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Driving in Greece

Greetings, My wife and I are doing 14 days in Greece and Crete. We plan on renting a car and driving the Peloponese and then going all the way up to Zagoria and Meteora for a couple days. The distances don't look too long for a California Driver but our experience in England taught us to be much more conservative in how far you try to drive in a day. What have others experienced in how quickly you can get around by car in Greece? thanks Saxon

Posted by
32173 posts

Saxon, The first point to note is that EACH driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit for driving in Greece. I was asked to produce one the last time I rented there. I'd suggest packing along a GPS along with a good Map. Some (but not all) road signs use the Cyrillic alphabet. It would also be a good idea to budget for good CDW coverage. Happy travels!

Posted by
4 posts

thanks for those items, yes I expect that alphabet can be challenge. How far did you drive and did you find that you needed to be conservative in the time allotted for the distance?

Posted by
2380 posts

We were in Greece a number of years ago and toured Meteora and the Peloponese (as well as Athens and Santorini). We drove from the Athens airport to Meteora and it took about 6 hours. We spent 2 or 3 days in Meteora and it was fantastic. I think it deserves 2 days. We then drove to Delphi and stayed 2 nights there which broke up the long drive from Meteora to the Peloponnese. We home based in Napflio for several days so the drives were not long. We loved Napflio and the Peloponese. Driving in Greece was easy. However the roads from Meteora to the Peloponnese were through some mountainous regions and the driving was a little hairy coming down from the mountain. Think really winding narrow roads, big rigs and goats that might suddenly appear on the roadway. We did not have any trouble with the road signs even though they were in Greek. Definitely have a good map. In some outlying regions you may not find someone who speaks English to give you directions. We got a little lost on the way to Napflio but the map and an English speaking gas station attendant helped. Have a great time in Greece. It's a marvelous country.

Posted by
1500 posts

We were in Greece last Sept and drove through the Peloponnese for two weeks. We did not drive to Meteora. The roads were good and most of the road signs are in Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, and English spelling. There may not be all three on the same sign but then there will be two signs a short distance apart. We had a map and we had also printed directions from Google for each leg of our trip so between maps and signs we had no problem. Can't help on driving time as we stopped quite a bit for scenery and sights. We can say that we spent 13 days from Piraeus, around the Peloponnese, Loutraki, Nafplio, Monemvasia, Kardamili, Archaic Olympia, Delphi and then dropping the car off in Athens. You didn't mention where in the Peloponnese you plan to visit but there are so many ancient sights that it will be difficult to see them in the time you have. It would help if you give us an idea of your route so we can better help you.

Posted by
4 posts

thanks so much that is all helpful information. Our rough draft itinerary is Athens for two days rent a car and on to Napflio for a couple nights, stopping in Corinth on the way, then down to Moenmvasia for a night and then up to Olympia for a night and on up to Meteora for a couple nights, then down to Delphi for a night and back to Athens to catch the night boat to Crete for 3 days and fly back to Athens for a night before coming home. We may add a night here or there onto those one night stays since we basically like to try and settle in to locales. cheers, Saxon

Posted by
4535 posts

Your plan seems pretty reasonable. You can easily drive across the Peloponnese in less than a day, especially if you stay on the main highways. I found the roads to be good, well marked and lightly traveled. Many rural roads will be very wide, always stay near the right rather than down the middle - the middle is for passing. Compared to England, I found Greek driving to be much faster and more efficient - there are fewer towns and urban congestion and fewer roads to get lost on.