Sarp border at Turkey/Georgia: reports & updates

[steven]

I also remember having had troubles at this border about 5 years ago. They would not let my wife pass. In the end we did get through. This is the first time I hear of this type of corruption, though, on this border. I can't say it surprises me with the way Turkey is going down the shitter. But it's bad news.

@garvint: you mentioned the other Turkish-Georgian border was closed. Did anyone tell you why?

[jelger]

I have crossed here twice with my own car:

1) July 2009 Turkey --> Georgia: no problems
2) July 2015 Georgia --> Turkey: no problems, but I noticed corrupt practices in front of us, and an attempt with us - on Turkish side. Customs guy took packages of cigarettes from car in front of us, and specifically searched for them in our car, then noticed we are no smokers, and asked. We had about 10 liter of wine spread in the car, but he was only interested in cigarettes. After us, he was off duty and walked off with the confiscated cigarettes.

Other than that, both experiences were smooth. 2nd time with 2 dogs, and they didn't bother to check the complete vaccination requirements, just quickly flipped our EU pet passports.

[Van_Gogh]

Crossed the border about a week ago with my car, German passport. No problems on both sides, but queues were long and they only opened one checkpoint.
Only 1 person can cross in the car, passenger(s) have to take the pedestrian crossing.
The whole border is quite crowded, but public transport is available on both sides. Do not change money in the shops on both sides of the border, it's a very bad exchange rate and a total scam.

[vittorimbotti]

Hello, does anybody know if you can buy the green card at Sarp border, or standard local insurance?
We are crossing the border from Georgia into Turkey soon.
Thanks!

[vittorimbotti]

Update:
I crossed this morning from GE to TK.
You can find insurance at the border (not green card), however there is NO bank or ATM, make sure you have at least 300 Turkish Liras with you!
TK guards speak English and are quite helpful, go at the border early as queues get pretty long.
In case you find yourself without enough money and can't pay the insurance (they do not accept cards): get your passport stamped, leave your car at customs and you can exit the border control territory. Once out, ask a taxi driver to drive you at a bank in Sarp and bring you back (4/5 km away).
We had to do this, and they understand, just make sure you know someone's name in case they don't want to let you back in.
Good luck!

[ojones]

I was denied today. Really bummed about it and not sure what to do. They (Turkish border people) said that, although the car I purchased in Georgia is registered in my name, because my passport is not Georgian (USA), I cannot bring the car across into Turkey. They said I was not even supposed to be allowed to register this car in my name in Georgia without a resident ID. They were very nice and patient about it, and at one point almost let me pass, but then a higher up gave a final "no." This is pretty lame, especially because not only did I register it in my name legally, I also had no problem from any Georgian border check person leaving Georgia to go to Armenia, nor back into Georgia, nor out of Georgia to get into Turkey, nor back into Georgia when I was denied in Turkey. So it's only Turkey that has the problem and now I'm a bit stuck, as to go through Russia is a huuuge detour. I imagine they fear I will sell it in Turkey for more money than I bought it for perhaps, but that is not at all my intention, and were I a Georgian, I could just as easily do that. I don't know how to get a Georgian ID card, but suspect it would take months or longer. I also spent a lot of time procuring this car, and don't want to just dump it now.

Anyone ever had this problem and figured it out? Hope so.

[steven]

Try again at the other border with Turkey, it might just work there. IMHO there is no such rule.

[ojones]

Try again at the other border with Turkey, it might just work there. IMHO there is no such rule.

thought about it....may just do that!

[jelger]

I once had a (probably horseshit) story at the BG-TK border that my car at the time was too old to bring in Turkey (not for commerce, just for my own travelling). It was 30+ years old, and they said the rule was max. 20 years. After some discussions, and some haggling in their systems it was OK. We were cool with them, so we kept a positive attitude, but also made clear we were only transiting to Georgia (2 days).

So, they let us go in the end (I think it took maybe half an hour). "Just go fast through Turkey!" (no problem, just mind the radar checks along the Black Sea)

[gunbandi]

Just crossed the border from Turkey into Georgia some days ago with our own car (Norwegian). No problems at the border, just a slow line.

News: There is now a functioning ATM just after getting into Georgia, it's located almost next to the booth where you buy your car insurance. The insurance for a car for 15 days is 30 GEL.