I'm in Corinth trying to plan a Greek island hop (1 week) to turkey (1 week).
Let me know what you guys think of this route, hits the basics, maybe 2 or 3 days on each.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4es448kz5GXqgtt96
My biggest question should I bring the rental car from Greece on this journey or should I wait to get to turkey and rent one?
You need to make changes to your plans.
First check to see if your rental car is allowed to travel on ferries as many are not.
Next find out the cost of the drop fee in another country. We were quoted 1000€ for dropping a car from Lisbon off in Barcelona.
We crossed the border from Portugal to Spain to get a Spanish rental car, problem solved.
@Suki - Had a similar car rental dropoff quote for a proposed rental coming fro Portugal and ending in Spain. Did the same thing as you -- crossing the Portuguese-Spanish border (by bus, a tiny old foot ferry, and a long walk) was a half-day adventure, but it saved a bundle.
Yes, IME many (most?) car rental contracts explicitly forbid taking the car on ferries. Sometimes they will remove that prohibition for short, domestic ferries if you ask nicely (before committing to the contract!), sometimes they won't. I believe the language is often just standard "boilerplate" in ALL rental contracts, and explicitly put there to keep people from taking the car on international ferries.
OP needs to check with car rental agency to find out if they will even allow the car to be taken from Greece to Turkey at all (not on a ferry) -- I suspect many would not. Then check the ferry question. Then ask how much you would pay for that. My guess is, a shipload.
Cars can be rented any place a tourist can reach. Taking one on an international ferry...may get complicated and expensive. Start thinking about your Plan B.
Budget says I could take the car on boats and into turkey... but they need 10 days to make permits... so this plan is dead... I think turkey plan is dead too... just gonna chill on greek islands for 2 weeks... now to figure out which one.
Now that you've looked at a map, it looks like you've also just seen a calendar.
A single week was not possible for the trip to the islands that you want to do.
Now, about the car rental.
As you have noticed it will be very difficult if not impossible to find a rental agency allowing you to make your trip with a single car.
And you can thank them, they are doing you a favor by denying you this possibility.
Here's why:
1/ Few car rental agencies accept that you take the car on a ferry. This will limit you considerably in the choice of rental companies.
2/ Those who accept will make you pay a high price
3/ If there is the slightest problem with the car, you are in a hell of a mess to get assistance
4/ With your travel style you will not drive it but see it parked most of the time in the garage deck of a ferry or travel the 3 kilometers between the port and your accommodation.
5/ In the ferries you will pay the ticket for the car
6/ If we add up the ferry hours, you will pay the equivalent of several days of rental while you and your car are on a ferry
7/ Not all ferries take cars, this will severely limit your travel options
If you are traveling in the coming days, contact local rental companies in the places you are going to visit. Give them your day and time of arrival, your day and time of departure.
Many have the possibility to book online, with other rental companies you can book by email.
The prices for a small car range from 25€ to 45€ / Day depending on the islands and the rental companies.
personally I always choose rental companies that accept cash.
For example this month I rented cars several times on the islands. I didn't pay anything in advance, everything was booked by email. Taking the car lasted 5 minutes, (the last rental company did not even need to see my driver's license)
The return of the car takes only 2 minutes. You give the keys, they briefly look at the condition of the car and that's it.
For 2 weeks rental of category B cars I paid a total of 272.80 Euros (in cash)
It was for the car part.
For the choice of the islands there would be a lot to say too.
Thanks... good stuff guys, this island hopping thing is as foreign as a trip to Mars for me. Grew up in Florida where you drive to the beach in a car you own, or take a cruise to the Bahamas, that is my beach life until now.
I think I decided to spent 4 days on milos, the geology looks incredible... will take a taxi to the hotel, hope/suspect they are waiting at the dock. Found a hotel that books without a credit card on expedia. Once in hotel, ill try to rent a scooter, I have a US motor bike license. I think I will spend the first day touring the entire island on bike and doing photography, get that out of the way and learn. Then I will just relax on my favorite beach, maybe try to scuba or jetski.
That will get me through Friday and hopefully enough time to plan the next island hop, any suggestions? I think I've had enough archeology but wouldn't hurt... looking for beauty, scuba, photography, geology mostly but anything new or interesting. I just need to be back in athens June 15th for the flight.
Thanks for the help "people of Rick Steves", I suspect I would have lost a kidney by now without you... on this crazy 8 week journey.
Milos is an excellent idea .
you will find beautiful beaches, typical villages, animation in Adamas, the main city, and lunar landscapes.
Renting a vehicle is a bit specific in Milos because the whole south western half of the island is a preserved area (Natura 2000) and there are certain restrictions for driving in this part of the island. these are not prohibitions but the rental companies will not allow you to go there with a classic car or a scooter, you will have to rent a quad or a 4x4.
The "roads" are not passable with traditional vehicles.
However the rest of the island is large enough to satisfy your scooter riding needs.
Also from Pollonia, north of Milos you can take a small ferry to go to Kimolos which is a charming island preserved from mass tourism. the crossing takes 30 minutes and you can take your scooter on the boat. It's a good destination for a day trip (or more).
I don't remember having seen jetskis in Milos but maybe I didn't look correctly, the water sports in the majority of the Greek islands are rather surfing, kitsurfing and windsurfing, which is less noisy and less polluting.
I always wanted to try kote surfing? Is it hard? Do you need training or can you just go?
Do you need training or can you just go?
That's a good one!
Milos for 4 days and 4 nights was fabulous. I started a new post for my next leg of the journey, any input appreciated as always!
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/greece/santorini-to-1-more-island-then-turkey-help
