# Ferries to Greece



## PeterandLinda

We are planning to travel to Greece in late October and favouring Superfast from Ancona to Patras with camping on board. Any feedback on this route or advice on alternatives would be helpful.

Thanks


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## Grizzly

We used Anek from Ancona to Patras earlier this year- camping on deck. Anek were then offering a very good discounted rate and it might be an idea to check if this is still available online.

The whole experience was very straightforward and painless ! On deck campers get a 10 amp hook up so you can even make your own meals though we used the restaurant.

You will get a booking number and must exchange this for a ticket and Camping on Board windscreen sticker before you sail. The actual ticket office and the ferry are not in the same place in Ancona and it is a good idea to identify both before you start driving round Ancona. We stayed at the Ancona Camperclub sosta ( in MHF database) the night before and there is a bus from there to the ticket office area so you can collect it all the day before.

Getting out of Patras at the other end is quite easy. We stayed at Camping Rion, ( again in MHF database) just underneath the Rio-Antirio bridge on our first night and recommend that.

Camping on deck as I understand it, only runs in the summer months. I assume October is still summer ?

A great country to visit with a MH and very welcoming friendly people.

G


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## Don_Madge

Camping on board officially ends on the 31st October.

But the smaller companies on the short sea crossings Bari/Brindisi to Igoumenitsa/Patras will allow you to sleep in your van on the overnight crossings all year round.

Safe travelling.

Don


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## peejay

Hi;

The Anek special deal Grizzly mentions was an early booking offer that unfortunately ended in March.

Excluding the Anek deal just mentioned, we have usually found that Minoan are about the cheapest on the long routes but as Don has said, camping on board finishes at the end of October.

Just a thought and you'd have to cost it but might be worth booking camping on board one way only from Ancona in Oct and then return via the shorter crossings from Bari or Brindisi and the longer drive?


Pete


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## barryd

Not trying to hijack the thread but one of the ideas we had when we go full timing in the spring was to end up in Northern Italy maybe down as far as Tuscany september / OCtober and then get a ferry to spend the winter in Greece. Perhaps coming back over land or on a ferry early spring. Any thoughts?

Ta BD


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## safariboy

barryd said:


> Not trying to hijack the thread but one of the ideas we had when we go full timing in the spring was to end up in Northern Italy maybe down as far as Tuscany september / OCtober and then get a ferry to spend the winter in Greece. Perhaps coming back over land or on a ferry early spring. Any thoughts?
> 
> Ta BD


I would suggest that you do plenty of research as to which sites will be open. I think that some members have camped for fee in "closed" sites. I talked to one owner. He suggested that they had tried opening in the winter but made a loss because there were not enough takers.


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## barryd

Thanks for that. Its not set in stone yet, just thought I would put the question out while there were a few experts about. I did once quiz a campsite owner on Corfu who agreed to give us a winter pitch with EHU for about 200 or 250 euros a month.

Knowing us we will probably just turf up and wing it!


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## Don_Madge

barryd said:


> Thanks for that. Its not set in stone yet, just thought I would put the question out while there were a few experts about. I did once quiz a campsite owner on Corfu who agreed to give us a winter pitch with EHU for about 200 or 250 euros a month.
> 
> Knowing us we will probably just turf up and wing it!


Hi Barry,

Have you thought about Crete? We spent six weeks there last winter and it's an ideal winter destination.

Regards

Don


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## barryd

Don Madge said:


> barryd said:
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for that. Its not set in stone yet, just thought I would put the question out while there were a few experts about. I did once quiz a campsite owner on Corfu who agreed to give us a winter pitch with EHU for about 200 or 250 euros a month.
> 
> Knowing us we will probably just turf up and wing it!
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Barry,
> 
> Have you thought about Crete? We spent six weeks there last winter and it's an ideal winter destination.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Don
Click to expand...

Thanks Don. I hadnt considered it really. Its a long way south so presumably better chances of similar weather to Cyprus I guess. We had a holiday there once and I did some IT work there for a while (of all places) and have mixed memories about the place. We didnt really enjoy it, but perhaps we didnt do it justice. Will look into it further, cheers
BD


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## Garcia

*ferries to greece*

just got back
Minoan have stopped camping on board on the Ancona / Patras route. I was only told at check in and some were not told till they got on board. There must have been a dozen campers all expecting "camping on board
You MUST have a cabin and the dogs are supposed to go in the cages.
NOBODY used the cages. THo they are large enough for my two large dogs
All staff turned a blind eye to people taking their dogs to the cabins.
Sitting with the dogs on the top deck is fine in good weather. One or two slept on deck with their dogs


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## PAT4NEIL

Hello

Just had a email from Minoan Bonus Club today saying that they have a early booking sale on. The dates dont seem to be up for next year calendar yet.

But there say 25,000 special offer, berths from 59Euros Deck 25 euros cars 39 euro ancona route..

Tried to post it on here but can work out how to do it.

Pat

http://www.minoan.gr/uploads/newsletters/0026/GreeceEn.jpg

done it now see above


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## Grizzly

*Re: ferries to greece*



Garcia said:


> Minoan have stopped camping on board on the Ancona / Patras route.


Is this just the normal end-of-season stoppage - coming a bit earlier than the usual end of October - or have they stopped it for all time ?

G


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## peejay

*Re: ferries to greece*



Garcia said:


> just got back
> Minoan have stopped camping on board on the Ancona / Patras route. I was only told at check in and some were not told till they got on board. There must have been a dozen campers all expecting "camping on board
> You MUST have a cabin and the dogs are supposed to go in the cages.
> NOBODY used the cages. THo they are large enough for my two large dogs
> All staff turned a blind eye to people taking their dogs to the cabins.
> Sitting with the dogs on the top deck is fine in good weather. One or two slept on deck with their dogs


Thats strange.

Did you have bad weather on the crossing, could that be the reason?

As Grizzly says, camping on board doesn't usually finish until end of Oct.

Also, people without m/homes used to be able to book deck passage only without a cabin to save money and sleep in a corner somewhere, cabins weren't compulsory so things might have changed.

Pete


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## Garcia

*Camping on board*

we we're told they were new ferries with no open deck for campers.
We we;re in a hold like a P&O at Dover....so no-one stayed in their van.Tho they did off to power the van
We we're left with the impression that this was a permanent change.
I was expecting the "end of Oct " stoppage but this happened first on our outward at the end of Sept and again just this week on the way back.
One other thing PJ ...At Katakolo they now charge for the eleccy on the Marina....5 E's a night...............
Garcia


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## peejay

Thanks for the info on Katakolo, I'll ammend the entry.

Sounds bad news about Minoan, hope they have a change of heart for next year and we'll keep an eye out for any news about this on their website.

Pete


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## Don_Madge

Hi Pete,

This has happened beforegetting towards the end of the season, boats go in for routine maintenance or they had a problem with one of the ferries that has the half deck that is needed for the camping on board.

It will be worth an e mail on Monday to see went the problem was.

Don


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## PeterandLinda

Hi

With the benefit of everyone’s advice, on Monday we boarded the Superfast VI in Ancona bound for Patras with the intention of camping on board. We arrived at the port in plenty of time as advised (they say three hours before boarding) and checked in at the ticket office. All straight forward, good English spoken and no queues. We were then given our ‘PATRAS’ and ‘CAMPING ON BOARD’ signs and directed to a specific lane at the embarkation point. Like most ports it is a bit of a maze but the signage is good enough.
Time went by and our lane had four vehicles in it by the time we boarded. As we were boarding we were advised that because of the weather we could not camp on board but we should report to reception and would be given a cabin. We could visit the vehicle freely and plug in to the ships power but should not sleep in it.
When we went up the ramp to the higher of two vehicle decks, the four vehicles in our lane were joined by a French horsebox and three horses (in the charge of a petite French groom) and these were the sole occupants of the huge vehicle deck. We were actually sited undercover rather than in the usual open area for camping on board but there were plenty of power outlets available and we plugged ourselves in.
We were given an outside four berth cabin with en-suite facilities, settled in and availed ourselves of the ship’s numerous facilities – there are two restaurants and three bars as well as a shop, DVD hire and gaming machines. The journey passed without mishap though it get a bit lumpy in the wee small hours and the vibration felt like we were sleeping on top of a washing machine (these ships cruise at 45kph), but sleep we did and arrived in Patras (via Igoumenitsa) 21 hours, and an hour’s time difference, after departing Ancona. The open bit of the car deck was awash with salt water and there was spray on the windscreen, so the crossing clearly had been a bit rough.
The one way crossing for the two of us and 7.7 metre Hymer cost 316€ and the free cabin was worth around 100€.


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## havingfun

*ferries to greece*

hi,

i,ve just tried to bring the special offer deal up for 2011,but any way i go round i cant get to it,i can get the front page,but it wont go any further,and when i go on their web site,i can only get up to dec 2010,probally me,but if anybody can help would be grateful.

mags


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## peejay

Hi Mags;

Which Company/route are you refering to?

I don't think any of the Greek ferries have published any of their 2011 timetables yet so might be a bit early for any 'specials'.

I think most publish their timetables for the following year around mid November onwards. Thats when I usually start looking.

Pete


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## Don_Madge

*Re: ferries to greece*



Garcia said:


> just got back
> Minoan have stopped camping on board on the Ancona / Patras route. I was only told at check in and some were not told till they got on board. There must have been a dozen campers all expecting "camping on board
> You MUST have a cabin and the dogs are supposed to go in the cages.
> NOBODY used the cages. THo they are large enough for my two large dogs
> All staff turned a blind eye to people taking their dogs to the cabins.
> Sitting with the dogs on the top deck is fine in good weather. One or two slept on deck with their dogs


Found this on the Minoan site

"CAMPING ALL INCLUSIVE Passengers travelling on Ancona Line can benefit from the new exceptional offer "Camping All Inclusive", which is valid for H/S/F CRUISE EUROPA & H/S/F CRUISE OLYMPIA. The offer includes inside cabin plus 1 meal per way, on DECK fares.

Please note that Camping on Board service will be available as scheduled for the time that H/S/F OLYMPIA PALACE will run on this line."

It appears that only one boat is offering the camping on board at present.

See also http://www.ferries.gr/minoan/

Don


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