’m delaying everyone. I explain the situation, and he is surprisingly nice. I get my passport back, and thankfully, they let me through.
After two months of traveling Europe, I was feeling pretty confident I had the visa situation nailed down. But as I took an 8 hour bus ride from Bulgaria to Istanbul, I realized I had made a major mistake – I had forgotten to check if I needed a visa to enter Turkey.
In my defense, Turkey was never part of my initial itinerary and I had only added it two days prior, so I hadn’t had the opportunity to properly research the visa requirements. I had also been traveling around countries with no visa or Schengen zones for so long that the thought of needing a visa hadn’t even crossed my mind.
As I stepped up to the passport control line, I quickly googled “do [my country] citizens need visas for Turkey” and realized I had messed up. I sheepishly asked to do a visa there, and the officer motioned for me to step out of line. I was feeling embarrassed and the bus driver started yelling at me for delaying everyone. I explained the situation and, thankfully, they let me through.
I learned an important lesson that day – research your visa requirements before you travel! It’s always better to be safe than sorry.