Quad Bike Rental Greek Islands (but also elsewhere)

[lovetravellingoz]

Hi,

I am just planning my trip to Greece (and Croatia) for June 2019.

Part of this will be spending some time on several Greek Islands. It is evident to make the most of visiting many islands that some form of vehicle is required for some or all of the visit. Rental rates seem quite low too.



Now while it does appear from reading that the Greeks (as in parts of Asia) are often casual about who they rent to I would want to make sure that I am fulling covered with respect to Travel Insurance, as well as what any official rules state.

Now I am a resident of Victoria. From quick read it appears that in Australia that to ride a Quad Bike on roads (ie not private property) that it needs to be registered and that the rider must have a Car License. (Note I do have car licence, but I do not have a motorcycle licence).

TI

Policies vary, but many will require than overseas that you must have a license for the type of vehicle that you will be driving/riding.

So for example as In Vic a 50cc moped requires a motorcycle license. So overseas even though I could often rent one, many TIs would mean that I would not be covered.

Also I have read a TI Policy where riding of Quad Bikes was specifically excluded.

Greece

So my current situation for this trip is I think:

• Moped, or motorcycles, are out as I only have a Victorian Drivers License
• Car rental is ok (but is somewhat restrictive on such islands)
• Quad rental should be ok, and would really open up where I (and my wife) can visit while also keeping things cheap

So I would appreciate comments on riding Quad Bikes in the Greek Islands including on the TI and licence aspect, but also just general experience.

Thank you!

 

[Daver6]

You will find quad bikes are excluded from most TI policies. MrsDaver6 and I found this out the expensive and hard way. I fully understand why they are excluded too now, given how unsafe they are. My only advice is stay off quad bikes. Sorry to put a downer on it, but personal experience.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

You will find quad bikes are excluded from most TI policies.

Thanks for you input, I appreciate this and hence this thread, but this controllable by just ensuring I have an adequate policy. I always ensure that the TI use matches the trip and in particular any activities that we may be undertaking.

It is why I have never hired a moped overseas as I new that I would not be covered.

Ditto for quad bikes, even for tours on private land, as the TI I have often used did not allow it.

Yes I know MrsDaver6 and I found this out the expensive and hard way. I fully understand why they are excluded too now, given how unsafe they are. My only advice is stay off quad bikes. Sorry to put a downer on it, but personal experience.

As an egnineer I am well aware of their technical deficiencies, and I am aware of their safety flaws including that many people not understanding their high COG and how his makes them susceptible to overturning, but we will not be using them to joy ride or speed nor testing their limits. Just for transport to get us to places that are not huge distances away, but are not too far to walk and where taxis will be too inflexible (Ie going to a beach but having no idea in advance how long you will want to stay). So I am more than satisfied that I can use them safely for what I intend.

PS: My elderly father still has his CAMs racing licence and so I grew up with an appreciation of how to use (and not use) motorised vehicles and their limits.

 

[Daver6]

As an egnineer I am well aware of their technical deficiencies, and I am aware of their safety flaws including that many people not understanding their high COG and how his makes them susceptible to overturning, but we will not be using them to joy ride or speed nor testing their limits. Just for transport to get us to places that are not huge distances away, but are not too far to walk and where taxis will be too inflexible (Ie going to a beach but having no idea in advance how long you will want to stay). So I am more than satisfied that I can use them safely for what I intend.

PS: My elderly father still has his CAMs racing licence and so I grew up with an appreciation of how to use motorised vehicles and their limits.

As an engineer too and with many years motorbike experience too, we too weren't pushing the limits (far from it) or speeding. In fact, the quad didn't over turn. Really though, there is a reason it's called an accident. For whatever the reason is, when something goes wrong on a quad bike, the consequences can be very severe, regardless of the precautions one takes and your understanding of the laws of physics.

Anyway...you asked for an opinion My first bit of advice would be avoid quads. My second would be, get familiar with them at home before you go and are dealing with an unfamiliar place.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

My second would be, get familiar with them at home before you go and are dealing with an unfamiliar place.

Fully agree and yes have ridden quads, bikes etc (grew up using on farm bikes).

When I did Cape York three decades back there were numerous 4WDs there that had rolled. Mainly by drivers attracted to reaching the tip as their first big trip and who had no real idea or experience at driving top heavy vehicles on corrugated gravel roads at high speed, round bends etc.


Now back when I was younger I was certainly sometimes using vehicles, snow skiing etc in ways that I should not have been.

I am older and wiser now

But yes accidents can still happen. But with quads, motorbikes, boats, yachts, jetskis stupidity still abounds and in particular amongst holiday makers.

 

[vetrade]

Suggest you consider that many "accidents" in places like Bali, Greece and Italy etc. are caused by the stupidity, lack of skill or lack of common sense of other car or bike riders. You just can't rely on others to be as capable or taking as much care as you may be. Many locals in those places don't even have any kind of licence - plus many other tourists (especially the 20-somethings) leave their brains at home when they get away on holiday.

There may be some Greek islands where a quad bike or scooter would be handy but IME, on islands like Mykonos and Santorini getting one would be more trouble than it's worth because most islands have cheap buses which provide a regular service and generally the distances involved are quite short.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Suggest you consider that many "accidents" in places like Bali, Greece and Italy etc. are caused by the stupidity, lack of skill or lack of common sense of other car or bike riders..

Thank you. However I have travelled the world extensively and this is not new to me at all and so have already considered this.

It is though one reason why I was never tempted to get a motorcycle licence in Australia.

There may be some Greek islands where a quad bike or scooter would be handy but IME, on islands like Mykonos and Santorini getting one would be more trouble than it's worth because most islands have cheap buses which provide a regular service and generally the distances involved are quite short.

Early days in my research, but where I would look to hire one for is exactly in those places when buses, taxis etc are not convenient and where riding one is on roads not that are not busy. I am not looking to hire one everywhere but will consider as appropriate to the circumstances at the time including the location. At this stage I might spend up to 2 weeks island hopping in Greece and this will include some less busy islands as my taste in travel is very much skewed to the less busy places.

We may also possibly hire a small car for a day or two here or there. Again after assessing the conditions on the island we are on at the time and where we want to visit etc.. We most probably will hire a car on the mainland for about a week.


PS: I actually worked as a traffic/road safety engineer at the start of my professional life (and in some aspects am still involved more than 3 decades on) and so yes I fully understand all the issues to do with road safety and the risks involved including in this case the high road accident rate in Greece in general. I will also be prudent in my intended one week car hire on the mainland for this reason.

 

[leadman]

Interestingly i'm in Northern Greece typing this and i saw 4 quad bikes today. Its my day off and went down to Kavala and saw 2 picking up their groceries from Lidl (Aldi pulled out here after the crisis). The other two were driving around Kavala streets.

 

[vetrade]

Lovetravellingoz, as per your first post I was just providing "general" context of what you might expect in the Greek Islands. I think for 90% of us our own skills are not an issue but those of other road users often are on foreign roads. I think many insurance companies refuse to provide insurance for people intending to hire quad bikes or scooters etc. overseas because they are also well aware that the risk is significantly higher OS than would be the case in Australia.

Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to hire a quad bike OS and I wouldn't even bother trying to find specific insurance to cover their use, but only if the roads I was driving on were quiet and primarily in open countryside. Quads are easy to drive - even my wife had no problems and she'd never riden one before so that wouldn't be an impediment for you. I've owned many road bikes over the years and did advanced superbike riding courses in my younger days, but there is no way I would drive anything other than a car in built-up areas in many OS countries simply because some drivers over there are just plain crazy and can't be trusted to give way, stop at red lights, be adequately skilled or licenced themselves etc. I'm into self preservation these days.

Having said all that, it seems from your latest comments you only intend to selectively pick quieter places to hire a quad bike. If the risk is obviously going to be low in those places and you drive conservatively you might decide that it's easier to just forego specific insurance because it's going to be very hard for you to find anyone who will provide you that cover anyway..

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Lovetravellingoz, as per your first post I was just providing "general" context of what you might expect in the Greek Islands. I think for 90% of us our own skills are not an issue but those of other road users often are on foreign roads. I think many insurance companies refuse to provide insurance for people intending to hire quad bikes or scooters etc. overseas because they are also well aware that the risk is significantly higher OS than would be the case in Australia.

Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to hire a quad bike OS and I wouldn't even bother trying to find specific insurance to cover their use, but only if the roads I was driving on were quiet and primarily in open countryside. Quads are easy to drive - even my wife had no problems and she'd never riden one before so that wouldn't be an impediment for you. I've owned many road bikes over the years and did advanced superbike riding courses in my younger days, but there is no way I would drive anything other than a car in built-up areas in many OS countries simply because some drivers over there are just plain crazy and can't be trusted to give way, stop at red lights, be adequately skilled or licenced themselves etc. I'm into self preservation these days.

Having said all that, it seems from your latest comments you only intend to selectively pick quieter places to hire a quad bike. If the risk is obviously going to be low in those places and you drive conservatively you might decide that it's easier to just forego specific insurance because it's going to be very hard for you to find anyone who will provide you that cover anyway..

Thank you.

I probably should have stressed that I have already used quadbikes and are familiar with them and that I was not look to hire them to hoon about in.

I also have had a life long bent for DIY travel including expedition travel. I have driven tens of thousands of kms on poor tracks, muddy tracks, fire trails, poor gravel roads, let alone more travel on good gravel roads. I have driven west of the Olgas, out in the Simpson, retraced Burke and Wills, in the High Country etc etc. I try and minimise the use of tours. I prefer to drive, than to be driven. Internationally much of my travel has been in the third world and I have driven in 5 African Countries and many other countries as well. So I am more than comfortable in my ability to cough risk including from the the locals in any give location. That has meant that sometimes I have chosen to not drive myself. Sometimes to I have avoided the use of certain local vehicles and drivers!

I like out of the way places (now LOL yes Greek Islands are not that, but there are quieter places, and quieter islands). Looking at some of the places there I would like to get to in the Greek Islands there are no buses and cars also may not give access. So hence given what I have read is there,where I want to go, the use of quadbikes is to me an obvious solution to allow my wife and I to freely explore a bit more off the beaten track and as mentioned in my OP Car rental is ok (but is somewhat restrictive on such islands) and so in the end it will be probably a combination of them, taxis, buses, quadbikes and shanks pony. We will avoid the use of real ponies.

We are not looking to use quadbikes to whiz around the villages and from cafe to bar, nor to test their abilities, but rather to get to the less travelled, less busy places


And yes I may go with a TI without quadbike coverage in the end, or even to not use them at all. But I like to be as informed as possible in order to make considered decisions and hence this thread....and from what I have so far read without independent transport such as a quadbike my trip would miss out on some great experiences that my wife and I would like to indulge in.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I have not reviewed the available TI's yet in terms of quadbiking ( I will after I have fleshed out our 7 week trip and exactly what we will be doing then look fora suitable TI, which may or may not be a CC TI).

But in reading some articles on quadbiking in the Greek Isles I noted that one was was posted on a Covermore Insurance site Santorini, Mykonos, Ios – oh my! Finding your perfect Greek Island getaway.

So I had a quick look at their coverage:

Do I need to add motorcycle/moped cover if I want to use an ATV/quad bike?
No. You do not need to add extra cover to participate in this activity. Cover-More policies automatically include coverage for riding an ATV/quad bike. You must ensure that all safety equipment is worn and reasonable care is taken.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

So a quick look at TID,
Quad biking | Travel Insurance Direct

Quad biking
Quad bikes, also known as All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV), are popular for tours and transport around the world. We have a number of customers quad biking over sand dunes, on farms, touring rice fields or as a way to get around a resort. Travel Insurance Direct covers you if you’re injured on a quad bike.

In some countries, like Greece for example, you can hire a quad bike as road transport around an island. Where you are using a quad bike as a vehicle on a road, you will need to be holding an appropriate licence in the country you are travelling in as well as in Australia. Smartraveller has more information about what licences are required when driving overseas. Look up the country you are travelling to and go to the ‘Local Travel’ tab.

The most common accident occurs when the bike flips over on top of you, so, at a minimum, you should wear a helmet and closed toe shoes. Wearing long sleeved tops and long pants can be an extra layer of protection between you, the bike and the ground.

If you get injured we look after you but not the quad bike. If you’re hiring a quad bike or using it as part of a tour, make sure you know what your liability is if the vehicle is damaged or if you injure someone or their property while you are on the bike. This can be costly, and is not covered by your Travel Insurance Direct policy.

What's covered?

• Overseas medical expenses
• Personal effects: damage to clothes or other personal items if you have an accident on the quad bike
• Accidental Death benefit
• Total Permanent Disability benefit (excluding Domestic policies)

What’s not covered?

• racing on a quad bike;
• professional sports, ie, you are receiving a wage, salary or appearance fee for training for or participating in the activity;
• you, a member of your travelling party or a close relative intentionally exposing themselves to a needless risk or not taking reasonable care, except in an attempt to save a human life;
• damage to quad bikes;
• any search and rescue expenses; and
• medical expenses in Australia
• personal liability - damage you cause to someone’s property or if you injure someone, resulting from your use, ownership or possession of a quad bike.

 

[maccaisking]

LTO, we visited Santorini with friends last year and hired quad bikes, it was a terrific day. I highly recommend getting one there for a day. We were able to tour the whole island from north to south, stop for lunch, go swimming, etc. I hadn’t ridden a quad in 15 years, my wife had never ridden one and was ready to take over about 10 minutes in.

We also wore helmets which were provided with the bike although most seem not to. Cant speak to the TI side, and it sounds like you are well along that path (I remember checking ours but not what we did for coverage) as it was excluded under CC policy. Have fun