Renting a Car in Greece: Licence, Ferries, Tolls and Fines

Which licences can visitors drive on in Greece?

Greece replaced its road code with Law 5209/2025, published in the Government Gazette on 13 June 2025. Law 5322/2026 amended it in July 2026, mainly for e-scooters; the rules below on licences, speed and fines are as published in the June 2025 Gazette. Article 98 lists who may drive in Greece without a Greek licence. For a visitor who does not live in Greece, the relevant groups are:

• holders of a licence from an EU member state, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein;
• holders of a valid International Driving Permit issued by any country other than Greece;
• holders of a licence issued in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey or Gibraltar, during their stay;
• holders of a licence from a country that does not issue International Driving Permits, provided it comes with an official Greek or English translation.

Rental companies apply their own list, and it does not always match. Hertz Greece's licence page by country accepts EU, EEA, UK, Swiss, US, Canadian and Australian licences alone; Chinese and Japanese licences with an official English translation; a set of other countries' licences only in credit-card format; and everyone else only with an IDP. Its key facts page states the stricter version: an International licence for non-EU countries.

Driving without an accepted licence is serious under the new code: article 98 puts it in category E4, with a 700 euro fine for a private car, on-the-spot removal of any licence for a year and of the car's registration papers for 30 days.

Age, excess and the deposit

These are Hertz Greece's general terms as published in September 2026. Other companies differ.

• Age: 21 for the smallest groups (A, B, J, Z, V2), 25 for the rest. Drivers aged 19 and 20 can rent the small groups for a surcharge of 10 euros a day plus VAT; drivers aged 21 to 24 pay 10 to 15 euros a day plus VAT for some mid-size groups.
• Licence held: at least 12 months.
• CDW excess: 650 euros for the small groups, rising to 800, 1,000, 1,300 and 3,000 euros for larger cars. SCDW reduces the small-car figure to 160 euros; Super Cover, bought on top of CDW, SCDW and theft protection, brings it to zero.
• Always excluded: damage to the underside of the car and the wheels "is not covered by any insurance". Tyre and glass cover is a separate add-on at 5.50 euros a day.
• Deposit: a card hold equal to the excess, or 100 to 500 euros if you take Super Cover. Hertz says the release can take up to 14 days, depending on your card issuer.
• Airport charge: 13% of the rental charges at Athens airport, against 6% at other Greek airports.

At Athens airport, the airport operator lists six rental companies, several of them running more than one brand, with desks in the arrivals hall at Exit 4, open 24 hours.

Can you take a rental car on a ferry in Greece?

Island trips are where rental contracts bite. Hertz Greece allows ferry transport only with its prior written approval and only if you accept its Ferry Boat Cover, which costs 20 euros a day up to 60 euros per rental. Without it, you are liable for all damage to the car during the crossing, whatever other cover you bought.

Ask two questions before booking the ferry: does the company allow the car on that route at all, and is the approval written on the contract? A verbal yes at the desk is not what the terms require. For finding your gate and boarding at Piraeus, see Piraeus port: getting there and finding your gate.

How much is the Attiki Odos toll around Athens?

Attiki Odos is the main toll motorway around Athens. It charges once, at the entrance, whatever distance you drive, according to its operator, Nea Attiki Odos. There are 39 toll stations with 195 lanes.

You can pay cash or by bank card at staffed lanes (Diners and American Express are not accepted), or use the e-PASS lanes with a tag. If you pass without paying or use the wrong lane, the operator issues a non-payment form; you settle it by bank deposit at Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank of Greece or Piraeus Bank, quoting the vehicle's registration number. Ask at pickup whether the car has an e-PASS tag and how the company bills its use.

What are the speed limits and fines in Greece?

Article 24 of the code sets 30 km/h as the default limit in built-up areas, and 50 km/h on urban roads with at least two marked lanes each way, a central reservation or two lanes on a one-way street. Outside towns, a private car may do 130 km/h on motorways, 110 on expressways and 90 elsewhere, and 40 km/h on unpaved roads. Signs override all of these. Visit Greece, the national tourism organisation, gives the same urban and motorway figures.

Fines follow fixed categories set in article 108:

Driving over 150 km/h on a motorway, over 130 on an expressway or over 120 on other roads falls in category E3-B even if the excess is smaller. A licence withdrawal is not a paper exercise for a visitor: without the licence, nobody on your contract may drive unless another named driver takes over.

How a camera fine reaches a renter

Under article 107, a fine recorded by camera is served on the registered owner. The owner has an exclusive 7-day window to file a sworn declaration naming the real driver, and the law says this procedure applies to cars rented from rental companies. A camera fine is payable within two months of service; after that it is certified for collection under the Code for the Collection of Public Revenue.

Hertz Greece's terms make the renter solely liable for fines and add a non-refundable fine administration fee of 30 euros per fine.

Worked example: a coastal motorway

You are driving a Hertz group B car at 145 km/h on a motorway with a 130 limit and pass a camera. That is 15 km/h over, category E2-A: a 150 euro fine, no licence withdrawal. Hertz identifies you and adds its 30 euro fee, so the trip costs you 180 euros. At 165 km/h, the same road puts you in E3-B for exceeding 150 km/h: 350 euros, a 30-day withdrawal of the licence and the car's registration papers, and the same 30 euro fee.