Georgia to Turkey – The Sarpi border crossing

Travelling overland from Georgia to Turkey. The Sarpi border crossing is the most popular crossing on the Black Sea coast. This is how we did it on public transport, the cheapest way of getting from Batumi to Hopa.

If you want travel to overland into Turkey from Georgia using public transport, this is the easiest and cheapest way to cross the border. We couldn’t find much information regarding the details of doing the crossing from Batumi in Georgia to Hopa in Turkey. We did it anyway and now want to share the experience to help others cross, easily armed with all the information you need.

Sarpi border crossing – starting in Batumi

Batumi is an excellent place for a short beach holiday in Georgia. It is laidback, has a good vibe, a nice beachside feel and great food. On top of that it is very cheap so it ticked all of the boxes for us.

We’d been travelling in the Caucasus for almost 4 months when we arrived in Batumi. We were a bit burnt out and really needed a break. We soon fell in love with the place as the sun was shining and a daily dip in the Black Sea was so enjoyable. A planned 2 day stay turned into 2 weeks!

Budget Accommodation in Batumi

In Batumi we stayed at Toma Guest house. A lovely family run guest house in a great location. They made us feel so welcome that we didn’t want to leave. We paid 33 Lari per night for a double room with a booking.com discount.

Eventually we had to drag ourselves away. The next stop for us was Turkey so we headed to the nearby Sarpi border crossing. From here it is easy to go on to Hopa and from there, you have onward transport to the rest of Turkey. This was our journey, step by step…

Batumi to Sarpi

7.20 am We left our guesthouse and walked to the main road, Chavchavadze Street which leads out of town towards the Sarpi border crossing. There are plenty of bus stops along the street. We took the number 16 bus here which goes straight to the border, 20 kms away.

The bus was Batumi Card pay only – No cash. We didn’t have one so just sat tight and waited for the inspectors to get on. They sold us a card for 3 Lari and scanned it for both of us. At the other end we checked the card and it still had 1.40 Lari left on it so the journey only really cost us 80 Tetri each! We kept the card as a cool souvenir of Batumi.

Marshrutkas also ply this route. If you see one with Sarpi written on the front window board, you could take that. They should be a bit faster than the bus that took 45 minutes. We are not sure of the exact price by marshrutka but should be 1.20-1.50 Lari per trip.

$1 US = 2.9 Georgian Lari in August 2019

Check XE.COM for the latest exchange rates

The Sarpi border crossing

8.15 am There isn’t much at Sarpi. Only taxis, buses, a few souvenir shops and the big, new border crossing. This is a very easy and straightforward border crossing. We joined a short queue, 4 deep and got stamped out of Georgia efficiently. It took 4 minutes on the Georgian side. There was no customs baggage check.

8.19 am You then walk though to the next building and up some steps ( there is a travelator too) to the second floor. This is the Turkish entry point.

It was the same again for us at this immigration counter. A short 4 minute wait before a new stamp in our passports, and a big “Welcome to Turkey!” The border guards asked about our visas and we had to tell them New Zealanders don’t need one! These guys were friendly, fast and efficient.

Next was a x-ray scan of our baggage but the guards were not interested in the contents. We got waved through with a smile. By 8.24 we were out the other side!

More blog posts in Georgia

Onward transport to Hopa

Actually, we thought it was 8.24 but it was actually 7.24 Turkish time. We’d gained 1 hour by crossing the border. I didn’t realise this until later when I’d been racing around trying to change money in time to catch a bus. I had way more time than I thought!

After coming out of Immigration, walk straight ahead until you see some minibuses. Dolmus in Turkish. They hang around here and go when full, which is fairly regularly. It cost 7 Lira each for the 20 km ride into Hopa.

The first small bus terminal in Hopa is a local one, with dolmus going to local destinations. If you are going further afield, make sure you stay on until the Hopa bus terminal, 1 km further west. It is marked on Maps.me

8.15 am Arriving at the Hopa bus terminal had taken less than 2 hours since leaving our guesthouse. 2 buses and a border crossing. That’s quite impressive!

Read – A Guide To Erbil – Iraqi Kurdistan

Getting Turkish Lira

Our biggest drama of the day was getting hold of some Turkish Lira to buy our bus tickets. We’d changed the last of our Georgian Lari the evening before in Batumi which we definitely recommend doing. We didn’t have enough cash to buy tickets so I had to walk back into town to find an ATM.

We did not see any money changers at the border.

There was a Deniz Bank ATM outside the factory close to the bus terminal but I was shocked to read that the bank charge was a whopping 8%. To buy £280 worth of Lari I was going to be charged £22! I was prepared to shop around to avoid that.

I did a tour of Hopa’s ATMs until I found a better rate. The Ziraat bank only charged 4% which was more bearable. That was the 6th bank I checked but it was worth saving £11 for a bit of leg work . Sometimes it’s tough being a Frugal Traveller!

There are a few money exchange offices also in Hopa which give good rates if you have cash $US or Euro

The bus companies will also take payment in $US cash, and Euro I’m assuming.

How to travel from Tblisi to Yerevan by Marshrutka

Moving on from Hopa

We wanted to go as far south as possible through Eastern Anatolia as we were heading to Iraqi Kurdistan. We’d heard it could be hard to get tickets as it was 9 August and the beginning of Kayam Bayram or Eid al-Adha, a very important holiday on the Muslim calendar.

We were prepared to go to Erzerum for a few nights but when we heard there was a direct bus to Silopi, right on the Iraqi border, we bought tickets for the 11 o’clock departure. It turned out to be a spectacular 22 hour journey across the east of Turkey.

There are plenty of other buses leaving Hopa for the usual destinations. Trabzon, Ankara and Istanbul included.

If you want to search ahead for onward connections, check out some of the bus company and booking websites below. You cannot book tickets without a Turkish ID card but at least you can see what is available.

• Busbud
• NeredenNereye
• Metro Turizm 

Step by step YouTube video

So that is how easy it is to go from Georgia to Turkey over the Sarpi border crossing! Here is the important information you need to help you on your way.

• Travel early in summer to avoid the heat. It is nice and quiet in the morning too.
• Buy some Turkish Lira in Batumi beforehand as we didn’t see any money exchange places at the border
• Bus 16 or any signposted Marshrutka on Chavchavadze Street will take you to the border. Bus takes the Batumi card. 80 Tetri. Marshrutka 1.20-1.50. Please comment below with updates.
• Remember Turkey is 1 hour behind Georgia
• The minibus on the Turkish side costs 7 Lira to Hopa
• Stay on the bus to the Hopa bus terminal

How to travel the world as a Frugal Traveller

Who are the Frugal Travellers?

Read – 13 best cats of Istanbul

---

Comment below

We hope this post on the Sarpi border crossing from Georgia to Turkey was of use to you. Are you planning on doing the crossing? Do you have any more useful information to add? Please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you!

---

You may like

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

---

Like this post? Pin it

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means we receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking them at no extra cost to you. If you do choose to book through these links, it will help us to continue our travels. We really appreciate your support!