Scooter Hire in Greece – Part 10, The Joy of Scooters

So what’s so great about biking despite all the risks?  Why not stick to a car?  Please read on, because whilst the previous articles are all about safety, this one’s about the sheer joy of riding a scooter in the Greek Islands.

This is part ten of a series by Suntrap Holidays about scooter hire in Greece, and if you came to this part first, please take a look at the other articles for some very important safety information:

Scooter Hire in Greece – The Series

I’ve only hired a car once in Greece, and that was to get our suitcases from one resort to another when we had a problem with accommodation.  This was after many years of doing scooter hire in Greece, and I can tell you, it gave me

Scooter Hire Greece - Sharing, courtesy of flickr.com user: ivoyager (helmets please!)

a view of Greek roads that I never want to have again.  What do I mean?  Well, the thing about being on a scooter on a Greek island road is that you really are king of the road.

“just swing over”

For a start, when you see that stunning view across the ocean from up in the hills, or even something as trivial as a little flower at the side of the road, on a scooter it’s not a problem – you can stop just about anywhere, any time.  You just swing over and off the road pretty much as you like.  Now, in a car, well, you know how it is.  You see something you want to look at, but there’s a queue of traffic behind, so you can’t just pull up.  And in any case, the road is too busy and narrow for you to just stop on the side, and there is nowhere to park.  By the time you have reasoned this far, the view you wanted to look at is about half a mile back, and, well, it’s a lot of trouble to find somewhere to turn round – so maybe next time..

“pine-clad hills”

Something else I love about scooter hire in Greece is that you are higher up than car drivers, and have unrestricted visibility all round you.  You can look over the roofs of a whole queue of traffic and enjoy the scenery (whilst keeping an eye on the road, of course!).  The one day I was in a car on holiday in Greece, in Corfu it was, I was shocked at just

Very Old Pedal Moped in Greece, courtesy of flickr.com user: keoki (hope your hired one is newer than this!)

how little I could see.  Basically, on the main island road where it was usually quite busy, most of my view was of the car in front.  Until then, my whole experience on the road in Greece was on a bike, and in that instant I felt sorry for all those people who only hire cars when they come to Greece, their view filled not with olive groves, pine-clad hills and sea panoramas, but rather with the back of the car in front.

If you ask someone who always hires a car during their Greek Islands holidays, they will tell you that most of the roads on the islands, even the main ones, are often narrow, have very rough surfaces, sunken grids everywhere and potholes to die for.  The problem in a car is that there is very often only room to drive in a fixed path along your side of the road, so if a pothole, sunken grid or whatever happens to be where the tyre needs to go, bump, down you go!

“loads of room”

But you get a whole different experience of the state of the roads in Greece on a bike.  Now, if you’ve never done scooter hire in Greece, maybe you would think that on a scooter, any deficiency in the road would be worse than for car drivers.  But it’s a weird thing, this – the very dimensions of the road seem to change when you are on a scooter or

Scooter Hire in Greece - The Gang, courtesy of flickr.com user: dainee (seriously lads, get those helmets on!)

motorbike. You have loads of room to play with, even on narrow roads.  You can take your time to choose a lovely smooth route around even the tiniest of mini-potholes.  You can see over the tops of the cars and you can plan well ahead, braking silkily, leaning yourself and the bike one way and another to make the bends a joy to experience, really being at one with your vehicle and the road.

“heart-lifting scent of wild thyme”

Of course, one of the very best things about scooter hire in the Greek Islands is that you are out in the open air, cooled by a breeze even on the hottest of Greek summer days, taking in the heart-lifting scent of wild thyme and oregano.  Contrast this with being cooped up in a metal box, either boiling hot or artificially frozen by the air conditioning with its damp mouldy smell; isolated from the very essence of what a Greek holiday in the sun should be all about.

In the Greek Islands, when you travel by car, the journey is something to be endured in order to reach the pleasure of your destination, often the beach.  On a scooter, the very journey itself is part of the pleasure.

“scooter hire in Greece is FAB”

Well, we have reached the end of this series and I hope you’ve enjoyed it.  I think that scooter hire in Greece is FAB, and I hope you will too.  More than that, I very much hope that you are now more aware of some of the risks you will be taking if you choose to hire a scooter in Greece for the first time, so that you can stay safe, and so that you can really enjoy this marvellous experience.

If you have enjoyed this series and you can see yourself buzzing around on a scooter in the Greek Islands, why not spend a minute or two taking a look at some of the best Greek holiday deals on offer: Find Holidays in Greece

For more information on the motorcycle test in the UK and for more information on how to stay safe on your scooter, take a look at these links:

Driving Standards Agency

Bikesafe

Wikipedia – Motorcycle Safety