Rental car

Rental car

For the following destinations on the mainland and the greek islands we already have area overviews of the different providers:

by the way: the fueling rule for all my partners throughout greece is "as received, so returned".

Things to know about "driving a car in greece

just like here, greece has right-hand traffic. thanks also to greece’s membership, almost all traffic signs are exactly the same as those on our roads in more northerly climes. In general: if you are able to drive a car safely through a small town in western europe, you will have no major problems with your rental car.

There are, of course, a few – in some cases very pleasant – differences nevertheless..:
in my experience, the greek driver prefers to drive by feel rather than by the traffic rules and signs. That is why it z.B. On the broad national roads as a rule as far to the right as possible, in order to make overtaking maneuvers possible in both directions and thus on a 2-lane road also times three and four-lane can be driven… and it takes also times the foot of the gas, in order to make at junctions and bottlenecks also unasked a zipper system possible.

After a short familiarization phase, you as a driver of a rental car should also find this mutual consideration to be very pleasant quite quickly. for me personally, after every vacation with a rented car in greece, this leads to me regularly maneuvering myself into dicey situations in the first few days after returning, because i simply forget that most people here only think of themselves ("and after me the flood of sense").

the main cause of traffic accidents involving rental cars in greece is said to be their drivers’ stubborn insistence on their right of way. However, accidents with rented cars seem to be very rare in greece: I don’t know any statistics about this. However, since 96/97, I myself have certainly brokered hundreds of rental cars all over greece, of which only one has been involved in an accident so far (knock on wood).

Unless otherwise signposted, the following maximum speeds are permitted in hellas (as of 2012):
50 km/h within built-up areas
130 km/h on highways

In recent years, a lot has happened in terms of road safety on both the mainland and the Greek islands:
since the police are increasingly carrying out speed and alcohol checks and rigorously monitoring compliance with the helmet requirement for motorcycles and scooters introduced a few years ago, the number of serious traffic accidents has dropped significantly.
speed controls in greece are done with a handheld laser, as you know it from american movies. Fines that become due are very steep and must be paid immediately, otherwise the vehicle will be impounded.

Excerpt from the greek catalog of fines (as of 2008) for speeding:

– up to 20 km/h too fast 40,- euro
– more than 20 km/h too fast 100,- euro
– more than 30 km/h too fast 350,- euro + 2 months driving ban
alcohol at the wheel:
between 0,5 and 0,8 200,- euro
between 0,8 and 1,1 700,- euro + 3 months driving ban
over 1,1 1.200,- euro + 6 months driving ban
other:
driving without helmet or belt 350,- euro
overtaking despite overtaking ban 700,- euro
disregarding a red light 700,- euro
wrong parking 80,- to 15,- euro
phone while driving 100,- euro

it is also worth mentioning that there is a rule that only half of the fine is due if you pay your fine within 10 calendar days. Only if you can rely on it?

car insurance in greece

a "fully comprehensive insurance" in the form of the free letter for all damages, which we are familiar with, does not generally exist in greece. Even if you would take out all additional insurances, there will always be one or two special cases that are not insurable. (Z.B.self-caused damages in the interior of the vehicle are never insured.)
when looking for cheap rental cars you will therefore often – but definitely not here at greece trip – stumble over various abbreviations, whose meaning is usually difficult to understand. The following are the most common:

TPL "third party liability -> liability insurance

the statutory liability insurance in greece only covers property damage up to 100.000,- euro, personal damage up to 500.000,- euro. You can extend these coverage limits z.B. By taking out a "mallorca-police" of the ADAC.

CDW"collision damage waiver -> accident insurance

Applies to damages caused to your car. With this form of greek "fully comprehensive insurance" you should be aware that glass, tires and underbody – often not even theft or fire are insured!

FDW "full damage waiver" -> exclusion of deductible

this is the famous additional insurance to the accident insurance, which you are almost forced to take out by many providers when you take over your car.

PAI "personal accident insurance passenger protection insurance

In the classic passenger insurance, the damages of your passengers are insured, which are caused in an accident by you as the driver. but you as the driver are not covered by this policy.

TF "theft& fire" theft& fire insurance

this almost creates a classic "full damage waiver" insurance.

WUG "wheels tires, under side& glass protect" tires, under side& glass breakage insurance applies only on official roads (definition: an official road always has traffic signs).). so if you should tear your underbody on some donkey trails in the mountains, you would also be covered by the "tyre&tire" insurance underbody insurance" does not help.

Legal notice: all the information on this page is for guidance only; greece travel cannot be held responsible for its validity and completeness.

news about car rental in greece

New prices at arillas car rental

also the rental cars on corfu of arillas car rental will be much more expensive: due to season shifts and new weekly rates the prices for 2022 are at least 15% higher than those of the last crazy season. Furthermore, the maximum excess is now set at 500,- euro (before 250,-) even for the small cars.

New opening of alpha hellas in athens

After a few years break I can now offer you again rental cars in athens from one of my oldest, wonderfully reliable partners: alpha hellas has reopened its station in athens!

New rates for athens and thessaloniki from capital rent a car

Capital rent a car has fundamentally changed its price structure for the rental cars in athens and in thessaloniki for 2022: the general excess has been reduced, some bookable additional services have been changed, petrol cars have been replaced by diesel, the seasonal times are completely different. if i were asked for a conclusion, it would probably add up to a price increase of 20%.

Partial withdrawal of the price increase of balnea in crete

A few weeks ago balnea the prices of its rental cars on crete for september increased by up to 80%. The travel warning for crete is now obviously having an effect. Therefore, just issued about 20% cheaper prices.

Price increase for october at arillas car rental

Arillas car rental lets continue the high season prices of august and september now even until the end of october. Depending on the rental period and category, this results in a price increase of up to 250% for october.

No more hotel deliveries with autohire chania

The head of autohire chania has symbolically waved the white flag: due to the unchanged enormously high demand, from now on no new bookings with hotel delivery or pick-up can be confirmed any more. The few rental cars still available for the fall are only available at the airports of chania and heraklion.

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