# 2 months in the Peloponnese



## manuka (May 26, 2014)

Hello everyone. We are here near Koroni for 3 weeks and next year intend to extend this to 2 months.We would really love to bring our dogs and would appreciate hearing experiences and practicalities from forum members. Of course this would entail overland driving ,so routes and ferry experiences with dogs would be really helpful as well as knowledge re costs. It is certainly a long route and the ferry travel and length of the journey certainly is a concern. Advice on stopping places would be great,not having travelled to this area of the Peloponnese before by car.We'd appreciate advice and shared experiences. We have a Weimaraner, getting on in years and a chirpy and cheerful westie. Both are pretty confident and chilled,but we are concerned about the journey.we look forward to you replies.the posts on this forum are such good reading. I hope to feed back out experiences too when we do it! Apologies for any hiccups in text .I have only a small tablet to work on and it is driving me nuts.this post took ages to write !


----------



## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

The only thing I can say is be careful of your dogs because sometimes poison is put down to kill the strays,they must not be off the lead,I have seen some dying of this and its a very disturbing thing to witness.


----------



## manuka (May 26, 2014)

Thank you.good advice though very sad.


----------



## manuka (May 26, 2014)

We retire in 2-3 years and will be long term renting in Greece.that part somehow got cut off in my editing the errors.formal


----------



## The Grocer (May 30, 2010)

Hi there Manuka,

When you are next out if you want to meet up we can 'fill you in" about life in Peloponnese. (I live near Petalidi), ironically we are selling up and moving to France to be nearer to UK family.

However the dog issue is SERIOUS. When you are here get to a vet and buy a poisons antidote kit. I can give you a good vet contact if you wish who speaks English and will advise you how to administer etc. should you ever need to......

We travel once a year by road / ferry to UK with our dog. Driving to Igoumenitsa (easy drive) and taking ferry to either Bari or Anconna. We find this the maximum time for comfort of our dog.
The kennels on the ferries are terrible, so I always pay for a pet cabin and keep the dog with me.....there are no issues apart from cost !
We also sometimes use our caravan, this is even more convenient as during summer months you can "Camp on deck" and the van is connected to the ship's electric etc., you can still use all the ships
facilities but have the convenience of your own accommodation, and its far cheaper! 

As for places to stay, I normally book through either Booking.com or Hotels.com. I do have some favourite stops, very pet friendly etc. but truthfully its easy to find places via the internet.

Shipping lines I recommend SUPERFAST, whilst I have used Minoan in my mind their service is deteriorating fast........................


----------



## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

hello to The Grocer,just a question on what you said about staying in your vehicle/caravan when travelling by ferry boat,surely thats not allowed for safety reasons,I remember a few years ago a fire breaking out on a ferry(Greek) in the vehicle deck and a couple waking up who had been sleeping in their vehicle,they just managed to get out of the fire doors before they locked shut so as to contain the fire.Some people were trapped in that section of the boat because there were sleeping in their vehicles and of course very sadly died.At least on higher decks one does retain a chance of survival if a catastrophe should occur.Excuse me if I misunderstood what you meant.I was wondering how you were doing as I didnt see anything from you of late,hope you are good.


----------



## The Grocer (May 30, 2010)

Hi Cocertina,
Hope your keeping well. We have been in France most of the summer (we have a home there) hence not looked at Greek web sites that much.

When you 'Camp on deck" you are put on the upper decks and always next to the open sides, the deck has its own toilet & showers also. Whilst you are not allowed to use gas you can use electricity for snacks etc. and yes you sleep / stay in your camper / caravan.

Photo attached!


----------



## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

"And not only are you swimming,you will have to claim refugee status my little hairy friend"Is that you and your doggy?,how cute is that.That sounds like a very good arrangement on a ferry boat.I am somewhat,well, very jealous in fact of you being in France,its where I want to be but not being able to sell our house here and the probability of a long wait for my husband to retire looks a far off possibility.Glad you are well,I guess thats the most important thing of all,our health.


----------



## The Grocer (May 30, 2010)

Yes Concertina that's "Rosie" & me.....on board the ferry sitting outside our caravan.

When you are totally bored with nothing to do have a look at Rosie's blog.....

Rosie-Dog: About me (Rosie)

she is currently writing her fouth book also


----------



## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

Well Mr Stopit Rosie and her blog are absolutely marvelous and I certainly did laugh,the rain room,dogs must think we are strange,they do think you know,Im sure of it,they know how to be cheeky and naughty and also how to be your very best loyal friend.I saw that a woman on the news had been bothered by two men on a beach somewhere in Greece and grabbing hold of her when one of the stray dogs had a go at them and they backed off,the dog walked home with her and hung around for the rest of the holiday.When she left for the airport the dog who was a girly was running behind which broke her heart.Well she returned to find the dog a couple of weeks later from her country and get papers for it,and after much hassle she eventually took her back with her,I forget where, only to find that she was pregnant and soon popped out lots of babies.The woman was saved by a small girly dog with lots of courage,how sweet.A big hug for Rosie and I loved her blog,will keep tuned in,thankyou.


----------



## manuka (May 26, 2014)

The Grocer said:


> Hi there Manuka,
> 
> When you are next out if you want to meet up we can 'fill you in" about life in Peloponnese. (I live near Petalidi), ironically we are selling up and moving to France to be nearer to UK family.
> 
> ...


 Hi and thank you for your advice. Petaldi- we go through it lots on the way to the villa in Koroni which we rent. Funny you should mention France, as we almost went through with selling our house in the Uk and then buying a much bigger and better one with lovely surroundings in France. Then we started researching the tax and cost and it just became too frightening. We have a fledgling company ( my husband builds high end audio) and it seemed we would just get caned and the pension wouldnt work for me plus cost of social payments; squeezed too much! Why are houses so good value there I wonder? Are many trying to leave for the same reasons we feel we cannot take the plunge to France now and move? So does it work for you? Thank you for the advice re poisons and antidote. I think we would keep the dogs near us and walk with them daily, going in late season when it is cooler. We just got back and apart for 3 days of thunderstorms which I quite enjoyed- i like 'weather' it was beautiful and we swam a kilometre or two every day in the clear mild sea. Enjoy France and yes of course we'd love to catch up in Petaldi; it won't be until next autumn though I think; we are going to have a look at Spain ( Cadiz) in early spring- journey is same distance as Greece but our Greek villa is hard to beat price wise for a long break in a beautiful place


----------



## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

*Coy flirt!*



The Grocer said:


> Yes Concertina that's "Rosie" & me.....on board the ferry sitting outside our caravan.
> 
> When you are totally bored with nothing to do have a look at Rosie's blog.....
> 
> ...


I just have to say, the middle photo of Rosie on that blog has the most 'come hither' look I think I have ever seen on any creature including human!


----------



## The Grocer (May 30, 2010)

Kikie said:


> I just have to say, the middle photo of Rosie on that blog has the most 'come hither' look I think I have ever seen on any creature including human!


Hi there,

She's quite a character and easily poses for photographs


----------

