Title: Swift Border Crossing: NOVA Team’s Journey from Sofia to Thessaloniki
In a quest to explore the efficiency of border crossings post-Schengen, a team from NOVA embarks on a journey from Sofia to Thessaloniki, capturing a reporter’s and an operator’s firsthand account.
The Voyage Begins
Reporter Stoyan Neshev and operator Georgi Georgiev kickstarted their journey at 9:30 AM from the Bulgarian capital, with the mission to test how quickly one could reach Thessaloniki without stops and border checks. Their path took them through the GSP system, guiding them towards the Struma Motorway.
The Crucial Stretch
The most densely packed traffic was experienced at the Kresna Gorge, where the motorway comes to an end, some 20 kilometers away from the Greek border. The ‘G Border police’ patrolled the area, but no significant delays were reported.
The Border Crossing
At the ‘Kula’ border checkpoint, the process was swift, taking less than a minute. Greek tourist traffic had significantly increased, with visitors heading to ski resorts and sightseeing, rather than shopping, as observed by local vendor Venislav.
Frequent Greece traveler Eugenia from Blagoevgrad was pleased with the improved border crossing, despite Shengen, and expected congestions to occur mainly at Greek checkpoints during summer.
Into Greece
Post border, the team’s first encounter with Greek police was barely a kilometer away. Unexpected stops for checks are possible, but on this occasion, their journey remained unhindered until Thessaloniki.
In just 2 hours and 5 minutes (including a brief border halt), the team reached their destination. Thisربطsmooth journey demonstrates the ease of travel in the post-Schenko era, an encouraging sign for anyone planning a similar trip.
Worth a look