Greece on an Indian Licence — The IDP Is the Bit You Can't Skip

Greece rewards drivers who leave the ferry ports behind, from Peloponnese coast roads to the monasteries of Meteora. For an Indian visitor the trip starts at the RTO, months before the flight, because Greek rules leave no way round one document.

Why the permit is not optional

Greece’s transport ministry applies article 94 of the road traffic code to foreign licences. Licences from the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom are valid as they are, and so are licences from states that signed the 1968 Vienna Convention. India is in neither group: it belongs to the older 1949 Geneva Convention. An Indian licence is therefore valid in Greece only together with an International Driving Permit. The issue is not the script, since Indian licences are printed in English; it is the list. Apply for the IDP at your RTO before you travel, as it cannot be issued in Greece, and carry it with the licence and your passport. The Driving Permit Checker shows the rule for other countries on your route.

You change sides

India drives on the left; Greece drives on the right. Roundabouts run anticlockwise, you overtake on the left, and the gear lever sits under your right hand. Most mistakes come in the first hours: leaving a fuel station on the wrong side, or looking the wrong way at a junction. Start on quiet roads rather than in central Athens.

Lower town limits and higher fines

Greece’s road traffic code of 2025 (Law 5209/2025) made 30 km/h the default in built-up areas. 50 km/h remains only where the road has a central divider or at least two lanes in each direction, unless signs say otherwise. Rural roads allow 90 km/h and motorways 130 km/h, faster than India’s expressway limits. Exceeding a limit by up to 20 km/h costs EUR 150; between 20 and 30 km/h over, the licence is also suspended for 20 days; beyond 50 km/h over, it is EUR 700 and 60 days. The Speeding Fine Calculator models other cases.

Alcohol and emergencies

The general limit is 0.05% blood alcohol, and 0.02% for novice and professional drivers. India’s limit under the Motor Vehicles Act is 30 mg per 100 ml, which is 0.03%, so the general Greek line is looser than home but the novice one is stricter. Plan on none. In an emergency dial 112; the police number is 100. The Greece driving guide has the rest.

Sources

• Hellenic Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, circular Δ30/Α3/5599 of 9 January 2023 on foreign licences (art. 94 par. 3 KOK; US, Canada, Australia, UK and Vienna Convention licences valid; otherwise IDP plus licence): diavgeia.gov.gr
• UN Treaty Collection, Convention on Road Traffic 1949 (parties, including India and Greece): treaties.un.org
• UN Treaty Collection, Convention on Road Traffic 1968 (parties): treaties.un.org
• Law 5209/2025 (Greek road traffic code), art. 20 and 24, speed limits and fines (consolidated text): taxheaven.gr
• WHO Global status report on road safety 2023, Greece profile (0.05 g/dl; 0.02 g/dl novice): who.int
• India, Motor Vehicles Act 1988 s.185 (30 mg per 100 ml): indiacode.nic.in
• Global Affairs Canada, Greece travel advice (112; police 100): travel.gc.ca