Car or Tour?
 

Can anyone give me some help on what is the best way to travel through Greece - by car or by organized tour. I have developed an itinerary that includes all of the major attractions on the mainland but I am just not knowledgeable about what it would be to travel by car. I would prefer to do it that way but an organized tour has its advantages. I have about 9 days to complete my travel. Any help would be appreciated

Dear Richard

If you repost with your destination in your subject, i.e. Greece: Car or Tour? you are more likely to get some attention from those who know Greece well.

You can easily drive yourself through all of Greece, with the exception of Athens. You definitely don't need or want a car there.

I agree with Angeliki. Driving on Greece is fine, but do skip Athens!

We travelled by car in the Pelopponese and saw what WE wanted to see, at our pace, and therefore avoided the huge tour bus crowds at popular sites. Also, we were able to go to the Mani, which we absolutely recommend.

Driving is a lot less hectic than I thought. You do get used to driving on the side of the road and driving on very narrow and twisting roads. My husband loved driving there.

I posted a report that might interest you called "Back from the Peloponnese - A Trip Report!"

We have taken both a guided tour and a driving tour in the Peloponnesus and the driving tour was by far a better experience. We took the bus tour first so we had a bit of an idea of where things were but the car provided us an opportunity to explore at our leisure. We were astounded at the many attractions and sites that the bus tour ignored.
With respect to driving in Greece, during our planning stages we were very concerned about renting a car in Athens as most of the car rental agencies deliver the car to the hotel. I had read somewhere that 80% of all cars rented to tourists in Athens were returned within an hour because of the wild traffic.

Many improvements were made for the Olympics and we were able to rent at the airport and take four lane highways all the way to Corinth and bypass Athens entirely. This made the trip easy. Driving off the main highways can be a little intimidating particularly on steep mountain roads where there are no guardrails and in villages where there are narrow streets and no signs pointing you in the right direction. We had a Michelin map but in the villages sometimes we had to go with our instinct and just pick a route. An ability to back up is an asset! For the most part there are good road signs in English and we were able to navigate quite successfully. We did take a wrong turn here and there, but you can’t really get too lost.

Driving tips:
1) Watch behind you. If another car comes up, pull over to the right and let them pass. Also, always pass to the left; never pass on the right.
2) Be very careful on blind curves. It is inevitable that the guy behind you will be trying to pass you, or someone will be passing in the oncoming lane. If no one is passing on the curve then you can be sure, the guy in the oncoming lane will be in the middle of the road. Generally, in the countryside things happen at a relatively slow speed and you can easily get out of the way. There seem to be three lanes in Greece: the one you are in, the oncoming one and the center line which seems to belong to anybody at any time.
3) Posted traffic signs and speed limits appear to be nothing more than suggestions. This can be a wee bit nerve racking to North American law abiding types like me, but it doesn’t really take long to get used to it.
4) Note to pedestrians; cars have the right of way. Every time I was polite and allowed a pedestrian the right of way, it caused mass confusion.