Guide To Greece : Getting Around The Country

This part of our guide to holidays in Greece sees us covering transportation…

It is inexpensive and easy to hire a car or moped in Greece. All you need is an internationally recognized driving license and a passport. Prices per day start at about $40 for a car and $15 for a moped – but make sure the quoted price includes all insurance and taxes. Hiring a vehicle offers the freedom to travel where you please. Most roads are good, but be careful in some parts of rural Greece or on the islands as some roads in these areas can be narrow and poorly maintained.

Greece’s bus system is very efficient and can take you anywhere on the Greek mainland. The ‘KTEL’ (intercity) buses are excellent value for money and let you see parts of Greece that you would otherwise never get to visit. However, the system wasn’t designed for tourists, so you may have some language problems, but if this happens the majority of young Greeks speak some English and most would happily to assist you.

Taxis are readily available and reasonably priced, and by law every cab must have a meter. Tipping isn’t customary, but continuing to pick up passengers until the taxi is full is a local custom. So you can flag cab that already has passengers as long as they are going in the same direction that you want to travel. On the islands and in the cities, most – but not all – drivers will speak some English.

Getting to the islands requires traveling by boat or by plane. Flying is the most convenient transport to the more far-flung islands with many of these destinations having with regular flights from Athens or Thessaloniki. As Greece is relatively small, flying to even the more distant islands takes less than an hour. When travelling to islands close to the mainland, ferries – which run regularly throughout the day – are the best option. But these trips can be more time-consuming than you first expect as the ferries will make multiple stops on various islands.