Car Hire Greece - Driving in Greece

The roads in Greece vary in their quality and state of repair, with all major cities being connected by nice wide, multi-lane highways, and smaller cities being served by the narrow variety.

To navigate to the most spectacular and remote locations you might have to negotiate through very narrow roads that might turn into gravel for large stretches of the trip often doubling the estimated time of arrival you calculated looking at the little red line on a map. Greece is a mountainous country and driving can yield spectacular views, but also it can be a cause for motion sickness. If you are traveling with small children make frequent stops and allow extra time to get to your destination.

A European Union drivers license, or a USA drivers license is valid in Greece. Road signs are easy to understand since they contain no text and most resemble European signs. Wearing a seat belts in mandatory but rarely are drivers sited for not wearing them.

Driving in Greece is not to be taken lightly. Greece has a very high accident rate compared to other European countries and much caution is advised. The most dangerous roads are the one lane roads which connect large cities and host large tractor trailers, small cars, older cars, and even smaller motorcycles, all driving at wide ranges of speed. Be extra careful when you pass slower vehicles and have to cross over to the opposite direction lane . There is no avoiding this maneuver on Greek roads especially if you are stuck behind a slow moving tractor trailer on a long uphill for the last 24 minutes. Maybe it's the pressure of 48 Greek drivers tailgating you cursing and waving frantically in your mirrors, maybe it's the need to get to where you are going sometime this century, or maybe it's your own latent Spartan warrior deep down inside who tends to awaken when you drive uphill behind a tractor trailer with 48 Greek drivers behind you, maybe all these reasons will compel you to forget all your ideas about defensive driving and pass the darn truck even if it is the last thing you would ever do.