Driving from England to Chania March 2018

[Matilpa1]

I am planning my trip from Yorkshire to Chania at the end of March and would like to know the fastest, safest and cheapest route to get to Crete.
Any information/travel tips will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

[Kilkis]

Try reading through this thread. Lots of information and links.

Warwick

[Matilpa1]

Thank you Warwick.
Have gone through the thread and some good tips in there but last post is 5 years ago and would like current and up to date info.

[Kilkis]

What would change?

Warwick

[STEVE.W]

I posted a detailed route 5 years ago, did the journey in reverse Crete to UK last March with just one difference, went through Switzerland instead of Austria, only difference was you have to pay your road tax at the Italy/Swiss border which was a bit of hassle, you should buy it before the border at an Italian petrol station (I assume you would do the same at the German/Swiss border at which there was a que of miles and miles of lorries waiting to enter Switzerland, cars flowed freely), you are then generally waived through at the Swiss border once they see the tax sticker on display. Less scenery in Switzerland as you drive for about 20 minutes or more through one tunnel under the Alps set against over the Alps via Austria which, regardless of the weather, is kept clear of snow and ice.

[Houmeri91]

Prepping for our overland Journey in September to Crete so all great advice , looking at the Swiss Vignette the road tax . Just googled and you can now order online by the look of it £31.50 for the Calendar Year see link and once less thing to worry about if you go that way
https://www.swisstravelsystem.co.uk/en/ ... iateid=203

Personally we will be travelling slower as will be towing an old caravan as a box trailer containing some of our worldly goods so definitely won't be doing 180 kph on autobarns . There is a really interesting series of U Tube video's watched a lorry driver made about driving over to Greece via France , Belgium , Luxembourg via Simplon Pass through Switzerland Italy to Ancona . Then ferry to Patras .Worth a look found it enlightening shows you the ferry port at Ancona etc put a link to part 1 if you are interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIFeFs6K1DA

Be interested in how it goes when you have done it .

[filippos]

Personally we will be travelling slower as will be towing an old caravan as a box trailer containing some of our worldly goods so definitely won't be doing 180 kph on autobarns .

Apologies, Houmeri. The comment you've referred to here I posted on the duplicate* of this thread which was posted one second before this one. I deleted my post on the alternate 1). to avoid confusion as all other responses appeared here and 2). Steve W's post here made mine pretty much redundant.

* if you look at the "Overland to Crete & Ferries" board you find 2 threads titled "Re: Driving from England to Chania March 2018", one of which now has zero replies.

[Houmeri91]

No problem Fillippos yes noted the two threads and any bits of wisdom from wherever it comes from is gratefully received by us novice drivers to the lovely Crete !! lol
Not looking forward to the drive just arriving !!!!

[filippos]

The first time we drove back to UK was for a nephew's wedding. I agreed on the basis that we turn it into a holiday by dawdling through Italy and France, stopping as the fancy took us. We got as far as Paris in 12 days, looked at one another and said together, "If it wasn't for this bloody wedding I'd go home now", but we carried on. Went to the wedding, visited a few friends and a couple of relatives in two weeks in UK (had the return ferries pre-booked 'cos of the discounts) and headed home. Made it back in about 2½ days from S. Wales to Crete thanks to ANEK letting us bring our ferry bookings forward by 24 hours without extra charge after a very early start and a speedy drive from Calais to Ancona. Since then I've used the Ancona/Austria/Germany route but very rarely go to UK (6 trips in 16 years, for weddings and funerals, usually by air).

[Mackie]

We are finally heading over and following your exact route from 2013 at the end of March. Booked the mini cruise already a while back but had to change the date twice at a cost of £20 every time

I posted a detailed route 5 years ago, did the journey in reverse Crete to UK last March with just one difference, went through Switzerland instead of Austria, only difference was you have to pay your road tax at the Italy/Swiss border which was a bit of hassle, you should buy it before the border at an Italian petrol station (I assume you would do the same at the German/Swiss border at which there was a que of miles and miles of lorries waiting to enter Switzerland, cars flowed freely), you are then generally waived through at the Swiss border once they see the tax sticker on display. Less scenery in Switzerland as you drive for about 20 minutes or more through one tunnel under the Alps set against over the Alps via Austria which, regardless of the weather, is kept clear of snow and ice.

[Matilpa1]

Thank you everyone for sharing information. It is much appreciated

Has anyone tried driving all the way i.e. through Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria to mainland Greece then just ferry over to the island?

[STEVE.W]

[quote]Has anyone tried driving all the way i.e. through Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria to mainland Greece then just ferry over to the island?[/quote]

I know someone who has done this but would strongly advise against it, big, big corruption and problems in Albania. Say no more.

[Kilkis]

You don't need to go through Albania or through Bulgaria. The main route runs almost in a straight line from Budapest through Serbia, Kosovo and FYROM crossing into Greece at Evzoni. The road then joins the Thessaloniki-Athens highway to the south west of Thessaloniki. It used to be the main transport route for trucks from Greece into Europe and back until the fighting broke out in Serbia and then Kosovo. Now it is little used. I've driven on parts of it from south of Evzoni to the Thessaloniki-Athens highway and from north of Evzoni to Skopje. Those sections are not exactly motorway standard but they are not bad roads. Personally I wouldn't recommend the route but if I was doing it I would stay overnight in Hungary, close to the Serbian border, get up early and try to get across the Greek border the same day.

Warwick

[Matilpa1]

Thanks Warwick and Steve. Will let you know which route I plan on taking.
Was thinking the same thing about staying overnight in Hungary and getting to Greece same day.

[Kilkis]

It's about 800 km so a fair drive in a day. Getting stuck behind an ox cart in Fyrom tends to slow you down. Szeged is about the closest town to the Hungarian border. I think the nearest hotel to the FYROM border in Greece is the Park Hotel just off the E75 highway at Polykastro.

Warwick