Trip to Greece (1 Viewer)

[normanandsue]

We are starting to plan a trip to Greece, has anyone done this and does anyone have any advice of what and where we should go..?

 

[Crazylegs]

It's a long way, there are different routes some will keep you in EU countries, others will take you to non EU places like Montenegro, many insurers will not offer cover in non EU. There are ferries from several locations in Italy that you may prefer, so perhaps the first decision is what route.

 

[cliffanger]

Take a look at @Our Bumble - they've done loads, really interesting blogs, beautiful photos and costings etc included! We are hoping to visit many places they've recommended this year.

Thanks to @Mr Mousy for introducing us to them!

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[rikfos]

Have driven down to Greece for the last 6 years. Insurance covers eu states plus Montenegro, Switzerland, Albania. Your insurer will tell you which countries they cover. Campsites abroad are usually first class and much cheaper plus cheaper fuel. I f you have a motorhome Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegavona tend to extract money off you for their (insurance). The easiest way is to drive through Italy and catch the ferry from Ancona. This year I paid 191 euros for my motorhome plus 2 adults and a 2 berth cabin. Stop off in Venice on the way.

 

[The Dudess]

We've done the trip several times - various routes. The last one being through Croatia, Montenegro and Albania. If you can be a bit more specific then we would be happy to give you some pointers. This was the last route we took avoiding a ferry from Italy to mainland Greece.

 

[The Dudess]

Insurance covers eu states plus Montenegro, Switzerland, Albania.

Our insurance didn't cover us for Montenegro or Albania so we got third party insurance at the borders. We avoided Bosnia-herzegovina by taking the Trpanj/Ploce ferry.

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[MitchandJenny]

I would look at ANEK lines ferry from Ancona Italy, to Igoumanitsa Greece . About €350 one way, 24hr trip,
sleep in your camper on the vehicle deck (with electric) and a passkey to get to the rest of the ship, which is a converted cruise ship. Very good.
Mitch.

 

[The Dudess]

I would look at ANEK lines ferry from Ancona Italy, to Igoumanitsa Greece . About €350 one way, 24hr trip,
sleep in your camper on the vehicle deck (with electric) and a passkey to get to the rest of the ship, which is a converted cruise ship. Very good.
Mitch.

Agree - camping on board is much better than having a cabin and you also get access to toilets and showers and the restaurants/bars.

 

[Lenny HB]

We did mainland Greece in 2015 link here to our thread about our trip.

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[MitchandJenny]

We did the Peloponnese coast going clockwise from near Thessaloniki.. BEAUTIFUL.
And the people are SO warm hearted.
Enjoy.
Mitch.

 

[Glandwr]

Just come back from Crete (Patras Venice). You can get a green card given the right company for every Balkan country except for the Kosovo part of Serbia. If you stay away from December to February. The route through Romania and Bulgaria down the coast of the Black Sea is great.

Greece itself is great but don't expect wonderful weather in winter even in the south it can be cold and wet although you will have many more sunny days than at home.

Even Crete (as far south as Rabat in Morocco) can have cold wet stormy days although when the sun does come through (for a period most days) it is intense.

The Greek people are very friendly. I think it is one of the safest and most honest counties (in the sense you could leave you van unlocked) in "western" Europe. Not cheap though.

Dick

 

[normanandsue]

We've done the trip several times - various routes. The last one being through Croatia, Montenegro and Albania. If you can be a bit more specific then we would be happy to give you some pointers. This was the last route we took avoiding a ferry from Italy to mainland Greece.

View attachment 151408

We are looking to do this trip in late May and originally had thought of driving the coastal route through Slovenia, Croatia, etc. but was worried about insurance cover(Have not checked with insurance company yet) Then thought of a ferry from Bindisi to Igoumenitsa but at €200 one way and thought that was expensive.

Glendwr says Greece is not cheap yet others have said it is. We don't eat out often and prefer to buy food locally at the supermarket.

I know it makes the trip longer but what are the merits demerits of going via EU countries Hungary, Romania and then into Greece? Presumably as all in eu insrance will cover but we can check

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[The Dudess]

Ferry or overland? Either way it's a great trip. One factor would be how much time you have to spare. If this is not a consideration why don't you go overland one way and then take Igoumenitsa/Italy the ferry back (or visa versa). Can't comment on Hungary or Romania as we haven't been (yet).

 

[DBK]

Look forward to hearing how you get on. I had already decided the route you are planning is what we will do, probably next year.
What were the roads like crossing over into Italy, with respect to snow? We are driving to Sicily next month.

 

[Crazylegs]

There are insurance companies that will offer cover for non EU countries, Nfu and Comfort do I believe, but it's not that simple depending on what borders you use convincing the guards you are insured is another thing. They expect to see a green document (as in green card) but that's not what your given anymore, so sometimes you have to buy the border insurance anyway even if you are insured just to be allowed in. But I am not trying to put you off, it's a great adventure with beautiful scenery and these little dramas give you stories to tell.

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[Glandwr]

We are looking to do this trip in late May and originally had thought of driving the coastal route through Slovenia, Croatia, etc. but was worried about insurance cover(Have not checked with insurance company yet) Then thought of a ferry from Bindisi to Igoumenitsa but at €200 one way and thought that was expensive.

Glendwr says Greece is not cheap yet others have said it is. We don't eat out often and prefer to buy food locally at the supermarket.

I know it makes the trip longer but what are the merits demerits of going via EU countries Hungary, Romania and then into Greece? Presumably as all in eu insrance will cover but we can check

When I said its not cheap, I meant that diesel, food in supermarkets, tolls, coffees out etc are more expensive than most EU countries and much more than the other Balkan countries except Croatia. Despite the Greek people having a lower average income than most.

I suppose that my impression is also coloured by the fact that until about 5 years ago it was one of the cheapest countries in Europe. They have been really hammered by tax rises. Eg coffee went up by 20% over Christmas driven supposedly by tax.

Dick

 

[rikfos]

Our insurance didn't cover us for Montenegro or Albania so we got third party insurance at the borders. We avoided Bosnia-herzegovina by taking the Trpanj/Ploce ferry.

As a matter of interest how much did they charge you at the border in Albania?

 

[rikfos]

There are insurance companies that will offer cover for non EU countries, Nfu and Comfort do I believe, but it's not that simple depending on what borders you use convincing the guards you are insured is another thing. They expect to see a green document (as in green card) but that's not what your given anymore, so sometimes you have to buy the border insurance anyway even if you are insured just to be allowed in. But I am not trying to put you off, it's a great adventure with beautiful scenery and these little dramas give you stories to tell.

Absolutely true about the green card

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[travelbunyip]

We spent 7 weeks in Greece in 2014. The link below gives our map and itinerary. Click on the kangaroo icons to get information on the places we stayed and the related blog's.
Hope this is of some help.

http://www.travelbunyip.com/homepage/where-are-we-now/

 

[The Dudess]

As a matter of interest how much did they charge you at the border in Albania?

From memory, I think Montenegro was about 18 euros and Albania about 50 euros.

 

[rikfos]

Yes I was cha

From memory, I think Montenegro was about 18 euros and Albania about 50 euros.

I was charged 16 euros in Montenegro and 80 euros in Albania

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[MitchandJenny]

We had to pay €50 at the Montenegro border, as they are Non EU. We had no green card, but I don't think it would have helped.
We wild camped ALL along the Pelleponnese coast for 3 months and the people are SO warm hearted. Everything was "No problem"
Mitch.

 

[busby]

We are looking to do this trip in late May and originally had thought of driving the coastal route through Slovenia, Croatia, etc. but was worried about insurance cover(Have not checked with insurance company yet) Then thought of a ferry from Bindisi to Igoumenitsa but at €200 one way and thought that was expensive.

Glendwr says Greece is not cheap yet others have said it is. We don't eat out often and prefer to buy food locally at the supermarket.

I know it makes the trip longer but what are the merits demerits of going via EU countries Hungary, Romania and then into Greece? Presumably as all in eu insrance will cover but we can check

I found it cheap enough in 2015,,,BUSBY,

 

[Glandwr]

In the last 2 years going down and back I was not charged for insurance or anything else crossing into Albania, FYROM, Montenegro or Serbia they all accepted my Green Card without question. But I was charged by Bosnia. Ironically they accepted my Green Card at one border, but when I tried to get back into the country to go up from the coast to Mostar they insisted on 20 quid. Scam I am sure. You are either lucky or not with your border guard.

Dick

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[Crazylegs]

Don't worry very soon the EU will have built motorways with service stations selling Big Macs every 50 kilometres all the way from Austria to Greece.

 

[DBK]

So you went the coast route? I was hoping to avoid the "Italian Riviera" but I fear we may have to slum it. I would have liked to have crossed a little further north, we will be coming from Spain, and go via Turin.
I shall scour the weather reports.

 

[pjay]

Hi Norman & Sue,

You have been given some great advice so far, my input fwiw..

We have been travelling to Greece with the van on and off for over 15 years. We have never been overland and always go via the N Italy ferries as we prefer to spend as much time as possible in Greece. That might change this autumn though**.
We have tried all the operators on the N Italy Greece route, there's not a lot to choose between them all. Only Anek and Superfast do camping on deck (1Apr - 31Oct), Minoan (or Grimaldi Minoan as they are now called) do a camper special instead which gives you electric for the van, an inside cabin and discounts on meals for a similar price as deck passage.
Whether to go Camping on deck or with a cabin is purely your choice but bear in mind when deck camping you are not guaranteed a good spot, sometimes you will get lucky and be placed with a view for the passage but equally you can get shoved in the middle of the deck where its not so nice, its luck of the draw and bear than in mind if you are getting off first, say at Igoumenitsa as you will be last on and all the good spots will have gone. We have had some idyllic crossings camping on deck, especially to/from Venice but have also had our fair share of not so good.
We have also done a few crossings with Minoan with an inside cabin, they are nothing fancy but do the job, sometimes its nice to have a cabin instead.
Working out the prices and discounts can be a bit confusing at first, you might like to get an agent like Viamare.com to do all the bookings for you, they get their cut from the ferry companies so you won't pay more than the online brocure price. They also send you proper tickets which is nice to have instead of just a reference No. We have used them a few times and found them very helpful.

If you have a refillable gas system then you will have no problems getting gas there. They used to be few and far between a few years back but they have rolled out many lpg outlets and there are now over 900 in Greece.

Do you intend to use campsites or maybe do a bit of off grid camping?
We always wild camp there and I have built up a google map of good places to stay which you are welcome to use, just follow the attached link..

http://tinyurl.com/ya7uras

Hope you have a great trip and if you need any more info just shout.

We are off to Northern Greece for 3 months in the autumn and for the first time maybe** doing one leg overland so thanks from me to everyone in this thread for all the overland info.

Pete

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