Does anyone know how important it is to make a reservation ahead of time (online) for taking oneself and one's rental car (ACR) on one of the ferries from Igoumenitsa to Corfu? My husband and I will be driving from the Athens airport starting out at about 2 PM or 2:30 and want to stop at at least the Corinth Canal on the way to the ferry, if not also a meal (having been in Naxos for our first 4 nights in Greece just prior to flying back to Athens). The drive appears to take roughly 5 hours without any breaks, so we're guesstimating we might get there around 9 PM. I'm concerned about making a 9 PM ferry reservation should we for some reason arrive even later. (10 PM looks like the next later option).
At that late time of night, would we be ok not having made a reservation ahead of time? Worst case scenario, if we missed all the late ferries, I'm sure we could find a place to stay for the night, but I'd rather not have to spend that money since we have a place rented in Corfu for that night and two additional nights and would much rather be spending those nights there.
And then of course we'll ultimately be returning to the mainland via the same ferry route in reverse, but we won't have that same time pressure (as we head to Meteora).
Thanks in advance for any input!