Greece on an Italian Licence — No IDP, But Different Roads to Italy's

For Italian drivers, Greece feels close to home on paper — same right-hand side, same 0.05 alcohol limit, the same EU licence, and motorway speeds matched at 130. Nothing about the documents will hold you up. The differences show up in the road itself, not the rulebook.

Nothing to arrange

Your Italian EU licence is fully valid in Greece with no International Driving Permit, covering stays of up to twelve months — just carry it with your passport. If you want to confirm an unusual case the driving permit checker settles it, but for a standard car there’s nothing to organise.

Where Greece asks for more care than Italy

The motorways are good and familiar. It’s away from them that the gap with Italy opens up: secondary surfaces vary more than the autostrade, with patched tarmac and faded markings, and lane discipline is looser, with assertive overtaking even on tight roads. The islands turn the volume up — narrow, winding lanes, sometimes a sheer drop and no barrier, and a ferry timetable that quietly pressures you into hurrying. That last part is the trap: the rush to make a boat is where rented cars come to grief. Drive to the conditions, leave margin, and let the ferry wait. Mainland limits are 50 in town, 90 rural, 130 motorway; a 10 km/h overspeed runs about EUR 40, which the speeding fine calculator estimates.

The essentials

The car must carry a warning triangle, first-aid kit and fire extinguisher. Alcohol is 0.05 as at home but enforced with on-the-spot fines, so carry a card or cash. Fuel is roughly $1.92 a litre and 112 reaches emergency services. The full rule set is on our Greece driving guide.