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Hiring a car in Greece.
victor mel
Posts: 4,963 Forum Member
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What should one take to hire a car in the Greek Islands? Is it just a licence?
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victor mel
Posts: 4,963 victor mel
Posts: 4,963 victor mel
Posts: 4,963
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However, it might've been because I was a relatively new driver, having only passed my test within the year.
I always take both parts of the driving licence and that's been OK. But if you are planning on taking it out of Greece to other EU countries you need to check this out before you book.
The International Driving permit (IDP) doesn't seem to be a requirement, but they are easy to get from the AA / RAC.
Also, getting your own sat-nav with EU mapping is a good idea. You can hire them over there, but that can be as much as buying one at home.
One thing well worth doing is to get some hire car excess insurance. Usually when you hire a vehicle, the insurance covers you for all damage, but you have to pay an excess, usually in the order of a few hundred pounds. Of course, return the vehicle with a stone chip or slight scratch and they will charge you for this. They will typically offer their own excess insurance for about £10-£20/day, but you can get your own for about £2-3 a day. Eg. https://www.confused.com/car-hire-excess-insurance
Also sat nav - I have found this very hit and miss in the Greek islands, often directing you to roads that are near enough impassable by anything with wheels, or that do not even exist!
Driving was another matter, taxi drivers in particular are obnoxious and do not give a shit if they overtake you on a blind corner.
You simply do some price checks online with about 10 companies choose the right one, date, type of car etc. They will simply drop the car off at any location that you choose on the date/time and will take a quick look at your licence.... That's it!
Don't worry about an issue that really doesn't exist.
I'll be hiring a car to drive from Rhodes Town down to Lindos in a few weeks, could it be easily some without a satnav? Last time I was abroad I had my location on google maps that I could follow even though I had no internet connection and couldn't get directions on the app, the little blue dot was there. Even if that doesn't work are the road signs easy to follow? I'm staying right by the highway/motorway outside Rhodes Town
Also, parking in these places? I picture signs in Greek saying resident permits 9-6 or pay at machine but no loading 8-4 etc
Rhodes Town, we found a carpark in the shadow of the castle and remember it being fairly cheap to park all day. I remember there being a little cafe and some lovely gardens right next door and it wasn't far from the harbourfront.
Lindos - there is a huge carpark at the top of the hill, on the main road from Rhodes Town, in the shadow of the Acropolis
It's ok, infact it's easier to drive a left hand car on the right, then trying to drive a right hand car on the right. You'll find, most of the time you just follow the traffic, so no problems.