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The British Foreign Office advice on travelling whilst in Greece, has been updated lately, and are homing in on insurance and more importantly road travel. Its latest advice is below:-
Before travelling abroad it is important to buy the right travel insurance. This guidance aims to help travellers choose the right travel insurance to meet their needs. For example:
- the very high costs you might face for emergency medical treatment and help getting back to the UK if you are uninsured
- the importance of understanding what your insurance does and does not cover. This might include for example your destination, particular requirements for insurance to cover cruises, certain sports and a range of leisure activities, or other needs you may have. It is also very important to answer any questions from your insurer on existing medical conditions
- a wide range of help to find insurers, specialist advice and different policies are available to meet your needs, including any specific health requirements. You should shop around to get the best value for money, but the cheapest policy may not cover all your needs
- when you travel, make sure you carry details of your insurance including emergency telephone numbers to contact your insurer. Leave copies with family or friends
If you will be taking part in certain sports or leisure activities you may need to top-up your cover or buy a specialist policy. Winter sports and more extreme sports such as bungee jumping, jet skiing, or skydiving are not typically included in standard policies. Use of quad bikes is typically not covered. Check your policy carefully for what activities are covered.
Cruises generally require additional cover due to the difficulty in getting travellers to hospital for treatment. If you are going on a cruise, make sure your travel insurance covers this.
Road travel
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, you may need to get an International Driving Permit (IDP) to be able to drive in France and other EU/EEA countries as a visitor.
There are 3 types of IDP. Check that you have the correct permits covering all countries where you will be driving – you may need more than one IDP. For full information, check this guidance page You should also check guidance on driving in the EU after Brexit for information on other additional documents you may need to carry.
If you’re living in Greece, check the Living in Guide for information on requirements for residents.
Make sure any vehicle you hire is in good condition and check that you’re insured. When renting mopeds or quad bikes, insurance sold by the hire company usually only provides third party insurance, which only covers the cost of damage to another vehicle. Any damage sustained to the rental vehicle in many cases may need to be paid for by you, or you may face arrest if you do not pay and the hire company decide to press charges.
Quad biking is considered an extreme sport and carries the risk of serious injury or death. Specific travel insurance to cover quad bike rental is essential to avoid you having to pay the costs of private health care and/or repatriation to the UK. Always take care to read the details of your insurance cover before you travel on holiday, paying particular attention to the small print and exclusions on your insurance policy.
Greece has recently introduced legislation banning the use of quad bikes of 125cc and under on tarmac roads. A fine of €1000 can be imposed. Larger quad bikes (150 and 310cc) are available to rent, but only to drivers aged 23 and over with a full driving licence. Provisional licences are not considered adequate for driving in Greece and can invalidate your insurance.
If you intend to hire a moped you will need a valid driving licence with at least category A1 – ‘light motorcycle’. Category P, which is valid in the UK for driving mopeds up to 50cc, is not valid in Greece.
By law you must wear a crash helmet on a scooter, moped or motorcycle. Quad bike riders must wear a full-face helmet (or non-full-face helmet plus goggles). Failure to wear a helmet might invalidate your travel insurance if you are involved in an accident and could lead to a €350 fine and confiscation of your licence.
The emphasis is on taking care whilst driving around, especially Zakynthos. As we have already had quite a few accidents involving quads and sadly some have been fatal, we would stress that over the next month or so to take extra care, more so now that our traffic has increased and the weather is getting hotter. Zakynthos Informer would also like to remind you, that we have recently done a post for tips on driving around Zakynthos, please click on the link to read more driving-around-zakynthos
As for more advice from the British Foreign office you may want to visit their site on https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
