# driving to Greece



## 4x4man (Oct 8, 2017)

We are thinking of driving to Greece in May 2018. Does anyone have any advice, hints or tips that will help with the planning or just make the trip there more fun


----------



## shawbags (Oct 8, 2017)

Hi there , it depends where about in Greece you are going , a friend of mine used to live iver their , he used drive to south Italy and get a ferry from there , I can't remember the port .


----------



## shawbags (Oct 8, 2017)

It was Brindisi to Greece


----------



## RoaminRog (Oct 8, 2017)

There are folk on here who have done the trip Kev, but not very many. You may have to be patient for any replies.
Try typing 'Driving to Greece' in the small searchbox, in the top righthand corner, and see what comes up.


----------



## vanmandan (Oct 8, 2017)

check out  MagBaz Travels  for detailed advice.


----------



## witzend (Oct 8, 2017)

It's possible to get a ferry from Venice to Igoumenitsa or Patros which will help with travel time but check road reports as the last time in May most passes where closed and we had to use the Mont Blanc tunnel to get into Italy. We usually use the Venice ferry but as said 2.5 weeks isn't long enough 
PJ's POI's are useful if you get there


----------



## chrismilo (Oct 8, 2017)

I go often I usually drive via Swiss tunnels as there free to bari Ancona or brindisi depending where I can get cheapest fares I have been from Venice to igomunisa but it's a long drive to Athens round and round mountains most of a day
Patras is the best for most of Greece I normally go to pelloponese 
Driving back I go the land route drive North via soloniki
Through Macedonia Serbia Croatia Slovenia back into Austria 
Male sure you have a green insurance card for Macedonia else it will cost you 100€ for a months Macedonia insurance for the 1 and half hours drive through there country BEWARE of rogue cops too
I was stopped for allegedly doing 10km to fast 300€ back to the frontier to pay I argued cop said  right 150€ now I still argued cop sad how much money you got then I said  40€ cop said give me that kind of him gave me 10€ back said you'll need that for the tolls don't tell my colleagues he said 100yds down road on opposite side was his colleagues doing the same
You need six weeks 2.5 not enough


----------



## iampatman (Oct 8, 2017)

4x4man said:


> We are thinking of driving to Greece in May 2018. Does anyone have any advice, hints or tips that will help with the planning or just make the trip there more fun



I don’t know whereabouts in Greece you want to end up but wherever it is it’s probably going to be hot in May and it will get hotter! We now get the ferry from Italy, usually from Ancona to Igoumenitsa but we have done the overland route - Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece. It’s ok if you’re not in a hurry and those countries were covered by our uk insurance. There are shorter routes but you may have to buy insurance at the borders as someone has already mentioned. Others may disagree but I reckon spring or autumn are the best times to visit. We’ll be going again this year and plan on arriving early April and leaving in June before it gets too hot. 
When we drove overland it took us three weeks to get to Greece because we’re not great fans of clocking up serious mileage every day, obviously if you like driving you could do it in less time.
The great thing is that Greece is Motorhome heaven. We park overnight at harbours, cafes, tavernas, car parks, middle of nowhere, whatever and when we ask if it’s ok, which we always do, the response is always the same - “Of course, this is Greece and you are welcome”. A beautiful country with lovely people.
If you do go to Greece I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time.

Pat


----------



## jeffmossy (Oct 8, 2017)

iampatman said:


> I don’t know whereabouts in Greece you want to end up but wherever it is it’s probably going to be hot in May and it will get hotter! We now get the ferry from Italy, usually from Ancona to Igoumenitsa but we have done the overland route - Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece. It’s ok if you’re not in a hurry and those countries were covered by our uk insurance. There are shorter routes but you may have to buy insurance at the borders as someone has already mentioned. Others may disagree but I reckon spring or autumn are the best times to visit. We’ll be going again this year and plan on arriving early April and leaving in June before it gets too hot.
> When we drove overland it took us three weeks to get to Greece because we’re not great fans of clocking up serious mileage every day, obviously if you like driving you could do it in less time.
> The great thing is that Greece is Motorhome heaven. We park overnight at harbours, cafes, tavernas, car parks, middle of nowhere, whatever and when we ask if it’s ok, which we always do, the response is always the same - “Of course, this is Greece and you are welcome”. A beautiful country with lovely people.
> If you do go to Greece I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time.
> ...



This is on our list for when we finish work in just over 12 months time , cant wait


----------



## iampatman (Oct 8, 2017)

jeffmossy said:


> This is on our list for when we finish work in just over 12 months time , cant wait



So, I’m guessing you’ll finish work Nov/Dec? That’s excellent, on the ferry/tunnel and then down to Spain, we like the Costa Calida but you’ll get good weather in Almeria or Benidorm if that’s what you like. Winter in Spain just chilling out after a lifetime of work. (Fly home for Christmas if you feel the need)Springtime start to drift east along the Med, have a look round northern Italy and then catch the ferry to Greece. Springtime in Greece is beautiful. Maybe take the overland route back? Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia etc... Arrive back in UK, tanned, happy, relaxed and the envy of your family and friends. Within a few weeks you’ll be itching to plan and set off on you next trip/adventure. You, and most other folk on here, probably have much more experience of motorhoming than we have. We weren’t tuggers or serious campers in a previous life but a few months before we retired we bought a motorhome, had a weekend away in it, loved it so much that I sacked work a few months before retirement date and the next Monday we were in France. Every day is different and we’re loving it. I hope you have as much fun after you retire as we have.

Pat


----------



## Micky Richards (Oct 11, 2017)

We're planning the same thing in the coming weeks, aiming to be in Greece for winter. Can anybody shed any light on the insurance situation for Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania? Everything I've read online is as clear as mud! I'm not even convinced my insurance company knows!


----------



## Tezza (Oct 11, 2017)

We were thinking of Greece this year. But due to family problems were unable. Our 0lan was t9 drive the long way there , through Romania, Bulgaria where we have friends and onto Greece. By doing it that way too we stayed in the EU , so no green card needed and of course the ehic would still cover us . it helped too that the Mrs wanted to see Dracula’s castle lol. Then meet our friends for a few days in Sunny beach and Yambol in Bulgaria. 
We could do it this way as we would have had no time restraints firstly , and secondly the ehic And and not sure about taking the dog through non eu countries regarding his passport.
If you go have a great time and maybe all things being well we can do it next year.


----------



## iampatman (Oct 11, 2017)

Micky Richards said:


> We're planning the same thing in the coming weeks, aiming to be in Greece for winter. Can anybody shed any light on the insurance situation for Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania? Everything I've read online is as clear as mud! I'm not even convinced my insurance company knows!



If your UK insurance company doesn’t cover the countries you mention then you’ll have to buy insurance for each country at the border. Don’t know what that will cost you or what you’re covered for - 3rd party, fully comp?? I suspect also that in the unlikely event you have a bump in those countries it could be problematic, to say the least, negotiating with your insurance company. Anyway, go for it and then you can let us know how you got on  rotteontour is a bit of an expert on that route but I haven’t seen him on the forum for a while; maybe PM him?
Enjoy your trip,
Pat


----------



## iampatman (Oct 11, 2017)

Micky Richards said:


> We're planning the same thing in the coming weeks, aiming to be in Greece for winter. Can anybody shed any light on the insurance situation for Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania? Everything I've read online is as clear as mud! I'm not even convinced my insurance company knows!



Just another thought - whilst the weather in Greece will be better than that in the UK over the winter you should expect some rain and some coldish nights. Also many of the bars/tavernas/mini-markets/cafes etc will close during the winter. Having said that, they’re won’t be so many travellers/tourists over the winter so you’ll have to learn some Greek. Have a great time.

Pat


----------



## sinner (Oct 11, 2017)

iampatman said:


> So, I’m guessing you’ll finish work Nov/Dec? That’s excellent, on the ferry/tunnel and then down to Spain, we like the Costa Calida but you’ll get good weather in Almeria or Benidorm if that’s what you like. Winter in Spain just chilling out after a lifetime of work. (Fly home for Christmas if you feel the need)Springtime start to drift east along the Med, have a look round northern Italy and then catch the ferry to Greece. Springtime in Greece is beautiful. Maybe take the overland route back? Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia etc... Arrive back in UK, tanned, happy, relaxed and the envy of your family and friends. Within a few weeks you’ll be itching to plan and set off on you next trip/adventure. You, and most other folk on here, probably have much more experience of motorhoming than we have. We weren’t tuggers or serious campers in a previous life but a few months before we retired we bought a motorhome, had a weekend away in it, loved it so much that I sacked work a few months before retirement date and the next Monday we were in France. Every day is different and we’re loving it. I hope you have as much fun after you retire as we have.
> 
> Pat



quick question  
if you had the time, 
overland or ferry from Italy
and do you have apron cost of the ferry ?

cheers


----------



## Clunegapyears (Oct 12, 2017)

*Green card*

Scenic insurance provides a green card for most of the countries in the Balkans. Or you can buy a green card/insurance at the borders. This can be as much as Euros 100!. And I’m not sure how effective it would be if you were to have an accident.
We are planning to drive down to Greece in the next few weeks. I will be taking out insurance with scenic. The only issue is that they want to know dates that you will be in each country Which is not easy when you have no real plan.  Don’t forget to cancel any other current insurance.


----------



## iampatman (Oct 12, 2017)

sinner said:


> quick question
> if you had the time,
> overland or ferry from Italy
> and do you have apron cost of the ferry ?
> ...



I’m not sure really. We’ve done both and whilst I’m not a fan of Ferries the camping on board option, available from April, is ok. We’ve usually sailed from Ancona but next spring we can’t decide whether to go overland or take the ferry from Bari which will be a much shorter crossing and give us the opportunity to see a bit more of Italy and then return via the overland route. If you look at the Greek Ferries site you should get an idea of costs but the schedules for next spring won’t be available until Dec/Jan.
The overland route is ok but because we were travelling to Greece we didn’t stop for long on the way. We stopped a few nights in Budapest which is well worth visiting but you could hardly say we explored Hungary, Romania or Bulgaria. We travelled through those countries in Springtime and we weren’t too comfortable wild camping and sometimes struggled to find campsites that we’re open at that time of year. 

Pat


----------



## 4x4man (Oct 24, 2017)

Thanks for all the replies, having read the threads we have taken the advice and postponed the overland trip until we can justify a longer time so we are going to Italy instead but have certainly learned a lot from this and will use it in the future,

Many thanks again to everyone

Kev


----------



## Deadsfo (Oct 24, 2017)

on my way to Israel in 1987 left Manchester on aSunday night caught a ferry on Teusday afternoon ,drove overland going through the old Yugoslavia ,coming back 2yrs later went from Athens across to Patras and into Brindisi ,took three weeks gettin home


----------



## Crokeyboy (Feb 24, 2018)

*How is the planning going?*



4x4man said:


> We are thinking of driving to Greece in May 2018. Does anyone have any advice, hints or tips that will help with the planning or just make the trip there more fun



We are planning a similar trip in April, and would be interested in your plans. 
At the moment, looking at the possibility of catching the ferry to Corsica, then 
 Italy to Bari or Brindisi. From the replies I've had on wild camping in Greece, it looks
a great trip.  We've got 2 months though, so won't be rushing around. Would be great
to hear what you've come up with


----------



## iampatman (Feb 24, 2018)

We’re booked on the ferry from Ancona to Igoumenitsa on the 11th April, returning on the 12th June. Looking to fill in the gaps on the map noted below. If anyone else is in the region at the same time give us a shout - or a beer/wine/brandy. 

Pat


----------



## Clunegapyears (Feb 25, 2018)

Hi Pat
We’re in Crete till 23rd June and then I fly home for a week. Not sure where exactly we’ll be but will have to come back to Corinth for an appointment about a month after... towards end June ... so do keep in touch. Have followed your blog so can see where you are. 
K


----------



## flyinghigh (Feb 25, 2018)

I done the trip down and back in 3 weeks in 1968 driving an old ford V4 transit, 4 lads wild camping all the way,
it was then yugoslavia but the roads around albania where shocking, fond memories of a misspent youth:have fun:


----------

