Greece & Turkey

Has anybody delivered or picked up from there, what are the pro's and cons?

Before anybody says it, it's a long way, thanks chaps

I hired a car in Turkey once and when I asked about the insurance I was told " You my friend, eetz OK."

Many years ago i used to do regular trips to Greece in the Artic as well as Istanbul. For Greece i used to get the ferry from Ancona Italy to Patras Greece. From there i used to go to Volos about 3 hours north of Athens. You can also get the ferry from Bari in south Italy which was about another 10 hours south from Ancona (that was in a truck). I think the cost from Ancona for a LWB is around £950 and around £450 from Bari. The ferry used to be pre booked and you just go to the agents office in the port who will put you right with what to do. The ferrys are fine, i think they leave Ancona 1300 hrs and arrive Patras 11am the next morning. From Bari they are about 4 to 6 hours quicker but you have a longer drive to get there. You get a cabin on the ferry and obviously a meal and a bar. In the morning you get a nice view of the Greek islands as you pass them. Once in Greece the road up to Athens is fine passing the Corinthus canal. There are a couple of road tolls but they are not expensive. If you are stopping for food etc i would say its best to stop anywhere there are lots of trucks parked, truck drivers will be happy to help with any advice. When driving on main roads its an unwritten rule to drive on the sort of hard shoulder to allow cars to overtake when they come up behind you. I found the Greeks to be quite impatient and erratic drivers so keep your wits about you. There are many small shrines and crosses with photos of unfortunate victims at the side of the road. But its all about a bit of common sense really. I never had a problem there and the police pretty much leave you alone. If you have to stay in Patras the night you can park in the port no problem and if its still there ask where the Nitro bar is, its a english pub ran by a Cypriot and his English wife. You can get a shower etc there. All in all as long as you are sensible, and use your common sense you would be fine. As for Turkey, things may have changed so not sure what its like now. I used to go before east Europe became part of the EU. Where as i used to have to clear customs at Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria i would think you would now run right through to the Bulgarian/Turkey border before doing so, that being with a Carnet which would start at Dover/Folkestone. I used to end up having to bung the customs a bit as they had a habit of inventing a problem with the paperwork but it may have changed. The best advice for Turkey is that once you get through the border if you have to park overnight find a TIR truck park to park in, these are safe and you can get grub and shower and you may need your customs agent to meet you there to sort relevant paperwork. If in doubt find a truck park, in these you can get help if needed. Lastly if it rains in either country be really careful on the roads as they are very slippery in the wet. I never had a problem going to both countries so good luck and enjoy.

Also not forgetting your tir carnet for the vehicle and contents for turkey, chamber of commerce or agent supplied