Italy Ferry Inquiry

Robert, many years ago I took the Ferry from Patras Greece to Brindisi Italy as passenger without a car and your post piqued my curiosity as to cost. It's over 200 Euro for two people and a small car. http://www.greekferries.gr/ Check out this site for yourself. The trip is long and it stopped at Corfu when I took it. I would recommend doing that if you can! I think it would be a very long drive. I took the train from Stuttgart to Athens back in the day when you could do it without changing trains and it took 46 hours. I had Dutch friend whose daughter got stranded in Thesalonika and it took her close to 24 hours to get home. Viamichelin can give you driving routes. All in all though, it might be wise to look into flying and renting a second car in Greece, but only if you're going to drive outside of Athens. ; ) Pam

Robert, also many years ago I took the ferry from Brindisi, Italy direct to Athens (2 days and a night)through the Corynthian Canal. Quite amazing with about a foot of water on either side of an anormous ocean going liner, almost like a boat on land. It's the quickest and most relaxing way to get to Athens, but we didn't have a car and slept student economy class (ie on sacks in the hold). Quite what it would cost these days with a car I don't know. PS...I found driving in Turkey a bit nerve wracking!

There are daily ferries between several points in Italy to two ports in Greece (plus Corfu). The most common is Bari, Italy to Patras, which may also stop at Corfu and Igoumenitsa, Greece. All ferries I believe are overnight. By land, you are looking at a very long drive, taking you through Slovenia, Croatia, maybe Montenegro, and Albania. I too would suggest just getting a car for Italy if needed, return it, then pick up a car later for locales in Greece outside of Athens. You really do not want a car in Athens, and no need for a car for the islands. What you save in ferry fees, parking, drop off fee's, etc. will easily cover any discount seen for an extended rental. Beyond that, many companies do have restrictions as to whether you can use a ferry and what countries they allow you to drive in. For example, I doubt any major rental company would let you take the land route from Italy to Greece.

What is the best way to go from italy to Athens? Depends on your definition of "best". Fastest? Cheapest? Most scenic? You need to decide what your priorities are. Also, "Italy" is a bigger country than you may think - it's a long peninsula; going from Venice, for example, would have different options that if you are going from Palermo. Sure, you could drive, but it's not like driving from Port Townsend to Everett, with a brief, inexpensive ferry ride in the middle. Gas is expensive, and taking a car on a big ferry is expensive. Are you taking a rental car - and do you plan to bring it back? Renting a car in one country and returning in another will usually result in a stunningly big fee - and you may not be able to take a car into Turkey at all (the further east you go, the more restrictive the rental car rules may become). While it may sound romantic to "drive all the way along the coast" I suspect that won't be practical at all (unless you are OK with spending a fortune). My advice would be to get a better sense of where you really want to go, and consider where having a car is a nice convenience, and where it's just a monumental headache. Also check with your rental car agency where they will even allow you to take the car, and what they will want if you return it in a different country than where you pick it up. Hope that helps.

Although I have posted a reply to this question before and the webmaster does not know why my threads have all disappeared, and says that they will all be reinstated as soon as he has solved the problem, and at the risk that when they are I will have this thread repeated, here goes...... I travelled from Brindisi to Athens by boat. This involved going down the Corynthian Canal which was spectacular - just a foot or so of water on either side of an ocean going liner. It was a relaxing way to arrive in Athens and was not too expensive as we travelled as foot passengers and slept overnight where we could find a softish surface. Funds of course allowing you don't have to travel in style, but could book a berth. I am sure there must be departures for Athens from other Italian ports.