A Bongo Adventure to Greece

[umbongocat]

I'm still part-time teaching (just), so couldn't go before June..

Derek

Me too, teach until July 3rd so couldn't go before that. I'd probably do the route 1: England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece to get there and consider a different route back

[heavylevy]

Hi there
Having read the thread with great interest. I to would like like to come. But I would need to know the duration of the trip I know its not set in stone but would two weeks be enough or would we need longer?
many thanks
adrian

[Dr Fingers]

I'm still part-time teaching (just), so couldn't go before June..

Derek

Me too, teach until July 3rd so couldn't go before that. I'd probably do the route 1: England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece to get there and consider a different route back

Sounds good to me too, same route appeals. A little worried about 'rushing'.it .8 hrs a day behind the wheel is a bit much for this old duffer..!

Derek

[helen&tony]

Hi Adrian
The more the merrier...
The Route via Italy is rather nice, and it really depends on how long you want to take
I'll give some thoughts on that later, as when we came it was a real rush.
Don't forget, that there's another ferry that route!
More tomorrow...I'm off to bed soon, as we're 2 hours ahead, and I've had a bit of a day
Cheers
Helen

[Dr Fingers]

Another ferry is good..means less driving!

and another thing..this trip could be the perfect excuse for blowing £££'s on a Fiamma side awning

Derek

[umbongocat]

I'm still part-time teaching (just), so couldn't go before June..

Derek

Me too, teach until July 3rd so couldn't go before that. I'd probably do the route 1: England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece to get there and consider a different route back

Sounds good to me too, same route appeals. A little worried about 'rushing'.it .8 hrs a day behind the wheel is a bit much for this old duffer..!

Derek

I don't particularly savour rushing it to just get there. Happy to do some stop overs on route with anyone who is in Convoy. 8 hours of driving for me is too much every day.. I could do it for one day but not every day. Definitely would want to stop in France some for a night as it's my 2nd home Will probably end up back in France for the rest of the summer

[helen&tony]

Hi
Well, truth to tell, not yet in bed, and I would highly commend a trip with some good stopovers after , say, 450 Kilometers a day, but we came here overloaded...now that's a story, and had immeasurable problems on the way , and we encountered weather problems including stopping at a friend's in Switzerland and getting trapped in the alpine area in the worst snow they'd had in years, and it took a snow blower and 5 people 5 hours to dig us out ...we eventually had to stop over in a decidedly dodgy campsite full of itinerants in Italy, who I must say, were no problem, but we were locked in with electric gates which were only opened in the morning...I had driven 9-odd hours non -stop, and didn't care.... ...another night involved 15 hours of driving, and another 16 hours, and driving up a cart track on a snow-covered hillside pass barely the width of the caravan, with a sheer drop on one side and were delighted to find someone who spoke German that Tony could understand...Now, that was a night of considerable consumption of wine!....
Anyway...some great campsites had to be missed, and I missed visiting Ravenna...gorgeous place!...but we did spend a day in Apuglia ...
Oh....ferries...we booked a Bari to Patras crossing, as I fancied a break with a cabin and some kip, and the other crossing was too short to Igoumenitsa....which will take you through the mountains, but they are often closed in winter when we came!
There are also a variety of other routes, and "camping on board" in your vehicle on some routes....A veritable treat!, and I'll post the links up tomorrow, but whether a Bongo would count as a motorhome , I somehow doubt, as I expect that you are required to be entirely self-contained...Anyway, the ferries are top-notch from Italy to Greece.....
Cheers
Helen

[umbongocat]

Hi
Well, truth to tell, not yet in bed, and I would highly commend a trip with some good stopovers after , say, 450 Kilometers a day, but we came here overloaded...now that's a story, and had immeasurable problems on the way , and we encountered weather problems including stopping at a friend's in Switzerland and getting trapped in the alpine area in the worst snow they'd had in years, and it took a snow blower and 5 people 5 hours to dig us out ...we eventually had to stop over in a decidedly dodgy campsite full of itinerants in Italy, who I must say, were no problem, but we were locked in with electric gates which were only opened in the morning...I had driven 9-odd hours non -stop, and didn't care.... ...another night involved 15 hours of driving, and another 16 hours, and driving up a cart track on a snow-covered hillside pass barely the width of the caravan, with a sheer drop on one side and were delighted to find someone who spoke German that Tony could understand...Now, that was a night of considerable consumption of wine!....
Anyway...some great campsites had to be missed, and I missed visiting Ravenna...gorgeous place!...but we did spend a day in Apuglia ...
Oh....ferries...we booked a Bari to Patras crossing, as I fancied a break with a cabin and some kip, and the other crossing was too short to Igoumenitsa....which will take you through the mountains, but they are often closed in winter when we came!
There are also a variety of other routes, and "camping on board" in your vehicle on some routes....A veritable treat!, and I'll post the links up tomorrow, but whether a Bongo would count as a motorhome , I somehow doubt, as I expect that you are required to be entirely self-contained...Anyway, the ferries are top-notch from Italy to Greece.....
Cheers
Helen

Look forward to the links. Sounds an interesting adventure you had. We have been prone to a few adventures ourself in the bongo but hopefully, we've had the last of unlucky adventures. Our motorhome is a lot bigger than the bongo so I'll have to remember this when calculating routes and costs of ferry as I'm sure the bongo will be cheaper for the crossing. Think I'd probably not want to do the Bari Patras crossing on the way there and avoid the mountains. Will probably do the mountains on the way back tho if the rest of the umbongo clan came.

[Dr Fingers]

I don't particularly savour rushing it to just get there. Happy to do some stop overs on route with anyone who is in Convoy. 8 hours of driving for me is too much every day.. I could do it for one day but not every day. Definitely would want to stop in France some for a night as it's my 2nd home Will probably end up back in France for the rest of the summer [/quote]

Kindred spirit? We have have good friends scattered across France (mid and Languedoc) happy to share them if we hook up with other Bongonauts. Ditto the 8 hrs pd, that would be a bit of an ordeal. 4-6 maybe?
Derek

[francophile1947]

Looking at the AA Route Planner, it shows 2803Km and 25h44m travelling time from Calais, so you're going to need 5 stops each way, if you're only doing 450Km per day and about 5 hours driving
I like the look of this trip, but it looks like it will cost me about £700 in diesel alone, so, with the site fees and ferry, I could be looking at a cost of around £1000, plus spending money - I could get a good, all-inclusive holiday for much less

[Grahame at work]

HHHmmmmmm

This sounds interesting

We were the ones that had an alternator fail on us half way to Poland. Having a group of VERY enthusiastic Bongo folk on hand (and the Bongo master and other folk back home that helped) to take the stress of you was really great and even with the failure we had a really great time.

If I remember correctly we did about 6 hours convoy driving a day on that trip - which was fairly easy.

We now have a V6 and it could do with a good run

Regards time of year - I wouldn't want it to be too hot - so August wouldn't be our choice.
And the Italy / ferry route sounds nice - as long as you can avoid the mad Italian cities

I'll keep watching this thread.

Regards to all

Grahame

[helen&tony]

Hi
Cat...
Regarding our trip...NIGHTMARE....Didn't think we'd make it....even got held up by a fake copper posing as special security police in Sofia...blinking twerp flashing a gun!....I said to Tony...GET BACK IN THE (FLUFFY) CAR, and we legged it....a bit hard in a Bongo and caravan with his accomplice chasing!
Bari to Patras is the route to avoid the mountains. It's the Bari - Igoumenitsa route with mountains.....me no likey mountains...
Well....There's several ferries you can get...big choice, varying lengths of travel. You can go from Venice, Ancona, Bari and Brindisi to Igoumenitsa, Patras and Piraeus (Athens).....
Link:
http://www.ferries.gr/
It depends how much you want to spend on ferries...I like a good sea trip, and from memory, we chose Superfast Ferries....Most of the ferries in that area are modern, well kept, and the staff/ crew are VERY good...delighted...Anyone with dogs has to have an outside cabin, dogs stay in the cabin, which was surgically clean, and you walk the dogs on deck with a lead. There's even a doggy toilet!....
If I was doing the trip with you, I'd go Venice or Ancona, but for cheapness, Bari - Patras....It depends what you want out of the trip...It could be an adventure....from top to bottom of the EU and back again, and if you do a round trip returning the other route, you'll get to see 7 - 9 countries and add them to the list of where you've driven....Very nice, and rather fun in convoy.
I'd not recommend travelling through Serbia, etc. as you don't have any EU protection, and there are often problems with foreign or EU cars....
Duration of trip?...For me, I'd say 3 weeks, but it's do-able in a lot less....As a rule the driving on the Continent is easier than the UK, as it's not as congested, and there aren't so many worries...sticking to the main routes is a doddle, and you can drive for longer periods with little stress...
Frankly, I have no idea how soon things get booked , but, for me, I'd say get in as early as possible with the major things like ferries pre-booked, allowing for a reasonable journey time to reach the destination ferries, and I can arrange stops for you ahead as soon as I know numbers...All you do then is to mail the campsite / ferry people, and say you're with the Bongo trip....and pay yer cash!
I can sort a lot of organising in the winter, as we lock the doors and put the fires on 'till Spring
Cheers
Helen

[umbongocat]

Looking at the AA Route Planner, it shows 2803Km and 25h44m travelling time from Calais, so you're going to need 5 stops each way, if you're only doing 450Km per day and about 5 hours driving
I like the look of this trip, but it looks like it will cost me about £700 in diesel alone, so, with the site fees and ferry, I could be looking at a cost of around £1000, plus spending money - I could get a good, all-inclusive holiday for much less

But an inclusive holiday would never be the same as a trip like this in terms of the things you can see along the way. Yes it's expensive but also an amazing experience too 'I can't stand all-inclusives although I'm sure my daughter would love that

[helen&tony]

Hi Cat...
Frankly, I'm like that...I haven't been all inclusive since, maybe, somewhere between 1968 - '71...I've always preferred camping, or just a base!....
It has been voiced that this trip could be a trip of a lifetime, and I hope it will be...there's real history, incredible sights out of reality rather than legend..(over in Bulgaria, a lot of "history" is fabricated)...There's lovely warm weather, almost guaranteed...the food's not bad, the sea is warm enough to wash yer socks in ...and there's something for everyone...and....the route...Who wouldn't like some of the scenery...7 or 8 mountain ranges according to route...and even Draculaville in the Carpathians....I've not been to the Carpathians, and Transylvania...YET....I love anything vampire or werewolf....always have!
Food will cost what you buy...I'm not keen on "eaterie" scran, but a good restaurant ...that's different!....and home-burnt food on the barbie is top tucker!
John...
C'mon ...(arm twist arm twist)....you know you'll have fun!
Cheers
Helen

[stpn666]

Hi

I have only just got my bongo and this sound ideal in case I need help on the way I will keep an eye on this.
cheers
Steve Powys Wales