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Drive from Istanbul to Greece (Athens) and ferry into Italy, possible? Drive from Istanbul to Greece (Athens) and ferry into Italy, possible?
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Photo by Stefan Thiel of Mark Hammond crossing a river in NW Mongolia

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Stefan Thiel, of
Mark Hammond crossing
a river in NW Mongolia



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  #16  
Old 13 Jan 2015
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Location: Athens, Greece
Posts: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by andymaxman View Post
Hey John,
(Sorry for the delayed response here. Inspite of subscribing to my own thread, i still do not receive email notifications about posts.)

This is super useful info. Thanks a lot for taking time to share this out.
Yes, we have about 6 days for Greece starting from the Turkey border.
We will be driving. What would be your routing suggestion in Greece?
We have nothing particular in mind other than visiting scenic beauty in Greece and lovely townside places. We were thinking Athens but are also open to skipping so we can actually spend quality time in a place or two rather than just drive the 6 days before exiting Greece.

We want to be able to ferry into Bari in Italy to tour around Italy.
Hi,
ok driving, I missed that on your first post. So no problems with possible bad weather.

Here are some suggestions on a map I made:

First layer "transit": I drew it deliberately following all the way the national road E90 so that you spend more time on the places that follow next. Depending on how much you have travelled that day in Turkey, you might want to spend the night in Xanthi (mark B on "transit" layer). It is a nice city, with historic old downtown.

If not, if you have plenty of time ahead that day, you may continue on E90.
Arrive at "Metsovo" (mark C on "transit" layer).

Now, from that point on, you have a lot of options:
  • map layer "Zagoria1": you drive through a very scenic region of Greece. If you google search for images with the terms Zagori, Zagoria, Zagorohoria, Vikos gorge, Papingo, to name a few, you will get an idea.
    Note that most of this route is narrow, small roads. Your average speed will not be more than 30-40 km/h. You will need to have a night stopover in the area. All those villages: Kipoi (also "Kipi"), Vitsa, Monodendri, Kapesovo and all others nearby have lots of options with traditional guesthouses.
  • map layer "Zagori2": this is another loop ride, the east part of this region. Also, very slow riding/driving but amazing views and scenery.
  • map layer "Metsovo-Kalabaka-Tzoumerka" : this will take you to the famous rocks and monasteries of Meteora (UNESCO heritage). In Kalambaka there are nice options for accomodation. From there you head into the Tzoumerka. IMHO, the wildest and most beautiful region of mainland Greece.
    On this layer, you will notice that I stopped the line at mark D (village "Anthousa"). From there you have options to follow the road north back to Metsovo or ...
  • ...or do go to map layer "Tzoumerka". Google maps doesnt allow me to draw line along roads here, don't know why, but I placed a black line doing the highest paved mountain pass in Greece (it might be blocked with snow, seek info from locals before heading over the pass), and red markers with villages, that are all connected with paved roads, which like in Zagoria are also narrow and very twisty, slow going. In village Pramanta and nearby there are nice options for accommodation.

After Tzoumerka you can connect with national road E90 to go to Igoumenitsa to take the ferry, or you may want to go to city of Ioannina, or if you choose to ride north through balkans.

Keep in mind, all of the above include mountainous regions, some are remote, some are going to be cold even in May. These suggestions will take 4-6 days to do them all, depending on how much you want to drive per day and/or have rest days.
If you want I can suggest specific hotels/guesthouses in some of those places.
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MotoGreece.gr | personal blog | my G+ profile
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  #17  
Old 17 Jan 2015
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 2,134
Andy:

If you do plan to take the ferry from Greece over to Brindisi, I suggest that you get out of Brindisi (at least a short distance out, for example, 20 km or so) before you settle down for your first night in Italy.

Brindisi is one of those 'the road ends here' towns, so far as people wandering down from northern parts of Europe and/or Italy are concerned, and the few times that I have been in Brindisi I have been less than impressed with the place. The downtown area appeared to me to have more drifters and indigents hanging around than one would normally find in a town that size.

For what it's worth...

Michael
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  #18  
Old 28 Jan 2015
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 47
Quote:
Originally Posted by road spirit View Post
Keep in mind, all of the above include mountainous regions, some are remote, some are going to be cold even in May. These suggestions will take 4-6 days to do them all, depending on how much you want to drive per day and/or have rest days.
If you want I can suggest specific hotels/guesthouses in some of those places.
Thanks Road Spirit for the detailed outline.
Will go through this a I move ahead.


Quote:
Originally Posted by PanEuropean View Post
Andy:

If you do plan to take the ferry from Greece over to Brindisi, I suggest that you get out of Brindisi (at least a short distance out, for example, 20 km or so) before you settle down for your first night in Italy.

Michael
Hey Michael,
Thanks for the tip. Very useful to know.

I am also contemplating driving up to Dubrovnik and ferrying in Bari.
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