Is it worth to go to Greece by car? Documents, route, roads, advice to tourists

Traveling to Greece by car - the idea is not so crazy. Tourists every year become more courageous, deciding on the organization of such a wonderful and adventurous rally. Most often, friends or well-known people agree, so that you do not have to go to Greece by car. Gather very cheerful companies and travel straight caravans - three, five cars. This article will tell you what it's like to first drive to Greece by car alone, and next time with friends. It should be noted and keep in mind: almost all the countries of the European Union are very serious about the condition of the transport coming to them. Therefore, before you go to Greece by car, you need to collect absolutely all the necessary papers. About the documents will be told specifically and directly in the first lines.

About documents

First, you need to take care of buying insurance. In all countries, which will have to pass on the route Moscow-Greece, have their insurance, but buying them individually is very expensive and troublesome. The cost of a green card is much lower, and it will be the guardian angel on the roads of the Schengen states, if you are driving your own car. You can buy it right in the city where you live. The cost of a green card is about 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 not hope for hope! Insurance is better to buy one for the whole trip, so that during the journey 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 a breakdown. In fact, a green card can even be issued online, immediately with home delivery. Not too much trouble.

Now one more important stage. Preparation of papers for a visa. Yes, Greece needs a visa for Russians! The set of these securities is standard. The one who travels abroad is not the first time, and this trip to Greece on his own car for him - just getting a new tourist experience, will no longer be surprised by the list of documents, as it is common. This is a passport, a questionnaire, photographs, a certificate from the place of work, a photocopy of the Russian passport - that's all. If you go to Greece by car from Moscow, a little more documents, but again nothing special will be needed. You will need a driver's license, a car registration certificate, a medical insurance, a receipt for the payment of a consular fee and an indicative route where transit countries are listed. That's all the documents for the trip to Greece. In addition to one point, the most important, except for the green card.

Very important!

And in the package of documents there must be a reservation from absolutely all the hotels where you plan to stay. Therefore, at the same time with the collection of documents hotels must be booked, determined on the timing of the trip, calculating the time so as to meet. Because to return from the trip you need on time. And to disrupt the route to Greece is strictly not recommended. In preparing this trip, one of the most important items is the hotel reservation, which must be done punctually and even pedantically.

There are special booking sites with the possibility to cancel the reservation for free in case of need, and there will not be any bad consequences for you in this case. Confirmation is sent automatically, and therefore it is impossible to present it at the consulate. With hotels you need to contact and ask for a fax, sealed with seals and signatures. All checks until the end of the trip must be stored - and from parking lots, and from the intersections of toll bridges, and for travel Russia-Greece on paid routes, and, of course, for hotel accommodation.

Route

It is necessary to try to be as accurate as possible in the route, which was presented in the consulate. You can not, for example, stay for long in transit countries, because you are not allowed to go to Greece by car from Moscow longer than in documents specified by you the same period of time, allocated for acquaintance with the actual Ancient Hellas. The choice of this country for the first travel by own car, however, is very successful. Of course, Greece needs a visa for Russians, but those wishing to travel to other countries are more often denied.

Greece does not overshadow this voyage, visas are given almost always. Of course, it will not do without the hassle, but these efforts are pleasant, because it is quite quick and relatively easy for tourists to get a visa to Greece. Moscow with its hustle and labor weekdays will forget for the first kilometers. And the further, the stronger will be forgotten. And the most "sweet" Greece - on its islands. And, perhaps, the ferries do not function anywhere as excellent as there, which means that the car will not be a hindrance, on the contrary - it helps.

About money

The cost of transporting a car on ferries can vary from twenty euros to about seventy if the island is far away, such as Crete from Santorini. Ferry tickets are also convenient to book in advance on special websites. 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. And the amount of payment depends entirely on the type of car on which you are traveling. The cost of traveling to Greece relative to other countries is very small, but in order to keep within the budget, you need to carefully calculate even the smallest costs.

For example, the route Egnatia for each of the six sites requires two to seven euros, the Attiki route is about the same, and for the journey along the famous bridge Rion-Andirion will have to pay out thirteen euros. So, on a drop, and unexpected sums run, if, of course, do not provide them in advance. A separate word about parking. For example, in Athens, guests of the country can park for free for three hours (at night, and in the daytime three hours cost six euros), but only where there are special white marks for the guests of the country. And gasoline in Greece is expensive, as, indeed, throughout Europe. Carrying canisters with itself is forbidden, therefore count and it. The ninety-eighth is 1.8, and the ninety-fifth gasoline is 1.7 euros. Only on fuel not less than twenty five to thirty thousand rubles should be postponed for that couple of weeks, which are planned for rest. This total is an average, it will, of course, 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 persuaded by the impressions of those who decided to cross the border in Western Ukraine, the choice is yours. Now the bulk of autotourists travel through Minsk and Poland. Then you need to cross the most interesting territory of Slovakia. Everyone remembers that you can not linger? .. And how you want! Then on the way there will be no less wonderful Hungary, behind it - Romania, and then Bulgaria.

Of course, this route is much longer than through Ukraine, but its duration is quite capable to please many times. First - the wonderful roads. In Ukraine, with this now is not just bad. Sometimes the tracks are simply disgusting. The only compensation with frequent forced stops is excellent food throughout the trip throughout Ukraine. However, in order to follow countries such as Slovakia, Romania and Hungary, you must necessarily purchase a vignette. It serves as a testimony of the payment for travel on highways. It's inexpensive, just a few euros. But the penalty for her absence is three hundred euros. By the way, about fines - a separate word.

Unforeseen expenditure

Have in any case an inviolable financial stock, because everything can not be foreseen. For example, in Greece, all passengers must be fastened with seat belts. The fines for ignorance of this are simply unbearable. Even can deprive of the rights! On the phone at the wheel, you can not talk, or rather, you can, if you have an extra one hundred euros. But you can use the headset. We must admit that the amount of fines is not clearly defined. Then how lucky. Sometimes for overtaking a fine of eight euros is imposed. It is necessary to have in the car the entire relying kit for an emergency, a fire extinguisher first. If you do not find it during the check, the fine can not be avoided, besides - not a little.

Emergency stop signs, spare wheel, reflective vests, tool kits for minor repairs, first-aid kit, tow rope - all this is a must have. There should be no damage or tint on the glass. 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 boundaries. Failure to comply with these rules entails particularly heavy fines. There are many more nuances, but in one article, it's not possible to mention everything at once.

Approximate report

A journey to Greece by car opens up new horizons for the perception of the world. This is an unforgettable episode and an exceptional adventure in the life of every motorist. Everywhere the roads are waiting, good and not very good, the reception is warm and cool, but under any circumstances, one's own absolute independence with freedom of movement dominates, if travelers adhere to 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? One could completely and completely withdraw into the emotional sphere of impressions, but the readers of this article going to Greece by car need facts.

And therefore, we will try to free ourselves from the emotional component of the tour of Europe in a large car (such as the Land Cruiser), which also functions as a diesel. The clock does not need to be rearranged to the borders of Belarus and Poland. The country of destination lags behind Russia only for an hour - this is the difference in time 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. This whole procedure takes about an hour and a quarter. A day passed almost a thousand kilometers. Hours can be transferred on the road, because the time difference with Greece and Moscow is the same as with Poland. It's better to spend the night in Radzyn-Podlyansky in order to go to Slovakia in the morning. On the border, Slovak vignette and Hungarian are acquired. The first costs eleven euros, and the second - almost fifteen. You need to pay in cash, do not accept cards.

Way

In Slovakia, road repair seems to be going on everywhere. Many will have to travel around, the time reserve should be even more than planned. But tourists will look at the Valley of Death and many other attractions along the way. You can spend the night in a hotel or in a camping (on Tis - only nine euros per person). In Serbia, they enter quickly, but on the other hand - to enter - the queue of cars is usually longer, it is better to adjust the return route by time or territory. At the points of payment for the use of roads takes a total of thirteen and a half euros.

The next day you are already in Macedonia, where you need to refuel almost to the eyeballs, because diesel and gasoline here are the cheapest in Europe - less than ninety cents per liter of diesel fuel. By lunchtime, you will already be in Greece on the way to the coveted island of Corfu. The trunk lines are almost everything. Rather, it's not likely to be paid, but they say that they are.

Island

In the port of Igoumenitsa everyone is very happy, if in Macedonia they guessed to refuel. On the way there is not a single gas station, for this you need to leave the highway and refuel in some town. The route directly rests on the port, from where it is necessary to ferry to Corfu. The ferry is expensive: for a car - forty euros and ten from each person. Depends on the service, the same tickets can be a couple of euros more expensive or cheaper.

People will be surprised at the size of the car, shake their heads and argue, like Gogol in the "Dead Souls", he will go through the streets of Corfu, the capital of Corfu - or not fit in width on either of them. The movement of the SUV here is clearly difficult. And the island needs to be explored along and across - there are so many beauties here. Everywhere the traffic jams are worse than those in Moscow - up to a kilometer fifteen kilometers, and it will take more than an hour to drive.

Visas

Now we will dwell in detail on obtaining visas. Although the crossing of the Ukrainian border is worthy of a separate chapter, but what is happening now, for sure, everyone knows everything without us. Preparation for the July trip begins in April. First, you need to monitor the hotels in search of inexpensive, then download the necessary programs to the laptop, selected and purchased walkie-talkies, navigator. Collection of documents for visas and registration of a green card for cars at once for all countries can be completed in just a month, this takes exactly 2900 rubles. At the same time you need to worry about the connection with the house - to buy the corresponding SIM card. Get visas now with comfort. The Greek Embassy opened a visa center, where services are even provided for the preparation of documents and their transfer to the consulate. There are always a lot of people wishing to go to Greece. About forty windows for receiving documents are coping with all, there is an electronic queue, fast, without a crush. Very European.

Directly in the window everyone explains any incomprehensible moments, helps to make copies, fill in the remaining documents. There is a Wi-Fi with access to the Internet, so you can quickly get something from the mail forgotten from the documents. Printers and photocopiers are provided without any additional fees. There are practically no problems with visas. This is in Moscow. And here, for example, in Minsk, where friends-fellow travelers can be, everything is completely different, there is no Greek embassy there. A visa is issued in Lithuanian (and in Lithuanian slowly). But even here the Greek embassy in Moscow helps out: by proxy, it is possible to issue visas for Belarusians even without their presence. And just as quickly. Muscovites cost them thirty-five euros, and Belarusians - sixty. But this is incommensurable with the inconvenience that would have to endure in the Lithuanian embassy.