Thanks to veteran motorhomer and MMM Travel Consultant, Don Madge, who wrote the following useful notes for other motorhomers thinking about making an overland journey to Cyprus, now that the ferry from Piraeus is no loner running.
The image on the left shows Don and Maureen's Timberland next to our Four Winds motorhome waiting in Brindisi to board the ferry for Greece. On the right, we are in Igoumenitsa, having just landed in Greece at the beginning of 2006. The Madges were again heading for Turkey
Don writes:
I've recently received a few emails on taking a motorhome to Cyprus. This is the latest information as of the 13th September 2007.
There have been no car ferries sailing between mainland Greece and southern (Greek) Cyprus for the last five/six years. There's a cruise line ferry that runs from mid-June to mid-September but this has a height limit of 1.7 metres. There's also an all-year RO/RO freight ferry but the cost can be horrendous for a large motorhome.
The only way to drive a motorhome to Cyprus now is via Turkey. It's a long trek, the distance is approx 2,200/2,500 miles depending on which route you take. In the past one had the added complication of having to buy third party insurance when one landed in northern (Turkish) Cyprus to transit to southern (Greek) Cyprus.
My insurers, Comfort (Norwich Union), have stated that a Green Card is no longer required for southern (Greek) Cyprus and they can issue manually a Green Card for northern (Turkish) Cyprus.
You can now drive to Turkey overland without leaving the EU, which makes life a lot easier when crossing borders. Having said that you will still require a manual Green Card for Romania, Bulgaria and of course Turkey/northern Cyprus.
If you use the ferry option from Italy to Greece you will just require a manual Green Card for Turkey/northern Cyprus.
EU citizens can cross the border between north and south Cyprus. If you arrive in Cyprus from Turkey you must leave the same way. If you arrive from Greece you must leave that way. At present a round trip is not possible.
Don't bother contacting the Greek Cypriot tourist office in London for info on travelling via Turkey. They will not even admit there is a way out through northern Cyprus.
If you would like further info on travelling to Cyprus via eastern Europe or via the ferry option from Italy to Greece please contact me by email.
Don Madge
MMM Travel Consultant
We wrote back to Don, describing our experience of trying to leave our motorhome in Turkey so that we could take the ferry into northern Cyprus with our bicycles. This was not possible because it is illegal to leave Turkey without the vehicle you brought in (even for one day!). Details of your vehicle are entered into your passport when you enter Turkey.
Don replied:
The problem of leaving Turkey without your motorhome still exists.
There is also a problem with leaving the van unattended from an insurance point of view. Most insurers these days have a clause where the vehicle must not be out of your charge for 36/48 hours while you are abroad without getting prior permission from the insurers. I'm sure many motorhomers are not aware of this.
We are planning to do the German Christmas markets late Nov early Dec. Off on the 29th Dec to Turkey (may be Cyprus) then Rhodes, Crete, Greece, Albania, Montenegro and Croatia and home late June. Well that's the plan at present.
We would add that the provision of Green Cards and coverage for Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and the two halves of Cyprus depends very much on the individual insurance agent. For example, some agents cover only European Turkey!
Check also that your insurer specifically limits the time you can leave a motorhome unattended, with or without prior permission.
We are also aware that the ferries operating between mainland Turkey and the Greek Islands can be an uncomfortable fit for larger motorhomes.
.JPG)
ing an overland journey to Cyprus, now that
the ferry from Piraeus is no loner running.