# Questions About Traveling To Greece



## LARRY T (May 19, 2008)

Do I need an international license to drive or is a New York license ok? Also, is there a place that rents out cell phones for a week or two?


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## Carolinian (May 20, 2008)

International Drivers Licenses are generally not required in Europe.  I have driven in Greece several times and never gotten one for those trips.  I even had a police encounter once, when a Greek who had been drinking ran into my rental car on Corfu, and my NC license was all that I needed.


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## Jimster (May 26, 2008)

*Greece*

Considering Greece  has the highest death toll per capita in Europe resulting from auto accidents, I would consider not driving in Greece at all.  When you get there you'll find out why.  Greek drivers take all road signs to be advisory-ie stop means stop only if you don't think you can make it.  No passing means can you play chicken and win?  Twice I had greek drivers coming toward me pass a car on a two lane winding mountain road assuming I would pull over and let them by rather than crash into them head on.  I was doing 60MPH at the time.  It is really rather ironic.  I can remember many heated discussion here on Tug about whether to fly in a helicopter in Hawaii orif the risk was just too great.  Yet driving especially in Greece is taken as an acceptable risk.  I certainly wouldn't get an international drivers license.  BTW the last time I was there was just before the olympics in 2004.  At that time there were virtually no street signs, maybe things have changed but I don't think so.


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## LARRY T (May 26, 2008)

Thanks for the advice. I actually did get an international license from AAA since our friends have rented a car for us while in Myconos. I don't plan on driving while touring the mainland. We have a driver that will be taking us around.


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## Carolinian (May 27, 2008)

Jim - I would certainly agree about Greek drivers.  I thought that the winding 2-lane mountain roads were bad until I encountered the two lane straight highway with a paved shoulder strip in flat country converted by Greek drivers into a makeshift 4 lane autobahn  with high speed passing inches apart, and the slower cars forced to drive partly on the paved shoulder.  The abrupt dropoffs a few feet from the edge of the mountain road, with no guardrails, were a bit unnerving, too.  They put guardrails some places, although not everywhere they needed them.


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## hibbeln (May 30, 2008)

Is driving on the Pelopponnesse Peninsula as bad?


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## Jimster (May 30, 2008)

*driving*

The greeks have no idea how to drive or how to park for that matter.  I still laugh at how these people park their cars.  By the sidewalk, on the sidewalk, across the sidewalk, diagonally, straight in, backed in and they are all liable to be next to each other.  Then there is double and triple parking LOL.  To answer your question, YES.


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