Greece is spectacular. The people are lovely. The food is delicious. The scenery is breathtaking. So why wouldn’t I recommend taking a large motorhome there?
And by large, I mean anything over 3.5 tonnes.
Let me make one thing clear before I start sounding like I’ve developed a personal vendetta against an entire country: there is plenty to love about Greece. We’ve met wonderful people, eaten some fantastic food, and driven through scenery that could make you forget you’re wrestling a 10 m/33-foot ex-army truck around a hairpin bend.
But travelling around Greece in a >3.5 tonne vehicle – with dogs – has turned out to be considerably more complicated – and considerably more expensive – than we expected.
And if you’re planning to take something weighing more than 3.5 tonnes and/or your furry friend, I’d suggest reading this before you set off.
The 3.5-tonne Problem
Our home on wheels, The Beast, is an ex-Belgian army Volvo N10 6×4. It weighs around 16 tonnes when fully wet.
We’ve never regarded ourselves as lorry drivers. We’re overlanders. We don’t carry commercial loads, we don’t deliver anything, and we’re not hauling goods from A to B. We love touring the back roads and experiencing the ‘real’ country which most tourists don’t see.
Unfortunately, Greek road regulations aren’t necessarily interested in our intentions.
One of the biggest headaches we’ve encountered is a Greek restriction on vehicles with a gross weight of more than 3.5 tonnes using certain parallel and alternative roads alongside motorways and major roads. The official Greek National Registry describes a permit system for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes using these roads, with the restrictions applying on designated sections of the network.
That sounds reasonably harmless until you’re actually driving a large motorhome around Greece.
Those little roads are often exactly the roads you want to use.
This was our first view of Meteora, with a hilltop monastery in the foreground.
Views like these are why we travel!
They’re the scenic roads. The roads through villages. The roads that take you towards beaches, archaeological sites, and mountain viewpoints. The roads that the satnav or Google Maps thinks will save you hours and fuel.
For us, they can suddenly become roads we aren’t legally allowed to use.
And that leaves two alternatives: find a permitted route or take the long way around.
We’ve done a lot of the latter.
Goodbye, scenic shortcut. Hello, motorway.
This has had a very real effect on our travels.
We watched The Great Escape yards from the cooler and the tunnels at Stalag Luft III in Zagan, Poland. We had set our hearts on watching the film 300 at Thermopylae – but there is no way we can access the Memorial to Leonidas and the 300 Spartans in The Beast.
We’ve found ourselves travelling hundreds of miles out of our way because roads that looked perfectly sensible on the map weren’t available to us.
We have been unable to access proposed park-ups because of the weight restrictions on access roads.
And when the alternative involves Greek motorways, the kilometres aren’t free.
In the last couple of days alone, we’ve spent more than €100 in tolls, while taking lengthy detours – which are costly in fuel – to avoid roads that The Beast isn’t permitted to use. It also cost us €40 to cross the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge or face a lengthy backtrack.
This has completely changed the character of our trip.
One of the joys of travelling this way is being able to look at the map, spot an interesting squiggle and think, That looks promising.
In Greece, our squiggles have increasingly involved checking the weight restrictions first.
And often, the answer is no.
The Rule We Somehow Managed To Miss
Here’s the embarrassing bit: we’re usually pretty good at checking road regulations before setting off. So are a lot of people in the European overlanding community we follow – and this just hasn’t come up on our radar.
The restriction isn’t actually new. Greece introduced the basic prohibition on vehicles with a gross weight over 3.5 tonnes using designated parallel and alternative roads alongside motorways back in 2016. The roads covered and the exceptions have subsequently been amended several times, including in 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2024. This prevents commercial traffic from avoiding tolls.
What we hadn’t appreciated was just how significant it could be for a huge private motorhome like The Beast.
And that’s the problem with regulations that have been designed around heavy vehicles and the road network rather than the realities of overland travel.
Suddenly, roads we’d expected to use weren’t available to us, and our scenic shortcut became a lengthy detour onto the main network – often involving tolls.
We weren’t caught out because we hadn’t bothered to check the rules. We were caught out because the rule was older, more complicated, and easily overlooked.
The majority of weight restriction signs throughout Europe apply ONLY to commercial vehicles. In Greece it is different. There is no distinction.
What about Sunday Truck Bans?
This is where things get a little more complicated – and where some information circulating online is misleading.
I’d seen claims that Greece imposes Sunday bans on all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, and I’ve also come across the assertion that private, non-commercial vehicles are automatically exempt.
Neither statement is something I’d put in a travel guide as a blanket rule.
Greece does impose restrictions on heavy goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes on particular roads and at particular times, including Sundays during some holiday and summer traffic-control periods.
For example, the Greek authorities imposed restrictions during the August 2026 Assumption holiday on goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, including a Sunday restriction on specified routes.
There were also Sunday restrictions on particular road sections during the 2026 summer period. These aren’t simply a nationwide every Sunday, every road prohibition.
That’s an important distinction.
The official notices refer specifically to goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, rather than saying that every private motorhome over 3.5 tonnes is automatically subject to a universal Sunday ban.
So if you’re travelling in a large motorhome, don’t assume either that you’re banned or that you’re exempt simply because you’re non-commercial. Your vehicle’s legal classification and the particular road and restriction in force matter.
For us, the much more immediate problem has been the separate weight-based restrictions on the secondary road network.
Parking or Camping? A new problem for motorhomers.
Greece’s rules concerning motorhomes and parking have also been through considerable change. Originally, we weren’t going to come to Greece at all, having heard that motorhomes were banned from parking anywere except in a designated (expensive) campsite. We wrote to the Greek Ministry of Tourism to that effect.
Law 5170/2025 caused a great deal of confusion because it introduced restrictions concerning the parking of motor caravans and camping activity in public places. The Greek Ministry of Tourism subsequently clarified that the law allows the stopping and parking of self-propelled motorhomes where permitted under the Highway Code.
The Hellenic Police issued further clarification in February 2026.
Under the current interpretation, parking isn’t simply a case of motorhome = banned. The rules depend on where you’re parked and what the Highway Code permits. For example, inside built-up areas, motorhomes longer than 7.5 metres are subject to a 24-hour limit, after which parking must be in suitable enclosed areas. Outside built-up areas, the normal Highway Code rules apply, subject to signs and other restrictions.
That’s rather different from the frightening social-media version of you can’t park your camper anywhere in Greece.
But when you’re driving something over 7.5 metres long, the practical problem remains:
Finding somewhere suitable for a very large vehicle isn’t always easy.
And Then There Are The Dogs
There’s another reason Greece hasn’t been particularly easy for us: it’s not the most dog-friendly country we’ve travelled through.
Sightseeing with Dogs
Although the Greek people seem to love our dogs, and many tevernas have outside seating where it’s fine to sit with dogs, we’ve found Greece surprisingly difficult when it comes to taking our dogs sightseeing. At many archaeological and historic sites, our four were not allowed in – even when the site is little more than a collection of ancient stones in a field.
That is frustrating when you’re travelling with dogs and exploring is a large part of the reason you’re there.
The current Greek animal-welfare authority says that pets can accompany their owners in all common public spaces, including streets, pedestrian areas, parks and wooded areas.
For beaches, the rules are quite specific: dogs are allowed on non-organised beaches, including in the sea, but they must be kept on a lead when they’re out of the water. They are not permitted on Blue Flag beaches, except for assistance and therapy dogs. The 2026 government guidance also says that simply having sunbeds or a beach bar doesn’t automatically make a beach “organised”; an organised beach is one where access is by ticket.
Then there are the strays.
Greece has a substantial stray-dog population, and we’ve encountered loose dogs that were far from friendly. For a couple travelling with four small dogs, that can make even an innocent-looking walk something that requires considerably more vigilance than we’re used to. This isn’t simply a theoretical concern: In the most recent report published in 2025, Greece recorded 2,820 people seeking medical treatment for dog bites in 2023, with stray and owned dogs accounting for roughly equal proportions of cases. In March 2026, a German tourist was seriously injured after being attacked by a pack of stray dogs near Litochoro, while separate court proceedings have concerned serious and fatal attacks by stray dogs in the Thessaloniki area.
Of course, Greece has many people who care passionately about animal welfare, and there are organisations doing important work with stray animals. But as visitors travelling with our own dogs, the combination of restricted access and aggressive strays has made Greece more challenging for us than many other European countries.
We have travelled through almost every country in Europe with The Fab Four, and have found the strays in Greece considerably more aggressive than elsewhere, on a par only with Bulgaria. On a couple of occasions, it has taken a prod with a heavy walking stick to discourage a snarling advance towards our pack. Elsewhere, we have found that tapping the stick on the ground is enough to deter strays from approaching us.
So, Would we Come Back?
This is the slightly awkward question.
Because I like Greece.
I like the people. I like the scenery. I like the food. I like the history and the sheer amount of stuff there is to explore.
But I don’t like trying to manoeuvre The Beast through a country where the most interesting-looking road on the map is probably unavailable to us.
And I don’t like being forced onto expensive motorways simply because our vehicle is lumped in with trucks and deemed unsuitable for the alternative network.
And I don’t like having four dogs who aren’t welcome at many of the places we’d like to visit, while keeping an eye out for aggressive stray dogs whenever we take them for a walk.
So here’s my advice:
If you’re travelling in a campervan or motorhome under 3.5 tonnes
Do your homework, check the current parking and camping rules, and enjoy Greece.
If you’re travelling in a large motorhome over 3.5 tonnes
Do your homework very, very carefully.
Check your vehicle’s exact legal classification, maximum permitted weight, the roads on your intended route and any current restrictions before setting off. Don’t assume that because you’re a private tourist rather than a commercial haulier, every weight-based restriction automatically disappears.
And if you’re travelling with dogs
Check access arrangements for the places you want to visit and be prepared for encounters with loose dogs, particularly if your own dogs are small.
In Conclusion
If you have dogs and your vehicle is anything like The Beast – I’d seriously consider choosing somewhere else for your next grand European adventure.
Because Greece is wonderful.
It’s just not necessarily wonderful if you want to enjoy it in a large, comfortable motorhome – and four dogs!
A Final Word on Checking the Rules
Greek road restrictions can be route- and date-specific, particularly during busy summer and holiday periods. The Greek Police and the Organisation of Freight Transport in Greece (OFAE) publish current restrictions, so check those rather than relying on an old Facebook post, a generic motorhome website or something your sat-nav confidently tells you is “the fastest route”.
The Greek National Registry also maintains information about permits for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes using restricted parallel/alternative road networks.
I have put the links below.
And, as we’ve discovered, sometimes the fastest route isn’t the route you’re legally allowed to take.
Which is how a supposedly relaxing trip through Greece can turn into an expensive game of Spot the 3.5-Tonne Sign.
Happy travels.
Just… check the weight limit first.
Useful Official Sources for Information
- Greek National Registry – permit for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes using parallel/alternative roads
- Greek Police – 2026 heavy-vehicle restrictions
- OFAE – August 2026 heavy-vehicle restrictions
- Greek Ministry of Tourism – motorhome parking clarification
- Hellenic Police clarification on motorhome parking, February 2026
- Pets on Beaches GOV.gr
Related Posts That May Be of Interest
If you want further advice and information on the reality of living a nomadic life, check out my Top Tips page which has Tips on RV Travel Tips and Going Full Time and How We Did It, as well as my Wuff Guide to Travelling with Dogs. Posts which may be of particular interest for trip planning are:
Tips for Planning the Perfect Trip – top tips on choosing where to go
The Ultimate Road Trip Planning Guide for Campers, Motorhomes & Trucks after 10 years full time on the road, we’ve had a bit of experience in working out what sh** you need to get together before you go!
Are You Ready if Disaster Strikes? 12 Tips on Handling an Emergency Abroad
What Ray Mears Taught Me About Overlanding: Preparation Isn’t Optional
