Most European destinations have one obvious route. Greece has four, and picking the wrong one is what makes a quote wrong. Goods can arrive in a container at Piraeus, in a container at a regional port, on a lorry that crossed the Adriatic by ferry from Italy, or on a further sailing out to an island after any of those.
Which of the four applies to you is decided by where you are going, how much you own and how fixed your dates are. Everything else on this page follows from it.
Tell us the move once and you are connected with a vetted moving company from our network that already runs your route. The enquiry is free, there is nothing to commit to, and from that point you deal with the mover directly.
Both addresses, rough volume, dates, and whether you need packing, storage, a car moved or pets arranged. Say if either end is on an island, because that changes everything downstream.
Sea or road, which port, whether a ferry leg is needed, vehicle size, insurance and access at both ends. If the first company cannot cover it, another in the network takes it on.
They confirm the written quote, timetable, packing, collection, customs documents and delivery plan. You decide whether to book. We are not part of that contract.
Four countries where the route itself changes the job, rather than only the distance.
Below roughly a one bedroom flat, sharing wins on cost. A full house usually justifies a container to itself. A dedicated vehicle sits outside both and fixes your dates. Compare the options
Crete, Rhodes and Corfu take goods directly. The Cyclades are transhipped. Lefkada is reached by road over the causeway and needs no sailing at all. How island moves work
A Greek move has more handling stages than a domestic one, and an island move more again. Specify the packing for the route, not for a generic job. What export packing involves
One vehicle can come with a genuine transfer of residence. Older cars on Euro 1, 2 and 3 emissions standards cannot be registered in Greece at all, which is worth checking before you pay to ship anything. Vehicle rules and taxes
Animals never travel with furniture and need the longest lead time of anything in a move. EU pet passports stopped working for Great Britain residents in April 2026. Pet requirements and timings
Greece is in the EU and the Schengen area. The UK is in neither. That single fact shapes the paperwork in both directions and it is where Greek moves go wrong far more often than anything to do with transport.
Relief from duty and VAT is available where you are genuinely transferring your home, but it has conditions, it needs evidence, and it runs on a document with a date on it. Get that sequence right and the rest of the move is straightforward.
Verify accreditation by membership number rather than trusting a logo, insist on a survey, and read the insurance exclusions before the inclusions. The full set of checks and who to shortlist.
Cubic metres decide most of it, then whether you share the space or take it exclusively, then the island leg if there is one, then access at both ends. An afternoon spent deciding what not to take moves the total more than any negotiation over a quote will.
As a rough guide, a small mainland load starts near £2,000, a one bedroom flat lands between £2,300 and £3,100, and a full household in its own vehicle or container starts around £3,000, with islands adding a ferry leg on top. What those figures include and what moves them.
Grouped by how goods reach each one rather than alphabetically. If your town is not listed, use the nearest and put the real address on the form.
We are a Working Member of AGM Group. Movers in that network hold accreditations including FIDI FAIM, BAR Overseas, IAM, EUROMOVERS and FEDEMAC, and which ones a given company holds varies, so ask the firm quoting you and check the number. These are not badges anyone can buy. FIDI FAIM in particular is independently audited, and it is the one worth checking on a move involving customs and a sea crossing.
Greece rewards knowing the route. A company that ships into Piraeus every week, or that knows which sailings serve Naxos in February, gives you a quote that holds. That is why we put your enquiry to one company suited to your route rather than circulating it to everyone who pays for leads.
Αν μετακομίζεστε από την Ελλάδα προς το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο, στείλτε μας τα στοιχεία της μετακόμισης μία φορά.
Answers sit open on the page rather than behind dropdowns.
No. No passenger or vehicle ferry runs straight from a British port to a Greek one. Road loads travel through France and Italy, then take a ro-ro ferry from an Adriatic port such as Ancona, Bari, Brindisi or Venice into Patras or Igoumenitsa. Sea freight goes by container, usually into Piraeus.
Yes. Send your move once and you are connected with a vetted moving company from our network that already runs the Greece route. It can cover boxes, furniture, a shared load, a full container or a dedicated vehicle. The mover checks access at both ends, the sea or road leg and your paperwork before quoting.
Yes, and it is one of the most common moves we see. These jobs cover returning residents, families, students, remote workers and people clearing a property. Give the Greek collection town, the UK delivery postcode, a rough inventory and whether an island ferry leg is involved.
Send one enquiry with your town and we connect you with a vetted moving company that already covers that part of Greece. You do not need to ring round local firms. Athens moves usually clear through Piraeus. Thessaloniki moves clear through its own port, which saves the long inland leg for anyone in the north.
No. Most islands need a second sea leg after the goods reach the mainland or Piraeus, with its own sailing days, weight limits and costs. Lefkada is the exception, joined to the mainland by a causeway and reachable by road. Crete, Rhodes and Corfu have their own ports. Santorini, Mykonos, Paros and Naxos are transhipped.
Piraeus handles most container traffic. Thessaloniki serves the north, Patras and Igoumenitsa take road loads arriving by ferry from Italy, and Volos, Kavala, Heraklion and Rhodes handle regional traffic. The port matters because it sets your inland leg, so ask which one your quote assumes.
Greece is in the EU and the UK is not, so a UK to Greece move is an import and needs a full packing inventory. Relief from import charges can apply when you are transferring your normal home, and it runs off a relocation certificate issued by your Greek consulate. Check the current rules with Greek customs or your consulate.
Both, and both are quoted separately from your household goods. Cars can travel in a container or on a ro-ro sailing, though older vehicles on Euro 1, 2 and 3 emissions standards cannot be registered in Greece at all. Pets travel under their own rules and need the longest notice of anything in a move.
It depends on volume in cubic metres, whether you share a load or take a full container, the route, an island leg if there is one, packing, access at both addresses, insurance and your dates. A few boxes on a shared load sits at one end and a full home on a dedicated vehicle at the other.
Storage can usually be arranged at either end, and it is far cheaper to plan for than to arrange in a hurry once a container has landed. Tell the mover at enquiry stage that the date might slip. Goods sitting at a port while somebody finds warehouse space accrue charges that nobody refunds.
Yes, and it is common. Part loads and shared container space exist precisely for people sending furniture ahead, keeping a property in both countries, or moving in stages. Clearance can also be taken in instalments within the twelve month validity of your relocation certificate.
The shoulder months, spring and autumn. Adriatic ferry space fills with holiday traffic from late spring, which pushes freight onto longer crossings, and island sailings thin out through the winter. Neither extreme is impossible, but a fixed July date needs contingency built in at booking.
Send your collection address, delivery address, dates, rough inventory and whether an island is involved. A vetted mover from our network checks the route, the port, the access and the paperwork, then comes back with quote details.
Get your free quoteWe are a free enquiry service and a Working Member of AGM Group. We connect people moving to and from Greece with vetted international moving companies from that network. We do not own vans, employ crews or carry out removals ourselves, so the company that quotes you is the company that does the work.
Use this page to get your Greek move ready, then speak directly with the mover before you book anything.
Written by Darren Benjamin, Founder, International Removals Companies.