Cyprus-Forum.com

[*DeathStar*]

Right guys and girls,

The plans set. ive got a date.

On the 25th of march i intend to leave cyprus to go back to the u.k. ( will be back in a couple of years though)

im posting this here as well as some other forums for advice you see

Ive been double crossed by my housemate (long story) but its time to get out im afaid. its a real shame. like cyprus.

I cant really get my stuff shipped as that takes time and i really want him to relise whats happened... here today... gone tomorrow..

My friends going to be roading it with me!!

I intend to buy a van, or hatchback and take a ferry. From cyprus.. to greece ... then ferry to italy.. Drive through switzerland up into france.. through northan france onto the sea cat and into blighty.

This is to be done on a TIGHT budget.

Whos done this before? any experances of the ferry crossings etc..

Ive found a car. its a 1.4 Nissan Pulsar! but its mechanically sound. I intend to sell this car when im back in the u.k. only problems i have thought of there is ... Cyprus customs.. is there any paper work needing to be done if im just to take this car out of the country .. is is it all on the british side importing the car..

Will there be any issues with a car with my friend in it.. with a car full of my own personell bolongings in the back with customs?

The same question gos to the ports and borders i cross in the other countrys... are they going to mind.. also the cypriot regged car?!

is there any problem with driving a cyprus car on the continent?! how do i get insurance cover?!

Anyone know if these countrys need you to have cirtain things in your car?! ( warning triangle ? )

International break down cover i have sorted. *nods*

Maps.. what kinda maps are avalible for this ? Europe wide atlas?! i need to plan my route. as i wouldnt know where to start.. !

it depends on the ports...if you where doing this.. what ports would you use? What is avalibe.. once i know the ports. i can plan the ferry bookings

Also work out the cost of ferrys... im guessing this is going to be insane!

Might be able to get my hands on TOM TOM 5 so that way i can just punch my route in

I intend to give myself a week to do this.

Any recommendations on ports and ferry companys wanted the most.., also advice on the route welcome.

Its going to be a mad trip and im only just starting to plan.. but my god.. it looks like its gonna be fun.

Anything i have fogotton.. so far.. please tell me

[pumpernickle]

sounds absolutely fantastic!

although sorry to hear about your skanker mate.

If you find out any more on this brilliant plan, do post a short one up for my guide, because I would LOVE to do this myself!

best of luck

The Pump

[Hazza]

Agreed, even when you get back to your destination, I will be very interested to hear about your journey, how it went, what you saw, what you done, what you wish you done etc.

[ausbroker]

why dont you use the tracking beam from the death
star to beam you straight to london?
as for your freind we will crush that rebel scum

[Leyland]

Hi Deathstar,

I did the drive back to UK back in 98. I know that it was a while ago but I have remained in contact with friends and things have not changed too much.

My route took me through France , rather than Switzerland. If you are running on a budget then you want to avoid tolls roads and Switzerland is jammed packed with them!

I routed Limassol to Piraeus, (Athens), by ferry. I drove across Greece, via Corinth, (a few hours drive), to Patrus, (not too sure of the spelling). You can pick up a ferry from there to Ancona, (about 28 hours).

I then went via Rimini, Milan and Turin to the Frenze tunnel through the Alps. I went to see my parents, who live in Southern France but when you enter France it is pretty much straight up, via the N routes, (no tolls and pretty good speeds), to Calais.

Beware, Italy has got a lot of tolls roads so get a good up to date atlas that indicates where there are, (normally a black line across the motorway).

Allow yourself a minimum of 10 days, unless you have relief drivers. France will take you 1 overnight stop, if you are realistic. You can either stop in the cab, (not advisable), or stay in a 'Formula 1' hotel. These are cheap and clean and are normally just outside major towns. You can book these on line. See here:

http://www.hotelformule1.com/formule1/index.html

Either way, enjoy it. It was one hell of an experience.

Leyland

[pumpernickle]

that sounds unreal!!!!!!!!!!

I'm thinking of doing this myself, but i hear that car ferries have been stopped since 9/11 or somit.

anyway, what motor did you have and was it a cypriot car?
would you at all recommend buying a motor in athens and driving the route?

[Leyland]

Yea, I bought a Toyota carina E from Flamingos, Limassol. Lean burn engine meant a good return on the petrol but there are better cars now.

To tell you the honest truth I would not recommend driving in Athens at all, not if you you want to get home!!!!!

No really, Athens is a maze of back streets, not like Limassol etc. The sign posting is none to good. I only managed to get across by having a good map and taking the long way around!

Just rememeber, any car that you buy to bring home needs to have a current COC. (Certificate of Comformality). This means that it comes up to UK safety standards etc. (E marks). As you know, a lot of the cars in Cyprus are imported from Japan, built for their export market. Not all of these are acceptable in the UK. It cost a lot of dosh to change things like light lens etc so question the dealer and check the car for the e stamp on the windows etc.

[*DeathStar*]

Hi Deathstar,

I did the drive back to UK back in 98. I know that it was a while ago but I have remained in contact with friends and things have not changed too much.

My route took me through France , rather than Switzerland. If you are running on a budget then you want to avoid tolls roads and Switzerland is jammed packed with them!

I routed Limassol to Piraeus, (Athens), by ferry. I drove across Greece, via Corinth, (a few hours drive), to Patrus, (not too sure of the spelling). You can pick up a ferry from there to Ancona, (about 28 hours).

I then went via Rimini, Milan and Turin to the Frenze tunnel through the Alps. I went to see my parents, who live in Southern France but when you enter France it is pretty much straight up, via the N routes, (no tolls and pretty good speeds), to Calais.

Beware, Italy has got a lot of tolls roads so get a good up to date atlas that indicates where there are, (normally a black line across the motorway).

Allow yourself a minimum of 10 days, unless you have relief drivers. France will take you 1 overnight stop, if you are realistic. You can either stop in the cab, (not advisable), or stay in a 'Formula 1' hotel. These are cheap and clean and are normally just outside major towns. You can book these on line. See here:

http://www.hotelformule1.com/formule1/index.html

Either way, enjoy it. It was one hell of an experience.

Leyland

Awesome advice!!

what where customs like when you did this?!

did you have any car issues ?

how much petrol did you use?!

What route would you use instead of athans ?!

[Mikros]

death star, if you bought a nissan pulsar 1.4 what model is it, and year, letter of reg plates? The reason I ask is that a long time ago we used to get the Nissan Sunny as a Pulsar model, and then afterwards, we were getting only Sunnys and the Pulsars were second hand imported from japan. These imported cars probably will not fullfill the UK standards, and you will have to get an SVA certificate. There is a company doing these tests in Larnaca close to the airport, but I dont know the name, I'm afraid. As for the car, these Pulsars were very reliable and economy engines, though it all depends on the car itself. Why don't you get a GPS for the car? you can load it with all the maps as well, like Tom Tom. Or use the Michelin website www.michelin.com, where you can plan your routes and load/print maps with directions, costs, etc. It is a quite amazing site and I used it last year to get from Germany to France by car and it was amazing in the amount of details included !!!

[*DeathStar*]

death star, if you bought a nissan pulsar 1.4 what model is it, and year, letter of reg plates? The reason I ask is that a long time ago we used to get the Nissan Sunny as a Pulsar model, and then afterwards, we were getting only Sunnys and the Pulsars were second hand imported from japan. These imported cars probably will not fullfill the UK standards, and you will have to get an SVA certificate. There is a company doing these tests in Larnaca close to the airport, but I dont know the name, I'm afraid. As for the car, these Pulsars were very reliable and economy engines, though it all depends on the car itself. Why don't you get a GPS for the car? you can load it with all the maps as well, like Tom Tom. Or use the Michelin website www.michelin.com, where you can plan your routes and load/print maps with directions, costs, etc. It is a quite amazing site and I used it last year to get from Germany to France by car and it was amazing in the amount of details included !!!

looks like i might be getting a year 2000 fiesta van instead .. its just come in .. and its a deisel.. more fuel efficent.

yeah it looks like gps is gonnna be the name of the game now! .. got someone with gps to send over there pda and charger etc etc with them