Tips for driving through Greece
Here’s everything you need to know about driving with your family thorugh Europe-specifically Greece.
Our family of 5 drove over 1,000 miles throughout Greece and we collected our top tips so you don’t have to guess about anything.
It takes some preparation and planning to drive in a foreign country. Our family has traveled through over 15 countries together, and driven through many of them. We share easy ways that your family can go from sitting on the couch dreaming on pinterest, to planning your first family trip. Check out our easy to follow FREE ebook here to get started.
Tips for driving throughout Greece
First, before you leave the USA, get an IDP (international drivers permit).
It’s inexpensive & helpful when renting a car, or if you do get stopped. An IDP helps show you have a valid driver’s license in your home country, and is accepted in over 100 countries.
For between $20-$40 you’ll be glad you have this when you check in to get your rental car. This makes the process go smoothly and proves you have a valid license. It’s good for 18 months and you can get this at a AAA location or sometimes at your BMV.
Whenever you are visiting a new country it’s imperative that you research local laws and signs before you go. There are bound to be signs that you’re unfamiliar with. A few minutes of research can save you a lot of headaches. This is especially important if you are going to a country that has a completely different language! We were happy to be able to read signs when we were traveling so we could easily find where to go, and where not to park.
Do you know how to drive stick? I never learned, thankfully my husband knows how to, but it’s not always that easy to grab a stick shift car & make your way through a new place. We found that we prefer to just pay the extra and get an automatic car if possible. This is great for us in case either of us wants to drive. You can rent automatic cars in Europe but you have to request in beforehand & it often costs more. Cars are much smaller than in the USA including trunk space, so plan your bags and number of seats in advance. For a family of 5 we were pretty squished. We usually only travel with personal items (backpacks), even on a long trip like this 2 month trip, and I’m glad we did. Our family of 5 wouldn’t have been able to keep much more luggage in the trunk. We also had all 3 kids in the backseat, and with one kid in a carseat there really wasn’t a lot of room on the floor for bags or many things.
Make sure you have rental car collision insurance. We used our Chase Sapphire card for coverage. Do your own research to see if you need additional coverage before signing the papers at the rental desk. We found out that when we rent on our Chase Sapphire this gives us additional coverage in many place when renting a car (please call and check the information as it can change often). If you us the sapphire you will have to deny other coverage at the desk for it to go into effect. We have had to use this insurance 1 time and it did work the way we expected. Please make sure to do your own research and make sure you do what’s best for your family. Accidents do happen occasionally and you want to be covered.
There are so many tolls in Greece! We did research this and knew that there would be quite a bit, and I’m glad so we weren’t surprised. We spent well over $100USD on tolls in Greece alone for driving on the highways. Usually you can pay with your credit card at the stops, but occasionally we had to use cash-so have Euros on hand (coins and bills), ready to go!
Apple Maps worked well for driving in Greece. We didn’t have a problem at all finding our way and the internet worked well (we had an international plan). We didn’t try using google maps-so I’m not 100% sure how that works.
Gas was a bit expensive (imo), and is measured by the liter. Don’t be fooled when the fuel sign says 2 Euros, because that will be in liters. We paid about $8 per gallon (Spring 2025). When you see the sign that says 2 Euros know that is per liter and not gallon.
You probably guessed this, but the drive is going to be stunning. You’ll want to stop and take a lot of photos along the way, so make sure you leave time to do that. We stopped often for snacks and stunning patio views along the way.
If you’re taking a ferry to go to a Greek island, make sure your rental company allows you to do that. You should check for sure if you can bring your rental on the ferry, not all rentals allow this. You’ll also pay an extra fee to bring your car on the ferry, and that is quite an experience.
Taking a ferry was almost $200 for our family of 5, which included our tickets and taking the car across.
Ferry in Greece.
Check which countries the rental company allows you to drive through. We found that certain rental companies didn’t want us to drive through the Balkans, which changed our driving plan a lot. We ended up staying in Greece only and skipping the Balkans for this trip altogether.
I’m sure I missed something, let me know below. Make sure you’re following @TheShortsTravel on instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for more family travel content.
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