During all these years, we have visited many places in Greece, and most of the time, we stayed in a hotel/apartment or even a campsite.
But this time, we decided to try something different and rent a campervan and because we had 3-4 available days, we decided to give it a go.
First question: Where should we go?
The second question that would help the first one: Mountains or a beach?
As Greeks, we have spent many hours in our lives on beaches, so now that it was October, we thought of giving it a try and going to the mountains or forests!
Possible option from Athens for 3-4 days
- Lake Doxa or Lake Tsivlou. Both lakes are small but really beautiful. The big advantage is that they are quite close to Athens and provide access to lovely views and forests.
- Mainalo Mountain. It is a great mountain in the Peloponnese with picturesque villages like Dimitsana and Vitina.
- Parnonas Mountain in Peloponnese. This area is still less touristy but it has some lovely villages and slopes with firs. We have visited during summer but never during autumn or winter.
- The Karpenisi area is one of my favourite places in Greece in winter. It has many rivers, beautiful gorges, and villages. Some areas feel like they are from a fairytale, with stoned bridges, magnificent streams, and old and high trees!
- Lake Tymfi Dragon is in the Epirus region of northwestern Greece. It is on my bucket list, but I haven’t succeeded in visiting it. The lake is magnificent and located in an alpine environment at an altitude of 2050 m above sea level on the mountain range of Tymfi. A species of alpine newt inhabits it. The downside of that option is that it is not ideal for such a short time.
- Lake Plastira. This artificial lake was created in 1960 and is located at around 800m altitude in central Greece.
As you can see we had many excellent choices.
After some consideration, we decided that we wanted to stay in a mountainous area close to water, namely a lake or river. Lake Plastira was the winner due to its proximity and beauty, of course!
Before the Trip
I do not want to spend too much time on the details before the journey. We found a great company that rents vans, Aesop Van Tours, and we booked it for four days, from Friday to Monday.
We have never done something like that before, so perhaps we didn’t prepare beforehand to perfection, but I think now we know more about it.
Planning the trip
We bought some supplies as it has a fully equipped kitchen. We knew we wanted to enjoy peace, so we didn’t like driving around. The idea was to get the van on Friday and drive to Lake Plastira where we would explore the area to find a place next to the lake!
A very helpful app is Park4night, where you can find reviews and tips from other van campers and, of course, some recommended locations to stay at night or during the day.
Now that we knew the itinerary vaguely, we had our basic supplies and we had the profound need to destress, we were absolutely ready to go.
Campervan
We rented the White Lion van from Aesop Van Tours, a recent addition to the van rental company. It is around 6.5 m long and 2.4 m high. Inside, it is very comfortable, with a kitchen, double bed that is always open (very important as we didn’t need to make our bed daily), freezer, sink, gas hobs, hot water, shower, toilet, heating, and many other things. Literally, it is a moving home!
Of course, at the beginning, you have to familiarize yourself with all the space and its usage, but honestly, we didn’t miss much from our home.
Please note that this kind of journey can also be done by a family with small children. This particular company has created some travel experiences with campervans for the whole family, like the Treasure hunt in Pieria or a self-guided campervan tour of “Labours of Hercules”! I have no kids, but I found it a fascinating idea!
Keep reading and we will reveal more about how we stayed there below and you will find our final review at the end of the post!
Day One
We went to the rental premises, and Anastasia and Dimitris were super helpful! They gave us a tour of the campervan and advised us about its different facilities. We signed all the necessary documents, and we were ready to go!
We knew beforehand that we would start late in the day, so we planned to drive as much as we could and then stay wherever we found a suitable spot. That’s the freedom of the van. You can decide on the spot! There is no hotel to wait for your check-in.
So, we headed towards Lamia and then took another road towards Lake Plastira. Eventually, after around four hours, even though we were close to the lake, we decided to find a parking space. With the help of the park4night app, we arrived at Moschato village in the Karditsa region. It was a municipal parking space with many available spaces and a spring with water, which is always an extra plus when you go on a trip with a campervan!
Day Two
We woke up, and the first thing we did was walk around the village. It is a very small village with little to do except a restaurant called Prosilio, which we later heard was nice, but it was closed at that time. Outside of the tavern, we saw an old man peeling potatoes, which I assume means that you might taste their fresh potatoes, not pre-cooked!
Then, we had a quick breakfast and moved to explore some villages. We visited the villages of Morfovouni and enjoyed our coffee at Mesenikola village, a picturesque village with one of the best wineries in the area (and probably the best), Monsieur Nicolas Winery. You can visit the winery and also find more details on the website here.
The locals in Mesenikolas told us about one of the best taverns in the area, the Tsardaki (location here), and of course, we couldn’t resist visiting it. And it was super. The locals know better sometimes! I think I ate one of the best salads of my life, which had 17 fresh and delicious vegetables! Also, the lamb ribs and the chickpeas with aubergines were just amazing!
After that, we drove to the lake and had to find a spot to stay there.
As the campervan has some size, we didn’t want to try some very narrow or dirt roads. So, again with the help of park4night we found an excellent spot next to the lake.
Note that this year, Greece is experiencing a drought, so the lake was not at its fullest. But this didn’t bother us. We found a perfect place next to the waters and among the trees.
As it was October and we were next to a lake, once the night came, it became quite freezing with high humidity. But this wasn’t a problem for us. We opened the heater, prepared a hot tea, and enjoyed the peace of the place from our warm campervan!
Day 3
The day we started with some amazing views. As we opened the window, sunlight came into our van, and we enjoyed the breathtaking views of the lake. That was, admittedly, a great way to start the day!
So, we prepared our oatmeal with almond milk and local fruits that we had bought the previous day, and we enjoyed it next to the lake.
After the relaxed breakfast, we prepared our coffee and started looking for trails and paths.
Luckily, there was a path that was actually an old and unused road. We passed through a small forest with a lovely church and ended up where else?… at the lake.
We got our supplies, water, and fruits, and we just hiked the path. Beautiful images in a serene landscape, where we could hear only the birds and some cows in the background!
I have uploaded some stories on my Instagram page, so if you want to visualise what I am talking about, have a look! Once we came back to our van, we took it and went to another village close to us, Pezoula village. There were two taverns, and we selected the Hani, which serves Greek local food in a traditional old stone house. Delicious, simple food and great house wine! What else to ask for?
After our early dinner, we found a fantastic cafe, the Paleon Arhon Cafe (location here). This unique cafe has a lovely atmosphere from another era, decorated with antiques as if you were in the living room of an old neoclassical house! And it has a fireplace, which we love!
But after our hot chocolate, it was late, so we returned to our usual spot.
Day 4
The last day came! We couldn’t believe it! We woke up, and we thought that time passed so fast! But, as we had quite some time to live (there is no check-out in a campervan!), we decided to relax, make some breakfast, grab a book, and walk a little bit around the lake.
For lunch, we decided to cook inside.
So, we had two options: once, to make homemade souvlaki, as we had gyros in our freezer with pita, tomatoes, and a yoghurt sauce, or some past with Pomodoro sauce and parmesan. As Greeks, we have eaten souvlaki thousands of times, so we prepared some pasta in our little kitchen.
We had our short siesta and started the trip back to Athens.
Impressions about the #vanlife
Of course, I am exaggerating about #vanlife, as we had the campervan for only 4 days! Clearly, we need to rent it for more days to fully exploit all the advantages and the freedom it offers. But I honestly say that it was a great experience!
The van offered us all the comforts and flexibility it provides, which is fantastic. The refrigerator and the kitchen mean that you can cook many delicious meals inside the van if you want to eat more carefully or on a budget.
There is also a toilet and a shower. Of course, do not expect the same comfort as in your home. You must throw away all the toilet waste and be a little careful about the water, bringing us to the next important point. What about the water supply and electricity?
About water, there is a tank where you can fill it in springs or oil stations or even in some taverns.
Regarding electricity, the campervan’s roof has solar panels, which means that the battery can be charged—not at a high grade, of course, but at a satisfactory level if it is sunny.
The battery can be charged while driving, which gives it an extra incentive to drive around and explore new places. Regarding water, there is a tank where you can fill it at springs, oil stations, or even some taverns if you ask them nicely.
Overall, it was a great experience, and we said that we would repeat it!
If you also love roadtrips, we have created some dedicated travel guides for some beautiful Greek roadtrips here!
Of course, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!
