Will be spending two weeks to Greece basically driving the Peloponnese loop in early October.. Is it better to go back to Athens from Hydra and pick up the car or leave Hydra pick up the car in Ermioni and drive the loop? I assume that clockwise or counter clockwise doesn't matter.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11875 posts
If you make Hydra your 1st stop, then going back to Athens to get a rental car to do the loop probably makes more sense as Athens will have a greater selection (and probably better price) for rental cars than picking up in Ermioni and dropping in Athens.
Posted by
Midwest
2768 posts
If you can get the car you need for a good price, then Ermioni. The ferry ride is much shorter (and cheaper!), saving you time. If you go back to Athens, would you pick your car up at Piraeus or go into the city or to the airport? If the city/airport, then you add a lot of time, since those are the opposite way from where you need to be. Picking it up at Piraeus would be better but I am not sure what's there. Some people say driving around there is difficult, I didn't drive there but it looked ok to me.
I did a different order - flew into ATH, got a car, drove the Pelopponese, returned the car at Ermioni, took the ferry to Hydra, then ferry to Athens and did my Athens visit. Returning the car in Ermioni was fine, but I picked it up in Athens.
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
3397 posts
You have to make sure that you can rent from an agency that will not charge you an ARM and a LEG to drop off in a different place. FRom what I hear, there is a place in Ermioni called POP's Car Hire, which will do that, but according to internet forum reports be very careful of the car you rent, because some are older & not in good repair. There are also MAYBE a few of the Major rental firms (Avis, Budget etc) that have started offering a one-way plan with lower fees than before.
Up until a couple of years ago, it could cost y ou as much to drop a car at a distant point than it cost to rent it for a week. I remember helping someone who wanted to pick up a car in Thessaloniki drive from there to various places for a week, and drop it in Athens at airport. Offseason, the 7 day car rental was about $350... the drop-off charge was $300!.
It's important to know WHY... it's because Greece is not California, nor is it the USA. It does not have huge fleets of cars operating on a national network, competing with other fleets. Even "big names" like Economy and Budget may be Locally-owned franchises, NOT connected with an "economy" or "Budget" franchise in another location. So, if you drop your car in Athens, the Thessaloniki agency must send ANOTHER car, with TWO drivers, all the way across Greece to pick up your car. The drive is so long, they will have to sleep over at some point. So you can see why the charge.
There are many functions in Greece that aren't as easy as in N. America. For instance, the KTEL (intercity) busses are modern and have great schedules. However, they also are "locally owned" -- on the mainland, each "prefecture" (like a county) runs its own KTEL network. Some have timetables online, others do not. Some can give you bus times on the phone in English -- others only answer the phone in Greek. It can be challenging. That said, however (and it is a BIG however!!!) At least Greece has an extensive and efficient bus network that covers small and large towns alike, with well-run, comfortable vehicles, and which is used by ALL classes of Greek society --- which is far more than can be said for the Car-Mad US of A.