Advice on road travel from Venice to Lefkas

[spencerd]

It's probably been on this forum before, but I searched and came up with nothing.
Plan to go from the UK to Lefkas by road instead of the ferry from Venice, any advice would be most welcome.

Thanks

Spencer

 

[duncan99210]

My cousins have just spent two years as Peace Corps volunteers in Albania. They were not permitted by the Peace Corps to drive and were frustrated before they went at the restriction. Speaking to them a couple of months after they arrived, their opinion had changed completely. They wouldn't drive in the country at all! Appalling road conditions with some of the worst driving they'd ever seen.

The advice they offered is therefore not to transit the country unless you absolutely have to.

Routing via Slovenia, Serbia and Macedonia might be a better choice. No idea what their roads or driving is like.

Incidentally, you'll need to check your insurance company will cover you for countries outside the EU, likewise any breakdown cover you may have.

 

[Tranona]

As suggested, Albania is the barrier, and via Macedonia is the only viable route, but obviously longer. Even the trucks to Turkey avoid going by land and take the ferry.

 

[spencerd]

Thanks both for the comments, looks like I will go the long way round.

 

[nimbusgb]

Any particular reason you are going the hard way? It's a loooong way, roads are not great and it'll cost you more.

 

[spencerd]

Just fancy a bit of an adventure.

 

[rtchina]

Via Serbia and FYRM to Thesseloniki then over to Igumenitsa is viable. It takes about 20 hours from Linz in Austria to Nidri.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Via Serbia and FYRM to Thesseloniki then over to Igumenitsa is viable. It takes about 20 hours from Linz in Austria to Nidri.

I was thinking about doing it but after talking to Greece officials there are lots of problems on Macedonia border with the refugees and we had a dog that would have needed 90 days quarantine.
Ended up on the ferry from Ancona .Take food and water as everything on board is expensive and low quality.

 

[Metabarca]

You'll need a vignette for the Austrian motorways and another for the Slovene ones. Probably your best bet to get past the Alps is Salzburg - Villach - Ljubljana. In Austria, don't fill up on the motorway but on ordinary roads (cheap petrol station just across the border from Germany at Salzburg: OMV) or in Slovenia, where diesel is currently €1.07 a litre. It's motorway all the way through to Serbia, so quick and easy there, but no experience thereafter.