Cattwg Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I’m in the process of planning our trip to Greece for May and June. We intend to travel via Switzerland to Ancona and then ferry to Patras. The return route to be Patras or Igoumenitsa to Venice and then to Calais, again via Switzerland. The Switzerland route is a conscious choice as we have never been there and want to see a little of the country as we traverse it. I have done a search but all the posts seem to be a few years old. I would be grateful for opinions on: The ferry routes? The best ferry company to use? AnekSuperfast or Minoan seems to be the choice. Is it best to book the ferries in advance (on-line) or to buy the tickets locally? We fancy the ‘Camping on Deck’ option, at least one way? It seems a chair has to be booked even when camping on deck. Is it worth reserving an aircraft style seat? Would four weeks, actually in Greece be sufficient? We want to explore the Peloponnese, Athens and other places of interest en route through Greece. Rhodes is probably too far east for this trip. Campsites/stop-overs near Ancona? The best map for Greece? I’m thinking of buying the fold out Marco Polo. My wife does not like Michelin maps. Thank you. Cattwg :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dora_ex Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 We sailed from Ancona to Patras a couple of weeks ago -price Mimoan €240 - Superfast price €425 Mimoan included free cabin (as no camping onboard in winter and 30% of all meals for same reason). Prices we had over phones were higher, we just went to each ferry desk at port and got best price. From what we were told you do not need to book any cabins or seat if you don't want to - certainly not if you are camping on board. We turned up, booked and were on within 2 hours. We were told in summer its way busier so best to book as if not you can wait a few days - even for the €425 offer with Superfast it was 2 days for the next sailing. Apparently Annek / Mimoan are all same company now although boats are in different liveries and charge varying prices. Ancona is a fairly small port / terminal, staff in port and on boat brilliant, we were offered electric hookup on ferry. There are plenty of sostas (aires) to the North of Ancona, also campsites right along the coast all the way down from San Marino - at least one every mile or two. Hope some of that is useful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FRANKP60 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Went last year Venice to Patras early May ,ANEK lines booked in advance Camping on board ,boat was full going down .Return at Patras bookings only early June ,turning people away with booking.. Dont need aircraft seats ,use lounge seats or sit and sleep in van ,showers included.Watch out for illegals at Patras nightmare . Peloponnese brilliant had four weeks did all three fingers ,did not go on main land ,would think 4 weeks would be enough as we had plenty of beach time . Used Michelin Greece 737 and mainly ORAMA Peloponnese maps Have an article by Gary Blake from Practical Motor home if you want a copy Found some good campsites ,some not so good .Found a lot of notices saying no Wild camping. If you want to PM me will send you more info and magazine article . Fuel really cheap ,plenty of supermarkets . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 We are planning to go this September / October looking at spending 4-6 weeks there. Will probably book a ferry soon as after the ferry fire they may be a boat Down. Satmap if anyone has one have an offer at the moment of Greece at 1:25000 for only £35. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I envy you all!! Going to Greece. Love it. Been to almost all the islands, small and large, not with motorhome .We've been lucky enough to have had sailing holidays there, and also done a lot of package trips there, when we worked, so short of time. I hope some off you will post accounts of your trips. Not many posters do these days. There used to be some lovely posting(Diaries) of trips , don 't seem to have any now PJay Can I come as interpreter? I have a small knowledge of the lingo!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FRANKP60 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Dont understand Satmap £35.00 ,we used two maps from Amazon £6.00 each and Good sat nav Snooper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 FRANKP60 - 2015-01-11 9:08 PM Dont understand Satmap £35.00 ,we used two maps from Amazon £6.00 each and Good sat nav Snooper Don't understand are you telling me you got 1:25000 (4cm to km) scale maps that show all footpaths and walking trail bridleways etc. for only £12.(lol) Think you are confusing Satmap with car satnav totally different unit for hiking. Recent changes to mapping licenses in Europe has brought map prices right down, last year brought all of UK 1:2500 only £240 only 18 months ago would have cost £2,500, also recently brought all of France at 1:50000 for £230, year before just the Avgaune area I paid £70. All of Greece (excluding islands) at 1:25000 scale for £35 seems an absolute bargain. This link will explain Satmap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Well well well, satmap, good post Lenny 8-) Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FRANKP60 Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 ,Did not realize you where talking about walking maps . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiesgrandad Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Does no-one drive to Greece these days? We did it in a car a couple of times many years ago in Tito's era, and away from the dreadfull North - South main road we found it lovely. The coast road was fabulous, if a bit slow and tortuous, but the scenery and the people more than made up for that. If you do drive all the way go to Plitvice national park in whatever that bit of the old Yugoslavia is now called, we thought the island of Hvar was like heaven on earth, and do visit the Meteora in Greece. AGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peejay Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Hi, We've been across to Greece many times with the van, the following might be of use... Ferry Routes/Best Ferry... Anek and Superfast share the Ancona Greece route and Venice Greece routes. Camping On Board available between Apr and Oct with both companies. Camping on Board entails van plugged into ships power and you are allowed to stay in the van for the crossing for the price of deck passage, no need to purchase seperate recliners. Minoan operate Ancona Greece and Trieste Greece routes. Camping on board is not available with Minoan, instead they do a camper special where your van is plugged in on deck and you have an inboard cabin for the price of deck passage and reduced price meals, no acces to the van during the sailing. Book in advance or online?... It can be a bit hit and miss booking on line, their websites can be a bit flakey and confusing, I would advise booking with Viamare.com if its your first visit, they don't charge extra to brochure prices and get their cut from the ferry co, not you. You also get printed tickets as opposed to an online reference which might be preferable to you. If you book a return you should benefit from a 30% reduction whereas you will have to pay full price each way to book separately. If you're not sure of our return date book an open return to take advantage of the 30% discount and just ring them when you have a firm return date. Usually a few other discounts available for early booking, over 60's, ADAC/AA members etc once you start researching their websites. Beware fuel surcharges, Minoan included these in their brochure last year, with Anek/Superfast they were hidden in the smallprint, expect to pay about €15 per vehicl and person per crossing for surcharges on the Ancona route, more for Venice route. I looked online yesterday and Minoan and superfast have released their 2015 prices but nothing yet from Anek (probably busy with other things atm!) but prices should be the same as Superfast as they share routes. A few stoppovers... There is a good free stoppover at the Auchan supermarket just south of Ancona, nothing special but its safe and you can do a bit of shopping before your crossing. Another good aire in Switzerland we use as a transit stop is at Willisau, only 5chf payable by honesty box. More details and coords of other transit stops on the way down can be supplied if you need them. Maps... By far the best maps for Greece are the 'Road Editions' maps, particularly the one for the Peloponnese if you can get hold of them in conjunction with the Michelin Greece map for general use. I do have an online Google map of wildcamping spots and POI's I have compiled over the years if you're interested I can post the link although it might be a little out of date, more info if req'd, just shout. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 We went in 2010 with Anek: Ancona - Igoumenitsa return, so this now falls into your category of a few years old, but.... I'd suggest looking at the prices on-line before deciding whether or not to pre-book. I found that there were discounts for early booking, for return trips, and for being over 60. The net effect was that a return cost the same as a single, which was then €216. I doubt the present price would be so low, but there was then considerable advantage to early booking so, as above, worth looking in detail at what is on offer. I booked via Anek's English language Italian site ( www.anekitalia.com ). They resolved queries by e-mail in good English, and promptly. Paid on line by card, and they sent a detailed booking confirmation/receipt in English (same day) to present at the port office where the boarding card and return ticket were issued. All very efficient. Book in 2.5 hours before schedulad departure. All ran on time both ways. The scheduled sailing from Ancona was at 16:00, arriving Igoumenitsa about 08:00 the next morning. We spent the previous night on the municipal campsite in Bologna (excellent). Leaving there at 10:00 we were at the Ancona port offices just after mid-day via the A14 (about 135 miles). The ferry goes on to Patras from Igoumentisa. There was then no need to take a seat in conjunction with the camping on board option. There were pull down EHUs in reciol coils below the ceiling of the "open deck" (not actually fully open, but with large openings along the side of the ship) that had to be "fished" with a long pole. There is no guarantee of getting one, but there are a lot. I think it probably pays to locate, and use, the pole as soon as practical after stopping. The usual scramble ensued. NB, no gas to be used on the vehicle deck. We slept in the van, but ate our evening meals in the restaurant. Good meals. The ship was fully accessible from the vehicle deck throughout the crossing and we didn't, and I wouldn't bother with, reserving seats. Plenty around in lounges etc. On return we left the ship at about 14:30 (another overnight trip, depart 22:30, arrive 12:30) and stopped at Happy Camping Village at Bellaria-Igea Marina (very good site). About 1.5 hours/80 miles north. Very good supermarket (Romagna Center) within 10 minutes drive if needed for a re-stock. I can post GPS co-ords for all the above if interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 On duration, we spent 6 weeks in Greece, mainly circulating the Peloponnese, and then up to Athens for 6 nights. You could see a lot in 4 weeks, but it will depend on what you want to see, and how long you want to spend at each stop. We entered the Peloponnese at Patras and went to Corinth, then Epidaurus, Mistras (Mystra), Geraki, Gytheio, Flomochori, Vatheia, Kitta, Messene, Koroni, Methoni, Nestor's Palace, Karitania, Olympia, Mycenae, Athens, Delfi and Kastraki (Meteora), and back to Igoumenitsa. There is so much to see, and it gets quite hot, so rushing isn't agreeable. Also, be aware that roads on the Peloponnese can be mountainous and slow! Great trip, overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawcara Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Really interesting reading all this. Have any of you that have done these trips put them into a blog, for those of us, who can only dream of such a trip at the moment, to gloat over and perhaps learn from. Even pictures will do. When you go Lenny, assuming you're taking your van, can you produce some sort of blog or put pictures we could access. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Hawcara - 2015-01-12 7:32 PM Really interesting reading all this. Have any of you that have done these trips put them into a blog, for those of us, who can only dream of such a trip at the moment, to gloat over and perhaps learn from. Even pictures will do. When you go Lenny, assuming you're taking your van, can you produce some sort of blog or put pictures we could access. :-D Hi Alex, you had just reminded me I must update my web album that is linked in my signature got a bit lazy, I will update and keep it updated. Not likely to do a blog as my English/grammar/spelling is rubbish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Come on Lenny, do a blog, We don't mind bad spelling/grammar. THe computer should correct mistakes?? This forum is missing out on the travel adventures now days. We would all love to hear/see your travel journal PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Thanks guys for all the great input on this thread. We are now looking to do a 6 week trip spending 4 of them in Greece, will be giving Athens a miss, been there done that. From a bit of Research looks like there is some great walking in the Mt Olympus National park, in fact the whole of mainland Greece looks great for hills & walking. Must admit ferry booking appears to be the biggest nightmare we have still not decided which route to take. Were originally looking at an 8 week trip but SWMO wasn't so keen on being away so long and only doing 6 weeks avoids coming back through northern Italy & Austria when winter tyres & snow chains are required also save a few bob not having to extend the health insurance. A bit OT but seriously thinking of getting another set of wheels & winter tyres for next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ham Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 This blog is Current as the writer is in Greece at the moment https://baxterbus.wordpress.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 ham - 2015-01-13 11:57 AM This blog is Current as the writer is in Greece at the moment https://baxterbus.wordpress.com/ I have been looking at that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 Thank you to everyone who has replied to my post. It’s always good to receive first hand information and opinion. We’ll take it all into consideration as we continue to plan our Greece trip. Brian, your ferry price of €214 was a bargain. The best I can find so far is €532: Ancona – Patras and then Igoumenitsa and that’s with an early booking discount - nearly 250% increase five years! John (Cattwg) :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peejay Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I got a similar price in 2010 with Anek (£205 rtn), that was when Anek were offering a 50% early booking deal if I remember correctly. Unfortunately they're nowhere near as generous nowadays, in fact you need to double check as its possible that some of these early booking offer exclude the 'camping on board' option. The Superfast Ancona route does for example, read the smallprint..... http://www.superfast.com/msite/en/10-early-booking.html Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Not done in Motorhome, but it really is worth disembarking at Igoumentisa then a little way inland to visit the Vikos Gorge before heading further east to Meteora before heading south. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiesgrandad Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Can I just pick up on the comment about needing to have winter tyres fitted when driving in Italy/Austria during the winter months. We have never used the van for our skiing trips in various Alpine resorts, but we do take the car, and I have never had winter tyres fitted, but I do always carry a decent set of snow chains. I have never seen anything in any ski resort that indicated that special tyres were required, although there always the signs indicating when and where chains are required. I had always thought that if you have snow tyres you do not have to carry chains, and I know that colleagues living in such areas do have to have snow tyres fitted for some part of the year, but I never thought it applied to visitors. Isn't there something in EU law that says that if your vehicle is compliant with the law in the country of registration it is acceptable throughout the EU?, and tyres are prescribed by our national laws. Not trying to be controversial, but would be grateful for clarification. AGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kefi Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 We used to go to Greece for 3 months every year.We went with Minoan camping on board. We did not book as we did not want to be tied. Only once did we have to wait a day at the port, that was on a Sunday and there had been something special on in Italy that the Greeks were returning from so it was full. No hassle, plenty of entertaining chat while we waited in the sun. Avoid Greek Easter sailings which are chaos, usually different dates from our Easter. Greek Easter is worth seeing though. We drove to the port where there is a huge booking hall for all the various lines to get our tickets. Coming back to Venice in June/July is very popular with all the continentals and we booked the return on arrival in Greece at one of the numerous agencies. It was cheaper to book an open return with the same company rather than singles. We usually returned from Igoumenitsa as the coast north and south of there is one of our favourites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Archiesgrandad - 2015-01-14 11:52 PM Can I just pick up on the comment about needing to have winter tyres fitted when driving in Italy/Austria during the winter months. We have never used the van for our skiing trips in various Alpine resorts, but we do take the car, and I have never had winter tyres fitted, but I do always carry a decent set of snow chains. I have never seen anything in any ski resort that indicated that special tyres were required, although there always the signs indicating when and where chains are required. I had always thought that if you have snow tyres you do not have to carry chains, and I know that colleagues living in such areas do have to have snow tyres fitted for some part of the year, but I never thought it applied to visitors. Isn't there something in EU law that says that if your vehicle is compliant with the law in the country of registration it is acceptable throughout the EU?, and tyres are prescribed by our national laws. Not trying to be controversial, but would be grateful for clarification. AGD The requirement for winter tyres includes Germany (at minimum marked M+S) but not, so far as I am aware, Italy. It is also a requirement in Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Requirements vary, most requiring the full "snowflake" marked variety. Simplest explanation here: http://tinyurl.com/k7fhhrv As I understand the German requirement, the tyres are mandatory when driving on roads affected by snow, black ice, and frost. I am unclear whether this is between specified dates, but it appears to be more relevant to road conditions. The legislation applies equally to foreign registered vehicles. Simple non compliance risks a fine. However, if your vehicle is involved in an accident, or causes a traffic holdup, when not fitted with the appropriate tyres, more onerous penalties should be anticipated. Regarding your last point, I think you are referring to the Vienna Convention on International Traffic. This is not an EU treaty, although all EU member states must accept it. It merely states that a vehicle (or combination) that is legal on the road in its country of registration must be admitted to all signatory countries. It does not say that the laws of the country of registration take precedence over those of the host country. So, you may enter Germany with a UK registered vehicle without winter tyres, but may be penalised if your vehicle is subsequently considered to have the wrong tyres for the prevailing road conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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