Driving to Crete, ferry advice and more!

wursel

Hi all,

Sounds like an advert, but its really a desperate cry for help! I dont know where to start planning this trip.
In short summary, our friends are moving to Crete and they would like to pay for us to transport all his IT equipment and tools etc in our Van. Its me and my Dad who will be driving there. Then we will have a couple of weeks holiday etc...

Now then i'm fully aware of the length of time it will take to get there, approx 3 days there, 3 back etc... But I need to arrange for all the ferry crossings - Dover to Calais, Italy to Greece, Greece to Crete - and would like to know if there are either companies that will book these in one 'package' or the best way to get the cheapest deals?

All the billing for these will be to our firends so I need to make it as cheap as possible etc...

i havent the foggiest where to start tbh... I have done some searching and quote pricing, but really want to find some company that will book them all for us as a package.

Thanks and ANY advice on this would be brill!

NB. we are planning to drive through, France, then Italy.

Cheers
Matt

Bongedone

I cannot help with getting a package but for the journey from Piraeus to Crete look here:

http://www.hellenicseaways.gr/index.asp?a_id=209

Mands

wursel wrote: »

Hi all,

Now then i'm fully aware of the length of time it will take to get there, approx 3 days there, 3 back etc... But I need to arrange for all the ferry crossings - Dover to Calais, Italy to Greece, Greece to Crete - and would like to know if there are either companies that will book these in one 'package' or the best way to get the cheapest deals?

All the billing for these will be to our firends so I need to make it as cheap as possible etc...

i havent the foggiest where to start tbh... I have done some searching and quote pricing, but really want to find some company that will book them all for us as a package.

Thanks and ANY advice on this would be brill!

NB. we are planning to drive through, France, then Italy.

Cheers
Matt

Hi Matt,

Sounds like an interesting trip :-) The OH and I drove London to Cyprus about three years ago.

For us it was part holiday so we took three weeks all told; week #1 London to Innsbruck, week #2 spending time in Innsbruck and Lake Garda and Venice, week #3 on two ferries, first Venice to western Greece then Pireaus to Cyprus.

I'd be surprised if the trip could be done in 3 days, from memory the ferry from Venice to Greece is about a day and a half. Equally you'll probably have more success, and better pricing, arranging each of the legs separately.

Your best option would be to drive to Venice and then ferry over to Patras, drive to Pireaus and then ferry to Crete. The drive Patras to Pireaus is about half a day, on not bad roads. You could probably get to Venice from the French side of the Channel in two days with hard driving.

Timewise: time to channel + time across the channel + 2 days to Venice + 1.5 days to Patras + 0.5 days to Pireaus + 1 day (c 9 hours) to Crete.

So at least 5 days once you are on the French side of the Channel. You could shorten the ferry times, and lengthen the driving times, by working down the eastern coast of Italy if that suited you better.

Some websites that might help;

http://www.ferries.gr/
http://www.allgreekferries.com/

For the Venice-Patra leg Anek and Minoan are the two main lines. The route is similar, one takes a couple of hours longer than the other.

http://www.anek.gr/
http://www.minoan.gr/index.asp?a_id=226

If it were me, cost aside, my biggest concern would be how customs would view transporting a van full of someone else's gear. At the very least expect to have to empty the van for inspection at one of the the ports. From memory things were very relaxed at Venice but not at Pireaus. We had to strip the car and have all the suitcases x-rayed, the car was inspected and sniffer dogs were used. And that was a private car with dirty clothes in ... someone we met on the trip grumbled that he'd had to empty his van and open every box.

Anyway, is that enough to get you started? Shout if you have any questions.
Mands

wursel

Thanks very much to you both, that info is certainly of help and is a lot to cosider ontop... I never considered the possible customs dilema The 5 days does seem more logical now.

Thanks again
Matt