Ferry from Greece to Italy (EN)
We returned to Plataria—the first place we stayed in Greece—because it is just an 11-minute drive from the ferry terminal. You catch the ferry in Igoumenitsa; it takes 20 hours to reach Ancona. Three years ago, we took the ferry from Igoumenitsa to Bari; the journey took about six hours.
Plataria
We stayed at the same spot: Camperstop Plataria Beach (39.44606, 20.2746 lat, long), right across from the beach. George and his brother were delightful, as always, and even gave us a melon. We returned our Greek gas cylinder; George took Ben to drop it off, and we got a 20-euro refund. George had one of our Spanish gas cylinders, so we picked that up. We paid 20 euros—electricity included—so we could run the air conditioning. This time, we were able to swim every day and eat at the tavern, where we enjoyed sardines and—on our last day—some finger-licking good grilled sea bream. Many thanks to George and his brother for everything, and for the *freddos* George treated us to just before we left to catch the ferry.
Ferry terminal in Igoumenitsa
It is recommended to arrive at the terminal about three hours before departure. Our ferry was scheduled to leave at 9:30 PM, so we headed to the terminal at 6:00 PM. You park outside the terminal and have to go inside to check in at your ferry company’s ticket counter. Upon check-in, they tell you when you can board—in this case, at 7:30 PM. We were told that only the driver could be in the vehicle; I had to go through terminal security, and then Ben would pick me up outside. It was the first time we had experienced this. Ben told me they were inspecting every vehicle, checking all the luggage in the cars, and so on. For our vehicle, they only checked under the bed and in the bathroom.
From there, head to the boarding area assigned to you at check-in and get in line to board the ferry. A staff member goes from vehicle to vehicle checking the passes issued at registration: one for the vehicle and one for each passenger. You leave the vehicle pass on the windshield and take the passenger passes with you onto the ferry. Everything went very quickly this time; by 8:00 PM, we were already on board.
The ferry
You can book cabins or sleeping seats. We paid 2 euros for two sleeping seats, but they were incredibly uncomfortable, so we ended up sleeping on the seats in the restaurant area. We were told that the cabin beds are also extremely uncomfortable and that no one slept well. The ferry features a duty-free shop, a bar in the seating area, a cafeteria-style restaurant, and an upper-deck bar. Smoking is permitted in all outdoor areas. I recommend bringing your own food and drinks, as everything on the ferry is very expensive. Also, bring a small blanket, as the air conditioning inside is intense. If you want Wi-Fi, you have to pay for it. Turn off your mobile phone when passing through areas outside the European Union, such as Albania, because you will be charged a fortune if you leave it on.
After 20 hours with hardly any sleep, we arrived in Ancona, Italy. Getting out was quite quick; you don’t get stopped or checked for anything. Just drive straight out.
We headed to the motorhome area where we had stayed when taking the ferry from Ancona to Greece. The site is a 15-minute drive from the ferry terminal at a shopping centre. It has facilities for emptying grey and black water. We took the opportunity to do some shopping and have pizza for dinner.
The next day, we headed straight to France—specifically to Mâcon, a charming city in east-central France famous for its Mediterranean-style architecture and riverside promenades along the Saône, which you’ll be able to see in the next blog post.
