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Greece by motorhome has been a big present. A dream come true for years.

We are Pilar, Jose, Arnau and Anna, a traveling family who loves life and this planet. We normally travel by motorhome, before by van, but we also like cycle tours and even backpackers. In our Kucavana blog, we have been sharing our adventures with you for more than 6 years and helping you with what you need for your next trip.

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As lovers of history and classical culture, Greece was one of those essential destinations. The pandemic delayed our trip, but finally, today, we can say that we have enjoyed Greece in our Kucavana motorhome.

As always we travel as a family, with our 6 and 9 year old children. The only ones who did not come with us on this trip were our dogs Max and Bloom. Despite having planned everything with them and even having booked pet-friendly cabins on the Grimaldi ferries, we finally decided that it was better for them not to come. It was the first trip of the Kucavana without Max, the oldest of our traveling dogs. And despite missing him, today we think it was the best decision. The heat and loose stray dogs would not have been a good plan with our dogs in Greece.

In this post We tell you everything about our trip through Greece in a motorhome. Our experience, research, discoveries and everything essential for your next motorhome trip through Greece. We hope it will be useful to you and that, in the comments below, you will expose us your doubts, experiences, experiences and your own advice.

Let's start, grab the wheel, we are going to prepare the trip to Greece in a camper, caravan or motorhome!

Before starting you should know these 20 curiosities about Greece

Everything you need to know to visit Greece by motorhome or camper in an initial summary video

In the following video we make a summary of everything in this post. We show you the alternatives to access Greece in a motorhome, the rules you have to know to drive, park, spend the night and camp in a motorhome in Greece and finally some curiosities and things that will be good for you to know before traveling in your motorhome or campervan in Greece.

Remember to follow us on Youtube, give a like if you like the video and tell us any questions you have.

 

How to go to Greece by motorhome or camper from Spain?

The first thing we consider on a camper trip to Greece is how to get there, how much it will cost and how long it will take to get there.

That is why our first step was to make a comparison of kilometers, expenses of the different options that exist to access Greece in motorhome and times it would take us to arrive.

From that comparison we have written a post about how to go to greece with your mobile home, where we explain the details of the 3 possible alternatives to go to Greece in a motorhome: by road, by ferries or by air and renting there. In this article you will find expenses and all the details of where to take the ferries, etc.

In short, we chose to go on 2 ferries, all from Grimaldi Lines, although the second ferry is from a sub-brand of Grimaldi, the Greek, Minoan Lines. So we took a first ferry from Barcelona to Civitavecchia, then crossed Italy in 3,5 hours of driving and then took a second ferry from Ancona to Patras in southern Greece. For the return we did the reverse, but we left the north of Greece, from Iogumenitsa to Ancona, in order to save kilometers.

If you plan to take ferries to Greece, which was our choice, think about reading our article on 10 things you should never do when boarding a motorhome ferry.

Circulate and drive in Greece in a motorhome

When we arrive in Greece, the first thing we will do is drive through its roads with our motorhome, so Before driving we must know your highway code and culture behind the wheel.

In general, the Greeks are patient, they don't whistle you and they are calm. Now, sometimes they are also a little reckless, but not exaggeratedly. We went thinking that they drove much worse than what we found and perhaps that leads us to say that it is an easy country to drive.

General regulations

The Greek highway code is based on European directives and is therefore Almost the same as Spanish. For example, it is forbidden to drive while talking on the phone or ride a motorcycle without a helmet, even though the reality there seems different.

6 Curiosities and problems on Greek roads

One thing is what the highway code says and the other is the reality on Greek roads. Hence, here we collect some curiosities that you should know before driving through Greece with your motorhome or camper van.

Signs and signs in Greece are easy to understand

Signs and boards in Greece are in the Greek alphabet, but also in the Latin alphabet and translated into English. This makes it easy for tourists, like us, to drive around Greece.

Greek gas stations are 100% customer oriented

In all Greek gas stations you will see that a person attends to you, there are few automatic machines. The clerk, in many cases, in addition to filling your gas tank, while, will clean your glass. Not being used to the latter, we gave a tip that was greatly appreciated.

1 lane with hard shoulder makes you 2 lanes

Luckily, you will only see this in secondary roads with shoulders, which are not the majority, but rather the minority of roads that you will pass on a route like ours. But on these highways remember to get to the right, on the shoulder. If not, the Greeks can overtake you on the same shoulder if they see the gap. On these highways they make two lanes out of one.

They advance continuously in continuous

The thing about the continuous line on the roads seems to be misunderstood. Much watch out for reckless overtaking. Remember, always drive well glued to your right.

They break traffic rules too often

See someone drive talking on the mobile, without a helmet on a motorcycle or 3 on the same motorcycle is more than possible on Greek roads, so be careful.

Altars and chapels on the roads

On every road you will see many small orthodox chapels and altars. Some to protect the road from accidents and others in memory of an accident.

Camping in Greece in a motorhome or van

free camping is totally prohibited in Greece by law 4403 / 2016 article 31 Greek. You can only camp in places enabled for it such as campsites or legally established camping areas.

In particular, the law speaks of the special attention against camping in archaeological sites, beaches, forests and natural parks.

In Greece camping is considered overhang the perimeter of the vehicle, that is, take out tables, chairs, awning, cook outside, etc… And, in addition, “settle in a place with a motorhome”. The law speaks of motorhomes in particular, that few European laws introduce them. On the other hand, it speaks of establishing itself as an abstract concept, interpreted by the majority of authorities and town councils in the most restrictive way, which is how spend the night

Totally prohibited wild camping in Greece
In Greece, it is totally forbidden to take tables, chairs, awning, cook or take any item out of our vehicle in any public place. We can only camp in campsites or private places.

Overnight in Greece in a motorhome

As we have said above, the free overnight stay is a sensitive issue in Greece, legally not allowed expressly but implicitly prohibited. This is because the legislation that prohibits free camping throughout the country is not clear about it, but it does allow the concept of “settling with a motorhome” to be prohibited. Being this interpreted by the municipalities and police as spending the night in a motorhome.

Hence, we find that in Greece it is free overnight stay is totally prohibited in:

• Archeological sites
• Beach
• Forests and natural parks

In these places we can park, but not spend the night as a general rule.

That is why in many places of these You will see signs prohibiting camping and even if you do not take items out of your vehicle and stay overnight, they still fine.

Camping prohibited sign = overnight stay prohibited in Greece
In Greece, when you see a sign that prohibits camping, it also means that it is forbidden to spend the night, remember.
The fines can reach 300 euros.

Out of these places within towns, you will find everything, some with forbidden camping, which to remember also means for the Greeks, forbidden to spend the night, and others without signs and that nobody will tell you anything anywhere if you do not take out tables, chairs, etc.

In towns where camping/sleeping is prohibited, you will also find that sometimes the town hall even enables a place for motorhomes and usually for free. A clear example is Nomenvasia, which kindly sends you to the port to spend the night.

Places to stay in Greece

The campsites

In Greece, there are not as many campsites as in Spain, which is surprising with the number of kilometers of beach it has. But, the campsites are certainly the best option to sleep and camp legally and comfortably in Greece. Closer or further from the places of interest, you will surely find one.

El camping model in Greece it is far from the model that Spain is creating of “glamping”. There are no campsites with slides and large pools, or campsites with activities and parties. All campsites are relatives, run by a greek family, very quiet and affordable prices (the average price we pay in high season for 2 adults, 2 children and a motorhome has been €28-35 per night) and with two social nerve centers: the swimming pool, without many frills, and the tavern, where dinner is always great.

It must be said that for us it has been the best option to spend the night on this trip. When going in June-July and it was hot, the campsites were essential to be able to park in the shade of their trees, camp and cool off in their nearby pools and beaches.

motorhome areas

In Greece there are only 9 motorhome areas with all the filling and emptying services complete. they are all private payment, and most of them their owners are owners of a tavern (the typical Greek restaurant). One example is the Pounta motorhome area, in the parking lot of a tavern near the beach, where in exchange for eating and paying an extra €3 for the motorhome we were able to spend the night and spend 24 hours.

Taverns

El main model of Greece for overnight stays for motorhomes and camper It lies precisely in these places: the taverns. Taverns that let you spend the night in their car parks for free in exchange for lunch or dinner, and sometimes offer you an extra service such as water or letting you use the bathrooms.

You will find many taverns where they allow a free overnight stay in exchange for a drink in their restaurants. Undoubtedly a great option and one that we really enjoyed. You can locate them without any problem in the apps for locating overnight places for motorhomes.

Municipal car parks

In some places that do not have campsites, motorhome areas, private parking or taverns for the night, the municipality enables a place to spend the night to motorhomes. Although more than enabling, mostly they simply allow you to spend the night in a municipal car park.

In these car parks, remember, we can never camp (take out a chair, table, awning or anything that exceeds the perimeter of the vehicle).

On the other hand, legally where we can spend the night will be in the private pay parking, although we will find these in very few places. An example, in our case was in Athens where we spent the night in a private guarded parking lot.

Services for motorhomes in Greece

As we have already mentioned above, the The issue of emptying and filling water services is very limited in Greece. They will only be campings the main places we have to do these services. In all the campsites they have all the services of filling and emptying of water plus electricity.

 Apart from them we only have in the whole country 9 private motorhome areas with all services and 1 dumping area on the highway Leaving Athens.

Our trip to Greece by motorhome: map, costs, the best and the worst

Summary of our trip

Our journey and experience has taken place between June and July, for 21 days.

We left Ferry from Barcelona to Civitavecchia, we crossed Italy in 3,5 hours and took a second ferry from Ancona to Patras, our first point of contact with Greece. From there we traveled through southern Greece, through all of the Peloponnese and some islands, to the northern center of Greece in Epirus, where we took the first ferry back home, from Iogumenitsa to Ancona, Italy, and from there we went to Civitavecchia (3,5 .XNUMX hours of driving) to catch the second ferry back home to Barcelona.

Map of our trip

Then we leave the map with the places of interest and the best places to spend the night in Greece that we have prepared for our trip. By hiring our personalized route assembly service you will have it updated.

Our route and essential destinations what to see in Greece based on our experience

Next, we show you our favorite destinations and the best things to see in Greece in a video and post with photos and the explanation of each one with all our experience and advice in the next post.

The 16 destinations that we consider essential in Greece by motorhome in a video summary

List of other posts that we have of essential places for your trip through Greece in a motorhome

• Mycenaethe origins of our civilization
• Maroon, the great city of the Roman Empire in Greece
• Athens, the capital of Greece
• Delphi, the holiest place in the world for the ancient Greeks
• Meteora, between monasteries on amazing rocks
• Pindos National Park and Vikos Gorge, the great surprise of our trip
• Ioannina, the capital of Epirus that breathes modernity at the foot of a beautiful lake

The selection of the best plans with children in Greece

And if you are traveling with children, check out our selection of the 14 best destinations to see in Greece with children.

Expenses of our trip to Greece in a motorhome

our journey of 21 days to Greece has supposed us $5.498 of expenses in total for the 4 that we travel and with the transfer of our motorhome go and return by ferries from Barcelona to Greece.

The costs are broken down as follows:

• En Services: ferries, gasoline, tolls a total of 3.145,5 € (ferries about 2200 euros from Barcelona-Greece to go and return)
• Restaurants and coffee shops: €782 eating every day in a restaurant.
• Appetizers and leisure activities, plus a taxi to access:  495 €
• Campsites, areas and paid parking for overnight: €380
• Supermarkets: €380
• Others (souvenirs and various purchases): 292€

Tips that we give you for a trip to Greece in a motorhome based on our experience

• Wear a medical travel insurance, since public health there leaves a lot to be desired and is not like in Spain. Minimum otherwise remember to bring your European health card. We carry Iati Escapadas insurance, which is very well priced and apart from medical expenses, includes motorhome travel issues such as theft inside and even accidents involving the pet you are traveling with. I leave you here a 5% discount (they apply it to you at the end of completing everything, you'll see):

• Wear escarpines or river shoes in the motorhome and always in the beach bag. There are many pebble beaches.
• if you go in ferries, book them in advance to have a place and make it cheaper. In addition, make the loyalty card and you will save. And during boarding, remember to take a jacket for air conditioners, swimsuit for the ferry pool, games for entertainment and some food if you want to save on it on the ship.
• speak a minimum of English. They don't speak Spanish at all, but everyone speaks English, even the grandmother of the most remote Greek village. And if you don't speak English, a piece of advice, download the Google Translate app, with automatic translation, by audio and by camera, an essential in our trips.
• On the roads whenever you can drive the furthest to the right, inside the shoulder and so you will not have problems.
• If you can take highways, they are great and the prices are small amounts, although the motorhomes pay three times as much as a car.
• If there is a sign of forbidden to camp also mean forbidden to spend the night in Greece. Do not park at night or you can find yourself a pretty safe fine.

More tips for traveling by motorhome in Greece

• Never, never camp or spend the night on beaches, archaeological sites or forests. Aside from being prohibited by law, you may receive a prescription for 300 €, as has happened to some friends, and in unmarked places.
• Use more campsites than taverns for overnight staysIn the end it is cheaper to pay for camping, which is about €20-30, than not paying for lunch or dinner at the tavern. And in taverns there is generally no way to empty gray or black water.

• Take advantage of the fact that the most important sites and monuments are open until 20:XNUMX p.m. in summer to visit them in the afternoon and take advantage of the mornings to suffocate the heat on the beaches and swimming pools of the campsites (they all have swimming pools from what we have seen).
• Most of the monuments and sights in Greece still today They do not have their own website and tickets cannot be purchased online. Surprising right? The only one official website of all the monuments you can see it here. Now, the only thing that can be reserve and buyr before are the entries of the Acropolis of Athens here and believe that it is worth doing not to do tails.
• La eating It is a bit more expensive than in Spain, like the prices in France, but the products are practically the same. We bought at Lidl and found the same products as in Spain. Thus, if you want to save weight and thus fuel consumption during journeys, you do not need to load the pantry much in Spain.

• En general, we liked the north of Greece better, than the Peloponnese that we find very abandoned and uninhabited. We advise you not to forget to see the center and north of Greece, it has nothing to do with the south.
• Do not even go to park in Sparta. It is not worth what you have to see and on top of that there is an organized group that breaks windows and steals from vehicles, including motorhomes. We were able to see them in action and luckily they didn't end up robbing us and everything was an anecdote.
• En Athens there are also thefts to foreign vehicles and motorhomes, just park in paid guarded car parks or at the campsite. At the Athens campsite, book well in advance, when we went to Reserve it was already full.

So far everything you probably wanted to know about Greece in a motorhome or camper. We hope you liked this complete guide lovingly prepared from our own experience.

We will answer any questions in the comments. See you next trip!

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