The complete guide to the Turkey Georgia border crossing from Hopa to Sarpi!
If you’re travelling overland from Turkey to Georgia you will likely cross the border at Sarp. There are other immigration checkpoints at Posof-vale and Cildir-Aktas, but Hopa-Sarp is by far the easiest Turkey Georgia border crossing for tourists. Public transport options are plentiful and the process is overall pretty smooth.
Here is a detailed breakdown of crossing the Turkey Georgia border at Hopa-Sarp.
Getting to Hopa
The first step is to get to the town of Hopa in Turkey. Hopa is the closest town to the Turkey Georgia border on the Turkish side. There isn’t a great deal to do in Hopa itself so I wouldn’t recommend spending much time there.
Turkey has a great internal bus network. Kâmil Koç buses run around the country for really reasonable prices. A longstanding Turkish company, it was bought out by Flixbus in 2019. Although a bit sad to see, it does mean that the booking process has been streamlined and can be done entirely online now.
Check availability of buses on BusBud to Hopa from your location.
Getting the bus to the Turkey Georgia border
When you arrive in Hopa, you will need to walk from the bus station (otogar) to Hotel Cihan. This is where the buses depart for the Turkey Georgia border.
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If you don’t want to take a taxi, just ignore the taxi drivers that want to take you to the border. They told us the bus was cancelled. It was not. We even had a taxi driver follow us down the road insisting there was no bus. He left just before we found the bus stop.
I had read elsewhere online that the bus departs from a bridge closer to the bus station. We went to this bridge and were told to carry on walking until Hotel Cihan for buses to Sarp. It’s about a 20 minute walk to Hotel Cihan from the bus station.
The mini-bus says Sarp on front so it’s very easy. It costs 50 lira (April 2024) and it leaves when full. Buy a ticket on the bus. The driver will collect money once it starts moving. Cash only.
The bus takes about 25 mins to get to the border depending on how many stops it makes along the way.
Immigration at the Turkey Georgia border
Departing Turkiye
The bus will drop you right out the front of the immigration building. Both the Turkish and Georgian immigration is inside the same building, connected by what seems to be a maze of escalators.
Enter through the door that says “Departing Passengers” and start to weave up through all the escalators and long corridors. There aren’t many signs so it’s a bit confusing but just keep following the escalators til you reach passport control. There is a visa desk before you reach passport control but if you don’t need a visa, carry on around the corner until you reach passport control.
Right after passport control there is duty free area and a small cafe. We stopped here for a coffee and a borek and it wasn’t too bad.
Continue along the corridors for a while. It’s quite a long walk but you will eventually reach the Georgian immigration. There is an exchange office before the Georgia passport control if you need to change some money. You can also do this once you depart the building.
Entering Georgia
Going through passport control and customs is really straight-forward. The whole process took only a few minutes.
Facilities at the Turkey Georgia border
The Turkish side
On the Turkish side of the border there quite a few amenities. There are ATMs, a small supermarket and a Vodafone store. There is also a taxi stand and bus stop where the minibuses depart for Hopa.
The Georgian side
On the Georgian side of the border there aren’t as many shops. There are an abundance of foreign exchange offices with a similar rate to the one inside.
There is a tourist information desk before you leave the immigration building with helpful staff and useful information if you plan to stay in the Batumi area.
If you need to use an ATM, the only one is inside the immigration building. Once you leave, you can’t go back in so make sure you withdraw cash while inside. This ATM has a surcharge for foreign cards.
We opted to exchange a little bit of cash at the exchange office and visited a free ATM once in Batumi.
Getting from the Turkey Georgia border to Batumi
Getting to Batumi from the Turkey Georgia border checkpoint is really simple. When you exit the immigration building there is a line of taxis and minibuses waiting to take you into Batumi.
The cheapest way to get to Batumi is by one of the minibuses. They will have Batumi written on front.
You have to wait for the bus to fill up but it only took about 10 mins. Tickets costs 2 GEL and are cash only.
There are also buses that will take you directly to Tbilisi.
Where to stay in Batumi
Batumi is a really unique city and I think it is worth spending a few days there before moving on. Nestled on Georgia’s Black Sea coast it charms visitors with a blend of ultra-modern architecture and historic charm.
There’s a really beautiful promenade along the coast where you can hire a bike and roll around. It’s a nice place to spend a few days and get a feel for the glitz of the Black Sea coast.
It’s hard to fathom exactly how many apartments and accommodation options there are in Batumi. You can get incredible value for money in the off-season as there are just SO MANY apartments there!
Here are some of the best options.
Budget – Orbi City is a complex of ultra-modern apartment buildings on the waterfront in Batumi. Although they are really new and most have ocean views, staying in an apartment in one of these enormous complexes is the most affordable accommodation in Batumi. I think its due to the pure volume of apartments in the buildings. There must be thousands.
Most of the apartments are privately owned and managed. Orbi City Apartments is one of the better examples.
Mid-range – If you’re not into the futuristic yet kitschy vibe of the New Boulevarde, consider staying at Graphic Hotel Batumi. Amazing staff, buffet breakfast and a great location near the old town make this hotel a really enjoyable stay.
Luxury – Most of the “luxury” options on booking.com in Batumi are for Orbi City apartments. While Orbi City apartments are nice, they aren’t high quality. You miss out on the amenities of a hotel as most of the apartments are privately owned.
Rooms Hotel Batumi is a 5 star hotel with all the luxuries that that brings. If you want to treat yourself in Batumi, check out Rooms Hotel.
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