There are two road routes south and they are not equivalent. The short one runs through Hungary, Serbia and North Macedonia. Serbia and North Macedonia are not in the European Union, so a load that has never left the single market suddenly needs transit paperwork at two borders.
The alternative keeps everything inside the EU: south through Austria to an Italian Adriatic port, then a ferry to Igoumenitsa or Patras. Longer on the map, simpler on paper, and usually the right answer for household goods.
Hungary, Serbia, North Macedonia, then Greece. Shorter and cheaper on fuel. Two non-EU borders, transit documents, and queues that vary by season. Common for commercial freight and less common for household goods.
South through Austria to Ancona, Venice, Bari or Brindisi, then across the Adriatic. Everything stays inside the EU, so no transit paperwork. The crossing itself runs from about eight hours to well over a day depending on the port pair.
Germany has one of the largest Greek communities in Europe, built over generations, and a good share of the traffic on this route is people going home rather than emigrating. That changes what matters: less furniture, more sentiment, and property at the Greek end that has often been standing empty. Return moves work similarly from Britain.
A Balkan route enters overland at Evzonoi and reaches Thessaloniki within the hour, which suits northern Greek addresses. An Adriatic ferry lands at Igoumenitsa or Patras, which suits the west, Athens and the Peloponnese. Container traffic clears at Piraeus.
Paperwork is a single market matter in both directions, so household goods moving between two EU states do not need the relief process that a British move does. What they still need is a proper inventory. Island addresses add a sailing whichever way you came.
Answers sit open on the page rather than behind dropdowns.
On paper the Balkan route, because it is several hundred kilometres shorter. In practice the border crossings at Serbia and North Macedonia decide it, and they vary a great deal by season and by day. The ferry route is longer and far more predictable.
Not between the two countries, since both are in the EU and the single market. What you do need is a full inventory. If your load takes the Balkan route it will need transit documents for the non-EU stretch, which the moving company arranges.
Yes, usually from Hamburg or Bremerhaven to Piraeus. It suits a full household with flexible dates and it removes the road question entirely. Under about fifteen cubic metres, shared space in a container is normally cheaper than any road option.
If your Greek address is in the north, yes, and by a wide margin. A Balkan route enters Greece near Thessaloniki anyway. Ask for it by name, because quotes default to Piraeus and the inland leg is rarely itemised.
Common, and handled the same way in reverse. Give the Greek collection address, the German delivery address and say whether an island is involved, since that adds a sailing before anything else happens.
Between roughly eight hours and well over a day, depending on the port pair. Brindisi to Igoumenitsa is the short one. Venice to Patras is the long one. The choice usually follows what space is available rather than what is quickest.
Yes, anywhere in Germany. Put the real collection postcode on the form, because access and the road leg to the chosen route are priced from the address rather than the city.
Also worth reading: Sweden faces the same choice, and so does Denmark.
Send your German collection address, the Greek delivery address, your dates and a rough inventory. A vetted moving company checks the routing, the border paperwork and the crossing before quoting.
Get your free quoteWe are a free enquiry service and a Working Member of AGM Group. We connect people moving between Germany and Greece with vetted international moving companies from that network. We do not own vans or employ crews, so the company that quotes you is the company that does the work.
Use this page to choose the route before you take a quote, then speak directly with the mover.
Written by Darren Benjamin, Founder, International Removals Companies.