Rain, had some rain yesterday, the first we have seen in over a month. The weather from early October until the 12 of November has been very kind in Greece. Most days have been low to mid 20s degrees also warm at night but not unbearably so.
Yesterday also saw our first power cut happened in the early hours and was back on at 4pm. I was pleased that we had the fridge freezer set to auto and it switched to gas when we lost electricity.
Some bad news is that Anek Lines have stated they will no longer be offering camping on board. Which we much preferred staying in our van rather than lugging all we need to a cabin.
We have found the logistics of our trip back to Ireland using three different ferry companies difficult, we have Anek lines Patras to Bari, then Grimaldi lines Civitavecchia to Barcelona then Brittany ferry’s Bilbao to Rosslare. We had them all booked only for Grimaldi to cancel our scheduled date and offer dates either side. It gives us less time in Italy but more time in Spain.
For those interested dog friendly cabin on Brittany was clean and comfortable, the pet exercise area was a 30m x5m outdoor metal corridor not great.
Grimaldi cabin not as clean but ok dogs were allowed pretty much everywhere with three pee pee parks with artificial grass on an open deck with an outdoor bar. Anek lines cabin better than Grimaldi but not as clean as Brittany dogs allowed pretty much everywhere.
In early October we got diesel in Spain for 1.13 per litre but also saw it at €1.40 in some garages. Italy was around €1.55 a litre and in Greece around €1.45 a litre.
Campsites in Greece, the most we have paid is €25 per night for 2 people with Ehu. We are going to the cheapest we have seen advertised so far at €17 per night (ACSI Rate) there are plenty of off grid places, very few with services. Plenty of restaurants or bars the allow overnight stays for free or about €10. Only one campsite had showers that meant I used the one in the van but it was in a great location. We have found the campsites to generally be excellent and good value. I’m not a fan in putting toilet roll in a bin but as I am not responsible for emptying the bins I do what all campsites here insist you do.
Eating out a portion of souvlaki (3 skewers of chicken or pork) with chips €8/10 euros. 500 ml of lager €3/4. Half a kg of wine, that’s 500ml to us is around €5. Shopping is a bit more expensive than Spain but cheaper than Ireland. There are big chains here including Lidl but as some of the sites we have stayed on have not been near a big town we have used mini markets a bit and they tend to be quite expensive.
Not one campsite has been full, far from it, so advance reservations are not required. All places, shops, restaurants, garages and campsites speak English. What Is amusing is that the Germans speak in English and the Greeks speak in English even though around 80% of the campers here are German.
The roads are generally good and when using tolls they are reasonable. Helmets on scooters or motorbikes are not a legal requirement and so I have been the only person wearing one.
This has been my second winter in Greece and guess what? Yep I aim to get back next winter. Although next trip I’m planning on driving from Cherbourg to Patras.
Yesterday also saw our first power cut happened in the early hours and was back on at 4pm. I was pleased that we had the fridge freezer set to auto and it switched to gas when we lost electricity.
Some bad news is that Anek Lines have stated they will no longer be offering camping on board. Which we much preferred staying in our van rather than lugging all we need to a cabin.
We have found the logistics of our trip back to Ireland using three different ferry companies difficult, we have Anek lines Patras to Bari, then Grimaldi lines Civitavecchia to Barcelona then Brittany ferry’s Bilbao to Rosslare. We had them all booked only for Grimaldi to cancel our scheduled date and offer dates either side. It gives us less time in Italy but more time in Spain.
For those interested dog friendly cabin on Brittany was clean and comfortable, the pet exercise area was a 30m x5m outdoor metal corridor not great.
Grimaldi cabin not as clean but ok dogs were allowed pretty much everywhere with three pee pee parks with artificial grass on an open deck with an outdoor bar. Anek lines cabin better than Grimaldi but not as clean as Brittany dogs allowed pretty much everywhere.
In early October we got diesel in Spain for 1.13 per litre but also saw it at €1.40 in some garages. Italy was around €1.55 a litre and in Greece around €1.45 a litre.
Campsites in Greece, the most we have paid is €25 per night for 2 people with Ehu. We are going to the cheapest we have seen advertised so far at €17 per night (ACSI Rate) there are plenty of off grid places, very few with services. Plenty of restaurants or bars the allow overnight stays for free or about €10. Only one campsite had showers that meant I used the one in the van but it was in a great location. We have found the campsites to generally be excellent and good value. I’m not a fan in putting toilet roll in a bin but as I am not responsible for emptying the bins I do what all campsites here insist you do.
Eating out a portion of souvlaki (3 skewers of chicken or pork) with chips €8/10 euros. 500 ml of lager €3/4. Half a kg of wine, that’s 500ml to us is around €5. Shopping is a bit more expensive than Spain but cheaper than Ireland. There are big chains here including Lidl but as some of the sites we have stayed on have not been near a big town we have used mini markets a bit and they tend to be quite expensive.
Not one campsite has been full, far from it, so advance reservations are not required. All places, shops, restaurants, garages and campsites speak English. What Is amusing is that the Germans speak in English and the Greeks speak in English even though around 80% of the campers here are German.
The roads are generally good and when using tolls they are reasonable. Helmets on scooters or motorbikes are not a legal requirement and so I have been the only person wearing one.
This has been my second winter in Greece and guess what? Yep I aim to get back next winter. Although next trip I’m planning on driving from Cherbourg to Patras.
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