Greece Motorhome Tour- UK to Peloponnese
We drove Big Bill, our motorhome from the UK to the Peloponnese in Greece in early May 2022. This Spring motorhome trip to Greece has been on our travel wish list for some time, although originally I think it was going to be an Autumn trip. Spring or Autumn, missing peak season is always a priority.
I have been fascinated by Greece since childhood, learning about Ancient Greek History and Mythology at school. We have visited some of the Greek islands before, which we loved, but this time we wanted to explore the mainland, checking out some of the fascinating ancient sites and monuments, idyllic beaches, traditional tavernas, and the sparsely populated, mountainous landscape of the Peloponnese.
We started our Greek motorhome road trip by exploring the Peloponnese, before moving on to central and northern Greece. Expectations were high since we were looking forward to the famously sunny Spring weather with its pleasant temperatures and the lush landscapes of colorful wildflowers. I can now say that we were not disappointed and this trip has far exceeded our expectations.
This first post is about driving to Greece, which is a long way from the UK, here is how we did it with our motorhome but anyone traveling to Greece from the UK by car could also follow the same itinerary, albeit by car it would probably be a lot faster than it has taken for us.
The Long Way to Greece – England>France>Belgium>Luxembourg>Germany>Switzerland>Italy>Greece
We left our home in Dorset on a Sunday morning, May 1st making a beeline for the Channel Ferry at the Straits of Dover. The Channel Tunnel is an underwater railway tunnel connecting Folkestone in England with Coquelles in France. It was not our first time doing this route into Europe and just like the times beforehand we marvelled at this amazing feat of engineering whilst trying to forget that the sea was just a few meters above us. During the crossing, drivers are required to stay inside their vehicles. Brian even managed to catch a quick power-nap, before we arrived in France.
The Chanel Ferry is an underwater railway tunnel. We boarded the train with our motorhome.
The crossing was fast and within half an hour we were saying bonjour to France. We did not linger for too long on the French roads, since we wanted to avoid the expensive, but fast French toll roads and also try a different route so we headed for the toll-free roads of Belgium, staying overnight at a free parking area at the edge of a forest near the town of Wavre (GPS 50.7203;4.58735).
Our free overnight parking spot in Belgium.
The next day we crossed into Luxembourg, and realising how much cheaper it was for fuel there we filled up with diesel before crossing into Germany. Driving through the lovely Black Forest region and excellent, toll-free German roads we stopped overnight at a camper/stelplatz stop near the town of Baden-Baden (GPS 48.78233;8.20357). In hindsight, we could have stayed an extra night there and explored the pretty town, but we moved on crossing into Switzerland.
Before entering Switzerland we had to buy a vignette giving us a few days to use their motorway roads. The vignette can be bought at filling stations, post offices, or customs posts at the border, but we bought ours online from the official Swiss Post website. We stopped overnight in the Southern Swiss city of Lugano and since our camper stop/Aire (GPS 46.00017;8.94479) was so near the town center we managed to do some exploring in the afternoon. The main attraction of Lugano is the beautiful Lake Lugano and walking along the lakeside promenade towards the lovely park of Civico-Ciani is one of the greatest things to do there.
Guess where we are?
Beautiful views over Lake Lugano.
Lugano felt more like being in Italy than in Switzerland since all the signs and language on the streets were Italian. It is a very pretty town with lots of lovely cafes and expensive-looking shops. Unfortunately, we only stayed for one night and did not have time to explore it further.
The following day we continued driving through the amazing Alps, driving through the 17 km long Gotthard Tunnel that cuts through the mountains delivering us into Italy. This tunnel can get very busy during the high summer season, but in early Spring it was very quiet.
Driving through the Alps is spectacular.
We wanted to stay 2 nights in Bologna to relax and sample the delicious food that Bologna is renowned for, but we ended up staying 3 nights since the weather was not great, and therefore our plans of visiting the beach town of Rimini were scrapped.
To visit Bologna’s historic center was an easy bus ride from where we stayed at Camping City di Bologna (GPS 44.52499;11.37582). If you follow our blog, you will know that we often ride Little Bill, our scooter into town centers and places we want to explore further from our motorhome base, but this time we decided to use the excellent local bus service. The bus left from outside the reception area of our campsite, taking us quickly into the historic center.
Bologna has a beautiful historic center and a rich food culture with some fantastic food markets showcasing local produce. For many people, a visit to Bologna is like a culinary pilgrimage to taste many of the top products the Emilia-Romana Region has to offer.
Bologna is a foodie destination with markets selling delicious local produce.
Sampling the local produce is one of the best things to do in Bologna.
Bologna is also famous for its high number of porticos, making every building even more attractive with some extra living space. The porticos are also great for offering some protection from the rain and the hot sun during the summer months.
The historic Center of Bologna.
Climbing one of these tall towers is a great way to get a beautiful view of this amazing city.
My Italian Grandfather was from this region, so we were on a mission to find his childhood home. I got in touch with my cousins Silvana and Neca, who have visited it in the past and they provided us with all the instructions on how to find his home which was located in a very agricultural area not too far from Bologna. It was quite emotional for me to imagine him living there as a young boy. I felt a great affinity for this region and would love to return for more exploring, just 3 nights was not enough for me.
From Bologna we found ourselves going to visit another country as we drove uphill to the very small independent country of San Marino, staying overnight at a perfectly located parking area (San Marino Aire GPS 43.93558; 12.4436) with easy access to the old town. Not far from the parking area, there was a lift to the old town.
The small Historic Center of San Marino is very easy to explore in just a few hours.
There were celebrations going on at the Castle.
We enjoyed having a good nose around this place, and although it is very hilly, the old town was easily explored in just a few hours. Staying next to us at the San Marino Aire there was a British couple from Leeds called David and Sue who were also driving their motorhome to Greece. We enjoyed having a chat with them, little did we know then that we would meet up with them again twice during our tour of Greece (totally by chance).
After staying overnight at the Aire in San Marino it was time to catch our ferry from Ancona, Italy to Patras in Greece. We left San Marino in the morning and filled up with diesel (since it was a lot cheaper there) at a filling station just downhill from the Aire. Crossing back into Italy, we paid about Euro 6 toll to use the fast motorway to the Italian port of Ancona. Some of the Italian motorways have motorhome services (usually at a filling station) and therefore we were able to stop at such a place to fill up with fresh water (for a small fee) and discharge our grey and black water.
Arriving at the port of Ancona, we had to do the check-in first before proceeding toward the ferry boarding area. There was a huge queue at the check-in area, but luckily someone told us that we did not need to stay in the queue for lorry drivers and we could just bypass everyone and head for the Ferry Company Aneka Lines check-in desk. We had already purchased our Camping on board tickets (meaning we slept in the van on the 23-hour crossing) a few weeks beforehand since this route is very popular and tickets sell fast (more details about buying the ferry tickets at the end of this post). People who want to travel this route during the high season of July and August will probably need to buy their tickets well in advance.
At the check-in, we were given a card that we used for access from our decking area to the rest of the cruising ferry, such as restaurants, lounge, and outside area.
Port of Ancona, Italy.
Once checked in we were able to proceed to the embarkation area. We had about 3 hours to wait at the embarkation area (gate 16), therefore we had a look around the port area, and bought a hot panini for our lunch.
The ferry boat was huge and it swallowed up quite a few lorries, motorhomes, and cars. We were able to get an electric hook-up and also to stay overnight in Big Bill, our motorhome. We were given a card/key to get access to our decking area, therefore we could leave this area and go for a wander around the boat. We decided to have dinner at the self-service restaurant, the food was ok…not the worst we had on a ferry.
Relaxing with a drink in the ferry lounge area, overlooking Ancona, just before departure.
The ferry arrives at Igoumenitsa first, before continuing on to Patras. In this photo, we have just left the Igoumenitsa Port, before continuing on our journey.
After dinner, we returned to Big Bill and settled down for the night, surprisingly we managed to get a good sleep. The next morning we returned to the ferry’s upper decks for a coffee and to watch the beautiful scenery as we sailed past some Greek Islands, before arriving at the Greek Port of Igoumenitsa where many passengers disembarked, but we continued on towards Patras.
Our ferry left from the Italian port of Ancona sailing along the Adriatic Sea towards Patras in Greece (see both locations circled on the map).
Arriving in Patras
A very sunny day welcomed us into the Greek port of Patras, Peloponnese.
Our ferry arrived at the Port of Patras, Greece.
The beautiful Rio Bridge, Patras.
Arriving in Patras was exciting, we could not wait to get out of the ferry boat, and luckily it did not take long to disembark and we were soon driving out towards our overnight stay. Although Patras, Greece’s third largest city has plenty of things to offer our plan was not to linger here, but rather head towards the town of Diakofto and stay overnight at a highly recommended Beach Cafe Camper Stop (38.22368, 22.14663 – super nice hosts and if you spent €30 in their delicious taverna, your stay is free). At Diakofto we were planning on riding a very special vintage rack-and-pinion railway line between Diakofto and Kalavryta, through the dramatic Vouraikos Gorge.
This leg of our journey is the subject of my next blog post, stay tuned for that.
Tips and Practicalities
There are various different routes when traveling overland from the UK to Greece, our itinerary took 7 nights with one overnight stop in Belgium, one in Switzerland (Lugano), 3 nights in Italy (Bologna), one night in San Marino, and one night on board the ferry from Italy to Greece.
- We booked our Channel Tunnel crossing from England to France a few days before traveling since we were traveling during the shoulder season. Prices and availability vary during the high season.
- We used toll-free roads in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany.
- To travel across Switzerland we were required to buy a vignette, which we bought via the official Swiss Post website, which includes the use of the Gotthard Tunnel which links Switzerland with Italy. The vignette option we chose was valid for any 10 days in a year (although we only used 2 days, it gave us the option to use it again on our return trip, if we needed it), there are other options, visit the website for more details.
- We did pay for some tolls to drive on the motorway roads in Italy, mostly for convenience.
- Our ferry crossing from Ancona to Patras was booked 2 months before our trip, it might need to be booked even earlier if traveling during the high season. We used an Agent – Viamare Ltd – since we found the ferry websites very difficult for booking the Camping on Board option. Viamare were excellent, very knowledgable and helpful.
- We used the app “Park for Night” to find most of our overnight stops.
- We used the ACSI card to get a discount at many of the campsites we stayed at, and paid an average of Euro 18 for campsites in Greece. The one-year membership paid for itself many times over, although this discount card can’t be used during the busy summer season.
- Free camping/ off-grid/ wild camping/boondocking is not officially allowed in Greece, but there are many opportunities to do it during the low/shoulder season. Many Greek Tavernas allow for free overnight stays on their land as long as you buy dinner for at least one night during your stay.
- We arrived in Peloponnese, Greece on the 9th of May 2022 and left from Halkidiki (Northern Greece) on the 13th of June 2022 (I will be writing about all the places we visited in future blog posts). We did feel that we got to explore most of the places planned, but could have stayed a lot longer, although for personal reasons we had to end our trip sooner than expected.
Mainland Greece has so much to offer that it is impossible to see it all in just a few weeks. Tourists often overlook the mainland in favor of the beautiful Greek Islands, but in our opinion, the mainland has some of the most dramatic scenery that can be found anywhere in Greece paired up with incredible Ancient sites and jaw-dropping views. Add all that to the delicious Greek cuisine and wine, the warm Greek hospitality and you have a recipe for a very successful and enjoyable trip. Happy Travels!!
What a cool journey, Gilda. It must have been moving for you to visit your grandfather’s boyhood home in Bologna. Back in 1984, I visited my grandfather’s hometown of Asti in the Piedmontese region. I remember being treated like a prince and was fed huge portions of pasta. I was wondering how you came up with the name Big Bill for your house-on-wheels. Does it have anything to do with Mr. Bill from Saturday Night Live?
Thank you so much Joe. This overland trip to Greece was one of the best we have done so far with our RV/Motorhome.
Interesting that your grandad is from the Piedmontese region, we had planed to visit Asti back in 2020 when we travelled around Italy for 2 months, but unfortunately a new wave of Coronavirus infections meant we had to head home instead.
There is something very special about visiting places that have family history and connections, I loved visiting my grandad’s home town and imagine him there as a young man. Bologna is gorgeous and the food there is super yummy, I don’t think you would regret visiting it in the future.
The name of our motorhome is a homage to Brian’s late father (his nick name was Bill) and since we named our motorhome “Big Bill” it made sense to name our scooter “Little Bill”, they both take us along some very interesting places.
Fitting tribute to Brian’s father. Thank you!
Great detailed post about traveling to the property area of Greece in Big Bill, Gilda. Looking forward to your upcoming posts on the places you stopped at. Moving also reading about your touring your grandfather’s hometown of Bologna.
Thank you Annie. When doing my research on travelling overland from the UK to Greece, I noticed that there was not a lot of information about it, therefore I thought this post could be helpful to others doing this journey. Interestingly we did not meet many people from the UK travelling by motorhome around Greece, the majority of people we met were from Germany.
Visiting my grandad’s region and home town was so lovely and very emotional for me.
Fascinating traveling with you, Gilda. Living on the south coast gives you an advantage for the crossing to Europe. I would have liked to spend more time in Lugano, but probably could not afford it. A couple of hours in San Marino was enough. But I have very fond memories of Greek ferries and would have loved to arrive with you in Patras. We aren’t foodies and Greek cuisine certainly isn’t our favourite. As for Bologna, I’ve heard it’s a very interesting city, and with the ancestral link extra special for you.
Thank you Jo, indeed living in the South of England does make it quite easy to get into Europe with either the Eurotunnel or even the ferry boats from near us. We are very grateful for that.
Lugano is expensive, I think just one night there was enough for us. How long did you stay?
Getting the ferry across from Ancona to Patras was perfect, particularly because we were able to camp on board the ferry and sleep in our own bed.
Bologna is a beautiful city and the food is just amazing, I would love to return there in the future and explore further. I am also thinking of applying for my Italian passport, it would make life easier for us when travelling in Europe for longer periods of time.
Hi Gilda. You’ll probably remember that we spent three months travelling Greece last summer so I’m really looking forward to reading your adventures. I have to say we’re jealous about Bologna – we still haven’t made it there and it would definite a food pilgrimage for us, it’s been on our list since ever but we still haven’t got there. Glad you enjoyed it so much and stayed a little longer. Looking forward to the next post.
Hi guys, I do remember indeed your amazing travels in Greece. You visited so many gorgeous islands, I loved all your blog posts.
Bologna is a foodie’s paradise, the local produce is amazing. The food alone is a very good reason to visit Bologna, but the city has also lot more to offer.
I am enjoying your travels in Mexico.
Lucky you to be on the road again. Safe travels.
Thank you Peggy, we are so grateful to be able to travel again. We particularly love travelling with our RV/Motorhome and Europe has so much to offer, we are spoiled for choice.
Do you have any travel plans?
You have already visited so many wonderful places only during this part of the trip. I have also crossed the Channel in these special trains, I was wishing it was offered on land as well. No more fatigue or traffic jams.
Thank you! We loved visiting Greece by RV/Motorhome, being able to cross over into Europe via the Euro Tunnel was great. It is so fast and easy, albeit a little more expensive than crossing on the ferry boat.
I hope to soon be posting more about our travels in Greece, thank you for your comment.
Oh boy, I can’t wait to see / read the rest of your Greece pictures and adventures.
Donna, thank you so much for following along on our travels. This motorhome trip to Greece was epic, I am looking forward to sharing more about it with you. Warm wishes 🙂
What a fantastic journey! The road through the Alps looked really beautiful. We’ve never visited Bologna but it sounds like a great destination for foodies. It was also really useful to learn about the practicalities of the trip. Looking forward to reading about your further adventures in Greece.
Mitch, thank you so much. Driving this route via the Alps was very special, it is a very scenic road. It was my first time visiting Bologna and I was not disappointed. The food and wine alone are very good reasons for visiting this city.
Although it is a long way to drive from the UK to Greece, there are so many interesting places along the way, which make this trip even more worthwhile.
Gilda I very much enjoyed virtually traveling the route with you both now on your blog and via social media in real time. I am a big fan of the practical tips and locations you give in your blog posts. I am certain for anyone following your route a huge help.
Sue, thank you for following along on social media in real time and I am really glad you have enjoyed it. When researching for this trip, I realized there is a lack of good information, particularly for people who want to cross by ferry-boat from Italy to Greece. Therefore I hope the information provided here will be helpful to others doing this route.
Another great adventure and post. Cheers!
Thank you so much guys, it has been amazing. We were sad to return home a little earlier than planned, but we made the most of it and enjoyed getting to know mainland Greece. I hope to share a lot more about our travels in Greece on future posts.
We look forward to all your post!
I am in awe of how you organise your travels. You research, book what you can online thus avoiding queues and dissapointment. And you seem to embrace and enjoy every second of the journey as well as the destination. Glad you got to visit your grandfathers place. I remember you visited your nona’s house too. Thank you for sharing. Keep Traveller Interrupted on the road…..
Querida Val,
Thank you my darling, Traveller Interrupted is currently interrupted again hahaha doing this old house project is getting very boring and I can’t wait to travel again.
I was so pleased to visit my grandfather’s place near Bologna and imagine what life would have been like for him there in the early nineteen hundreds. Indeed I have also been fortunate to visit my grandmother’s home town during our tour of Italy in 2020, it was a very emotional visit for me.
I am looking forward to sharing more of this Greece motorhome tour 🙂
I’m glad you finally got to go on this trip, Gilda! I’ve only traveled to mainland Greece – never to the islands yet – when I was twenty or so and enjoyed my five weeks of camping (in a tent back then :)). Now that I have lived and traveled in the US for so long, it is hard to grasp that you can cross a country a day in Western Europe on your drive east. What a concept…
If you ever feel comfortable sharing, I am quite interested in the fees for everything you decide to do as well, like ferry rides or channel tunnels.
Liesbet, this trip to Mainland Greece has been one of my favourites by motorhome (so far). Travelling during the Spring season was also perfect, since we avoided the busy summer season.
Sounds like you have explored this region well back then in your twenties, sleeping in a tent is great when we are young. I think we both agree that our under canvas days are over…unless it is glamping and we have a proper bed hahaha.
In the US the distances are so huge that one can’t just nip over into another country that easily. It is indeed incredible that here in Europe we were able to cross more than one country in one single day.
I am happy to share how much it cost for us to do this trip, so perhaps I will do a post soon with all the costs involved on doing this motorhome tour.
Fabulous! You’re checking off my wish list destinations. We’ve yet to visit Italy and Greece. It sounds as if you had a good trip over, and wow, 23 hours on a ferry! Ferries are mind-boggling. We recently took a 1 hour ferry from PEI to NS and as I watched the enormous 18-wheeler trucks and RV’s board, I couldn’t figure out why the damn boat didn’t sink. 🙂 I’m looking forward to the next chapter of your adventure.
Patti, both Italy and Greece are mind blowing destinations. I am sure you and Abi will be impressed when you make it to these countries.
It was a long journey by ferry from Ancona in Italy to Patras in Greece, but we were able to sleep in our own beds (inside our motorhome) which was really nice. The ferry had some nice lounge areas for watching the scenery going by and the restaurant food was not too bad.
I enjoyed reading your recent trip from PEI to NS, lovely to see you and Abi travelling again.
Another beautiful journey Gilda. I see that Bryan has not lost his touch for finding the perfect spot to relax :). I appreciate our new home/life in Spain but I REALLY look forward to travelling more in the new year. My post is giving me itchy feet!
Lissette, this trip to Greece was my favourite by motorhome (so far), although Brian still thinks Norway is his favourite.
Sounds like you and Frank are very happily settled in Spain now? I am so glad for you, it is wonderful to have a home base you can return to after your travels. I do understand your itchy feet, I can’t be home for long without starting to get itchy feet also. I am sure you will soon be travelling again.
Perhaps we will meet you and Frank on the road sometime?
I love the route you & Brian picked, Gilda.
I used to live near Baden-Baden for two years and Lake Lugano comes with fond memories too. Yup, Bologna absolutely rocks. As a child I spent all summer holidays at a beach town near Rimini. Shame you didn’t get your beach day because of bad weather.
How cool you had an Italian grandfather. Totally understand how a visit to his childhood home would have been emotional. Crazy coincidence with David & Sue from Leeds, what are the chances! I had not been aware that there are ferries where you can spend the night in your own vehicle, very convenient.
Shocked to find out that I had never heard of Greece’s third largest city, probably learned at school, then forgot haha.. Great post!
Thank you so much Stefan. Sounds like you have lived in a great location near so many beautiful places, we were sad to leave Baden-Baden without exploring it further, but it is a place we will be returning to, in fact that whole region will be worth a few weeks of touring around.
Rimini was not to be, but I was so glad to have been able to visit my grandfather’s childhood home near Bologna.
I don’t think many people know about Patras, so much of the Peloponnese is still off-the-beaten-track and mass tourism tends to head for the Greek Islands, making this part of mainland Greece a real pleasure to explore.
Wow, what a unique adventure! An amazing journey and an exciting destination for you to explore 🙂
Martha, this motorhome tour of mainland Greece has been my favourite so far. Although for my husband Norway still number 1. It offered amazing scenery, delicious food and some incredible Ancient sites. I will be sharing more about this trip soon. Thank you for your comment.
Gilda, you travel through countries the way we travel through states in the US. It boggles my mind that you went to Greece in your motor home. Thanks for the very thorough explanation of how you accomplished this journey. Twenty-three hours on a Ferry would do me in, but I imagine it was worth it. Looking forward to reading more.
Suzanne, the convenience of crossing borders without having to show passports and van documents is fantastic, all thanks to the Shengen Area. Greece is quite a long way away from the UK, but it was lovely to have some interesting places to stop and take a break from all the driving, particularly Bologna where we stayed for 3 nights.
The ferry journey was long, but it helped that the sea was very calm and also we were able to sleep in our own bed, inside our motorhome.
I am loving your recent posts from Tuscany, such a fabulous family occasion.
Another wonderful post Gilda and so moving to read about your trip to see your Italian grandfather’s childhood home. I haven’t been to Bologna yet but have heard so much about it and would love to go one day 🙂
Thank you so much Rosemay 🙂
it was very emotional to finally visit my grandfather’s childhood home, I just wished I could have had the courage to knock on the door and ask the current owners if I could see inside the house also. Maybe next time. I definitely recommend Bologna as a very interesting destination with lots to see and do and with the bonus of tasting some delicious Italian produce.