Border Crossings

Although many of the border crossing are not manned due to the EU there are still plenty that need to be crossed if travelling out of the EU areas. I can remember the border crossings when I was travelling in Europe in the mid 70’s, once I was travelling on a train with my cousin from Holland to Germany. At the border the train stopped and armed police entered the train and checked all the passports of the travellers. Seeing police with machine guns was a bit unsettling as we were only 17 at the time. Border crossings are mostly a nuisance now but you need the right documents and a bit of patience.

The right paperwork

All border crossings ask for your passport, some want to see your insurance papers [green card] as well and there are those who want to see your car papers. If you are driving a friend’s vehicle or a hire car they may also want to see a document which allows you to drive the vehicle. We own our motorhome but my cousin in Holland puts the registration [road tax] and the insurance in his name. The authorities believe the vehicle is his understandably. We have to get written permission to drive the car, he has copied a form which the ANWB [the dutch motorclub] use. The paperwork must be the originals as we have heard of people being stopped at the border and not let through as the papers they had were photocopies and not the original documents. A good site to look at is The Automobile Association. as they have some great info on driving in Europe.

Below are a few border crossings which have been interesting!!!

Serbia to Romania

We were at the border crossing when a lady officer asked to look inside the motorhome. As we had nothing to hide we opened the door and showed her in. In our motorhome we have pictures of where we have been a well as family photos. When she came out she said nice grandchildren and wished us well on our journey.

Morocco

Getting into Morocco we had already filled out our paperwork but even then there were people there who looked like officials but were only there to help people and get a fee for doing so. As we were with a group we told them that the organizers would fix them up, and that they were following us. They were of course and did give them 20€ for their help. Getting out of Morocco was also interesting as they asked us to park on the side and a man came with a stick and tapped around the outside of the motorhome. Still not sure why.

Turkey going in

We had a bit of an idea of what to expect at the border crossing even then it was a bit confusing. To get into Turkey you need a visa which you get at the border. But where at the border do you get it??  We drove through the passport check and the man asked for our visa we told him we didn’t have one yet and asked where do we go. He pointed to a small unmarked box, we then had to turn around park and buy a visa. There was no one in the box when we went there but a few minutes later a man appeared coming off a break, he sold one to Clyde and Anna for 10 English pounds. We had expected a fee of 15€ each but when he saw on our passports that we were Australians he took out another book and we were charges 45€ each. Ouch!  Well we weren’t turning back so we paid our money, returned to the motorhome and went to the passport office again. Then we had to get a customs check, we saw car getting searched so we thought that we would get the same treatment. But no, after tracking down the customs man and getting a stamp we drove on through into Turkey.

Turkey Getting out

Getting out of Turkey we thought would be easier. How wrong we were. After getting through the passport check we were told to park and wait, then a man come out of the booth with our travel documents and started walking towards a car. I asked the man in the booth what was going on and he spoke to me in Turkish and then when I repeated the question he started yelling at me and indicating that I should follow the car. The car led us to a building where we parked. I asked the man with our document what was going on, he said it was a random x-ray of the vehicle. I would have appreciated that information earlier. Before us was a motorbike and a car. After they were x-rayed it was our turn to drive into the shed up a ramp and leave the motorhome to be x-rayed. After that they told us to park up again and they searched inside. When this was over we were told we could leave and indicated to drive down to an exit. We did so only to find it blocked by a boom gate with someone telling us we couldn’t go that way. After backing out we asked again and were told the same thing. We asked a lady who was there and she told us we had to go to the back of the line up again and go through the crossing again. This we did and we were passed through as the people had already seen that we had been there before. After over an hour and a half I was getting a bit pissed off but glad to see the other side. Getting into Bulgaria was a simple affair and we were glad to be on the move again.

Romania to Hungary

We thought this would be an easy crossing but as we went through the officer told us to pull over and wait. I did so and stood outside the motorhome for 30 minutes as our passport was checked by various people. In that time we saw cars steaming through without a hitch.  With no explanation, we were given back our passports and told we could go on.

Hungary to Croatia

This was our first border crossing on our trip in 2009. We didn’t know what to expect so when we got to the border we were asked if we had anything to declare. Not knowing what they expected, we asked what they meant, they said tobacco, alcohol and steak. Steak we thought we had heard wrong, then he gestured cutting up meat and eating it. (I knew we should had declared the cow we had in the motorhome!!!) haha. Of course we said no but they still came into the motorhome and gave it a small search. Paying attention to the frdge and freezer. Then on to the Croatian side. As we drove up they said Aussies, kangaroos!! They were in a good mood and asked the same questions but added “any weed?” and gestures to have a smoke. Of course we said no and they wished us well and into Croatia we went.

 Albania to Montenegro

The border crossing went smoothly but marred by the fact that we had to wait in line, watching as a group of Gypsies were begging as we did. I ignored them but was a bit pissed off when one of the children kept banging on the side of the door to get my attention. He finally gave up after realizing I was not going to give in to his persistence.

Do not be put off by the border crossing stories, we have been through loads without a problem and even the inconvenience we had to endure was only a minor hiccup in the scheme of things.