Cleethorpes to Corfu

 Howdy, thanks for the add.

Total newbie to Motorhomes and looking for some opinions on what would make a suitable motor home to act as a taxi between Cleethorpes and Corfu. My situation is as follows:

1) Buying a property in Corfu which should hopefully complete by end of year. Near Paleokastritsa. 1.5 acres with plenty of hard standing parking space.

2) Will live in Corfu for 6 months of year - April to September. Qualify for Greek Golden Visa so not restricted to normal 90 day visa.

3) Passengers:  3 x Dogs (2 x English Setters and 1 x Jack Russell). 1 x Cockatoo Parrot. Me and Mrs.

4) I will be driving. Motorhome will only cover 2 x Journeys per year - there and back. Approximately 3.5K miles return journey.

5) Budget: Up to £70K

6) Plan to keep property and motorhome for 10 years, meaning total mileage will be approx 35K miles.

7) Due to travelling with Parrot, we’d like to avoid ‘cooking’ with gas. Parrots are very sensitive and susceptible to stuff like gas. We’d probably live off ‘ding meals’ and salad for the 4 - 5 day journey. With that in mind, the motorhome will need a microwave.

8) Not looking for scenic / tourist routes, just quickest route to Bari ferry terminal in Southern Italy. Travelling with 3 x dogs and parrot is restrictive - don’t want to leave them unattended.

9) Probably better to have LHD motorhome as 80% of journey will be non-UK.

10) 53 years old, passed driving test in 1991 and have C1. I drove 4 tonne Bedford trucks in the military so not intimidated by something with a bit of length and girth - ooooh matron! What does bother me is that if I go large, what problems I may encounter on the ferry? Some of the ferries allow onboard camping with electric hook-up, but won’t allow use of gas appliances and/or engine running during the voyage - another reason to have a microwave when using the ferry provided electric hook-up.

 My brain hurts looking at all of the MH brands. My main concern is what brand is best to see me through 10 years of 2 x trips per year in relative comfort. I’d like a garage to hump tools back & forth, plus lots of UK pet food (Greek pet food is generally poor).

There’s also the added benefit that the MH could be used as fall-back accommodation in the event of an extended power failure in the Corfu property - there’s lots of power failures in Corfu. 

I’m leaning towards one of the German brands. Burstner seems to be of decent quality with a good reputation. Is it best to buy in the UK or in Germany?

Does anyone do this journey?  What places do you stop at for some rest/sleep etc…. Any significant challenges to overcome on the journey?

All comments welcome. Thank you.