First time traveller to Greece! Help!
Replies: 8 - Last Post: Jul 11, 2012 11:26 AM Last Post By: lscott88
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First time traveller to Greece! Help!
Hello!It's my first time travelling with a friend, we are travelling from 27th August flying into Thessaloniki to the 11th September flying home from Rome. We've decided to explore mainland Greece (obviously haha), an island or two and go across to Italy to Rome then fly back to the UK from there.
My original plan was to purchase interrail passes for train travel around mainland Greece which also includes a ferry trip across to Bari/Ancona in Italy. However on further inspection i see the rail links are quite poor in Greece and the only train we will really be needing is Thessaloniki-Athens which along with paying for the pass we have to pay reservation fees and also extra fees depending on what seats we want. The trains also now dont run to the port we need to catch the ferry and it all seems a bit pointless. So now im at square one and a bit panicky.
I seem to be coming across everyone just taking buses which are cheap and much more flexible?
Does anyone have any suggestions for this trip? Anyone know if rail or bus is better? & just helpful advice would be nice!
Thankyou for reading and sorry for rambling! Abigail. x
2
Busses are a much better choise than trains in Greece - there are not many trains running at the moment.You'll get an idea about the busses/routes here: http://livingingreece.gr/2008/06/13/ktel-buses-of-greece/
Every "county" in Greece have their own KTEL company, there is no website that covers the whole of Greece. The busses are usually reliable and cheap, but run for the Greeks' need, not the tourists', so plan accordingly.
In Athens, use the Metro when you can,quick, clean and cheap.
You write nothing about your interests, so it's impossible to give any suggestions about what to see/do or where to go for that matter.
3
If you want to visit some Aegean Islands: there are 3 weekly boats from Thessaloniki to Lemnos - Lesbos - Chios. Three others go from Kavala to the same Islands and up to Piraeus (port of Athens).4
The way I see it, you have 14 days (excluding arrival to Thessaloniki and departure from Rome days) and you want to cover "mainland Greece (obviously haha), an island or two and go across to Italy to Rome"At first I thought your main focus was northern Greece mostly, but then you mentioned Athens and a "port to cross over to Italy" . So now I am not very sure on what route you have on mind...
To me what would make more sense assuming you are interested both on some relaxing time and on main historic and cultural sites, would be to explore Thessaloniki its self, maybe visit Pella and Vergina, spend some relaxing beach days on Halkidiki, then head to Corfu for some island time and take ferry to Italy from there. But I see you are interested in Athens too, and furthermore I am not sure if you plan to spend some time on Italy and Rome or not. 14 days are not such a great amount of time to cover many areas, as getting from A to B is time consuming
5
I suppose Abigail wants to fly home from Rome because flights from there to her home are more convenient than those from Athens. It's clear that in only 2 weeks, it wouldn't be possible to visit Rome too.Therefore i think it would be a good idea to check the low cost flights from Athens, Preveza and Corfu to Rome.
http://www.blu-express.com/it/index.html?utm_expid=33522230-0
http://www.easyjet.com/
6
In Greece public transportation means buses :). You cannot use your UK student card to get a discount, they only accept GR-studentcards. The bus connections are quite ok.If I where you I would stay two days in Thessaloniki, from there I would go to Samothraki (it is a small but extremely beautiful island) or Thasos. Then down to Volos and Pilio (for a tsipouro with meze). From Volos you can take the ferry to Skiathos or Skopelos. Then for a day or to Athens, just to check it out and by bus to Patras to get the ferry to Italy.
7
If you have only 2 weeks, forget Thassos and windy Samothraki. It's too far away from your Thessaloniki - Athens itinerary8
I took the train from Athens to Thessaloniki, I just went to Larissa station in Athens and bought a ticket. I don't think its vital to book it in advance. Also they accept UK student discount cards and also offer discount if under 25.
