Turkey most expensive in Europe

[krissteyn]

Not sure what a blue card is ? Got my transit log - was never anywhere long enuff to worry about a full holding tank - normall off-shore empty process for that.
Interesting - the agent charges 150 TL for a transit log and a total of 130eu to do it for you - and when leaving agent cost was 150 tl
You can do it all yourself - but the officials dont make it easy ....
Funniest thing is it includes a medical certificate saying you , your crew and the boat are OK - but they never see you ??? Hopefully the agent has not got a cough !

[Barra]

Hahaha we can both laugh now thinking of the response you would have gotten from the coastguard when they came alongside and asked for your blue card...

"whats a blue card?"

love it!

We never got asked to present ours either as it turned out but enough fellow cruisers were Sh@$%ing themselves over the 3000 euro plus fines to make us get one and to get the odd pump out registered as underway pump outs don't usually cut the mustard. ie unless you have the card and it shows a regular use of pump outs they will fine you and fine you big.

I even know of one boat that got a card and got a registered pump out even though they didnt even have a holding tank!

Thats the only reason to visit a marina in turkey IMHO.

Yeah on the agent thing when we left from Turgetries I tried not using an agent to clear out only to have the port police refuse to deal with me until i contacted his mate the agent (who was in the next office no less).

[su2014]

more expensive than "pier 66 " in fort lauderdale was my result. sooo think about it it my advice.fairwinds and godspeed.

[krissteyn]

Am getting rumours of checking in with Turkey being much cheaper if you insist on not using the agent - also heard some ports cheaper - can we have some feedbaxck on what transit log costs and agents fees are/were ?
I paid 50 eu for the transit log in Cesme and was quoted same in Fetiye

was wondering if we could get the transit log from a non-marina source ?

Kris

[yeloya]

I just want to make clear this never ending story; do you have to use an agent for checking in Turkey?
There is no law stating that you have to, nonetheless in practice it's impossible that you can do it. I'll explain why..
When you go to any entry port in Turkey with yr boat, the first question you will be asked after yr passports is yr Turkish transitlog. Obviously, you don't have it.This is given by the chamber of maritime commerce which is in the city somewhere. The passport police won't let you in to get in the country to go and get it. Even if you get it, this should be filled in on the intranet of the ministry and you will need to log in using a login name and password. Only authorised agents have the login and password. (they have to pass an examen to qualify for and if they make any mistake their licence is cancelled..)
So when you say you don't have the transitlog, the police will point you an agent and you will have to use him. Of course, you have the right to choose yr agent and ask him to do all documents in advance, then it takes 10 minutes.
On the buttom of the transit log there 4 approvals; first one is regardding the health. The agent claims on yr behalf that there is no sign of health issues on board, they sign and stamp it. On a random basis, they might come and check but they usually don't. The last approval is from the port authority which is again somewhere in the city. Remembering that you haven't got yet an entry on yr passport and assuming that you got 3 previous approval, if you go to the port office for the last one and when they will see yr passport without an entry stamp, you will have entered the country illegally and you will run into trouble.
In short, you will need an agent to do the check in.
The cost of a transitlog to the agent is in the range of 220 TL , app, 80 €. They will charge you anything from 150 € to 250 €, sometimes more for megayachts. If you could have done it yrself, you have to ad to that min. 100 TL taxi (in most of the places these are not walking distances) and you will have lost the entire day.
In Greece the real cost is around 70 € and the agents charge 150 to 200 € and as I usually go there for couple of days I don't want to spend half day or more for that and I use agents.

I am not defending this system at all ; I have visited with my boat more than 30 countries and I have never used an agent anywhere with the exception of Greece.

Barra, you said that coast guard is charging "3.000 € plus" for not having a blue card. Can you tell me when and where ? I've talked to the general commender of Turkish coast guard and he simply said "impossible". If you can find any testimony or proof, pls send it to me, I will show to him. If not, pls stop horrifying people.

Blue card cost nothing, this scheme has still a lot of margin of improvement and it's improving but will take more time to get to the point. Who would like to swim around the s..t of the next boat in a secluded bay ???

Cheers

Yeloya

[Palarran]

I used Yeloya's agent in Marmaris and Rhodes this year and have to say they where worth every penny. Especially the Greek agent. All we did in Greece was hand them the boat doc's and passports and two hours later we had all our clearances and transit log done. In Marmaris we had to go to a customs quay and follow the agent around to all the stations but it still saved us hours of time when we where tired and in need of a beer.

I'd have paid 300 euro to get my first transit log in Corfu because of the immense hassle and happily do it for free in Messolonghi. It really depends on the port, IMO, and if that last 30 euro is going to break the bank.

[Barra]

Yeloya I didn't say the cc was charging 3000 euro for no blue card but that that was what other cruisers were saying might happen. Ie My point was that there's a lot of fear over what the penalty is but other than locals saying things like " its very expensive don't get caught without a used blue card" and the like who actually knows what the penalty is?

You also hear about the German boat that was fined 100,000 euro or something for alleged pollution etc so all in all people seemed pretty worried about what might happen but actual factual information was seemingly lacking at least amongst fellow cruisers both long term in turkey and transient.

Maybe you can clear it up for us? What is the penalty for no blue card or having one but not having used it "enough" or for that matter what is "enough"?

Thanks 😀



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[Palarran]

Barra, The problem with passing on "what other people are saying" is that some still take it as fact, but of course you know this.

I was really worried about the blue card system and needlessly so as it turned out. We had no problem finding pump out facilities and it wasn't expensive. My biggest concern had been about gray water but they are not enforcing that right now. I agree with the comment about swimming in someone's poo - not my idea of paradise. If someone has a blue card and it's not used, well, I hope the fine is enough that they leave.

[Sulaire]

Further to all the above, does anyone have any info on the new requirements of health insurance in order to get a residents permit?

We will be staying in Turkey for approx 7-8 months, the first 3 will be on e visa, the rest will require a permit, but now I believe they require health insurance. We do not have that, nor do we intend to get it.

We are uk citizens under 50 years old , any loop holes out there or any experiences?

Thanks in advance


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[EllesBelles]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Skipmac, You're overstating the costs. I just looked at Rockland, ME slips. They were $2.25/ft. or $30/day for a mooring. The area you are picking, New England, most boats (and visitors/transients) use moorings. We stayed on a mooring last summer in down town Boston for $45 a night. Great deal. Stayed near NYC on Long Island on a mooring for free.

I agree about the variability. We stayed at North Cove Marina (one night only due to cost) at the base of Manhattan in NYC and it was $6 a foot for boats under 74 feet. Liberty across the Hudson in NJ, needing a water taxi to get into Manhattan, was $5.50 a foot.

In Port Washington, NY (north shore of Long Island, Manhasset Bay, east of Great Neck, west of Glen Cove), you can stay for up to 48 hours for free on a town ball, and then you'll find lots of marinas in the $2/foot range.

[Barra]

Originally Posted by Palarran

Barra, The problem with passing on "what other people are saying" is that some still take it as fact, but of course you know this.

I was really worried about the blue card system and needlessly so as it turned out. We had no problem finding pump out facilities and it wasn't expensive. My biggest concern had been about gray water but they are not enforcing that right now. I agree with the comment about swimming in someone's poo - not my idea of paradise. If someone has a blue card and it's not used, well, I hope the fine is enough that they leave.

I agree with the swimming in poo point as well mate but where maybe i differ is that i think pump out underway is a sufficient solution to this whereas the officials require pump out onto land with the blue card system. So based on all the fearful rumours flying around of huge fines we pumped out onto land to get our card stamped electronically.

We spent our time between Bozburun and Turgutries and the only pump out facilities we came across were in the marinas which is what prompted this thread in the first place ie that for us at least these marinas were the most expensive ones we had come across yet in the med. The only reason we would visit would be to pump out as we much preferred the vibe of the smaller town and restaurant quays just as in Greece.

We will be back next year as we absolutely loved what we saw so far and it would be great to get some pointers on where to get "official" pump outs etc away from marinas. Also so my wife stops stressing about whether we used the blue card "enough" I would love some facts on what the penalties actually are and how often it needs to be used in practice to satisfy the CG. Even our agent was vague on this and if they dont know who does?

Not knowing if we were complying enough, planning the next leg around a pump out, wondering if the CG was about to drop by etc was the only stressful part of our time in turkey so it would be great to get this cleared up. Where did you pump out Palarran by way of example?

thanks

[Nicholson58]

Suggest you visit Houghton/Hancock, Michigan. The attached photos of our tie up at $0.00. Short walking distance from 5th St.coffee shop with inexpensive food, clean toilets, free WiFi. (rainy courtyard) Owner heard we needed a grocery run so he drove us to the local mall.

Turns out, all city-side docks near the lift bridge are free. We stayed three days. There were several pretty good restaurants and a craft brewer within 4 blocks. Diesel was 3.70/gal. there was a great bakery & Pastie shop just beyond the lift bridge. Note the lower on/off ramps of the bridge are exclusively for winter snowmobile traffic. Bridge deck is lowered in winter. Locally, tour the copper mines. Swimming, - water was a bit cooler than the med, 54F. Refreshing.

Lake Superior is a beautiful place. We paid no more than 1.25/ft, often free. Since last year, all DNR docks are by the slip, not the foot & they are reasonable. We anchored in Mackinaw Island Harbor. $0.00. There were Otters. In Frankfort, Mich, we had minks on the dock. In Grand Marais we found Lake Superior Brewing and great stone hunting with both fossils and agitates. We cruised the 10 mile stretch of Pictured Rocks in 15 to 20 ft depths. (right under the cliffs).

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by yeloya

I just want to make clear this never ending story; do you have to use an agent for checking in Turkey?
There is no law stating that you have to, nonetheless in practice it's impossible that you can do it. I'll explain why..
When you go to any entry port in Turkey with yr boat, the first question you will be asked after yr passports is yr Turkish transitlog. Obviously, you don't have it.This is given by the chamber of maritime commerce which is in the city somewhere. The passport police won't let you in to get in the country to go and get it. Even if you get it, this should be filled in on the intranet of the ministry and you will need to log in using a login name and password. Only authorised agents have the login and password. (they have to pass an examen to qualify for and if they make any mistake their licence is cancelled..)
So when you say you don't have the transitlog, the police will point you an agent and you will have to use him. Of course, you have the right to choose yr agent and ask him to do all documents in advance, then it takes 10 minutes.
On the buttom of the transit log there 4 approvals; first one is regardding the health. The agent claims on yr behalf that there is no sign of health issues on board, they sign and stamp it. On a random basis, they might come and check but they usually don't. The last approval is from the port authority which is again somewhere in the city. Remembering that you haven't got yet an entry on yr passport and assuming that you got 3 previous approval, if you go to the port office for the last one and when they will see yr passport without an entry stamp, you will have entered the country illegally and you will run into trouble.
In short, you will need an agent to do the check in.
The cost of a transitlog to the agent is in the range of 220 TL , app, 80 €. They will charge you anything from 150 € to 250 €, sometimes more for megayachts. If you could have done it yrself, you have to ad to that min. 100 TL taxi (in most of the places these are not walking distances) and you will have lost the entire day.
In Greece the real cost is around 70 € and the agents charge 150 to 200 € and as I usually go there for couple of days I don't want to spend half day or more for that and I use agents.

I am not defending this system at all ; I have visited with my boat more than 30 countries and I have never used an agent anywhere with the exception of Greece.

Barra, you said that coast guard is charging "3.000 € plus" for not having a blue card. Can you tell me when and where ? I've talked to the general commender of Turkish coast guard and he simply said "impossible". If you can find any testimony or proof, pls send it to me, I will show to him. If not, pls stop horrifying people.

Blue card cost nothing, this scheme has still a lot of margin of improvement and it's improving but will take more time to get to the point. Who would like to swim around the s..t of the next boat in a secluded bay ???

Cheers

Yeloya

This is not what we found when we entered Turkey in May of this year.

We went to Gulluk, a port of entry, and visited the Harbour Master first. He issued the transit log, completed all necessary parts, told us where to go in what order and relieved us of 135 TKL. We did not use an agent and were not told that we needed one. Our only other costs were 35TKL for a taxi to and from the custom's office - so a total of 180TKL to check in, all done by ourselves with no hassles and in only 2 hours.

We could only buy a Blue Card from the local marina, at a cost of 20TKL.

It really does depend where you go for your entry into the country.

[boatman61]

Go to Kusadasi.. 13m mono with WiFi elec and water.. 211 euro for 3 nights.. imacculate showers and toilets.. in fact I reckon the Turkish marinas rank the best in the Med

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by krissteyn

Am getting rumours of checking in with Turkey being much cheaper if you insist on not using the agent - also heard some ports cheaper - can we have some feedbaxck on what transit log costs and agents fees are/were ?
I paid 50 eu for the transit log in Cesme and was quoted same in Fetiye

was wondering if we could get the transit log from a non-marina source ?

Kris

Check in was 300euro and another 25/person for visas.. all done in the marina office Kusadasi..
Oh... and 70euro to clear out..