6 hours altogether and the train took about 11. We sat in a train station the size of a bakkal on the greek side of the border in the middle of nowhere for several hours waiting for the turkish train to show up, then when it did we stopped every three meters for no apparent reason. After leaving Greece at noon we only trundled into Sirkeci station in the pouring rain around 11pm... Gaaaaaaaak!

[teacherdude]

Thanks that was useful,

how decent was the hotel Erika,

How far up the road is the travel agency?...1 mile, two...?

TD

[yaramaz]

The travel agency is maybe a half kilometer from Erika, on the same side of the street. Its a coast road so I neednt tell you its on the right hand side. It comes after a long string of cafes and restaurants, which arent bad. Erika was a nice hotel- I think it was about 15 euro each for us, with four in a huge room with en suite and waterfront balcony etc. Comfy. There is also a place opposite the train station where the single guys from our school stayed when they did their runs later. Apparently its about 18 euro for a single. Possibly off season pricing.

[scot47]

Dont go to Greece - go to Bulgarıa. MY tıp ıs to try Plovdıv or VElıko Turnovo and not Sofıa.

Take the traın !

[teacherdude]

thanks but done Bulgaria to death...looking for something different.

Thanks a lot Yaramaz.

TD

[bron]

I had to take the train back on a Monday too... I got the impression that the bus never runs on Mondays, so be careful of that. I stayed at Hotel Majestic, which was either eighteen or twenty euros a night for a single... can't quite remember which. It's half a block from where the bus drops off. If you want to stay a day, it's a nice little town too... a good ethnographic museum and beautiful cathedral.

[teacherdude]

No, there's no bus on Mon. hence the reason I'll be chilling on Mon. and bussing it on Tues.

VB

[justme]

My Kamil Ko� Adventure:

On my last visa run, the Kamil office in Bakırk�y claimed they'd never heard of Alexandropolis and that the closest place to the border was 'Gomercin' or something like that. My Turkish friend erroneously assured me that Gomercin was the Turkish name for Alexandropolis, so I got on the bus assuming this was true. Also, the office sold me a round-trip ticket to leave one day and return the next, but failed to mention that the bus only went on alternate days, a fact I learned only after I was on the bus.

Once we got into Greece, I saw signs passing for Alexandropolis, but since I've grown overly relaxed about things not being the way I expect in Turkey, I just kicked back and assumed they were taking an alternate route.

Which grew increasingly alternate. I must have dozed off because I suddenly found myself in Xanti and decided that would be a good time to ask the driver what had happened. I explained everything in lovely Turkish, remained calm, then the driver did the same and remained calm and we chatted for several minutes at which point he suddenly realised a)he had a lost foreigner on his hands, b) that I needed to return the next day, c) that the train station (which I had decided I would settle for back when they informed me there was no bus the following day) was miles away, and d) that when the guy with the clipboard had asked me where I was going, had written neither Komotini nor Alexandropolis, but Athens for me. He lost his cool and at this point he decided to ask me if I knew Turkish.

I love it here. I'm not being sarcastic.

Anyway, after much shouting and waving of arms and negotiations and consultations with baggage guys and bus guys and curious passers-by, they directed me to an office where the guy spoke a bit of Turkish, which was a good thing since I know no Greek (or Russian, German, or French, which the greek guy also used on me). I wandered around Xanti with the Greek guy and one of his daughters for several hours looking for a bus that went anywhere near the Turkish border, and managed to find on that left about 4.30 the following morning.

I found a relatively cheap place to stay and at that point I feasted on pork and real beer.

Fortunately the Greeks on the morning bus spoke a lot of Turkish, and found my antics very amusing indeed. I got to a Turkish border town (can't remember, starts with a 'K') and had to pay for another service bus back to Istanbul. The guys there gave me tea and poğa�a and assured me that the company in Istanbul would refund me for the service bus since they made a mistake.

But nay, it was not to be, as the frazzled and cranky gentleman in Istanbul claimed it was all the Greeks' doing.

So the pork and checking out an unexpected though not very exciting Greek town and the timely tea and poğa�a and all the 2001's I could stomach made it a happy ending. The loss of the 50 million for the servis was annoying since I didn't get reimbursed by my school (they were just jerks and didn't believe me, as though I could make this up).

By the way, I also recommend the Majestik, which I know from previous runs. If you get Helena, she'll cut you a deal for being a visa-runner. Her son, however, does not, but he says 'Bravo' a lot.

And that's my story. Have fun!

[teacherdude]

Just to let you know I did my Visa run.

Thanks a lot for the info, it was quite useful.

Decided to stay at the Erika hotel...40 Euro per night...a bit pricy for off season...I could have stayed at a cheper hotel, but the Erika looked comfortable, so I went for it.

The walls are as thin as paper and u can hear everything next door.

Had to relocate to another floor, because the family next to me just wouldn't shut up.....actually...they did....when I asked them to..

Nice collection of bars and restaurants on the strip as well.

TD

[yaramaz]

Dude,

Sorry to hear about the price and the paper walls. We were up on the 5th floor or so and it was pretty empty at the time so all was quiet. And again there were 4 of us so it was only about 18 euro each. Alas! But you got the bus back alright, I presume?

Glad it went well otherwise. I totally enjoyed my weekend of greek salad and Amstel bira!

[scot47]

Bulgaria is nice. As a change from Plovdiv try Veliko Turnovo. The train from Istanbul to Bucharest stops there. Leave Sirkeci at 22.00. You are in V.T. at about 10 am.

Nice town. Former capital. University. Not well-known outside Bulgaria although Brits are now start5ing to buy property there as they flee from the horrors of modern Britain.

[ekmekparasi]

why dont you get legal jobs and if they are not avalialb rethink your ''careers'' (career ha ha)

[yaramaz]

I am legal. I was just accompanying a few other teachers who were waiting for their ikamets to be processed (it took forever this year).