Greece by Motorhome

Are you thinking about touring Greece by motorhome? This summer, we drove to Greece in our campervan, setting off in peak season July, ensuring long hot days and warm seas.

Leaving home in Wales on this adventure, was hopefully going to prove more successful than our earlier attempt two years prior.

It was during this 2023 trip to Greece, when the unthinkable happened. Yes, a road accident near Dubrovnik, although no fault of our own, brought our Greece trip to an abrupt halt.

Accident en-route to Greece

This road accident in 2023 saw us fly home from Croatia. The insurance repatriation for the campervan took several weeks and by the time repairs were done, it was a few months overall.

By this time it was too late in the season for us to drive back to Greece and we just didn’t feel like committing to such a long trip so soon afterwards.

We weren’t able to go so far the following summer either, which brings us to finally getting back to Greece this year.

Which route did we take? – Greece by motorhome

On the first attempt in 2023, we were taking a route to Greece through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania, later returning on the ferry from Greece to Italy.

We had tickets with a ferry company, Ventouris Ferries and after the accident, they kindly changed our ticket to ‘Open”. Luckily, this gave us the flexibility to use this ticket at a later stage, meaning we just had to e-mail them direct when we were ready to book.

Originally in 2023, we were sailing back from Igoumenista near the border with Albania in Greece to Bari in Southern Italy.

On this trip to Greece, we chose to take the ferry in the opposite direction, having a one-way ticket from Bari to Igoumenitsa.

We don’t like planning very much, and this Greece trip wasn’t really any different. Finer details of the route to Bari and which way to return from Greece were to be decided as we went along.

Vehicle Insurance preparation

Although we don’t really plan, it doesn’t mean we don’t prepare – a lot. Checking and cross checking documents and essential items are something we’re meticulous with.

Insurance is one such part of preparation. Luckily, we already knew our insurance company covered us for all the countries we were potentially going to travel through, Montenegro included.

Having had the experience of an accident abroad, we knew they did what they said on the tin!

We also knew, they’re one of the few UK insurance companies who provide a fully comprehensive Green Card for Albania. They also did a Green Card for us travelling in Morocco last year.

Incase we drove in Albania on the return journey, we made sure we had a Green Card for the time we’d be travelling.

International Driving Permit

We also knew we needed an International driving permit for Albania, but already had this from the previous trip.

Travel Vaccinations and Insurance

We had a travel consultation with our local Superdrug store before travelling. This was really useful, and went over vaccination suggestions for countries we were potentially travelling to, not just Greece.

We’d already had travel vaccinations for past trips, so didn’t need everything on the list. We did, however have a Rabies booster, and also Tick Borne Encephalitis and Hep A.

Before the consultation appointment, we also did our own research on the travel website NaTHNaC. This gave us information to cross check and help make our decisions on any vaccines too.

Our travel insurance company has an option to extend cover from 30 days, so we pay an extra sum to cover the period of time we’re away. It also allows multi country travel in one trip.

Why travel in July? Greece by Motorhome

Mostly the reasons for choosing to travel in July were largely due to events out of our control.

Ventouris Ferries stop operating for Winter in September, so we were going to have to book a ferry before then.

Also, after touring Spain in the Winter and using our 90 day allowance, we didn’t have enough days left to use. This meant having to wait for our 90 day Schengen days to build up again.

The earliest time we were able to travel with a full 90 days again was early July. But, ideally, leaving home in May would have been a more preferential time.

Which route did we take to Bari?

It may come as a bit of a surprise, but we really don’t like planning trips and routes too much. This is mainly to keep travels spontaneous, without knowing where we’ll be from day to day.

As usual, we were hoping to come across new places too, especially in Italy. We knew there were to be some areas which we hadn’t seen on previous trips.

Although the journey through France to reach Italy is one we know very well, we weren’t really sure which way we’d be going.

But, as it happened, we both fancied a return to Annecy and the French Alps, mainly because we hadn’t been for a while. Otherwise, we weren’t set on a particular route, so didn’t make definite decisions until we were on the road.

Route to Bari taking 16 days:

• Dover – Calais – Irish Ferries. This was the cheapest at time of booking.
• Calais – Tolls and non toll motorway – Annecy.
• Annecy – French Alps – Lac Cenis – non toll roads.
• Lac Cenis – Susa, Italy.
• Susa – Toll road – Parma.
• Non toll roads to: Parma – Modena – Bologna – Republic of San Marino.
• Toll road – San Marino – Ancona.
• Non toll roads – Ancona – Loreto – coastal resorts of Adriatic – Puglia region – Alberobello – Polignano a Mare – Bari.

Booking the ferry to Greece

A couple of months before travelling, we e-mailed Ventouris Ferries to find an available crossing for July, using our ‘Open Ticket’.

We also decided to book a cabin because previously, we only had reserved seating and we didn’t really fancy this idea any more.

To add a 2-berth cabin with en-suite cost an extra €150, whilst the fee for 2 passengers with the campervan approx €190 which we didn’t think was too bad.

As we were dealing direct via e-mail, simply due to having this ‘Open Ticket”, the extra amounts were to be paid by bank transfer. Strangely, they didn’t take card payments.

Although our booking confirmation then came through by e-mail, the actual tickets were to be collected at the port from the Ventouris desk.

Ferry information:

• We originally booked direct online with Ventouris Ferries .
• There wasn’t an option to sleep on deck in the campervan.
• We had a 2-berth inside cabin with en-suite which was basic but functional.
• The departure from Bari was at 20.00 – Arrival in Igoumenitsa 8.30 the next morning.
• Boarding began at 17.00.
• Staff greeted passengers and individually escorted to the cabin.
• Pricing depends on travel date, vehicle type and size, passengers and cabin requirements.
• We originally obtained various pricing options through inputting our data on the website which was all quite time consuming.

On board the ferry

The ferry journey on a hot summer July evening was absolutely magical. Sitting on deck with a glass of wine, watching the sunset over a calm, blue sea was simply wonderful.

Thankfully, the crossing was calm and an early morning tannoy call, gave announcements for the first port of call which was Corfu.

This coincided with sun rise, so we took the opportunity to get out of bed early, venturing up to the deck to watch the early morning sun. This was an equally incredible moment, with the mountains of Albania almost in touching distance, the ship gliding through a flat calm sea.

In the end, we couldn’t peel ourselves away from the deck, until the last minute when docking in Igoumenitsa. The views were just so breathtaking, with sea birds gliding overhead and seals passing below.

Arriving in Greece

Our travels were to concentrate on the mainland only, thinking if we want to see any islands in the future, flying was always going to be an option.

Once off the ferry at Igoumenitsa, we took to the relatively hilly route along the coastline, stopping at Plataria, about 20 minutes away.

This is a really nice little town, with three motorhome stopover areas to choose from and a campsite on the outskirts.

A Camperstop in Plataria

To be honest, we just stopped at the first motorhome area that we came to. It was facing the beach and in the town with plenty of vacant parking places, so felt ideal for us to find our feet.

Despite it being July, the town was surprisingly quiet too. Plataria was the perfect first stop for us, as there were enough small shops to re-stock on supplies and plenty of tavernas. The sweeping bay and sheltered sea with small harbour provided our first chance of a dip.

Camperstop Plataria Beach, Giannoulis – €15 a night, EHU available, clean and modern toilet and shower area with washing machine available. We didn’t reserve, card payment taken, owner collects fee when on site.

Which route did we take leaving Greece?

Our return route from Greece was a last minute decision, and even then it was on a day by day basis.

So, to cut a long story short, we didn’t have a route plan, but instead took the journey in our stride, changing our minds many times along the way.

In the end, our route took us on the coastal road through Albania and Montenegro. We were initially thinking of spending more time in these countries, but it didn’t work out as we thought. Traffic was just too congested in the peak Summer, meaning most of our journey was stuck in terrible traffic jams.

Entering Croatia on the coast near Dubrovnik, we took the coastal route up to Rijeka which was relatively quiet, so a different experience altogether. We were then thinking of touring Istra again, but campsite prices in Croatia were proving too expensive.

Instead we entered Slovenia inland and returned to Italy for the remainder of our travels, before reaching the Italian Riviera and merging onto the French Riviera. Here we joined the motorway to make the journey back up to Calais over about 4 days.

Did we book campsites and was it busy?

We didn’t book any campsites or stopovers and we thought Greece was quiet considering it was Summer.

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