Taking a rental car on a Greek ferry

Is it illegal to take a rental car on a ferry in Greece?

We searched in Greek across gov.gr, opengov, e-nomothesia and Greek legal databases and found no provision that forbids or regulates taking a self-drive rental car on a domestic ferry. What we did find on the movement of ΕΙΧ (private passenger) vehicles concerned ΕΙΧ ΜΕ ΟΔΗΓΟ, chauffeur-driven hire, which is a different regime and does not apply to you here. Not finding a rule is not proof that none exists, but it does mean the restriction you will meet in practice comes from your rental agreement rather than from the Κ.Ο.Κ. (the Greek highway code).

There is one exception that comes from outside your rental agreement, and it concerns alternative-fuel vehicles: electric, plug-in hybrid, LPG and CNG. It is set out below.

If your ferry goes to Italy or Turkey, the trip is a border crossing as well as a sea crossing. Autohellas Hertz, for one, states that across-the-border rentals are allowed only with its prior written agreement. With a company like that you need two approvals, not one.

How to get your rental company's permission, and what it costs

Ask before you buy ferry tickets. The policies we read run from a written certificate at no charge to a paid add-on. None of the five refused outright, but nothing obliges a company to agree, so treat refusal as a possible answer.

Permission may name a route rather than cover your trip in general. Drive Hellas offers its ferry cover from a named list of branches only — Thessaloniki, Athens, Aktio, Ioannina, Santorini, Halkidiki, Katerini, Kefalonia, Rhodes, Kalamata, Milos, Naxos, Corfu, Thassos and Zakynthos — and for Kefalonia only on the crossing to Ithaca.

On price, two published examples, as they stood in August 2026 and subject to change: Autohellas Hertz priced its Ferry Boat Cover at 20 euro per day, capped at 60 euro per rental, while Drive Hellas charged 25 euro per ferry route. These are not the same product and they are not charged the same way.

At the other end, one Greek company, Drive Plus, advertises that it issues a βεβαίωση (a written certificate) permitting ship transport at no additional charge, and that its insurance extends to any damage to the car during ship transport. That appears on a service page rather than in its terms and conditions, so treat it as the company's commercial statement and get it confirmed in writing.

Keep the permission in writing. We found no source showing that a ferry operator or port check ever asks to see it. You want it because the cover you are relying on is conditional on that permission, and written proof of it is the only thing that settles the point if the company later disputes it.

Does your insurance cover the car on the ferry?

Often it does not, even when permission was given. Avis Greece excludes damage occurring while the car was on board ship from both its collision damage cover and its vehicle theft cover. Yours Car Rental states that damages caused while ferrying are not covered by any insurance and that the customer is responsible for the full cost of repairs. Drive Hellas lists ferry vehicle transport expressly among its insurance exclusions.

There is a counter-intuitive point here. The product you buy to cover the ferry may not cover the ferry. Drive Hellas says its Ferry Insurance covers the car while on the island to which it is transported, and that damage caused during boarding, disembarking or transporting the vehicle by ferry is not covered by any insurance coverage. Autohellas Hertz frames its own Ferry Boat Cover differently, as a condition of permission tied to your liability during the transfer. These are two different products rather than one generic ferry cover, so read the one your company is selling you.

Doing it without permission is not a matter of a penalty; it is a matter of your cover collapsing. Xenos Car Rentals in Zakynthos states in Greek that if the vehicle is transported without the company's prior approval, any insurance cover agreed between renter and company ceases to be in force. Yours states that its waivers are void if you breach the terms. Avis excludes from its Super Cover any damage caused as a result of a breach of the rental agreement's terms. Autohellas Hertz states that the renter is liable for all damage caused during the transfer regardless of any coverage and liability restrictions accepted and paid at the start of the rental. In plain terms, the excess reduction you paid for does not save you.

One thing we could not establish: we found no company term stating that roadside assistance specifically lapses at the port. What is documented is damage cover, and damage cover does not travel with the car unless the company has agreed that it does.

Booking the vehicle ticket: licence plate and length

The vehicle travels on its own transport document, separate from the passenger tickets. Ν.3709/2008 (Greek law 3709/2008), article 2, defines the εκδότης (issuer) as the person who issues passenger tickets and vehicle transport receipts, and the εισιτήριο (ticket) as the valid document evidencing the contract of sea carriage.

That vehicle ticket is bound to one plate. Minoan Lines states that the vehicle category and plate number are shown on the ticket on the passenger's declaration, that the ticket applies exclusively to the licence plate it was issued for, and that any change of plate requires a timely, documented request by e-mail.

This is the trap. When you book the ferry you usually do not yet know which car you will be given. Ferryscanner, one ticket agent, tells you to select its rental-vehicle option in the licence plate field when you book, then give the actual plate when you collect your tickets at the ferry office, and it will update the ticket. But at least one operator's own terms require a documented request for a plate change. Do not rely on the fix at the port: ask the rental company for the plate in advance.

Fares for the vehicle are set by length bracket, and sometimes height, not per car. On its Greece to Italy route, Ventouris Ferries publishes categories such as a car up to 1.9m in height, vehicles from 3.01m to 5.00m in length or over 1.9m in height, from 5.01m to 7.00m, and from 7.01m to 9.00m, noting that height is measured including roof luggage. We were not able to obtain a comparable dimension table from a domestic Aegean operator, so do not treat those thresholds as universal. The price for your vehicle is quoted at booking.

Electric, hybrid and LPG rentals on Greek ferries

This is the one area where a rule outside your rental agreement applies. Blue Star Ferries states that passengers travelling with alternative fuel vehicles must declare it when booking or issuing their tickets, and that vehicles with damage to their supply system, tanks or accumulators will not be accepted on board unless the damaged parts have been removed.

The Υπουργείο Ναυτιλίας και Νησιωτικής Πολιτικής (the Greek Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy) has issued guidance to coastal operators, dated 14/11/2023 and 16/4/2024, setting these conditions:

• For pure-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, the state of charge must be no more than 40% of total battery capacity.
• For LPG and CNG vehicles, the tanks must not contain more than 50% of their total capacity in fuel.
• The driver must inform the crew immediately of any alarm indication from the vehicle.
• An alternative fuel vehicle with a fault in its supply system may not be loaded unless the faulty part has been removed.

On the day, and the alternative most people should take

The general conditions of Blue Star Ferries and ANEK Lines are identical, which is unsurprising — both are Attica Group brands. They state that passengers travelling by car must report one hour before departure, that drivers are obliged to embark and disembark their vehicle themselves, and that the vehicle's passengers must exit before embarkation. Two brands of one group publishing the same text is not corroboration, so read your own operator's terms rather than assuming this is universal.

ANEK also warns that you may be unable to reach your vehicle during the crossing, because of its pre-arranged parking position in the garage. Take documents, medication and anything valuable out of the car before you board.

The carrier's liability for the vehicle itself is capped. Regulation (EU) No 392/2009, which gives effect in the EU to the Athens Convention 2002, caps the carrier's liability for loss of or damage to vehicles, including all luggage carried in or on the vehicle, at 12,700 units of account per vehicle, per carriage (Annex I, article 8(2)), and permits a deductible of no more than 330 units of account (Annex I, article 8(4)). The unit of account is the IMF Special Drawing Right, so this is not a fixed euro figure. Minoan Lines states expressly that its carriage, whether domestic or international, is subject to that Regulation as in force in Greece.

For most travellers the simpler route is to keep the car off the boat: return it at the port you are leaving, and rent again from a local company at the next destination. No permission and no vehicle ticket are needed, and each rental is covered under its own agreement rather than across a crossing. Check the drop-off charge first — returning a car to a different location often costs a one-way fee, and not every company allows it.

Sending the vehicle unaccompanied is not the answer here. Not every coastal operator allows a vehicle on board without an accompanying passenger, and identification is required from both sender and recipient, with the keys handed to the crew. Giving the keys of a rental car to someone who is not on the agreement is almost certainly a breach of that agreement, whatever the ferry permits.

What can change

Rental company terms, ferry tariffs and the guidance on alternative fuel vehicles all change, the last of these by circular. The prices and branch lists quoted here were current when we read them and may already have moved.

Ask the rental company for a written answer about your specific trip.