Car travel in Greece

I am planning to drive in Peloponnese, and I have a few questions.

1. Connection from Athens. I was advised to take a ferry to PortoHelli,
and rent a car there. Unfortunately, my flights arrive too late and
depart too early for the ferries, and I don't want to spend 2 nights in
Athens. I am thinking of renting a car near Athens, and driving it to
Peloponnese. Any advice on where to rent ? I heard that traffic near
the airport and Piraeus is unmanageble.

2. Have anybody used Swift car rental ? They'll drive you out of the
traffic, but I am not sure what happens on a return trip.

3. Any suggestions for GPS that will work in Peoponnese, and on the way
there from Athens ?

I am planning to drive in Peloponnese, and I have a few questions.

1. Connection from Athens. I was advised to take a ferry to PortoHelli,
and rent a car there. Unfortunately, my flights arrive too late and
depart too early for the ferries, and I don't want to spend 2 nights in
Athens. I am thinking of renting a car near Athens, and driving it to
Peloponnese. Any advice on where to rent ? I heard that traffic near
the airport and Piraeus is unmanageble.

2. Have anybody used Swift car rental ? They'll drive you out of the
traffic, but I am not sure what happens on a return trip.

3. Any suggestions for GPS that will work in Peoponnese, and on the way
there from Athens ?

On Mon, 27 Feb 2006 07:04:15 +0100, me2@ (Mister
Bartlett) wrote:

>
>The traffic system at the airport is much improved, and to get to
>Peleponnesos you don't go to Pireus, you take the motorway to Corinth.
>
>Mr B;

You'll find the "motorway" interesting. We came in from
Patras. By our standards, it's more like a standard
one-lane each way country road, with rather wider than
normal shoulders about a half-lane wide. We paid our toll
and wondered when we'd strike the "motorway" - and didn't:-)

If anyone comes up behind you (and they certainly will) you
are expected to move over on to the wide shoulder so that
they can pass without moving over the centreline - most of
the motorway isn't divided between Patras and Corinth
(unless they've done a lot of roadworks in the past three
years).

I got used to it - but it was bloody scary the first few km.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

On Mon, 27 Feb 2006 23:50:12 +1100, Alan S <nothere@there.com> wrote:

>On Mon, 27 Feb 2006 07:04:15 +0100, me2@ (Mister
>Bartlett) wrote:
>
>>
>>The traffic system at the airport is much improved, and to get to
>>Peleponnesos you don't go to Pireus, you take the motorway to Corinth.
>>
>>Mr B;
>
>You'll find the "motorway" interesting. We came in from
>Patras. By our standards, it's more like a standard
>one-lane each way country road, with rather wider than
>normal shoulders about a half-lane wide. We paid our toll
>and wondered when we'd strike the "motorway" - and didn't:-)
>
>If anyone comes up behind you (and they certainly will) you
>are expected to move over on to the wide shoulder so that
>they can pass without moving over the centreline - most of
>the motorway isn't divided between Patras and Corinth
>(unless they've done a lot of roadworks in the past three
>years).
>
>I got used to it - but it was bloody scary the first few km.
>
>Cheers, Alan, Australia


Sounds not dissimilar to New Zealand then. A 'motorway' that is
undivided, one lane each way, with bloody scary drivers. They don't
charge for them though.
--==++AJC++==--

On Mon, 27 Feb 2006 23:50:12 +1100, Alan S <nothere@there.com> wrote:

>On Mon, 27 Feb 2006 07:04:15 +0100, me2@ (Mister
>Bartlett) wrote:
>
>>
>>The traffic system at the airport is much improved, and to get to
>>Peleponnesos you don't go to Pireus, you take the motorway to Corinth.
>>
>>Mr B;
>
>You'll find the "motorway" interesting. We came in from
>Patras. By our standards, it's more like a standard
>one-lane each way country road, with rather wider than
>normal shoulders about a half-lane wide.

The motorway signs were paid for by the EU.

>We paid our toll
>and wondered when we'd strike the "motorway" - and didn't:-)

LOL We did the same.

You are supposed to drive on the shoulder, until you encounter a large
block of concrete, which means inside lane closed. There's usually one
prior to each junction.
Were there hundreds of tractors pulling trailers full of ripe tomatoes
using the shoulder as a parking lot as they waited their turn to
unload at processing plant, when you were there?


>
>If anyone comes up behind you (and they certainly will) you
>are expected to move over on to the wide shoulder so that
>they can pass without moving over the centreline - most of
>the motorway isn't divided between Patras and Corinth
>(unless they've done a lot of roadworks in the past three
>years).

In the 1980s we did Athens-Corinth, there was a large deep hole in the
shoulder at one point that I missed by inches.

>
>I got used to it - but it was bloody scary the first few km.

I bet you are the sort that hogs the fast lane in Greece :-)

>
>Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
Martin

On Mon, 27 Feb 2006 17:37:00 +0100, me2@ (Mister
Bartlett) wrote:

>> You'll find the "motorway" interesting. We came in from
>> Patras. By our standards, it's more like a standard
>> one-lane each way country road, with rather wider than
>> normal shoulders about a half-lane wide. We paid our toll
>> and wondered when we'd strike the "motorway" - and didn't:-)
>
>When was that? There are quite a lot of new roads in Greece, including
>the one from Athens to Corinth and south into Peleponnesos.
>
>Mr B;

May 2003. We drove from Patras to Mycenae via Corinth,
stayed several days in Mycenae doing day trips to Argos,
Nafplios (sp?), Epidaursus etc, then drove to Athens for a
coouple of days and finally drove back to Patras.

From Athens to Corinth was fairly normal, dual lanes each
way for the most part. The "interesting" sections were from
Corinth to Patras. From Corinth to the Argolid was a
standard one-lane each way as I remember it, not a
"motorway" with tolls like the Patras road.

Cheers, Alan, Australia

On Mon, 27 Feb 2006 17:37:00 +0100, me2@ (Mister
Bartlett) wrote:

>> You'll find the "motorway" interesting. We came in from
>> Patras. By our standards, it's more like a standard
>> one-lane each way country road, with rather wider than
>> normal shoulders about a half-lane wide. We paid our toll
>> and wondered when we'd strike the "motorway" - and didn't:-)
>
>When was that? There are quite a lot of new roads in Greece, including
>the one from Athens to Corinth and south into Peleponnesos.
>
>Mr B;

May 2003. We drove from Patras to Mycenae via Corinth,
stayed several days in Mycenae doing day trips to Argos,
Nafplios (sp?), Epidaursus etc, then drove to Athens for a
coouple of days and finally drove back to Patras.

From Athens to Corinth was fairly normal, dual lanes each
way for the most part. The "interesting" sections were from
Corinth to Patras. From Corinth to the Argolid was a
standard one-lane each way as I remember it, not a
"motorway" with tolls like the Patras road.

Cheers, Alan, Australia