GREECE -EV8, 7-Day Cycling Igoumenitsa to Patras, the Mediterranean Route

TOTAL STATS: 7- day biking, 400km, 3,740m elevation

May 2024

WHY GREECE?

This year’s first bike-vacation was planned for mid-may, a time when it can still be cold and rainy in Central Europe (indeed we still have 10 degrees average temperatures in Switzerland in early May). I therefore opened the map and looked for Eurovelo routes in the South that could be done in a maximum of 12 days, including travel from-to home. Southern France had already been tackled in previous trips. The rest of the candidates were Spain (long train journey but feasible); Italy (possible, but carrying fully assembled bikes on Italian trains is still a challenge, though some rare regional trains now allow it https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html ); Croatia (if planning to bike only about 400km then the departing and returning points are really difficult to reach by boat or train with fully assembled bikes: let’s leave it for a longer trip); and finally Greece via ferry (yes, there is still the issue of crossing Italy to reach the ferry, but we finally decided to do it the “non-ecological way” by car because we couldn’t risk …….missing the boat, literally!).

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PLANNING

DEPARTING & RETURNING POINTS: Our entry-exit into Greece would be via ferryboat from the Italian port of Ancona, in middle Italy, about 600-km south of the Swiss border. As mentioned above, carrying fully assembled bikes on trains is still a big challenge in Italy. On top of this, Italian trains are often delayed, connections are missed, and strikes are always possible. If we had several weeks of vacation I would have chosen to reach Ancona by train, even with hiccups. However, since we were on a tight schedule, we decided to reach the port by car from Switzerland, with e-bikes in tow and a very guilty feeling for the environment.

But in Ancona we left the car in a large and very convenient multi-stories garage about 2km from the port ( Park “Degli Archi”). Reservation is not possible but they guaranteed me that there’s always space and the fee is only €8/day.

FERRYBOAT: bikes are transported for free in the boat’s garage. We booked a cabin for a comfortable night rest on ANEK Lines (www.anek.gr): booking early offers discounts and guarantees the wished accommodation, especially for cabins. Youngsters though often opt to spend the night on the many couches of the boat or on deck in the summertime .

LODGING: since we are in Greece I kept the lodging budget low at <€100/night (often much lower since May is low season), looking for humble but comfortable and clean accommodation with private bathroom and a good-excellent rating on www.booking.com. I planned distances between 50-90km/day in order to find a balance between the right lodging, biking endurance and a relaxing time at destination .

BIKE ROUTE: I chose to follow the Eurovelo 8 route (Mediterranean Route) so that we could bike on a tried and tested route purposely designed for bike touring. However this part is still under development and, at the end, we encountered only 1-2 signposts indicating EV-8; and absolutely no bike-lanes along these 400km. As I mentioned further down, thankfully this road has relatively low traffic and so it is not too dangerous (though I would not go with kids because of the lack of divided lanes from trucks and cars).
Websites I used to plan the route: https://en.eurovelo.com/ev8/greece

https://www.visitgreece.gr/

PACKING: As usual we pack light. Bike repair equipment and bike equipment is of course a must. For bike clothing we carry only 1-2 extras, washing every night the dirty clothes. Then we carry 1-2 items of regular clothes to go out in the evening or for non-biking days, for any expected weather. We do not camp so we do not need camping gears. All items are packed in two large rainproof bags for the rear bike-rack, and inside them we put “compartments” for each type of items. Then one light backpack and maybe a small handlebar bag. That’s it.
The compartmentalization of items is very important to find things easily instead of emptying the entire bags every time……

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DAY 0: Crossing  the Adriatic Sea (Italy-Greece)

It is always exciting to go for a night crossing on Greek ferries. It brings back memories from my youth when I used to do it almost on a yearly basis. I know the layout of these ferries by heart, they haven’t really changed in decades: a few restaurants, a disco, a shop, a child playground, a Casino, a pool, etc.

People hang on decks during the day, try to get an early sunburn even before reaching the sunny beaches LOL. But I don’t like the humid sticky feeling of sea breeze on my skin, so I tend to look at the panorama from the large window panes of indoor lounges. After a couple of hours the Italian coast disappears and then we are in the middle of the Sea, lulling on the Mediterranean weaves. As the evening approaches, the clear sky offers a fantastic view of the sunset and we come out to the chilly deck covered by sweaters.

The self-service restaurant opens usually early to accommodate customers who dive in more as a way to pass the time than attracted by true hunger. These restaurants provide typical Greek food of decent quality from salads to desserts.

The crossing will last 18 hours and it is essential to occupy ourselves with some readings or movies (yes, we brought an extra 2 kg of laptop) to make the time pass faster.

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DAY 1: Bike Igoumenitsa-Syvota: 25km, +440m

The following morning we are waken up early at 6am (more than 1 hour before docking ) to disembark in Igoumenitsa among the traffic jam of cars and trucks spouting out from the boat’s mouth.

On Greek soil, our first task is to immediately look for a nice Greek café to fuel up with some typical pastries (oh gosh, I hoped to have the opportunity to shed some weight during the bike trip but the food is too tempting and usually I end up gaining weight even in these exercise-driven trips, sigh sigh).  But no, scratch that, the port area is desolated and deserted in this off-peak season, far from the hustle and bustle of summertime.

We find though one little coffee shop near the port full of locals, their cigarettes on one hand and coffee on the other.

The weather is very cloudy today; we will have a cool and pleasant trip.
And so we start the first of our 3 days in the region of Epirus, known for its rugged and wild nature and still mostly untouched by tourists (the rest of the trip will be along the coast of the Central Greece region).

We start a gentle climb with a gorgeous view on the bay and on the southern part of the isle of Corfu. It is not long before we see the first of the innumerable miniature churches on the side of the road, a typical fixture of Greek roads, as memorials to motorists (often young boys or men) who died in road accidents, usually on motorcycles. There are so many, often every few hundred meters, that it’s like motorists are playing a sort of Russian’s roulette. Very sad, especially when they are accompanied by a fresh photo of the young victim.

At about 10km south of Igoumenitsa we spot the first cute bay in Plataria village. Here the scent of wild herbs and flowers envelops us, together with the sound of frogs and birds. The nature is wild and very green, quite a contrast from the southern part of Greece.

We encounter very few cars on this road (off season). We indeed deviated from the Eurovelo-8 and took the more scenic coastal road towards Sivota, our night destination.

We arrive at the village quite early, before 11am, and we are immediately drawn into the first bakery by the scent of freshly baked goods. That’s it, we can’t resist: we will have our first lunch on a bench by the sea with spanakopita (spinach pie) and greek sweets (and all for a handful of Euros!).

The village is very picturesque. Though calm in this period, we see the hallmark of a very touristic place, with several small restaurants and souvenir shops.

Sivota’s coast is an absolutely discovery, nothing less than stunning, with beautiful inlets, emerald green waters,  small beaches and various islands a short distance from the coast. 

Luckily the lodging I booked turned out to be better than expected, with villa-style apartments on a magnificent rocky cliff overlooking a small bay,….. paradise.

It is just a couple of kilometers outside the village, so we bike back in the evening to dine at a typical fish tavern on the sea. And as a bonus, the many seaside Tavernas are perfectly positioned to observe the sunset while dining  .

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DAY2: Bike Syvota-Vrachos: 58km, +1,000m

It is difficult to leave the paradise setting of Hotel Costa Smeralda, but after the bountiful buffet breakfast of Greek goodies, we finally push ourselves onto the bikes to go through one of the toughest days of the tour, this time unfortunately under a cloudless sky (but we are fully covered head-to-toe with the extra sombrero-helmet 😜).

This stretch of coast from Sivota to Parga is just stunning: emerald and turquoise crystal clear waters as spotted at Megali Ammos and Drafi beaches, just south of Sivota, surrounded by tall rocky cliffs. My husband patiently awaits me while I position myself to take panoramic photos at every bent.

Many of these coves are hidden from the road, and you have to stretch your neck to spot them while paying attention to the holes in the road. But what a beauty! We pass also several modern resorts facing the sea surrounded by wild nature. Despite these resorts the coast is still underdeveloped.
As we leave the coast, the land becomes completely unspoiled, with only olive cultivars as a sign of civilization. Thus, we are quite surprised when we find on this road a real fountain clearly marked as “drinkable water”.

We rejoin the coast and spot far below another beautiful beach at Perdika. And then, after the steady climb to 370m we finally descend all the way to the sea in the picturesque bay of Parga, passing by the popular Valtos Beach.

Parga is quite the tourist destination, and rightfully so with a spectacular landscape (or seascape) and the cobblestone streets of the old town. Its beachfront is a row of colorful old buildings in Ionian style now housing restaurants and cafes, in the shadow of the ruins of its Venetian Castle. Within the bay, and at a swim’s reach, are several tiny islands, one even with its own church (island of Panagia). Parga’s Castle was built in 1401 by the Venetians to protect the region against the Ottomans (incidentally the village and the Castle remained under Venice until 1797!).

We linger here for a couple of hours, skipping the sunniest period. We still have 1/2 way to go so we avoid swimming though the waters are very enticing. Instead we seat in a seafront Taverna for some salad, feta, and coffee.

Leaving Parga, the road climbs again gently for about 200m. The wind has picked up but thankfully we can just crank up a little the engine. Another impressive beach along this road is Lichnos, but it is far below the road and that it would require some serious effort to get there and back.

Finally we rejoin the official Eurovelo-8 planned route, though there are no bike paths and not even EV signs (under development). And the traffic picks up considerably as we merge with the national road;  trucks and cars pass us at high-speed, but the road is large and we don’t feel threatened.

At last we reach our hotel on a vast stretch of sandy coast in Vrachos Beach along a strip of beach bars, restaurants and various vacation accommodations. It must be busy in summer, but for now all is very quiet and our room faces another beautiful sunset.

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DAY 3: Bike Vrachos-Menidi: 75km, +400m

In the morning, the sea is calm and the sky is clear but we don’t have time for a swim, so, lazily we head back on the road under the full sun. Again, we rejoin the national road , which is still large and not too busy.

After the initial stretch along the coast, the road deviates inland to reach Arta. The countryside here is really boring after the first few km; monotonous and not scenic at all.

At 1pm, well before reaching Arta, we are hot and tired and deviate into a little village off the main road. Nobody is around, but a meager bakery is open where we buy a spinach pie. We empty all our snacks on the table of a closed café and voilà, lunch is served. After lingering here we also spot a typical Greek coffee bar, with all men sitting around a table, loudly talking and smoking and drinking, it looks the perfect place for a nescafé frappé (the typical Greek cold coffee) and so we move tent.

Back on the road, we arrive in Arta after 15:30, time at which, we discover, all landmarks close for the day! Such a bummer. We resign to see some of its beautiful sights just from the outside:

1)Not to miss is the CHURCH of Panagia Parigoritisa (13th century), one of the most important Byzantine churches in Greece. We saw it only from outside (sorry no pictures), and it is immense. The outside looks like a large square brick building. Images of the inside show a rich decoration with mosaics and frescoes alternating to stone walls. More info and pictures can be found on its website https://discoverarta.gr/en/destinations/church-of-panaghia-parigoritissa/

2) The large Byzantine CASTLE (from the 13th century to the Ottoman Empire ) has nicely preserved walls but I’m not sure what’s inside (maybe just the park).

3)The STONE BRIDGE of Arta (built in 1612) is one of the best known old bridges in Greece, characterized by 4 semi-circle arches of different sizes. For a brief period (around the end of the 19th century) this bridge was also the border between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.

We then continue for the last 20km along the same monotonous though flat main road, same landscape, with no sea in sight.

When at last we veer off into a secondary road, we are blocked by the typical traffic jam of Greek countryside…… the sheep!

At this point we are dreaming of a well deserved relaxation at our next waterfront lodging but as we reach the sea and the “B&B” my spirits fall.

What a dump! Completely run down, dirty-looking and gloomy. The room, with its private bathroom, is barely OK. I better not inspect it for cleanliness….. (though I check the mattress for bedbugs). I resolve to think that I am just in an upgraded camping hut, and deal with my private bathroom as if I were in a public one. Why did I select this place? To start, it was the only lodging on Booking.com in this area of the coast with free cancellation . The rating was “very good” (8.4, seriously!) and the photos of the room looked pretty. Yeah right. I’ll put my two cents in the review! I feel sorry for the owners because they seem good people but they certainly have no idea how to make the place desirable.
To escape its misery we run out to eat at the nearby village of Menidi (huge portions to boot).

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DAY 4: Bike Menidi-Paleros: 82km, +750m

Another tough day in front of us but this morning we can’t get out fast enough from this dump, barely touching the shady breakfast they offer. The first 25km are along the lagoon of Preveza but the sea-view is kept at the distance by the bushes. The road is large and has minimal traffic though the tarmac is ruined making the ride often bumpy. The landscape is not that exciting, with the road coasted by uncultivated land or by olive and fruit trees.

This day is very long with several small hills and the weather is not great.

Right on cue, as we enter the town of Amfilochia (only 1/3 of the section down), a downpour starts and we are forced to take our third nescafè of the day by 1pm. We are coffee-bound for about 2 hours, using this time to update this post and review photos.

Finally, the rain subsides and we are back on the saddle. The second half of this section cuts inland so that we skip the peninsula overlooking the island of Lefkada.

As we enter our night destination, Paleros, we see for the first (and last) time the sign for EV8, finally .

We arrive exhausted at the Resort, on a hill overlooking Lefkada. This was a very long day and nothing nice to see, simply a means to go from point A to point B.

But  it could have been much worse in sunny weather. At the end, the rain and clouds were sort of a blessing!
The Resort and rooms (all with sea view) are old but large and comfortable and all for 51 euros including a good breakfast buffet! I imagine this area is off the tourist path to keep the prices so low.

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DAY 5: Bike Paleros-Astakos: 49km, +500m

After a hearty buffet breakfast we head out for today’s section. 

This is an incredibly scenic stretch, probably the best of the trip, or similar to Days 1-2. It is all along a beautiful coast, often at sea level, with many possibilities of a swim if one so wishes. There is not much elevation at all, no traffic, and we encounter several cyclists along the route .

This is really an amazing road, with views of the many islands across and of the crystal clear waters below.

We detour into the sleepy village of Mytikas: deserted, except for old men in their cafes; old rundown fishermen houses, fishnets abandoned on piers and old fishing boats lingering here and there, a calm bay closed in by green islands jutting into the sea. Time has stopped here.

We continue along the calm road with various types of animals crossing the path : goats, pigs and cows.

This coast to Astakos is just spectacular, sorry if I’m repeating myself. 

And we arrive at the best accommodation of our trip, Giannis Village Resort, with fully equipped apartments overlooking the gulf and a very nice host. I gave a full 10 on Booking.com!

In the evening, we cannot miss our daily portion of fresh fish😋

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DAY 6: Bike Astakos-Messolonghi: 58km, +250m

Easy day today, short and basically flat but mostly inland. The weather is cool and completely cloudy with a good wind in various directions, and still very little traffic.

Not much to see along the route, except for the discovery of a semi-abandoned church (of Virgin Mary) in Lesini (a tiny sleepy village in the middle of nowhere). No info can be found on this church, not even via ChatGPT, and it is kept locked; it might have been built in the 13th century according to a post, but who knows. Its external walls are interestingly built with various types of bricks, like if they used whatever they could find around. But what strikes me the most is that they, this population of 4 inhabitants, went on to build a huge church just next door! Couldn’t they instead restore this beautiful jewel for the same (or less) money?!?!

Anyway, we finally arrive at the best part of this stretch, the laguna of Messolonghi.  Indeed, the town’s name derives from the Italian “in mezzo ai laghi” or “between lakes”

Here, fishing and salt production are the main activities. The old pedestrian center is small but bustling with small restaurants and young people at various bars. As a historic fact, the town has recognized the impact of Lord Byron in the war against the Ottomans, with a statue (https://www.messolonghibyronsociety.gr/history/ ).

From Messolonghi we then venture, under gusty winds, along a thin 3.5km stretch of land (wide just enough for the road) jutting out to sea. It is to reach the island of Tourlida (with its about 15 inhabitants), where tonight’s apartment is located.

It is indeed the only brick building among the fishermen’s stilts houses, in the middle of the lagoon of Messolonghi.

We feel as we are sleeping in a nature reserve, surrounded by water and the sound of birds. We even spot flocks of Flamingos resting in the lagoon.

All is very relaxing and peaceful, and the apartment is nice with of course an amazing view on the water. Thankfully (and surprisingly) there is a fish restaurant open next door (and an excellent one at that!).

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Day 7: Bike Messolonghi-Patras: 55km, +400m

In the morning, the weather is cloudy and a light fog envelopes the lagoon, giving a very surreal atmosphere.

This is our last day on the bike and this stretch will conclude our 7-day Greece trip.

We haven’t visited up to now a single archaeological site, but luckily one pops up right on our route 😜, a few km from Messolonghi. It is the ancient town of Kalydon (or Calydon), mentioned by Homer as it provided several ships to the Trojan War. As usual, one has to have a lot of imagination to envision the original town out of the horizontally laid stones.

The Heroon has a well preserved tomb underneath but…… it is locked. The square theatre is also an assemblage of horizontal blocks (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calydon)

Back on the saddle we climb up a series of hills with a great panorama on the gulf of Patras. But the day is very overcast, probably due to the Sahara’s dust, so the view is not clear.

With the last long descent we finally reach the famous Rio-Antirrio Bridge, that, with its almost 3km length, is considered one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world.

We are ready to climb it up and brave the strong wind gusts when we spot a ferry ready to transport us onto the opposite shore, and for free! The decision is easy 🤣. (We later learned that one cannot bile on the bridge but has to walk it on the pedestrian side)

Biking into Patras, we are finally confronted with the crazy traffic of large Greek cities. After 400km, it is the first time we actually feel unsafe on the road .

In Patras we have several hours to spend, both today and tomorrow, and so we do like the Greeks do: walk along the pedestrian roads, sit at cafés sipping cold nescafés (and working online), socialize with the neighbors and eat at tavernas. No wonder philosophy was born in Greece: people are constantly sitting together talking about everything, all the time.

Indeed, walking the pedestrian streets of the city center I am astonished to see how many people of all ages are out at cafes, at all times of the day. Several blocks along a few roads are populated by side-by-side cafes and restaurants, with chairs into the streets, ALL FULL of people. Bakeries and pastry shops are also found at almost every corner, in case you want to grab a spanakopita, tyropita, or sweet on the fly. They definitely make good business as they too are never empty. In the afternoon until late evening squares and restaurants are particularly alive.

But Patras is also a bustling student and tourist city (it has the most important port for ferries from Italy). Some historical (e.g. medieval castle) and archaeological sites can be visited but are not major landmarks.

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Return DAY : Re-Crossing  the Adriatic Sea (Patras to Ancona)

This is sort of a carbon copy of the arrival boat crossing, though longer (24h) since we leave from Patras further south.

Just a warning note on how important it is to put safety time spaces when planning the trip: the Greek ferry changed our departure time (and vessel) twice, first 2h before, then 2h after, and then the arrival was also late by an extra 2 hours, finally disembarking at 10pm, when we were supposed to arrive at 5:30pm! It was exactly for this reason that we planned to leave the car in Ancona. If we had come by train we would have missed the train connection and be forced to find a hotel in Ancona. Unfortunately, these are the hiccups  of public transportation, which are ok if one has no strict planning but could derail further reservations.

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Links to Introduction and Other Multi-Day Trips:

• NORWAY Cycling
• FRANCE Cycling
• BIKING THROUGH SWITZERLAND (with an electric bike)