Job Discussion Forums

[howmucharefags]

What's the fastest and most cost effective way of renewing my tourist visa? Would you opt for Greece or Bulgaria? I don't want to spend more than one day outside of Turkey so I need the fastest route possible. I would be travelling from Istanbul and I'd prefer to take the train as you can drink and have a smoke. All comments more than welcome.

[nrgstar2000]

From Istanbul, there are buses which are taking bulgarian citizens or turkish citizens with a visa to bulgaria to shop.
buses take 25 million for a run to a kilometer after the border where passangers can shop at cheap prices. they wait for 2 hours until they shop and go back to istanbul. if you calculate, it is around 5 hours from istanbul to the bulgarian border, so if you take the bus that goes around 6-7, you'll arrive the border just before 12, wait two hours while you can shop and be home in the morning. that would be less then 24 hours.
I did it from Bursa.

[teacherdude]

What's the name of this bus service?

Where can they be found?

[howmucharefags]

Cheers. Like teacherdude says, I need to know the name and location of the company. What's the score with the customs officials? Do they board the bus or do you need to disembark? How much can I expect to pay if my visa is 2 weeks overdue?

[crashartist1]

Bulgaria is the fastest border run from Istanbul, you could ask the other people you work with what bus companies there are available, where they leave from and how much they cost.

On your way to Bulgaria or Greece if you get your VISA checked, and they can actually do the math and realize you have over stayed your visa for 2 weeks you could be liable for 33YTL per day you overstayed your VISA. This 33YTL fine is the law, I have seen the law on the books and I have been there when it was enforced, but this is Turkey so you never know. Let us know the outcome.

[calsimsek]

There are three bus companies that leave for Bulgaria once a day form the new 'oto gar' in Esenler on the Euro side. They leave Istanbul at (dependind on the weather) around 6 - 7 each night you can be at the boader at about 23.00. The cops come on the bus and you get off and have to take your gear out and you are checked out on the spot. It can take upto an hour to hour or two at the boader. Go over and stop at one of three small Bulgarian side cafe/Rest type place sit and wait for the returne bus from Sofia. It will more than likly pull in for short stop before the boader. You get back opn here and cross back over.
Fines change according to where your from. Just as Visa fees are different for Brits and say the Irish, so are the fines. Most cops at the boader will be soft if they know your a teacher don't try to hide the fact that you work. They know that , one or two weeks shold not cost much.

Other otion take the long Train ride to Northern Greece wiat the night and come back the next day. Not much difference in cost really. Also you get to buy alot of bad fat pork.

[bron]

Metro's also good for an overnight run, over the border and back right away. If you tell them what you're doing they'll flag down one of their own buses coming back from Bulgaria as soon as you're over the border and put you on it. Twenty million there, eighteen million back. Also check if there are service buses that run from your suburb to the B�y�k Otogar. I just went this past week. Got a service bus from Bakırk�y to the otogar at seven fifteen or so, bought my tickets at the otogar (although I did have to wait quite awhile and explain several times what I wanted before they gave me a return ticket). The bus left at eight thirty, at the border by eleven thirty, and after the third visa check they walked me across the road and put me on a Metro bus going in the opposite direction. It was very convenient, and I walked into my apartment building as the dawn ezzan went off, just before six.

[preston]

DO NOT TELL THE COPS YOU WORK this is a very bad idea. It is best to pretend you speak no Turkish and just act like a dumb tourist[/quote]

[bron]

Definitely true, but it won't hurt you if the bus people figure it out, so long as they keep their mouths closed. Actually, I listened to my bus driver talking to the policeman about me as he was inspecting my passport, and I'm pretty sure he told the cop that I was turning around and coming back. I was pretty nervous until I saw him just nodding his head and saying, "On dakika sonra, gelecek. Tamam." The bus driver didn't say I was working, of course... but still!

[scot47]

The train is okay for BG. Leaves Sirkeci at 23.00. Spend the day in Plovdiv or Veliko Turnovo befpore heading back the next night. The Turks make you get off the train. the Bulgarians do not. Get a sleeping berth.

[howmucharefags]

Can't thank everybody enough for all the input. One last question though. Is it possible to get the train directly to Greece from Istanbul? Would there be any changes? What's the journey time and price? If a direct train isn't possible then I think I'll opt for the Metro Bulgarian option. Cheers.

[Baba Alex]

[mongrelcat]

why is it that everyone's always wondering about the fastest visa run? I mean, if you're going to have to jump out of the country to do it, why not hang out a few days wherever you go?

Or is it that you're waiting til the last day of the visa validity (?) to go renew it...?

[bron]

Personally, I usually try to make a mini-break of it, but I'm trying to save as much money as I can now to travel round Turkey at the end of my contract... so this time around I opted for fast and cheap.

[Faustino]

Do you guys really enjoy doing this visa run thing. I've been lucky in that I've always had an ikahmet during my time here, and have never had to do this. I applaud your efforts at trying to make a decent weekend of it, but wouldn't you prefer not to have to? I think it would do my head in knowing that I was only ever a short time away from having to go through this bureacratic process.

If you had the opportunity to, would you leave your job and go to one that offered you legality?