In July 2024 I took an Armenian-registered vehicle from Georgia to Bulgaria on the Batumi to Burgas ferry. The main source of information I researched was on the incredibly useful Overland Tour website.

For me, entering Burgas in Bulgaria meant entering the EU with a non-EU registered vehicle, that also wasn't registered in my name, because as a foreigner I am not allowed to be the registered owner of a vehicle in Armenia. I had gained a Power of Attorney (POA) document that granted me the ability to do as I please with the vehicle. This had been translated into Georgian and English by way of an Apostille notarised in Yerevan.

Below, I describe my own experience but will not try to outline the entire process as the link above does it admirably.

Booking process

I booked in advance via email found on the main ferry company website with an employee in Burgas, and then sent a bank transfer in Euros. I printed out the invoice and email confirmation of payment.

Check-in process

I went to the little hut on Makatcaria Street around midday, and joined the queue. The man dealing with each person looked fairly senior and spoke good English. I showed my invoice and he found me on his list. He scanned my passport and car registration document. He wasn't sure that I had paid but I showed the printed email chain and he seemed happy. I also gave my Georgian phone number, from the e-Sim I had purchased from Cellfie. I was told to except a phone call in the evening.

Loading process

I parked up in the lorry park under the giant billboard. There is a restaurant nearby where I had lunch. The ferry "Drujba" arrived around 2pm. I read a book and fought the mosquitoes making their way through the window. At 11pm, I received a call and I was asked how close I was to the port. "Very close" came my answer. I was told to go to the port. I drove there and stopped in front of the barrier, which opened. I drove in front of the main gates and a man came to check my documents. He asked to look in the boot and eventually the gate opened and I drove towards the ferry.

There were lots of people milling about on the railway tracks. Someone looked like that wanted me to stop, and he spoke to me in a foreign language. In the end I think he was asking if I was travelling with the vehicle or leaving it.

Driving onto the ferry there were a lot of Georgian police at the entrance. They asked to see passport, car registration and after a pause, insurance. I didn't know if he meant for Georgia or Bulgaria (I didn't have any insurance for Europe yet), but I had a printout of my Georgian car insurance that I had bought online, and he seemed happy with that. After the return of my documents, I was signalled to drive on the lower deck down one side and do a hairpin to end up facing back towards the stern of the ship.

I was the first car on the ship and before any lorries, so I think it may have been because I had booked 2 weeks in advance (at check-in I saw my name near the top of the passenger list). I then climbed up a few flights of very steep stairs and crossed the walkway to the bow of the ship.

Onboard

The man on reception spoke good English and gave me a key to a cabin, being told that I was sharing with another British man. There were about 35 passengers onboard. The ferry seems to be less lightly loaded than when coming from Bulgaria, and this is reflected in the price. I was told that Georgian immigration would board the boat in 5-6 hours, so I got my head down in the very sweaty cabin.

When the door knock came at 5:30, we queued up at the lounge where the officials were based. I showed my passport, car registration, driving license and POA. The lady read every word of the POA and conversed with her colleague. It was a bit nerve-wracking. On entering Georgia from Armenia via the Bagratshen-Sadakhlo border, I had shown the same documents and the official had also taken a keen interest in the POA, but was more cheerful than this official. Eventually, everything was okay.

During the journey, I read a lot and slept a lot. The food was fine and the portions were generous, internet was available (albeit slow) and there was a TV playing in the lounge and dining area. Watching Dolphins was nice!

Burgas Port import process

The day before arrival, the ETA of the ferry was written in the dining area as 10am. It actually arrived into Burgas at 10:30am, which was a few hours later than it normally does. All passengers collected in the dining area and we were told to descend to the car deck at 11:30.

I have produced and labelled a map of the port that explains each stage of import.

At 11:55, I drove off (as the first car). A few lorries had already alighted and having passed through the decontamination spray, queued under the customs shelter (1). Lorries were having all of their hatches checked (presumably for stowaways).

When it was my turn, I was approached by several older customs men who spoke good English. I showed the documents they asked for and explained that I wanted to buy insurance. They all milled around the vehicle knocking the body panels with their knuckles. They told me to go to the customs building (2), and then park to the side (3) in "the cage" (as they referred to it).

There was slight confusion as when I pulled forward, a man pointed me to the parking area. I parked and came back to the Customs hut, by which point another car was at the customs building. One customs official was castigating the man for telling me to do so. I handed over my passport and car registration, and the hatch to the air-conditioned hut was closed. When it reopened I was told his colleague was checking the documents. I went back to the parked car and waited. Soon after, another customs official came over and told me that the man in the blue "Port Bulgaria West" t-shirt just outside the cage (4) would be able to get me the green card insurance.

Having photocopies of all my documents was useful here because customs still had my passport and car registration. Through the fence, I was told that insurance was 130 EUR for 1 month. We went to a portacabin (5) where he photographed my photocopies and sent them to someone on Whatsapp. I presumed that the processing and document production happened off-site. Sitting and waiting in the car, another customs official asked if I had a green card, and I said I was buying one. There were two other cars going through the same process as me. A while later, a customs official came over with lots of paper and our documents, and explained that the vehicles needed to be inspected.

I followed the man out of "the cage" and to an warehouse with an inspection pit (6). One person checked under the vehicle whilst another asked me if I had:

• Alcohol
• Cigarettes
• more than 10,000 EUR in cash

I didn't.

I was asked to remove and open all my bags and the man cursarily rooted around inside. The man in the inspection pit said something about a "part being new". I was asked if I fitted any new parts before I came. I had, and pointed to the drive members. I was asked to open doors and it seemed like they were looking for hidden compartments. I was told to get the spare wheel off the roof rack, which I did and they knocked it a few times with a screwdriver to listen at the sound. They both helped me heave it back to the roof and they let me wash my hands in their sink. The men were incredibly courteous and pleasant to deal with. I was told to drive back to "the cage" and wait, which I did. By this time it was 13:20 and very hot. At 13:30, the "insurance man" arrived with the green card document and I paid in cash.

Next came the biggest wait. The customs man returned at 15:00. I had to sign a document in quadruplicate "the certificate", and was then told I could go to the customs building on the left of the port exit (7) with one of these signed bits of paper. I went in the door to the office, and met a grumpy customs official who asked what I was doing there. I explained I had arrived on the ferry with a car. He took my documents and told me to wait outside at the window. There is a window hatch where someone else was waiting, but it wasn't very obvious (see the red circle in the photo).

When the hatch opened they enquired about me not having the same name as the car registration, so I handed the POA and the hatch closed. Shortly after, everything was handed back with a new bit of paper. I went to the exit (8) and a man came out, He took the bit of paper, signalled to his colleague to open the gate and then I departed at 15:20.

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