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Sailing between Greece & Turkey
If sailing in the east Aegean for two weeks or preferably three weeks it is worthwhile to combine the Turquoise coasts of Turkey with the Dodecanese of Greece.
Visiting Turkey
Please note that following info is given in good faith according to the regulations
found at the time these were issued. Any information may change without a notice and is subject to the disclaimer.
It is strongly recommended to contact one of the reliable charter companies well in advance in case you wish to visit Turkey
and to use the services of an agent, to carry out all the formalities for entering and
exiting Greece and Turkey, so that you will not have to waste any of your precious
sailing time and of course to avoid bureaucracy.
Ask your charter company for their list of formality agents or 
e-mail me for my current list.
Ports of entry and exit in the Greek Aegean Sea
| Lesvos (Mytilini) |
Kos |
|
| Chios |
Symi |
|
| Samos |
Rhodes |
|
Ports of entry and exit Turquoise coast
| Aeolian, Ionian coast |
Carian coast |
Lycian coast |
| Ayvalık |
Bodrum |
Fethiye |
| Dikili |
Datça |
Kaş |
| İzmir |
Marmaris |
Finike |
| Çeşme |
|
Kemer |
| Kuşadası |
|
Setur Marina Antalya |
| Güllük (rarely used) |
|
Antalya |
In case that you wish to do the formalities by yourself you will have to go
through the following steps:
Once still in Greece you will have to go through Customs & Passport Control. All
passports of the crew members and yacht documents must be presented to the
relative Greek Customs and Passport Control Office. Then we will provide you with
the Port Police authorisation for departure. After that you are ready to depart for
Turkey.
Do not forget to raise the Turkish flag when entering Turkish waters. The precise position of the border is at various places disputed by the two countries. A good estimate with borderline coordinates can found just below the charts of Samos, Leros & Kalymnos and Kos.
Visa
As soon as you arrive in Turkey (Port or Marina), you must report at once at the Port
Authorities, having all the necessary documents with you (passports, yacht
documents and certificates). You will be then asked to pay (or not) the Visa charge
per person depending on your nationality. Please see below the list containing the
Visa charges for visiting Turkey.
Citizens of almost all countries can obtain Tourist Visa without difficulty on entry to
Turkey at Ports of Entry or airports. Citizens of other eastern European countries
should confirm their situation before arriving in Turkey. Below are the approximate costs (established 2008) per
person depending on your nationality.
| Australia | €15 | 3 Months |
| Austria | €15 | 3 Months |
| Belgium | €10 | 3 Months |
| Brazil | €15 | 3 Months |
| Canada | €45 | 3 Months |
| Finland | Free | 3 Months |
| France | Free | 3 Months |
| Germany | Free | 3 Months |
| Greece | Free | 3 Months |
| Israel | Free | 3 Months |
| Italy | €5 | 3 Months |
| Ireland | €5 | 3 Months |
| Morocco | Free | 3 Months |
| Netherlands | €10 | 3 Months |
| New Zealand | Free | 3 Months |
| Norway | Free | 3 Months |
| Portugal | €10 | 3 Months |
| Romania | Free | 2 Months |
| Russia | €10 | 1 Month |
| South Africa | Free | 21 Days |
| Spain | €10 | 3 Months |
| Sweden | Free | 3 Months |
| Switzerland | Free | 3 Months |
| Ukraine | €10 | 1 Month |
| United Kingdom | £10 | 3 Months |
| USA | $20 | 3 Months |
Transit log
Applicable to the yacht entry and departure in Turkey
Yachts entering or leaving Turkey must make their entry or departure only at
designated Customs entry and exit points. They must obtain or surrender (as
appropriate) a Transit Log, referred to in some official documents as the “Yacht
Registration Certificate”.
The current Turkish Law allows yachtsmen to enter Turkey without paying Transit log
for their yacht if they visit only one major Turkish entry-exit port. In case that you wish
to visit more than one Turkish port then you will have to pay the Transit log at the
Port Police authorities. The transit log costs around 150 Euros always depending on
the registered gross tonnage of your (charter) yacht.
Re-entering Greece
You are now ready to re-enter Greece and hoist the Greek courtesy flag again. As mentioned before you must exit Turkey
and enter Greece from one of the above designated ports. Every movement of your
vessel from or to Greece and Turkey must be reported and therefore authorised by the
relative authorities, and that is exactly what you will have to do in order to re-enter
Greece.
Once you arrive back in Greece you will have to report immediately to
Customs and Passport Control, and after that to the local Port Police station. Besides logical items like fire arms, also check for more surprising items like codeine medication which are illegal in Greece.
Important note: As mentioned before it is strongly adviced to use the
services of an agent to carry out the formalities. Besides ease of mind, bureaucracy in Greece and
Turkey (utterly mind blowing to visitors from north-west Europe) may require you to wait for a long time until you get your job done.
The costs of the transit log and Visa will not be included in the agent fees.
Thanks to the Kos marina staff!
Further reading:
Formalities & customs
Noonsite - Greece and Noonsite - Turkey
Guide to yacht charters
Sailing resources
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