Traveling to Greece by car is not such a crazy idea. Tourists every year become braver, deciding to organize such a wonderful and adventurous rally. Most often, friends or well-known people agree so as not to go alone to Greece by car. Very funny companies gather and travel directly in caravans - three, five cars each. This article will tell you how it feels to first drive to Greece by car alone, and next time with friends. It should be noted and borne in mind: almost all countries of the European Union take the state of the transport coming to them very seriously. Therefore, before going to Greece by car, you need to collect absolutely all the necessary papers. The documents will be discussed especially and right in the first lines.
About Documents
Firstly, you need to take care of the purchase of insurance. All countries that have to pass the Moscow-Greece route have their own insurance, but buying them separately is very costly and troublesome. The cost of a green card is much lower, and it will be a guardian angel on the roads of Schengen countries if you drive your own car. You can purchase it directly in the city where you live. The cost of a green card is approximately seven hundred and fifty rubles, it will depend on the class and condition of your car, as well as the chosen route. Experienced people warn: you can’t hope for chance! It is better to buy insurance for the whole trip, so that during the trip you will no longer return to this issue. And many extremely undesirable problems can be avoided. A trip to Greece should be a holiday, so do not expose it to the threat of disruption. In fact, a green card can even be issued online, immediately with home delivery. Not much trouble.
Now one more important stage. Preparation of papers for a visa. Yes, Greece needs a visa for the Russians! The set of these papers is standard. Anyone who goes abroad for the first time, and this trip to Greece with his own car for him is just getting a new tourist experience, will not be surprised at the list of documents, since he is ordinary. This is a passport, a questionnaire, photographs, a certificate of employment, a photocopy of a Russian passport - that’s all. If you go to Greece by car from Moscow, there are a little more documents, but again nothing special is needed. You will need a driver’s license, a certificate of registration of a car, medical insurance, a receipt for paying a consular fee and an approximate route where transit countries are listed. That's all the documents for a trip to Greece. Except for one point, the most important, except for the green card.
Very important!
And in the package of documents should be a reservation from absolutely all the hotels where you plan to stay. Therefore, simultaneously with the collection of documents, hotels need to be booked, having decided on the dates of the trip, having calculated the time so as to meet the deadlines. Because you need to return from the trip on time. And breaking the route to Greece is strongly discouraged. When preparing for this trip, one of the most important points is booking hotels, which must be done punctually and even meticulously.
There are special booking sites with the ability to cancel your reservation free of charge in case of need, and there will be no bad consequences for you in this case. The confirmation is sent automatically, and therefore it is impossible to present it at the consulate. You need to contact the hotels and request a fax, certified by seals and signatures. All receipts must be kept until the end of the trip — from parking lots, from intersections of toll bridges, to Russia-Greece toll roads, and, of course, to stay in hotels.
Route
We must try to fit as accurately as possible into the route that was presented at the consulate. For example, you can’t stop for a long time in transit countries, because you are not allowed to go to Greece by car from Moscow for longer than the documents indicated by you the same amount of time allocated for acquaintance with Ancient Hellas proper. The choice of this country for the first trip in your own car, however, is very successful. Of course, Greece needs a visa for the Russians, but those who wish to go to other countries are much more likely to receive refusals.
Greece will not overshadow this voyage, they give visas almost always. Of course, it won’t do without troubles, but these troubles are pleasant, because tourists quickly get a visa to Greece quite quickly and relatively easily. Moscow with its hustle and workdays will be forgotten already in the first kilometers. And the farther, the stronger will be forgotten. And the “sweetest” Greece is on its islands. And, perhaps, ferries do not function so excellently anywhere as there, which means that the car will not be an obstacle, on the contrary, it will help.
About money
The cost of transporting a car by ferry can vary from twenty euros to about seventy if the island is located far away, such as Crete from Santorini. Ferry tickets are also conveniently booked in advance on special sites. Toll roads, their number must also be taken into account and included in the list of costs. Abroad and especially in Greece there are a lot of such sites. Moreover, the amount of payment depends entirely on the type of car you are traveling on. The cost of a trip to Greece relative to other countries is very low, but to keep within the budget, you need to carefully calculate even the smallest costs.
For example, the Egnatia route for each of the six sections requires from two to seven euros, the Attiki route is approximately the same, and thirteen euros will have to be paid for driving along the famous Rion-Andirion bridge. So, drop by drop, and unexpected amounts run in, unless, of course, you foresee them in advance. A separate word about parking. For example, in Athens, guests of the country can park for three hours for free (at night, and during the day for three hours they cost six euros), but only where there are special white marks for guests of the country. Yes, and gasoline in Greece is expensive, as, indeed, throughout Europe. Carrying cans with you is prohibited, so count this as well. Ninety-eighth costs 1.8, and ninety-fifth gasoline costs 1.7 euros. Only for fuel at least twenty-five to thirty thousand rubles should be set aside for the couple of weeks that are planned for vacation. This total amount is average, it will naturally change, because it depends on the chosen route.
Transit countries
In earlier times, travelers usually followed through Ukraine, but now this route is almost closed. However, if you are not convinced by the impressions of those who decided to cross the border in Western Ukraine, the choice is yours. Now the bulk of car tourists travel through Minsk and Poland. Then you need to cross the most interesting territories of Slovakia. Everyone remembers that it is impossible to linger? .. And as you want! Then on the way will be no less wonderful Hungary, followed by Romania, and then Bulgaria.
Of course, this route is much longer than through Ukraine, but its duration is quite able to please many times. Firstly, wonderful roads. In Ukraine, this is not just bad now. There, the tracks in places are just disgusting. The only compensation for frequent forced stops is excellent food throughout the voyage in Ukraine. However, to follow countries such as Slovakia, Romania and Hungary, you must definitely purchase a vignette. It serves as a certificate of toll on highways. It is inexpensive, only a few euros. But the penalty for her absence will be three hundred euros. By the way, about fines - a separate word.
Contingency
In any case, have an untouchable financial reserve, because everything is simply impossible to foresee. For example, in Greece, all passengers must wear seat belts. The fines for not knowing this are simply unbearable. They can even deprive of rights! You can’t talk on the phone while driving, or rather, if you have an extra hundred euros. But the headset can be used. Admittedly, the amount of fines is not clearly defined. Here's how lucky. Sometimes overtaking a fine of eight hundred euros. It is imperative that you have in your car the entire relying kit for an emergency, a fire extinguisher first of all. If during verification it does not turn out, the fine cannot be avoided, and besides - rather big.
Emergency stop signs, spare tire, reflective vests, tool kits for minor repairs, first aid kit, tow rope - all this is a must-have. There should be no damage or tinting on the glass. There must be a sticker Rus. Baby seat for a child if he is traveling with you. And remove the radar detector long before crossing any borders. Failure to comply with these rules entails particularly large fines. There are many more nuances, but in one article to mention all at once is not possible.
Sample Report
Traveling to Greece by car opens up new horizons for perceiving the world. This is an unforgettable episode and an exceptional adventure in the life of every motorist. Roads are waiting everywhere, good and not very good, the reception is warm and cool, but under any circumstances, their own absolute independence dominates with freedom of movement, if travelers adhere to the established rules. Six and a half thousand kilometers, full of meetings, impressions and acquaintances with amazing places - how can such a trip not be bright? It would be possible to go completely and completely into the emotional sphere of impressions, but the readers of this article, who are going to Greece by car, need facts.
And therefore, we will try to free from the emotional component a review of a trip to Europe in a large car (such as the Land Cruiser), which also functions as a diesel engine. The clock does not need to be rearranged up to the border of Belarus and Poland. The destination country is only an hour behind Russia - such is the time difference with Greece and Moscow. In the evening, you are already at the customs in Belarus, cross the border into Domachevo, there is such a border crossing. The whole procedure takes about an hour and a quarter. Almost a thousand kilometers were covered in a day. The clock can be moved along the road, since the time difference with Greece and Moscow is the same as with Poland. It is better to spend the night in Radzyn Podlanski, so that in the morning go to the side of Slovakia. Slovak and Hungarian vignettes are acquired at the border. The first costs eleven euros, and the second costs almost fifteen. You need to pay in cash, cards are not accepted.
Way
In Slovakia, road repair seems to be underway everywhere. You have to go around a lot, the margin of time should be even more than planned. But tourists will see the Death Valley and many other attractions along the way. You can spend the night in a hotel or in a campsite (on Tisza - only nine euros per person). They enter Serbia quickly, but on the other hand - to enter - the line of cars is usually longer, it is better to adjust the return route in time or territory. At road toll points, a total of thirteen and a half euros is spent.
The next day you are already in Macedonia, where you need to refuel almost to the eyeballs, because diesel fuel and gasoline are the cheapest in Europe - less than ninety cents per liter of diesel fuel. By dinner, you will be already in Greece on the way to the long-awaited island of Corfu. Highways are paid for almost everything. Rather, those who are not paid are unlikely to come across, but they say that they are.
Isle
In the port of Igoumenitsa, everyone is very happy if they guessed to refuel in Macedonia. On the way there is not a single gas station, for this you need to get off the highway and refuel in any town. The route directly rests on the port, from where it is necessary to cross to Corfu. Ferry is expensive: for a car - forty euros and ten for each person. Depends on the service, the same tickets can become a couple of euros more expensive or cheaper.
People will be amazed at the size of the car, shake their heads and argue, like Gogol’s in “Dead Souls”, he will drive through the streets of Kerkyra - the capital of Corfu - or not fit in width on any of them. The movement of an SUV is clearly difficult. And the island must be explored along and across - so many beauties here. Everywhere traffic jams are worse than Moscow - fifteen kilometers to the port, and it will take more than an hour to go.
Visas
Now we dwell in detail only on obtaining visas. Although crossing the Ukrainian border is worthy of a separate chapter, but what is happening there now, probably without us all know. Preparation for the July journey begins in April. First you need hotel monitoring in search of inexpensive hotels, then the necessary programs are downloaded to the laptop, walkie-talkies and a navigator are selected and purchased. The collection of documents for visas and the issuance of a green card for cars at once for all countries can be completed in just a month, it takes exactly 2,900 rubles. At the same time, you need to worry about the connection with the house - buy the appropriate SIM card. Get visas now in comfort. The Greek Embassy has opened a visa center where services are provided even for the preparation of documents and transferring them to the consulate. There are always a lot of people who want to get to Greece. About forty windows for receiving documents cope with everyone, the line there is electronic, fast, without a crush. Very European.
Directly in the window they explain to everyone any incomprehensible moments, help to make copies, fill out the remaining documents. Wi-Fi works with Internet access, and therefore you can quickly get something forgotten from documents from the mail. Printers and photocopiers are available at no extra charge. There are practically no problems with visas. This is in Moscow. But, for example, in Minsk, where fellow travelers can come from, everything is completely wrong, there is no Greek embassy. A visa is issued in Lithuanian (and in Lithuanian slowly). But here, the Greek embassy in Moscow helps out: by proxy, you can apply for visas to Belarusians even without their presence. And just as fast. They cost Muscovites thirty-five euros, and Belarusians sixty. But this is not comparable with the inconvenience that would have to endure in the Lithuanian embassy.