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The basics

If you're planning to bring your pet to Greece by private transport, whether it's by car, yacht, or plane, you'll need to enter through an authorised border inspection post (BIP). These are located at major entry points like Athens and Thessaloniki airports, the ports in Piraeus and Thessaloniki, and railway stations at Eidomeni, Neos Kafkasos (on the North Macedonia border), and Promachonas (on the Bulgaria border). You can also find BIPs at border crossings like Evzonoi (North Macedonia), Kakavia (Albania), and Peplos (Turkey), as well as Ormenio and Promachonas (Bulgaria).

If you're coming from a non-EU country, as we were from Albania, don’t forget to check the specific requirements for that country, plus what’s needed for re-entry into the EU. For us it was a worming tablet and vet signed animal health certificate.

For island entries with your pet, there are authorised points at places like Syros (Cyclades), Kalymnos, Kos, and Rhodes (Dodecanese), Chios, Lesvos, Limnos, and Samos (North Aegean), Corfu and Kefalonia (Ionian), and Heraklion and Chania (Crete). Some of these may be airports or ports, so always double-check with the local authorities about your entry point.

In summary, bringing your pet to Greece means doing a bit of homework on the rules and requirements. But with some careful planning, you and your furry friend can have a smooth and enjoyable trip exploring all that Greece has to offer as Greece is very dog friendly. We were welcomed into restaurants, cafes and most public spaces.
Areas where dogs were forbidden were monasteries, archaeological sites and museums. This seemed mostly due to the general view that male dogs pee on everything so in general it is easier to ban all dogs. But as always, check the website and google reviews of the site you wish to visit with your pet, we were occasionally pleasantly surprised such as the archaeological sites (not museums) of Aigai, Vergina and Philippi in Krinides.

Transport
Hire cars and taxis all throughout Greece were very accepting of having Yoki in the car. On 2 occasions in taxis, we were asked to put Yoki on our lap and on 1 occasion on the floor. Otherwise she was warmly welcomed. For every car hire we continued to use the fitted bed sheet on the back sheet with a hole cut for the seat belt, and each time we were told not to worry. We did it anyway as we appreciate how painful vacuuming her hair can be.

Our border crossing and Greek ferry experiences
We had originally planned to transfer from Saranda, Albania through to Greece via private transfer as we knew we could neither do it by hire car or on a bus. Unfortunately, no private transfers were available and taxis will only take you to the border where you then walk across and call a Greek taxi on the other side. Then someone suggested catching the ferry to Corfu (Greece), crossing the border there and taking another ferry across to Igoumenitsa, Greece. This route proved very simple and again, we weren't pet checked at the border on Corfu but had all our paperwork in order and ready. At no stage were we charged any extra.

Finikas Ferries: Saranda, Albania to Corfu, Greece(September 25)
Pet Cost: € 0 for 1 hour trip
Comfort: 4⭐Pet on leash - inside and outside
Ease of transfers: 5⭐

Glorious Greece

Kerkyra Lines Ferries: Corfu, Greece to Igoumenitsa, Greece (September 25)
Pet Cost: € 0 for 2.5 hour trip
Comfort: 3⭐Pet on leash - outside deck only
Ease of transfers: 5⭐

Zagori region, Mount Olympus, Drama & Corfu Ferry.

Dodekanisos Seaways: Samos, Greece to Rhodes, Greece (October 25)
Pet Cost: € 0 for 6 hour trip
Comfort: 4⭐Pet in a carrier stays with passenger. Pet on leash - outside deck only
Ease of transfers: 5⭐