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| Igoumenitsa Ferry Terminal, Greece, where Shehzadi waited for the overnight ferry to Italy |
After our Skopje loop, the previous leg brought Shehzadi through North Macedonia and back into Greece, ending at Igoumenitsa on the Ionian coast. The Silk Road story was about to take a maritime intermission: two vehicle ferries, one cross-Italy drive, and several ship garages designed to make a full-size pickup reconsider its dimensions.
From Igoumenitsa, we sailed to Ancona, drove across Italy to Civitavecchia, took the second ferry to Barcelona, then turned south through Spain to Mar de Pulpí in Almería. The full route map is here: MAP. Three countries, two ferries, one American pickup. Europe had become a very large board game with fuel receipts.
Greece to Spain Overland: Ferries - Igoumenitsa to Ancona, Civitavecchia to Barcelona, and Almería — Post Summary
This westbound leg uses two vehicle ferries to move Shehzadi from Greece to Spain without driving the full northern arc around the Mediterranean: Igoumenitsa to Ancona, across Italy to Civitavecchia, ferry to Barcelona, then south to Mar de Pulpí in Almería. The route is mostly logistics, but full-size pickup trucks have a gift for making logistics feel theatrical.
| What's Covered | |
| 🧭 | Route at a Glance — the ferry-and-road spine from Greece through Italy to southeastern Spain |
| ⛴️ | Igoumenitsa Ferry Terminal — loading Shehzadi for the overnight crossing to Italy |
| 🌊 | Igoumenitsa to Ancona Ferry — Greece to Italy by vehicle ferry |
| 🚙 | Ancona to Civitavecchia — crossing central Italy from the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian side |
| ⚓ | Civitavecchia Ferry Port — lining up for the second sea crossing |
| 🛳️ | Civitavecchia to Barcelona Ferry — Italy to Spain across the Mediterranean |
| 🇪🇸 | Barcelona to Mar de Pulpí — the final southbound drive to Almería |
| 🎬 | Video Chapters — timestamped port, ferry and road highlights from the complete leg |
We left Igoumenitsa by ferry for Ancona, drove Shehzadi across central Italy to Civitavecchia, crossed the Mediterranean to Barcelona, then turned south to Mar de Pulpí in Almería. The line is simple on a map; the lived version involved port queues, ramp angles, ship garages, Italian highways, and the recurring overlander question of whether we were in the correct lane or merely very committed.
Transport: two vehicle ferries plus overland driving across Italy and Spain
Vehicle: Shehzadi, our Toyota Tundra
Endpoint: Mar de Pulpí, Almería, Spain
Route at a Glance
- Igoumenitsa Ferry Terminal: Greek departure port and the loading queue for Italy.
- Igoumenitsa to Ancona: Overnight vehicle-ferry crossing to Italy's Adriatic coast.
- Ancona to Civitavecchia: Overland crossing of central Italy from the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian side.
- Civitavecchia Ferry Port: Check-in, staging and boarding for Barcelona.
- Civitavecchia to Barcelona: Long vehicle-ferry crossing from Italy to Catalonia.
- Barcelona to Mar de Pulpí: Southbound drive through Spain to our Almería endpoint.
- Video Chapters: Timestamped dashcam highlights from both ports, both ferries and the road legs.
Igoumenitsa Ferry Terminal: Loading Shehzadi for Italy
Our sea leg began at Igoumenitsa Ferry Terminal on Greece's Ionian coast. Trucks, campervans, cars, foot passengers, and hopeful overlanders all performed the same quiet ritual: wait, shuffle forward, wait again, then wonder whether everyone else knew something we did not.
Shehzadi looked properly ridiculous and properly at home. A Toyota Tundra is not a small vehicle, and ferry decks are not famous for being empty yoga studios. The loading crew knew their craft. They waved, pointed, whistled, and somehow turned a crowd of vehicles into an organized stack of metal. Sorcery, but with hi-vis vests.
Igoumenitsa to Ancona Ferry: Greece to Italy Overnight
The first ferry carried us from Greece toward Ancona on Italy's Adriatic coast. On paper, ferry travel is restful. Overlanders first have to surrender their vehicle to a floating garage, memorize which stairwell will return them to it, and pretend this will be easy after sleep.
Once aboard, the road paused. We had been moving west through Georgia, Türkiye, Greece, and North Macedonia, and the ferry gave the route a clean hinge. Shehzadi was below deck, Italy was ahead, and for a while the sea handled the driving. We were happy to delegate.
Ancona to Civitavecchia: Across Italy by Road
Disembarking at Ancona put us back on wheels and into Italy with no gentle warm-up. Ancona sits on the Adriatic and made a fitting re-entry point for the road across the peninsula.
From there, we cut across Italy toward Civitavecchia. The crossing from the Adriatic side to the Tyrrhenian side looks compact on a map, then quietly reminds us that Italy has hills, towns, tunnels, traffic, espresso stops, and a deep national commitment to keeping drivers awake.
Civitavecchia Ferry Port: Boarding for Barcelona
Civitavecchia was the next logistical hinge: fuel, documents, lanes, boarding signs, and another ship garage waiting with the patience of a metal cave.
Boarding the Grimaldi Lines ferry to Barcelona felt easier the second time because we knew the rhythm: follow the marshal, fold the mirrors, trust the ramp, and avoid obsessing over the centimeters. Full-size pickups make excellent overland vehicles and unusually effective measuring devices for ferry garages.
Civitavecchia to Barcelona Ferry: Italy to Spain
The Civitavecchia-to-Barcelona ferry turned Italy into a memory and Spain into a scheduled arrival. It moved us from the Italian side of the Mediterranean to Catalonia without forcing a long drive around southern France.
For overlanders, ferries work like moving bridges with cabins, cafeteria trays, and a chance to stop driving while the odometer takes a nap. Shehzadi stayed below, we stayed above, and the Mediterranean handled the middle section with considerably less paperwork than a land border.
Barcelona to Mar de Pulpí: Final Drive to Almería
Barcelona Ferry Port returned us to Spanish roads, where the route turned south toward Almería. The drive to Mar de Pulpí carried us down Spain's Mediterranean side, away from the ferry decks and back into the normal overland rhythm of fuel, maps, snacks, and parking spaces that always look smaller when we arrive tired.
By the time we reached our Mar de Pulpí home base, the leg had done exactly what we needed. It moved us from northern Greece to southeastern Spain while keeping Shehzadi pointed west. Medieval caravans had their own logistical problems; ours included reversing a Toyota Tundra between trucks while strangers watched. Every era gets the transport technology it deserves.
Video Chapters: Greece to Spain by Ferry and Road
The dashcam caught the moving parts of this ferry-heavy route. The timestamps below keep the highlights in order, because chaos is best enjoyed with chapter markers.
- 00:19 — Igoumenitsa Ferry Terminal in Greece, where Shehzadi joined the great European ritual of waiting in a port line.
- 01:12 — Boarding the Minoan Lines ferry, with trucks, tourists, ramps, and the quiet suspense of vehicle-deck geometry.
- 01:34 — Parking Shehzadi aboard the ferry, proof that a full-size pickup can fit if everyone breathes in.
- 02:09 — Rolling off at Ancona Ferry Port on Italy's Adriatic coast.
- 02:43 — Crossing Italy by road from the Adriatic side toward the Tyrrhenian Sea.
- 03:06 — Arriving at Civitavecchia Ferry Port for the second sea crossing.
- 04:05 — Boarding the Grimaldi Lines ferry toward Barcelona.
- 04:48 — Docking at Barcelona Ferry Port and returning to Spanish asphalt.
- 07:01 — Driving down to Mar de Pulpí in Almería, with the dashcam still somehow awake.
Video: From Greece to Spain via Italy — three countries, two ferries, and one dashcam that survived the whole exercise.
This ferry-and-road bridge moved the complete 2025 Silk Road/world-overland journey from the Balkans to southeastern Spain without turning the westbound phase into a long motorway arc around the Mediterranean. Two ferries stitched the road together, and Shehzadi rolled off both still pointed toward the next continental turn: Morocco.
Next, Shehzadi leaves Mar de Pulpí for Algeciras, crosses the Strait of Gibraltar to Tanger Med, and reaches Tangier: Spain to Morocco Overland: Algeciras to Tanger Med Ferry, Strait of Gibraltar and Tangier.
