Driving from Limerick to Athens Greece

vrrv

HI All. A friend and I (double driving) will be driving from Limerick to Athens in early March. Has anyone on here done it and if so any advice??

Fred Swanson

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There is a motorway from north Serbia all the way to the southern border with FYROM.
It's boring though.
Depends what you're looking for OP, is it a scenic journey or so you want to get there the quickest way?
The coast road through Croatia, Montenegro & Albania is rubbish & may take a long time, but it is very beautiful.

josip

Every year we drive to Sithonia July-Aug. We often go down the west coast of France to get in an early Atlantic swim and warm up afterwards in the Med. The Med in March wouldn't be too bad coming straight from Ireland. If you prefer mountains to break up your journey, then you might consider going via Switzerland eg la Fouly.
Going via the UK will save you around 10 hours on the trip, but the ferry to France from Rosslare can be very relaxing, although again weather in March may not be great.
Most cost effective way to go would be via Belgium, Germany. Buy your fuel before Germany though. In general motorway stations will charge 10c or more per litre above off-motorway stations. Worse so in the Alps.
We camp (5 man tent) through France as far as Venice/Trieste. We have friends in Slovenia and Serbia so we don't have to camp after that, but I wouldn't fancy it. It gets fairly hot and scorched in the summer and the camping infrastructure is poor. I suspect camping is not part of your plan in March though?
We usually cover the Belgrade->Thessaloniki-> Sithonia stint in a 10 hour day. The motorway through Serbia (E75) is good despite what you might hear elsewhere, I drove 250km of it on Sunday night. The southern part, Corridor 10, is one ongoing roadworks for the last 15 years. That shouldn't delay you by more than half an hour though.
Off the E75 the roads are way worse and be prepared to expect anything. People walk with wheelbarrows, the wrong way in the dark with no lights. Potholes really are potholes with sharp edges that will destroy your suspension if you're lucky enough to find them.
You could drive down the Adriatic coast but Montenegro is a bit of a cul de sac and the road to get to Greece deteriorates rapidly after that. Although the drive around Kotor and up to Njegos is spectacular.
If you were thinking of driving through Kosovo, double check with your insurance company first.
If taking the Serbian route, you'll only need a green card for Macedonia.
Skopje is an interesting stopover on the way to Greece, but watch out for the Roma/Albanian squeegies at the traffic lights. Best way is to always stop 2 car lengths from the car in front. Wait until the squeegy comes close to your car and then put on your washers/wipers and move into the space in front of you.
Be prepared for long delays (often 90 mins or more) at the Serbian/Macedonian and Croatian/Serbian borders. Worse at weekends.
There's a single carriageway section of road in Macedonia that's around 70km long and I always relax when I'm past that 'road of death'. A Serb friend of mine will follow only a bus or truck through that section. Every summer a few families get wiped out on it, either overtaking or meeting an overtaker head on. I'd expect it to be quieter in March though.
Are you going in early or late March? You could get snow/ice in South Serbia/Macedonia in early March and many drivers would still have the winters on.
If you're coming back, you'll find that the Greeks don't signpost Macedonia (FYRoM) out of small minded spite ( I feel at home there ), so follow the signs for Evzoni until you reach the border. I'm convinced they even scramble GPS to get the non-Greeks.
The E75 in northern Greece is very wide single carriageway and the etiquette is to straddle the hard shoulder line if being overtaken or meeting and oncoming overtaker.
[/BrainDump]

Fred Swanson

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vrrv

Basically we are leaving Thursday the 8th March from Ireland, driving across the UK and getting eurotunnel to Calis, we plan to drive (according to google maps) France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, FYROM and onto Greece. The road through Serbia is the E75 that we are planning to take. Whats the story with a green card it just says on my insurance that Im covered but doesnt mention anything about a green card. Our aim is to drive as much as possible each day and to get there as quickly as we can. We hope to be their Sunday afternoon. We bought a car 250 euro and plan to sleep in it at truck stops when needed in order to get their as fast as possible, we will be driving day and night and sleeping when on the way in the car also when not driving. I know it sounds insane what we are doing but its a challenge. Thanks for all the info so far BTW I appreciate it.

Also can we pay tolls etc with either euro or card in Serbia and FYROM? Are the borders open 24 hours a day?

Fred Swanson

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vrrv

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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Ok I get you thanks for the info, I will give them a ring on it so

josip

You no longer need a green card for Serbia, only Macedonia.
But while you're asking your insurance company for the green card for Macedonia, ask them to tick the Serbia box as well, it won't cost any extra.

You'll need to have your VRT cert and original insurance cert with you also for the border crossings outside the EU.

You DON'T need an International Driving permit from the AA for any country your going through.

Tolls in Serbia you can pay by card and I think Macedonia also, but have Euro small coinage just in case. In Macedonia they have lots of frequent €1.50 tolls, designed to exhaust your change I suspect and get you to part with your notes.

I forgot to mention a 5km stretch of motorway in Macedonia that has had brutal subsidence. It used to be longer, but they've repaired a lot of it. If you hit any of the ripples at 130, you'll do serious damage. You can spot them by watching for skid marks on the road ahead of you where drivers have spotted them late and tried to knock off a bit of speed.

In both Austria and Slovenia you'll have to buy a windscreen vingette as soon as you enter the country if you plan to use the motorways. Don't try to get away without it. I know of someone who was caught and had to pay a stiff fine. 2 tunnels you'll go through in Austria aren't included in the vingette and are extra. Tunnels and motorways after Germany will cost you around €150 I reckon. You'll also be paying a 5-10% premium on fuel if you buy on the motorways.

Nothing insane about what you're doing, you'll have a laugh.
For the pair driving I'd suggest 4 hours on, 4 hours off. Don't eat in the hour leading up to your shift and drive hungry. Eat at the end of your shift, it'll help you to sleep afterwards. Buy a pair of travel mugs and a camping gas stove for brewing coffee at each stop. It'll keep costs down and the driver awake.

If you're both male, then there's a higher likelihood of the car being searched at the border so make sure you're not exceeding any alcohol/cigarette limits. Or smuggling in €800 of Ikea furniture

Fred Swanson

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naughtysmurf

Why are you doing this, just wondering?

vrrv

Thanks so much of the info everyone I will go about getting the green card asap. We are two lads travelling alright, no real reason for the trip just a discussion over a few cups of tea that turned into a trip, we wanted to see how far we could get with a cheap car over a few days.

Also really good advice about the driving time and eating, makes perfect sense.

You do need a green card for Serbia, and proof of ownership Of The vehicle.
I know someone who did London to Kosovo in 2 days, one overnight stay in Germany. So it's very possible.

Are you driving back also? Would be nice to maybe see some Of The countries you are going through!

vrrv

We are not driving back we will be flying back. I agree it would be nice to see some of the countries but we both can't take enough time off work unfortunately. We will have the log book, green card is the thing we don't have.

josip

bubblypop wrote: »

You do need a green card for Serbia, and proof of ownership Of The vehicle.
I know someone who did London to Kosovo in 2 days, one overnight stay in Germany. So it's very possible.

Are you driving back also? Would be nice to maybe see some Of The countries you are going through!

You used to need a green card for Serbia, but not since 2012.
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/europe-eastern-europe-the-caucasus/topics/uk-eu-car-insurance-in-serbia

Fred Swanson

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vrrv

Have the green card on the way should have it in the coming days. So I think we are good to go once the car stays going

Fred Swanson

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vrrv

Have another question, do any of ye know a place that we could store the car in Athens as the lad I am travelling with will be back that side of the world in June and might take it back/ use it while on holiday. He came across a boat yard on google that is 50 a month as far as we can see, wondering do ye know of any other options? Of course I will let ye know how I get on too

josip

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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Our experience of the on the ground impact is different from yours so.
Prior to 2012 we were always asked for the green card and always had it.
We've entered/re-entered Serbia 12 times since 2012 and have never been asked for it.
The next time they try it on with you tell them in Serbian you don't need it and you're not going to pay.
(Pičku materinu, ja ne moram i ja necu bre).

josip

vrrv wrote: »

Have another question, do any of ye know a place that we could store the car in Athens as the lad I am travelling with will be back that side of the world in June and might take it back/ use it while on holiday. He came across a boat yard on google that is 50 a month as far as we can see, wondering do ye know of any other options? Of course I will let ye know how I get on too

If the car cost ye €250 I'd run it in here behind the red one and tell that lad to cross his fingers until June.

vrrv

josip wrote: »

If the car cost ye €250 I'd run it in here behind the red one and tell that lad to cross his fingers until June.

hahaha you're probably right there!!!

Assassin saphir

I've no advice for you but just wanted to say this sounds amazing. I'd love a random roadtrip like this. I have done them in America but never driven across Europe.

vrrv

Hi all, so Im back home after our trip. It was brilliant and went off without a hitch. Thanks again for the advice about the green card as it was asked for and also the change. We got 100 euro in change and went through it all and a little more. We found that there were tolls everywhere in Greece.

Some of the details if you're interested. We got a night Ferry from Rosslare to Pembroke Thursday night and landed in Pembroke Friday morning at 2am. We then got the channel Tunnel early Friday morning to Calis. From there we drove pretty much non stop only resting in the car while the other one was driving. We reached Athens 6pm local time Saturday. We clocked up 3700km on the car. Only issue with the car we bought for 250 euro were the brake pads got worn and were down to metal by the end of it. We managed to find a car parts shop and we bought pads for 20 euro and changed them in the car park. We have the car stored in Athens and my friend is driving it back in June as part of his honeymoon.

vrrv

josip wrote: »

You no longer need a green card for Serbia, only Macedonia.
But while you're asking your insurance company for the green card for Macedonia, ask them to tick the Serbia box as well, it won't cost any extra.

You'll need to have your VRT cert and original insurance cert with you also for the border crossings outside the EU.

You DON'T need an International Driving permit from the AA for any country your going through.

Tolls in Serbia you can pay by card and I think Macedonia also, but have Euro small coinage just in case. In Macedonia they have lots of frequent €1.50 tolls, designed to exhaust your change I suspect and get you to part with your notes.

I forgot to mention a 5km stretch of motorway in Macedonia that has had brutal subsidence. It used to be longer, but they've repaired a lot of it. If you hit any of the ripples at 130, you'll do serious damage. You can spot them by watching for skid marks on the road ahead of you where drivers have spotted them late and tried to knock off a bit of speed.

In both Austria and Slovenia you'll have to buy a windscreen vingette as soon as you enter the country if you plan to use the motorways. Don't try to get away without it. I know of someone who was caught and had to pay a stiff fine. 2 tunnels you'll go through in Austria aren't included in the vingette and are extra. Tunnels and motorways after Germany will cost you around €150 I reckon. You'll also be paying a 5-10% premium on fuel if you buy on the motorways.

Nothing insane about what you're doing, you'll have a laugh.
For the pair driving I'd suggest 4 hours on, 4 hours off. Don't eat in the hour leading up to your shift and drive hungry. Eat at the end of your shift, it'll help you to sleep afterwards. Buy a pair of travel mugs and a camping gas stove for brewing coffee at each stop. It'll keep costs down and the driver awake.

If you're both male, then there's a higher likelihood of the car being searched at the border so make sure you're not exceeding any alcohol/cigarette limits. Or smuggling in €800 of Ikea furniture

Thanks again for your advice you were spot on with everything you said. It was a big help.

Fred Swanson

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vrrv

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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Just Macedonia, Serbia didn't say anything.