I admit, this time I have a problem with how to put all the feelings after such a crazy trip into words. How to present these beautiful countries in the best possible way, because we had a really great time and because this trip exceeded all our expectations. No exaggeration. It was unique. Wonderful. Unrepeatable. 40 days. Around 11,000 kilometers. Countless priceless memories for just under 3,500 euros, including car repairs. From Slovenia via Croatia and Serbia to Bulgaria. From Bulgaria to Turkey, along the lesser-known Black Sea coast all the way to Georgia. Through Georgia and Armenia. And then through the beautiful Turkish Eastern Anatolia back to Istanbul and home. 12 border crossings. With our 23-year-old Land Rover Defender, converted into a camper. Even now I can hardly believe that we really managed to get so far east in a car, with a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old baby. In this post I write about our almost 6-week overland trip. Lots of wild camping, some campsites, guesthouses and hotels. Loads of nature. Good food. And lonely dusty roads. What would my mom say? Probably something like “you guys are nuts”. But with a smile on her face. Because I think it has been clear to everyone for a long time we don’t like to stay still for too long and we enjoy places not everyone goes to. So, I’m taking you to the Caucasus, are you coming with me?
Places: via Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria to Istanbul and Turkish Black Sea coast (Sile, Amasra, Erbaa, Anzer Yaylasi, Rize), to Georgian Batumi, Svaneti (Mestia, Ushguli, Mazeri), Tbilisi, Kazbegi (Stepantsminda, Truso, Juta), Kakheti wine region (Telavi, Signagi), Vashlovani park, to Armenia (Debed, Haghpat, lake Sevan, Azat reservoir, Garni gorge, Geghard, Yerevan, Gyumri) and back to Georgia (Akhaltsikhe), then on to Turkey (Erzurum, Erzincan, Amasya, Sakarya, Istanbul) and home to Slovenia via Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia.
How: with our Defender camper from Slovenia
Accommodation: wild camping, campsites, guesthouses, apartments, hotels
WE TRAVELED IN CAUCASUS WHEN MILA WAS 3 YEARS OLD AND LEO WAS 7 MONTHS OLD. READ MORE ABOUT THIS PART OF TURKEY WITH KIDS IN THIS POST.
FROM KRANJSKA GORA TOWARDS EAST | Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria
I don’t know if we could have started this trip more hectically than we did. One advantage of not being tied to vacation dates is definitely that you can leave whenever it suits you but the same thing also makes this a disadvantage. We should have left on that Tuesday, but we didn’t go until Thursday evening. Even then, we left in such a hurry, because we just wanted to finally go before something pops up again and we’d have to deal with it. Because there’s always something that needs to be done when you’re renovating a house, have a garden and such. So that Thursday noon I get a message from Charlie saying he is finished with everything. I start packing and we are finished with everything in 2 hours. Did we forget something? Sure. Will we survive without it? Sure. That was kind of our motto.
So we went. But we didn’t get very far. First, we had to stop at Decathlon in LJUBLJANA because we forgot Mila’s windstopper and a foldable blanket. And since we left in such a hurry, we were also hungry so we had a couple of (veggie) hotdogs at Ikea. Yum. Around eight in the evening, we parked somewhere in DOLENJSKA, in the SE of Slovenia. Thanks again Sandra for your hospitality. The trip got real the next day. We passed ZAGREB, BELGRADE and NIŠ and drove to BULGARIA in one go on more or less boring highways. Our aim was to reach ISTANBUL and then slow down our pace.
For anyone wondering HOW OUR KIDS SURVIVE THESE LONG DRIVES – we’re lucky, we don’t complicate, we’ve been driving a lot since their birth, and none of them ever get motion sickness. They sleep a little, look out the window a little, we play word games, there’s snacks. We avoid screen time while driving. Sometimes we promise something when we get to our destination, like ice cream for example.
In BULGARIA we found a great little FAMILY CAMP BLUE GATE, not far from the border with Serbia. We immediately decided to stay there for two nights. To rest for a day and recover from this hectic start. To organize things a little better in the car and read more about places we are going to visit in the next few weeks. At home we simply didn’t have time for anything. Meanwhile, Mila was in a real little paradise. Swimming pool, trampoline, dogs, cats, chickens, bicycles, outdoor play kitchen – this place was a jackpot. You can also buy homemade eggs and homemade beer here.
It’s not a spacious camper, it’s not a comfortable van, it’s just a car. But even if there are four of us and we’re traveling for weeks at a time, we have enough space and we don’t really lack anything. We sleep, cook, live in it and are almost completely self-sufficient. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN READING MORE ABOUT OUR LR DEFENDER, what kind of setup and equipment we have, here is a link with more info.
On the day of departure, we drove late after breakfast, passing the Bulgarian capital SOFIA, which we will definitely visit another time, almost to the border crossing with Turkey. This one is famous for its long queues, so we decided to stay one more night on the Bulgarian side, at the SAKARI HILLS CAMP. Nothing fancy here, but very convenient for one night, enough space, a warm shower and a friendly owner. It was hot, hot, hot and zero breeze, but we survived.
FROM BULGARIA TO TURKEY | Kapitan Andreewo / Kapikule border crossing
After about 1400 KILOMETERS from home, we arrived at the TURKISH BORDER. We spent around 400 EUR on diesel, tolls, 3 nights in campsites and other things. The first serious border crossing on this trip took us quite a while, but the officials were very friendly and, above all, totally impressed with our car. On the Turkish side, we then stopped a kilometer after the border at the first POST OFFICE (the post office is closed on Sundays), where we arranged the so-called HGS TAG, used for automatic payment of some HIGHWAYS and bridges in Turkey. At the same time, we exchanged some money and arranged internet data. During the trip, we then used eSIMs from provider SAILY and this option really made it easier for us to cross into new countries.
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eSIM SAILYTURKISH BLACK SEA COAST | from Istanbul to Georgia
HELLO TURKEY! The plan was to get to the coast as soon as possible. To jump into the salty waves. This summer we haven’t been at sea much. In the following days we discovered beaches, idyllic towns, tea plantations, hazelnut groves and the hilly landscape in the hinterland of the Turkish region along the Black Sea, which is considered the greenest region in the country. By the way, did you know that the name “Black Sea” most probably comes from the fact that the north was once associated with the color black (darkness) and the south with white (light)? But the Black Sea, at least in this coastal strip, is far from black, but a beautiful turquoise color.
We spent the first night on SILE SOFULAR beach, NE of Istanbul where we have been twice already and had no desire to visit it with our car this time. Splashing in the warm sea, walking on the soft sand and watching the spectacular sunset felt so good! And it wasn’t too hot, not at all. There was a nice breeze and we almost got cold at night. In fact, we only got really (too) hot three times on the whole trip, despite the fact that we left home in early August.
We quickly realized that TURKS LOVE CAMPING and enjoy FAMILY PICNICS. They bring their entire kitchens to the beaches and pine forests, spend hours making tea and preparing delicious grilled dishes. They often sleep at these picnic spots too. Either in tents or in the car. Some even come with caravans. WILD CAMPING IS ALLOWED IN TURKEY. Often we would share some food with the others, Mila played with the other kids even though they didn’t speak the same language and the overall TURKISH HOSPITALITY really got under our skin. After a day of driving east through numerous HAZELNUT PLANTATIONS, we spent the night at one of these popular picnic spots, called PIKNIK ALANI in Turkish, in the AKKAYA KOYU park.
In the charming COASTAL TOWN OF AMASRA, we treated ourselves to a more expensive fish lunch, a walk through the BAZAAR, playing on the CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND (by the way, playgrounds are great in Turkey and they are everywhere), goodies at the local bakery and a quick break on the city beach. But since it is a little harder to sleep in the car in cities, we drove another hour or so further, where we found a DREAM SPOT FOR WILD CAMPING in a pine forest, a few meters above the beautiful YARDIBI BEACH, with a sea of Caribbean-like shades of blue and green.
THIS COASTAL ROAD, which unfortunately does not run right next to the sea most of the time, felt really slow at times, so we spontaneously drove over the hills into the hinterland, where we hit the HIGHWAY for a few hundred kilometers. After a long drive past the town of AMASYA, we arrived in the town of ERBAA where we slept in a PARKING LOT IN A PUBLIC PARK. Not the most romantic spot, but for a change we had toilets, a children’s playground and picnic areas nearby. Unfortunately, this also meant noise until about midnight because the park was full of visitors and families coming here for picnics. All what was there after they all left was the BARKING OF STRAY DOGS and CALLS TO PRAYER from the nearby mosques. But we were already used to that.
That morning we didn’t realize that we were in for ONE OF THE MOST ADRENALINE DAYS ON THE ENTIRE TRIP. We rarely had a strictly planned route a day in advance. Usually, over our morning coffee, we would look at the map and make decisions based on the weather and our mood. That’s one of the charms of traveling with our Defender. We are truly free and USUALLY OUR ONLY PLAN IS THAT THERE IS NO PLAN.
We made good progress towards the east the day before so now we were ready to return to the coast. A little further from BAYBURT we visited a very interesting museum, the BAKSI MUSEUM, from there we had practically two options over the hills back to the sea. On the D050 road to the D925 road, or on the unmarked road. We chose the unmarked one, which took us over countless bends over a pass above 3000 m above sea level to the IDYLLIC VILLAGES ON THE ANZER YAYLASI PLATEAU.
Our hearts were full! This route was absolutely stunning. Also, behind the collage below is a really beautiful story. The day turned into evening and in SEARCH FOR A PLACE TO CAMP we came across the only HOTEL, where we politely asked if we could park on their lawn. Of course! We were immediately given a hot pot of tea, then we were offered dinner, and then the friendly owners insisted that we take one of their three hotel rooms because it was just too cold to sleep in the car with such small kids. They were very persuasive so we eventually gave in and took the generous offer. Still can’t believe it we were just given a hotel room with a hot shower and a warm comfy bed for free! We did pay for dinner and the most delicious breakfast the next day and left a tip. What a lovely warm family.
The next day we arrived back at the coast. Straight to the beautiful town of RIZE, the capital of tea. We visited the TEA BAZAAR and drove through a very interesting landscape dotted with TEA PLANTATIONS. It was so exotic we felt like we were somewhere in Sri Lanka. The roads were extremely narrow and winding though, and the drive was not too pleasant, as we had to give way to other vehicles the whole time, but those views were definitely worth the effort. We spent the last night in the town of UCKARDES, just before the Georgian border. We had lunch at the Akasya restaurant on the coast and then, with permission, SLEPT IN THEIR PARKING LOT. In the afternoon we still had enough time to jump into the sea and relax on the beach until sunset. Such a great end to the first part of the journey!
SHORT RECAP OF TURKISH BLACK SEA COAST:
We traveled around 2000 KILOMETERS, which took us 7 DAYS. We spent about 500 EUR. We felt extremely WELCOME, and from a SAFETY perspective we also had no problems. Turks are crazy about children and we are already secretly planning a new trip to other parts of the country, because we really think Turkey is a GREAT DESTINATION FOR (FAMILY) WILD CAMPING HOLIDAYS. We were most impressed by the Anzer Yaylasi plateau, the town of Amasra and the turquoise blue sea in some bays. We also always enjoy TURKISH CUISINE. Although we expected it and it did not shock us, I still have to mention one WEAKNESS OF TURKEY, which is GARBAGE. Unfortunately, there is a lot of it, even on the beaches. Of course, we did not see all the sights that we could visit here, but our destination was Georgia, where we also planned to spend the most time. Still, I think we experienced this part of Turkey quite well.
There is a longer POST ABOUT OUR TIME ON THE TURKISH BLACK SEA COAST with more information, descriptions and pictures already published. Read it here:
FROM TURKEY TO GEORGIA | Sarpi border crossing
On the eleventh day of our trip, we finally arrived in Georgia! We made it. It’s not that far, in terms of kilometers. We’ve already gone much further. But still. Not everyone comes to Georgia with their own car. And especially not with a three-year-old and a baby. THE BORDER CROSSING was surprisingly HUGE, it reminded me more of an airport terminal than a land border. For the first time since we’ve been traveling by car, I had to get out of the vehicle with Mila and Leo and CROSS THE BORDER ON FOOT. This is common practice in these countries, only the driver can stay in the vehicle. The process took us a good hour, and on the Georgian side it was quite chaotic outside, so I really recommend an eSIM to make it easier to find and communicate with each other. The officials were super friendly on both sides, everyone wanted to take a picture with our blue-eyed baby charmer again, and the other passengers kindly let us move forward in line – you can really feel this special affection for families with small children, when everyone wants to help and no one rolls their eyes. We also arranged GEORGIAN CAR INSURANCE, exchanged some Turkish lira for GEORGIAN LARIS, and then we were off to BATUMI.
GEORGIA | Batumi, Mestia, Ushguli, Mazeri, Martvili, Kutaisi, Tbilisi, Gudauri, Stepantsminda, Juta, Truso, Kakheti region and Vashlovani park
BATUMI, the largest GEORGIAN BLACK SEA RESORT, is located only about 20 kilometers from the border. We spent 2 DAYS in the city and although we heard quite conflicting impressions, we ended up liking it. Otherwise, now that I look back, Batumi is probably the least Georgian of all the places we visited in Georgia, but still. We were excited to treat ourselves to new food, we had to get used to the new currency, the new language, different faces, a slightly wilder way of driving and a few more potholes and cows on the road.
Our next destination was SVANETI region. We actually came for these views. Mighty mountains. Green valleys. Morning dew. Wild horses. Peace and quiet. That authentic nature. We stayed in MESTIA for 5 DAYS. One day we explored the nearby surroundings and the slopes of the HATSVALI ski resort, one day we managed to hike to the CHALAADI GLACIER, one day we drove to the remote village of USHGULI, and one day to the MAZERI VALLEY.
Svaneti impressed us and we will be happy to come back again when the kids are a little older and we can go on LONGER TREKKINGS, for which unfortunately there were no conditions this time. We also had two unexpected Slovenian encounters in Mestia. We met Ana, who is a trekking guide and lives here, for a coffee and we camped together for one night with Nika and Matic, who were wandering around Georgia with a rented car and tent. It was really nice, thanks for the company! We continued our journey towards the city of KUTAISI and stopped at the MARTVILI CANYON along the way. The collage below shows a few more shots from the beautiful Ushguli.
We are more for nature than cities, but the GEORGIAN CAPITAL TBILISI left us speechless. What a beautiful city. What an interesting mix of modern, Soviet and Art Nouveau architecture! The city seems to live and breathe in a very special beat, especially in the old part, where we find a bunch of lively bars and restaurants. We slept twice in a cozy apartment in a very special house, EVA’S PAVAROTI. So Tbilisi was definitely one of the biggest surprises on this trip and we would be happy to come back again.
There is a longer POST ABOUT OUR TIME IN TBILISI with more information, descriptions and pictures already published. Read it here:
In Tbilisi, we enjoyed CULINARY GOODIES from great restaurants, ice cream, wine and generally the hustle and bustle of the city, but after two days it was time to move back into nature. The mighty mountains of the KAZBEGI area awaited us, right on the border with Russia. It was perhaps a little more touristy here, because it is only a three-hour drive from the capital, but we still easily found secluded areas in untouched nature off the main roads. Only the weather was a little bit of a problem. On the way, we stopped at the ANANURI MONASTERY & ZHINVALI REZERVOIR and later at the GEORGIAN-RUSSIAN FRIENDSHIP MONUMENT and the LARGEST GEORGIAN SKI RESORT GUDAURI.
We spent the night in the last major town before the border, STEPANTSMINDA, where we rented a basic but comfortable room in one of the affordable guesthouses, because it was raining and we didn’t feel like camping. The best feature of this room was the amazing balcony with a view on MOUNT KAZBEG. The next day we first drove to the nearby famous GERGETI TRINITY CHURCH, which is one of the more recognizable symbols of Georgia.
We continued to the interesting sculptures in the village of SNO and to the beautiful JUTA VALLEY, where we unfortunately encountered a complete road closure due to a landslide just before the last village. We therefore spent the night in the beautiful neighboring TRUSO VALLEY, where we were caught in a terrible storm at night, due to which we had to cancel some hikes in the area the next day. But you can’t do anything against nature. These places remain one of our favorite on the entire route, it was absolutely stunning.
In the morning we headed towards the KAKHETI WINE REGION, which was a bit reminiscent of the Italian Tuscany. By the way, Georgians are proud of their 6000-YEAR TRADITION OF WINE PRODUCTION. Our first stop was the largest town around here called TELAVI, and then we had a WINE TASTING at the very pleasant family-run IBERO WINERY a little further to the east. We had a wonderful time here, the kiddies were also entertained, and we were even able to CAMP IN THEIR YARD. Of course, we also bought a few bottles to take home.
The next day we visited SIGHNAGHI, also called “THE CITY OF LOVE”, which blew us away with its AMAZING ARCHITECTURE and BEAUTIFUL VIEWS. It was another warm sunny day and it wasn’t hard to enjoy good food and drinks in those lovely restaurants and bars. Here we also bought a bunch of goodies at a really nice covered MARKET – from SPICES (ajika and Svaneti salt are our favorites) to the extremely delicious SUNFLOWER OIL made from roasted seeds. For years we have been buying mostly things we can actually use instead of those usual dust collecting souvenirs. Made a longer stop at a local playground too and then spent the night in the PARKING LOT OF THE LOST RIDGE INN a little outside the city, where we also had a delicious late lunch.
We ended our Georgian adventure with an adventurous visit to VASHLOVANI PARK right on the border with AZERBAIJAN, which strongly reminded us of Africa with its steppe semi-desert landscape. In addition to impressive CANYONS, CLIFFS and (DRY) RIVER BEDS, we can also spot a whole range of WILD ANIMALS (gazelles, poisonous snakes, birds, lynxes, jackals, wolves and even bears and leopards). To enter the park, a 4×4 VEHICLE is officially required, and before visiting, you must report to the VISITOR CENTER in the last major town, DEDOPLIS TSKARO. Here you pay a small entrance fee, they register you in the system and introduce you to the park. If you want to go to the most remote part of the park along the state border, you need an ADDITIONAL PERMIT, which can be obtained at the local police station. On the way, we also visited the ABANDONED SHIRAKI MILITARY AIRFIELD, and spent the night again in SIGNAGI, where we treated ourselves to a HOTEL WITH A SWIMMING POOL after this tiring long day.
Unfortunately, we had a close encounter with a protruding broken tree branch in the park, which resulted in OUR REAR WINDSHIELD BEING BROKEN. Shattered into thousands of pieces, but it remained in the frame. So on the way to the ARMENIAN BORDER, we made a technical stop in TBILISI, where we searched in vain for a new windshield, but found some self-adhesive insulating foam and more tape with which we fixated he broken glass. Fortunately, it held together until we got home! Since we were already too late to cross the border, we slept in MARNEULI, in the parking lot of the Azerbaijani RESTAURANT ZEJEBE where we had dinner.
SHORT RECAP OF GEORGIA:
We travelled in Georgia for 16 DAYS, drove around 2000 KILOMETERS and spent close to 1000 EUR. The nature in the mountainous regions of Svaneti and Kazbegi impressed us the most, also because we found a whole bunch of IDYLLIC PLACES FOR WILD CAMPING, which is ALLOWED here in Georgia as well. We often found locations for overnight stays on the P4N APP. Tbilisi is gorgeous. All CULINARY and WINE ENTHUSIASTS must visit Kakheti, and those who love lesser-known and remote locations should visit Vashlovani. Just like Turkey, I absolutely RECOMMEND Georgia FOR TRAVELING WITH CHILDREN. We felt SAFE everywhere. You can of course also fly there (check the low-cost airline connections to Kutaisi, for example), you can also shorten the car journey by FERRY TO BATUMI FROM BULGARIA. Georgians may be a little more reserved than Turks, but no less hospitable. We had a great experience. We were surprised by the CLEANLINESS. The destination is also AFFORDABLE. Just check the current POLITICAL SITUATION before you go. We didn’t feel any tension, even though, politically speaking, most of the countries we visited don’t like each other. A little more anti-Russian or pro-Ukrainian political atmosphere was felt in Svaneti. Of course, we didn’t get to see and do “everything” in Georgia. But you have to leave something for next time, right?
There is a longer POST ABOUT OUR TIME IN GEORGIA with more information, descriptions and pictures already published. Read it here:
FROM GEORGIA TO ARMENIA | Sadakhlo / Bagratashen border crossing
From our last overnight stay in Georgia, we were only about 30km away from the Sadakhlo border crossing, so we arrived there really early in the morning and apparently avoided the crowds. This time it all went pretty quickly, I had to CROSS THE BORDER AGAIN AS A PEDESTRIAN PASSENGER with the kids, while Charlie drove the car across. On the Armenian side, we also had to arrange ARMENIAN CAR INSURANCE and do a TEMPORARY CAR IMPORT as well. It is especially important to keep this second paper, because it has to be shown when leaving the country. We exchanged some money at the border, and then continued on.
ARMENIA | Debed canyon, Haghpat, lake Sevan, Azat reservoir, Garni gorge, Geghard and Yerevan
The landscape changed completely very quickly. We drove along the beautiful DEBED CANYON and made our first stop at the HAGHPAT MONASTERY. Since we were still relatively early, we practically had it all to ourselves. For today’s overnight stay, we chose the shore of the huge LAKE SEVAN, which at times resembles more of a sea than a lake. But unfortunately, this north-eastern part of the lake somehow did not convince us. Everything is abandoned, unkempt, a lot of garbage. In addition, it was terribly windy that day and since it was not very late yet, we decided to keep on driving.
I had marked CAMP 3GS on the map. It is located not far from the capital Yerevan, close to different attractions that we wanted to visit in the following days and we were excited to stay in a real campsite after a really long time. Swimming pool, outdoor shared kitchens and common areas, extremely clean toilets, sun loungers, hammocks, domestic animals, a washing machine and so many other things were available here. First we rested and did absolutely nothing, but we made a plan for the rest of our trip. It was great. Doing nothing. Normally we can’t stay like this for long, but here we felt like we all needed this break.
The next day we drove to the unique landscape around the AZAT REZERVOIR. Beautiful, this part completely impressed us, it felt like we were driving on another planet. If we weren’t returning to the camp that afternoon, we would have happily spent the night here, the morning light must be amazing. We also visited the GARNI TEMPLE and the GARNI GORGE. The temple is interesting, but we are always more impressed by natural beauty, so we enjoyed our time in the nearby gorge even more. However, we met a really large number of tourists at both points, which surprised us a bit.
After three nights at the camp, we planned to visit the nearby GEGHARD MONASTERY, continue to YEREVAN, visit the ARMENIAN ALPHABET MONUMENT and wild camp at LAKE KARI. We intentionally skipped the southern part of Armenia this time, as we wanted to spend our upcoming anniversary in Turkish CAPPADOCIA and didn’t have time for everything.
Unfortunately, this plan ended up completely differently. Somewhere in Yerevan we noticed a weir sound coming from our Defender and after some thought RETURNED TO THE CAMP, where we stayed for another 5 DAYS, trying to REPAIRED THE CAR. Mostly, we were trying to figure out where exactly was the problem and ruled out the most terrible scenarios. Our car was driving, but we didn’t like this sound at all and we had a long way to get home. In the meantime, we had a really interesting SLOVENIAN MEETING, we enjoyed the pool, had more delicious food and cold drinks, went to the hairdresser and started feeling completely at home in this neighborhood. And you know what? We didn’t argue even once, which I’m a little proud of. I wrote more about this whole story in the post about Armenia (link below).
We slowly had to decide how to proceed and after carefully considering all the options we decided to head towards ISTANBUL, where we had a contact from a good mechanic for Defenders, by the shortest route and hoping for the best. That meant Cappadocia was out though. But that will be for another time! So 1700km and two border crossings, here we come!
A SHORT RECAP OF ARMENIA:
We travelled in Armenia for 8 DAYS, drove around 700 KILOMETERS and spent about 350 EUR. Although we ended up having a slightly different experience than we initially imagined, and didn’t manage to visit all the sights, we left the country with full hearts, convinced that we would return someday. Maybe very soon. We felt WELCOME and SAFE in Armenia, the destination is a little more exotic, VERY AFFORDABLE, the cuisine is delicious, the history is interesting. Here too, similar to Georgia, there were no piles of garbage like in Turkey, for example. The main roads are also quite good. The only thing we were missing a bit were the trekking opportunities offered by neighboring Georgia. Nevertheless, I recommend Armenia for a visit to anyone who wants something different. Even for FAMILY TRAVEL! Yerevan is connected to the west by low-cost airlines, so you can fly there and RENT A CAR too. It is currently (winter 2025) possible to enter the country by car only from Georgia or Iran, as the land borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed.
There is a longer POST ABOUT OUR TIME IN ARMENIA with more information, descriptions and pictures already published. Read it here:
FROM ARMENIA TO GEORGIA | Bavra /Ninotsminda border crossing
Since ARMENIA HAS CLOSED LAND BORDERS WITH TURKEY, we had to go to Georgia first. It was about 200km from the camp to the border and despite the problems with the car, we made it. Accompanied by beautiful scenery we were so sorry that we couldn’t stop somewhere else on the way. Everything went smoothly and quickly at the border though. We still had valid GEORGIAN CAR INSURANCE, we also had some data on our eSIM and a few lari in our wallet so once they checked our passports we were good to go. Following the already known procedure, me and the kids CROSSED THE BORDER ON FOOT.
There were still a few kilometers to the Turkish border, and we didn’t know how long it would take, so we decided to spend another night in Georgia. We found a great place at the NICK & GEORGE FAMILY CAMP, in ATSQURI, where Maya spoiled us with an insanely delicious HOMEMADE GEORGIAN FOOD dinner. What a nice farewell to this beautiful country! We spent 60 EUR and drove 200 KILOMETERS from the Armenian border.
FROM GEORGIA TO TURKEY | Turkgozu border crossing
A little over an hour’s drive and we were at the border crossing with Turkey. At that moment, it felt like promised land for us. We had reliable contacts who would help us if anything went wrong with the car, anywhere in Turkey. So we were a little relieved that we made it this far. There was a bit of confusion at the border crossing, because the night-morning shift was just changing, so I had to go through the control twice with the kids, of course, AS A FOOT PASSENGER again. Then the road took us up in the hills and soon after the border crossing were surprised by truly breathtaking landscapes. What a wonderful world, we didn’t expect it at all.
EASTERN AND CENTRAL ANATOLIA | long way from Georgia to Istanbul
Despite the unique landscape, we sped as fast as you can go with a slightly defective Defender. First on winding mountain roads, then on an excellent highway. Since our current focus was only on getting to the mechanic in ISTANBUL as soon as possible, we didn’t read much about the places in this part of TURKEY in advance and were really positively surprised by what we saw. We would love to come here again. We spent the night in a nice smaller town called UZUMLU, near the city of ERZINCAN, this time in a cozy affordable hotel room. After seven hours in the car, we didn’t have the energy to look for a place to camp for the night. It’s hard to find anything near the highway anyway.
YOU KNOW WHAT WE DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT GEORGIA, AND ARMENIA AS WELL? That they get up really late. Breakfast only at 9. Check out only from 10. And similar. When you have small kids who wake up at 6 in the morning, it’s really impractical. It seems to me that by 10 am half of the day is already gone. Sometimes we’ve been driving for 3 hours by then. That’s also why we like wild camping, because you’re really independent of different office hours. Well, here in Turkey they’re more morning people. The receptionist laughed at my excitement when he mentioned that breakfast is from six.
It was still a long way to get to ISTANBUL, 1500 KILOMETERS from the Georgian border. As usual, we had a rule not to drive at night and not to look for a place to spend the night after sunset. Today we totally broke this rule. We drove a total of 12 HOURS, with only a stop for lunch. Soup, kebab, kunefe and tea. Yummy. We spent the night BY LAKE POYRAZLAR GOL, a little over 2 hours drive east of Istanbul. This location is nice, but we got a good number of mosquito bites as a souvenir.
ISTANBUL AND AROUND | unexpected 3rd visit and hanging out with local overland community
We, who said visiting ISTANBUL didn’t seem like a good idea this time, drove there early the next morning. Our destination – ALTIN GARAGE. We hadn’t driven through such a huge city in a long time. But contrary to expectations, the traffic wasn’t so chaotic at all. Or were we just so used to it now? It was probably a first for Altin garage to host a foreign license plate car, a baby and a toddler. We were immediately given cookies and tea, and I was able to wait in the boss’s office with the kids and play table soccer with Mila while the car was inspected.
Meanwhile, Charile and the chief mechanic went for a spin with the car and after a few hundred meters we finally got the diagnosis. EXHAUST MANIFOLD. Not such a scary scenario at all. And it can be fixed by Saturday. Today was Thursday. Great! I open the booking app and look for a HOTEL. I find one near the Topkapi Palace, which has good reviews, and the price for two nights is nicely discounted thanks to my Genious status. Booked. We get in a taxi. And we look forward to this unexpected stop in a city that we already know a little, since this is our third time here.
The sun was shining, it was still summer, the hotel we booked was nice, our car was going to be repaired, countless kilometers and a unique overland experience were behind us – somehow those two days in Istanbul made us FEEL LIKE WINNERS and because everything had turned out so well, we felt like CELEBRATING THIS WONDERFUL JOURNEY that was now slowly coming to an end.
PRICES IN ISTANBUL are indeed higher than they were a few years ago, and above all, they are higher than elsewhere in Turkey, at least in this touristy old part of the city. Since we already knew most (all?) of the sights around here from previous visits, we decided to be some sort of CULINARY TOURISTS this time. So after a lovely lunch for 75eur, we went to the famous HAFIZ MUSTAFA cafe and stuffed ourselves with BAKLAVA (with ice cream). We were barely breathing, so we had to stimulate our digestion with a longer walk. So before falling into comfy beds, we went over the GALATA BRIDGE and wandered around the surrounding BAZAARS.
After a hearty and delicious BREAKFAST we headed out. First to the park at TOPKAPI PALACE, then past HAGIA SOFIA and to the GRAND BAZAR. For lunch we had a tasting menu for two at the ZIYAFET RESTAURANT and it was amazing. Then the obligatory BAKLAVA, coffee and pomegranate juice, this time at the OSMANNLIZADELER restaurant. In the evening we went hunting for useful souvenirs again. A new coffee pot, copper dishes and some wooden utensils. We found everything in a certain area of the Grand Bazaar where you can buy gastronomic equipment. It’s really worth it if you’re looking for something for the kitchen.
We have been to Istanbul for the first time in 2019 and there is a long post about 25 TOP ATTRACTIONS AND EXPERIENCES IN ISTANBUL already published on the blog. In 2023 we had a day stopover in Istanbul with Mila on our way home from Doha and we took the free TOURISTANBUL tour offered by Turkish Airlines. Read more about this experience in the post linked below too.
OUR TIME IN ISTANBUL WAS COMING TO AN END, on Saturday morning we picked up our Defender and drove out of the city. Although we initially wanted to cross the border to Bulgaria that same day, as we were supposed to be home that Sunday, we ended up ACCEPTING A KIND INVITATION from our new friends Emir (EXPEDITION ANATOLIA) and Emre (OVERLAND ANATOLIA), who helped us with contacts for car repairs. We spent a great afternoon together on the BLACK SEA BEACHES north of Istanbul, IN A CAMPSITE, where several members of their organizations have trailers. In the evening, a whole bunch of us gathered and we prepared a BARBECUE together, followed by a HUGE BAKLAVA TRAY, which was delivered to the camp from a nearby cafe. I could hardly imagine a better end to our trip to Turkey!
SHORT RECAP OF TURKEY:
This time we travelled in Turkey for 5 DAYS, drove just under 2000 KILOMETERS and spent around 700 EUR. This also includes CAR REPAIR, HOTEL IN ISTANBUL, several expensive lunches or dinners and everything we bought to take home as souvenirs. Once again, the fact TURKEY is an EXTREMELY HOSPITALOUS COUNTRY was confirmed and we really can’t wait to return, possibly very soon. We are also extremely grateful for NEW FRIENDSHIPS and the moments that came with them. There is nothing better than hanging out with locals in their own country. Thank you Turkey, you were amazing!
FROM TURKEY TO BULGARIA | Kapikule / Kapitan Andreewo border crossing
We still had about 300 kilometers to go to the border so we left really early, because we knew that we were in for a “BIG BORDER”. For the first time, they really THOROUGHLY SEARCHED us and WE HAD TO PUT EVERYTHING OUT OF THE CAR onto one of the tables designated for that purpose. Since we are entering the EU, they are of course extra strict, but at the same time they were also extra friendly and we had a really nice chat with the officers. The only thing they were not interested in was our refrigerator. Of course, they didn’t find anything suspicious and we were through all the checkpoints in a a little over one hour.
Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia | long way back home to Kranjska Gora
We drove 600 KILOMETERS that day, except for the border, we didn’t stop until we reached the BLUE GATE CAMP near the Serbian border. If you remember from the beginning of this post, we were already there. It rained like crazy all day so all that we did was cook a large pot of hot pasta and went to bed.
The next day we DROVE HOME IN ONE GO. Just under 1000 KILOMETERS. It was long, but the weather was terrible, rainy and cold, and we were already late getting home anyway so we didn’t feel like stopping much. In LJUBLJANA we surprised my dad with a quick visit, and then drove for another hour to our home in KRANJSKA GORA. Around 10pm we parked in our home yard and used the last atoms of our strength to transport some things to the apartment. The last load were our two little sleeping dumplings, which were successfully transferred to the beds without waking up. The WAY HOME that day costed us around 200 EUR for diesel, tolls and everything else.
So, what do you say, “one hell of an adventure” or “omg, this is not for me”? We had such an amazing trip and can’t wait to go somewhere again. We started on August 8th and got home on September 16th. The next day, I had a meeting at the kindergarten, the works on our house facade were in full swing, and we gave Mila another day off to get used to her home environment before she returned to kindergarten. The autumn atmosphere came early this year and it took a while getting used to the colder weather but we were slowly back to our normal everyday life. This time it actually wasn’t too hard. Because we really feel at home here which is super nice!
