Greek Trip - Dates, Route, and Headcount

[helen&tony]

Hi
The list so far
Umbongocat : Route through France and Italy, then Ferry ...Time: After June
Haybal : Route: not concerned ...Time : Before August...
Helen & Tony : Route...meet you there...Time: June / July sounds good
Cheers
Helen

[umbongocat]

Hi
The list so far
Umbongocat : Route through France and Italy, then Ferry ...Time: After June
Haybal : Route: not concerned ...Time : Before August...
Helen & Tony : Route...meet you there...Time: June / July sounds good
Cheers
Helen

No more than 4 hours driving a day for me I think as I'd like to be able to stop on route and check out the nice scenery on the way through Route Nationale's in France preferably as it saves on tolls and can be nice to meander through the villages and usually find nice Aires to stay on too.

If it goes ahead and I definitely book it (dependent on costs and when) I'm happy to sort out campsites on route in France or Aires

[Dr Fingers]

Hi
The list so far
Umbongocat : Route through France and Italy, then Ferry ...Time: After June
Haybal : Route: not concerned ...Time : Before August...
Helen & Tony : Route...meet you there...Time: June / July sounds good
Cheers
Helen

No more than 4 hours driving a day for me I think as I'd like to be able to stop on route and check out the nice scenery on the way through Route Nationale's in France preferably as it saves on tolls and can be nice to meander through the villages and usually find nice Aires to stay on too.

If it goes ahead and I definitely book it (dependent on costs and when) I'm happy to sort out campsites on route in France or Aires

This sounds good for us as well, July/August: hoping to have the aircon finally sorted next week..will need it, no doubt!


Derek

[helen&tony]

Hi
No worries re: chatting...It's just rather easy for me to run up a head count and to show who's got preferences on the other thread. There are one or two waiting in the wings to see how the trip's going, and they can see what's what at a glance.
Cat...
That would be Kool if you want to organise the French camping en route...I offered , as I did the planning ...or shall I say suggesting, for the campsites on the Bulgarian trip....Anyway, you may know some nice stopovers...Italy is a matter of how many days you want to take, and I'll find the campsites.
If you're doing the ferries, how do you want to go...Venice, Ancona, or Bari?.....and in Greece where do you want to de-bark...Igoumenitsa in the North, and travel down, or Piraeus (Athens), or Patras...Be aware that if you decide to go north from Patra, there's an incredibly scary bridge...I drove to Athens, and followed the coast...great journey.
If you want to come across from Igoumenitsa, perhaps I can organise meeting you somewhere around Epanomi...and you might get your other half at the airport near there!
Derek...
You'll have your aircon done by then, no worries...I had mine done here a month or so back...£18.00 or thereabouts...degassed, so I could take the rear heater and aircon unit out, I stripped and rebuilt it, and he re-gassed it...Great!....and he got me some supplies for another project I have on the go!....
Keep the ball rolling, and I'll make some enquiries on the ferries....I would thoroughly recommend Superfast Ferries...Better than most...I chose a 15 hour crossing, as I wanted to kip...as it happened , I needed it..... Oh...and if you come in a motorhome, you can camp on board in season...!!!
Cheers
Helen

[hijimhere]

I would prefer to convoy after June if poss?

[helen&tony]

Hi
The list so far
Umbongocat : Route through France and Italy, then Ferry ...Time: After June
Haybal : Route: not concerned ...Time : Before August...
Helen & Tony : Route...meet you there...Time: June / July sounds good
Dr. Fingers : Route : With the France / Italy Convoy Time : July-August
Hijimhere : Route...not specified, but convoy ...Time : After June
Looks like we're settling round July ????
Cheers
Helen

[helen&tony]

Hi
For details of the ferries from Italy, see page 4 of the other thread (All Greek Ferries link)
After Christmas, I'll enquire about booking, and see how many we'd need for a discount
Cheers
Helen

[helen&tony]

Hi
Happy New Year to all you would-be-travellers...It's about time to really start thinking about getting numbers together, so that we can book ahead...I think that some of the campsites in Western Europe get booked ahead...I don't know about Greece, as they rather depend on travellers closer to home these days, I believe, but it's better to be certain....especially if we want to book a nice "bit"of the site...maybe you could select where you want to pick up the Italy / Greece ferry, and where to de-bark ?
All that said, can we get things tied down?....it'll be a great adventure, and the memories will be great to keep!
Cheers
Helen

[haybal]

Hi Helen

To start with, happy new year to you.

Had a quick look on the fast ferries site, it looks like you have to have a minimum of 16 passengers travelling together for a discount. As far as ferry route i'll go along with what ever is decided, quite like the idea of camping onboard too.

[helen&tony]

Hi
Thanks, and Happy New Year to you,too!
I haven't officially asked re: discount, yet, as I expect we'll need 5 + vans, and with asking for a discount too early, with a few vans, they'll stick to that percentage until you add quite a few more ....the way to go is to ask when the list is full...
Camping on board will be fine, but it probably means that you have to have a fully converted vehicle bigger than a Bongo....i.e. a motorhome, but, again, I'll see. It means that you stay on the car deck, so at least it's looking after your vehicle...but I can't see security being a real problem anyway.
Ferry...well, that depends on how far you want to go....you can go from Venice...more pricey, but a nice little Adriatic / Ionian cruise!...and a couple of nights kip, I guess...but I think that'll be around 230 euros each minimum, from first glance...one way!...Anyway, when we get final numbers, I'll do some checking...but although a long ferry trip may sound pricey, it'll cut down on fuel....Italy's a long stretch!
Cheers
Helen

[Oldboybob]

Hi all haven't been on fury for a while and only just noticed this thread. I am driving down to Italy at the end of July to meet up with friends for a few nights who are renting a villa in Tuscany, they are there between the 19th and 26th July so that's thereabouts when I would be heading there. Even if the times don't suit I would be very much interested in the routes taken as this will be the furthest I have travelled through Europe so any advice would be greatly appreciated. My original plan was to stop over to take in some of the sites in Belgium then France then Switzerland then Italy. Maybe take in Austria, Lichtenstein and Germany on the way home. I have no idea which countries charge tolls etc so advice from some of you Euro veterans would be most welcome.

[haybal]

I wonder what's happened to everybody else that was interested in this?

[Dr Fingers]

I wonder what's happened to everybody else that was interested in this?

Nursing hangovers??

[helen&tony]

Hi
I think there's only the four listed who seriously want to go...and I'll meet up somewhere in Greece en route...I think most Bongo-ists prefer a quick nip over the water to France, and an intrepid few who travel.
It's a wonderful trip for a bit of history/ culture, and some great stopovers en route if you want to take your time...Ravenna in Italy is a must , if you're getting a ferry further down, and if you prefer to take the ferry at Venice, then that's surely a spot for a bit of tourism.....

Oldboybob...
It depends on how fast you want to get to Italy....I've traveled Europe a few times, and I like to pinpoint a few places to see and just drive....I prefer not to use toll-roads in France, and drive a selected country route, but I stick to the main roads in Italy. Taking it easy, I do Bucks to Verdun in a day, next day southern Switzerland, and 2 days down to the heel of Italy, but if you want to dawdle, then just decide how many hours a day you'll be comfortable with.
Cheers
Helen

[helen&tony]

Hi
I haven't heard re: any dates for Greece yet, and Dr. Fingers may likely drop out....BUT...regarding the Russian Clan coming over...We're wondering whether they might find it difficult with Ukraine almost certainly a "dicky" place for them to cross...
Can I get some replies, and if interest is fading, may I suggest next year?....so far this year, I had planned to go to France or the UK, but Greece is easy for me, depending on the Cardiologist in June...but Greece would sure be on the cards still...
Cheers
Helen