I've been wanting to go to Greece for years. I made it as far as Croatia about twenty years ago, but that's as far as I got. Jamie's always wanted to take me, remembering a holiday there years ago drinking retsina and eating kalamari, though he refused to eat octopus now.
It was the plan to drive down there next year, resuming our Land Rover drive across Europe cut short by my Dad's death. We've been really looking forward to it.
'Camping' in Galicia
Then the news hit that Greece is making it difficult for travellers who drive and wild camp there, like Portugal, the UK, Switzerland and other countries. The move seems even more fascist, given the nuances of the law effective since January this year.
The law basically bans public area parking - motorhomes, caravans and trailers are now prohibted from parking or setting up in public spaces such as parks, forests, beaches, archaeological sites,and public or municipal parking lots. Private land owners can host one motorhome or camper, but no more unless they have a license. The most you can stay anywhere is 24 hours, and you can only stay for any lenght in designated spaces managed by municipalities or local authorities.
We don't always 'freecamp' - particularly if it's a nice caravan park with reasonable rates.
And if you get caught violating, you can be fined 300 Euro per vehicle or person, and even imprisoned for three months.
I understand the rationale - it's desinged to protect public spaces and the tourist infrastructure, prventing degradation and misuse of public areas.
Fucking vanlifers, ruining it for everyone again. Extended stays in beach carparks, defecating in public places, loud music, barbecues, and so on. Motorhomes messing up the view and taking up parking spaces, and leaving their grey waste behind, and so on.
But the crazy thing is you can be fined for parking for any amount of time at these sites. What happens if you want to spend a day at the beach? At an archaelogical site? Do you have to pay to stay at a regulated camp and get a donkey ride into the tourist area? Madness. There's certainly a lot of kickback from the motorhome and caravan communities - and vanlifers.
I'm not sure how we actually fit into this - we're a 4x4 that looks like a car, until you pop the top. We knew wild camping was banned in Greece since 2012, but we also knew that, like Portugal, local authorities would often turn a blind eye if you were discreet, and just passing through - you'd spend money in their town, after all. Now it seems a lot more authoritarian and worrying - we don't want to be fined for sleeping in our car, or get fined because they think we are sleeping in it whilst parked somewhere enjoying the sights.
It's also worrying that our right as human beings to camp on the land is being curtailed more and more. Governments want to ensure we are spending money, and those that pay rent or buy houses can't abide by people who don't choose that life. Many are also being pushed into vehicles because they can't afford that life - it is cheaper to live in a motorhome and travel that in is to live in a house and pay related expenses, even if you don't have a mortgage, and the price of hotels is insane.
Beachside day camping, Portugal - lunch and a sleep whilst admiring the view.
For us, we like travelling in the car because we like our own space. I don't mind a caravan park whilst travelling if the price is reasonable, but I'd also like the choice of camping in the wild too. And sleeping in a car keeps our costs down, so we can travel.
Our personal freedoms seem to be more and more diminished, it seems, just at a time when we want to be more free.
However, this may be all nothing to worry about. Maybe we'll stay in legal camps, it won't cost too much, we'll be allowed to park at sites to go for a walk or have a look around because we have a car, not a camper (arguably) and if not, we will pass through the country quicker than we would like.
Do you travel in a motorhome in Europe? What are your thoughts about this issue?
With Love,
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It is so hard to even try to explain the way that justice works in Greece. Maybe it is easier for someone from Nigeria or Colombia to understand but almost impossible for someone from a first wold country. I'll try though.
As you, correctly, find out, this law is active from January. Since then there are thousands of motorhomes, spending the winter and spring, all over Greece. I see a few dozens of them every day at Nafplio. And yet the law has been used only once at one parking used by caravans in the town of Akrata. You tried to find a reasoning behind that law. I'll give you another one.
Imagine that a hotel or camping owner in Akrata is annoyed by the caravans parked on the municipality parking lot. But he can't do much about it with the existing law about wild camping. But he is a member of the government party since his youth. And his brother in law works in a ministry. So he calls his brother in law, reminds him how much work and sacrifices he has done for the party and asks as a favour a solution for his problem. The brother in law visits the minister and he agrees. The fact that there wasn't any new law about wild camping in the government's plans was no reason for them to stop. They added a paragraph in an irrelevant law and problem solved!
ANY similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is PURELY coincidental. :)
Now I can't tell you that they won't use this paragraph (because it is actually a paragraph in an irrelevant law) ever again. But I really doubt they will. And your car cannot be taken as caravan even with the most flexible interpretation of the law.
But then again I might just saying all that because I want you to come :)
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I do not travel in a motorhome in Europe, or anywhere else for that matter. But, if I did I would be troubled by what you mentioned. I think if it is public land, one should be able to camp were they please as long as they clean up after themselves. Over here I see motorhomes stopped in large parking lots often. If there are laws against it, I do not think they are enforced. I do hope you get to visit Greece. While in the military I was able to visit a couple of the islands there and it was beautiful.
Regulation regulation, regulation. It seems you can never have enough of it. And in Europe, every day comes some new restriction. At the moment, Ireland is being heavily fined for failing to enact the European hate Speech laws and have been given a 2 month deadline. The government's last proposal, fortunately thrown out by the lower house, extended the laws to cover one's private dwelling!
I am not sure if it's the "vanlifers" that are the problem. Most of them have small vans comparing to those boomers in there giant plastic refrigerators. I drive a VW California around and times that I was outside, the locals are the once who make a mess out of their own country. The van lifers I have met have much respect for the country they stay in.