
Pair of mesh sock sunshades for side windows
Two stretch-mesh covers that slip over the door frames: shade, and open windows without mosquitoes. Rear or front window version.
Our edition · Greece
“Greece on Your Own” is the complete ebook that plans your trip from A to Z. Mainland and islands by car: Peloponnese, Meteora, Crete, ferries, tavernas and off-season travel.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
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10 chapters · 11,000+ words · instant download · 14-day guarantee
The guide starts from zero and turns every unknown into a simple procedure: rental, first roads, first bookings. The method behind our Namibia guide, applied to Greece.
Misunderstood insurance, the wrong season, overrated stops, an underestimated budget: the classic traps are well known — and all avoidable when you know where to look.
Contradictory forums, dated blogs, sales brochures: we did the sorting and the checking. You get the ordered, actionable digest.
Table of contents
10 chapters that follow the real order of your preparation: decide, book, drive, live the trip.
What the car really changes, the three truths to accept, and the structuring question: mainland, islands, or both.
The gap between tourist Greece and the real one is about hours, not geography · Why to start with the mainland · The trap of frantic island-hopping · How to use the guide depending on your profile
The complete month-by-month, the logic of the two shoulder seasons, and our recommendation based on your priority.
April-June and September-October: the connoisseurs' season · Month by month, from Orthodox Easter to the meltemi · The priority table (swimming, hiking, budget, photography) · What to book when, season by season
The chapter that pays for the guide: full cover and its exclusions, the ferry clause that shapes everything, deposit, vehicle inspection.
Why to go smaller than you think · CDW, excess, tyre/rim/underbody exclusions · The ferry clause and the unpaved-roads clause: the two that shape your itinerary · Local rental companies vs international brands · The 5-step vehicle inspection
The hard-shoulder convention, the eight golden rules, the legal framework, tolls and the right reflexes when things go wrong.
The hard shoulder: the number-one rule nobody explains · The 8 golden rules (gravel, goats, villages, Athens) · Speed limits, 0.5 g/L alcohol limit, speed cameras · Tolls and the motorway vs national roads trade-off · Accidents: report, rental company, 112
Three proven circuits with real distances and driving times: the Peloponnese, the grand mainland tour, and mainland + Crete.
10 days: the Peloponnese (~1,270 km) · 15 days: the grand mainland tour (~2,150 km) · 21 days: mainland + Crete via the night ferry (~2,750 km) · The principles that hold a Greek itinerary together
The signature chapter: ship your car or re-rent, the ferry companies, reverse boarding, and the three anti-meltemi rules.
The ship-the-car vs rent-on-the-island calculation · Blue Star, fast ferries, night ferries to Crete: which one when · Boarding with a car in 5 steps · The meltemi and the buffer-night rule · Building a mainland + islands combo that holds
Domatia, charming guesthouses, tower houses: real 2026 prices, the four nights worth paying for, and the booking strategy.
Domatia: the go-to option of the road trip (€35-60 for a double) · The 2026 price table by option and season · The 4 stays that transform the trip (Monemvasia, Mani, Kastraki, Omalos) · Booking direct, Greek weekends and the off-season traps
How to spot a good taverna, order like a local, eat well for €20, and the complete off-season travel manual.
The signs of a real taverna (and the ones to run from) · Ordering in two waves, fish by weight, house wine by the jug · Regional specialities along your route · The off-season manual: what closes, what opens up, the festivals to catch
Every cost with 2026 figures, the three-profile table for 2 people over 15 days, and the island and Crete adjustments.
Car, fuel at €1.80-2.20/L, tolls, lodging, tavernas: the 2026 ranges · The 3-profile table: €2,250 / €3,330 / €5,050 excluding flights · The costed Cyclades and Crete variants · Where to save without impoverishing the trip — and where never to
The chapter to print out: Schengen paperwork, EHIC and insurance, the real risks, plus the gear and final-days checklists.
Minimal paperwork (national ID is enough, French licence valid) · Sun, sea, road: the real Greek risks in order of likelihood · The gear checklist (car, sea, hiking, first aid) · The final ten days checklist
Sample pages
Chapter 3 — Renting Your Car
The clause that shapes your whole itinerary
« Most mainland rental companies — including the big brands — forbid taking the vehicle onto a ferry without written authorisation. Some refuse outright, others charge for it, others grant it while excluding all cover during the crossing. If your plan includes the Cyclades or Crete with a rental car: ask the question IN WRITING before booking, and keep the answer. Landing on Naxos with an unauthorised vehicle means void insurance for the entire rest of your trip. »
Chapter 4 — Driving in Greece
Rule number one: the hard shoulder
« On single-carriageway national roads, local convention has you straddle the hard shoulder to let others overtake. The white line on the right is not a boundary, it is a courtesy lane. Everyone does it, trucks and grandpas in pick-ups alike; whoever stays planted in the middle of the lane gets tailgated, honked at, then overtaken dangerously. Adopt the code: when a vehicle closes in fast behind you, move halfway onto the shoulder, they overtake without fully crossing the centre line, and they will thank you with a flash of the hazards — the local custom. »
Chapter 6 — The Ferries
The three anti-meltemi rules
« From July to early September, the meltemi blows across the Aegean in one-to-four-day episodes, force 6 to 8. Fast ferries get cancelled first; the conventional ones hold out longer but end up pinned in port too. Rule number one: never book your return flight for the day of the last ferry. A buffer night in Athens, always. That is THE rule — those who ignore it end up funding €250 last-minute Santorini-Athens plane tickets. »
The order form
Mainland and islands by car: Peloponnese, Meteora, Crete, ferries, tavernas and off-season travel
44 €
Secure payment by Stripe · Instant download · 14-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked.
How it works
The shop
A few items we take on our own self-drive trips, shipped from the supplier's warehouse within 8 to 15 working days — free delivery from €49.

Two stretch-mesh covers that slip over the door frames: shade, and open windows without mosquitoes. Rear or front window version.

Magnetic mount that clips onto the air vent: the phone goes on and off one-handed, turns 360°, metal plates included.

Eight polyester pouches in different sizes (three cubes, shoe bag, laundry bag, toiletry bag…) to live out of your suitcase without emptying it every night.
Before you go
Right after payment you receive a download link: the full guide in HTML, readable on any device and printable to PDF in one click (Cmd/Ctrl+P), plus the chapters in Markdown to read wherever you like. No proprietary app, no subscription.
Not yet: the guide is currently written in French, and an English edition is in the works. Prices, routes and checklists are of course language-independent — but if you don't read French, we recommend waiting for the English edition.
Yes: the price ranges, local rules and advice reflect the 2026 situation. The fundamentals — itineraries, driving or transport, logistics — change very little from year to year.
A simple guarantee: 14 days, money back, no questions asked. One email to our support is enough — full refund within 48 hours. We'd far rather refund you than leave a disappointed reader.
Our free pages (the Greece country page, destinations, field notes) give you the panorama. The guide gives you the complete, ordered method: day-by-day itineraries, a line-by-line budget, detailed driving and logistics, and every checklist. It's the digest we wish we'd had before our first trip.