Driving from Northern Turkey into Bulgaria.
 

Hi! I'm thinking about my next trip in the fall of 2000. Would like to drive from Northern Turkey, I usually rent a car from the airport as it is easier to pick up and drop off, so it will be from Istanbul. I would like to visit northern Turkey and on into Bulgaria. I'm thinking about 2 weeks total. Has anyone done this before? <BR> thanks alan

Well, there is a very good motorway from Istanbul all the way to Edirne and the Bulgarian border so you should have no trouble getting there. (it is a toll road but the toll is not more than 2 million TL). However, I doubt that you will find a car hire company willing to let you take a car out of Turkey. <BR> <BR>Also, the European part of Northern Turkey has got not nothing to offer the tourist. If you go a bit further south you can visit the battlefields of Gelibolu which are very moving. A bit further on is Troy - fascinating. Still further south is Assos. A wonderful little village but the sea water is very cold, even in the middle of the summer. A good way to visit these places would be to take the seaside road (D110) to beyond Tekirdag then turn left at Kesan and keep going to Gelibolu. Then, ferry across the Dardanelles and on to Troy. On the way back go straight on at Kesan and reach Edirne that way. Istanbul to Gelibolu is about 4 to 5 hours drive. <BR> <BR>Don't plan to drive at night - Turks are perhaops the worst drivers in the world and you want to be able to see them

Edirne was once capital of the Ottoman empire and boasts many Ottoman buildings several designed by the great Ottoman architect Sinan.

Hi! Thanks for responding. You've given me more thoughtfull 8ideas. My main target is Bulgaria, if possible. Istanbul is the closest major city for us to fly into. We are limited as to which cities to fly into. I usually bok through autoeurope and have not had problems. We have been to most of central and eastern europe and am expanding where we go. I usually begin planning in earnest in late winter and am doing prliminary ideas now. If you have any question about eastern or central europe drop me an e-mail. We recently returned from Czech Rep. <BR>Thanks again for answering alan

Why not fly direct to Bulgaria? Hire a car in Sofia or get an internal flight to the area you're interested in. There wouldn't seem enough of interest in the northern part of Turkey compared with the inconvenience of including it in your Bulgarian adventure. Do northern Turkey, including Istanbul Bursa, Troy, Gallipoli and Edirne much as described above, as a separate tour. Bulgaria alone is well worth 2 weeks touring, in fact more, and depending on your nationality you may not need a visa to arrive by air but may do to arrive by road. <BR> <BR>Don't miss the Rila Monastery in the southwest. For a sneak preview visit my web pages <BR>http://wkweb4.cableinet.co.uk/george...web/index.html <BR>Other fond memories include Plovdiv with lots of old buildings preserved and restored in its old town as well as a sizeable Roman theatre and the Panorama depicting the Siege of Pleven at Pleven is truly spectacular.