Monday 13th October 2025 – Between Patras and Bari

We were leaving today but there was no rush as our ferry doesn’t depart until 17:30. Susie and Michael are also leaving today, heading down to the southern coast of the Peloponnese. We wished them a good rest of this trip and they have already planned another trip to Spain in December. Michael’s mother is Irish and so he now has an Irish passport, meaning that he is not restricted to the EU 90 days in every 180 days restriction that applies to UK passport holders. Rather amusingly, Susie is classed as a ‘trailing spouse’ and is also not restricted. It is not that we are jealous but I am going to check out my maternal grandparents, just in case one of them is Irish.
We also had to say goodbye to Manolis and Tula. I wished them luck with the land purchase and we promised that we would visit them again next time we were in the Peloponnese.
Rather than using the motorway, we took the very quiet old road to Patras which follows the coast with lovely sea views. We stopped on the way to buy essential Greek supplies to take home.
When we reached Patras, we went on to the motorway that took us around the city to the southern port where Superfast operates from. The port was well signposted with a large parking area for embarkation. Although we have already paid for the crossing, we had to convert the booking into tickets. Having achieved that, we had a two hour wait before boarding started and that gave us time to have a late lunch.
When the time came for boarding, we entered the port through a comprehensive security check looking for illegal stowaways. Then it was the usual Greek disorganisation. Unlike Dover and the Eurotunnel, we had not been told where we were supposed to go, so we just looked for a group of motorhomes and joined them. Everyone said the same thing – nobody knew where they should be. There were a mixture of vans heading for Bari, like us, but others were going to Ancona. Eventually, a member of staff (no uniform, identification or even a hi-vis jacket) told us to drive over to park behind a coach. Five minutes later, a different member of staff told us that we were in the wrong place and told us to go ‘over there’, waving an arm vaguely. By questioning, we established that we could actually go onto the ferry and we were soon backed into position. They really need to sort out their procedures so that vehicles go to the correct areas and are separated by destination. It would make life so much easier for everyone.
The ferry ‘Superfast II’ was the same one that we came out on and all of the staff were the same. Our cabin was slightly smaller but still had that great view over the bow.
Photos: We passed our ferry’s double as we set off from Patras; Leaving Greece with the Rio-Antirrio Bridge lit by the late sun.