UK citizens do not need visas for travel via any of the routes shown here.
Page last
updated:
1 September 2010. Train times valid from 13 June to 11 December 2010.
London to Greece without flying?
Above: The Acropolis, Athens. You really
can get there in comfort without having to fly!
No problem! You can travel from the UK to
mainland Greece in just 48 hours with great scenery on the
way, by Eurostar, overnight sleeper train to Italy then
overnight cruise ferry to Greece with comfortable cabin,
restaurants & bars on board. Sailing across blue
seas under even bluer skies past the islands of Ithaca and
Kefalonia is perhaps the nicest way of all to reach Greece. A far
more rewarding experience than 3 hours strapped to a seat on
a plane, and it's practical & affordable, too.
Alternatively, you can travel
overland by train all the way, a 3-day adventure by
sleeping-car via
Paris, Munich, Budapest & Bucharest.
On this page...
You'll find a step-by-step guide to planning, booking &
making a train journey from London or Paris to Greece,
one-way or return, eastbound or westbound, with schedules, fares, what the journey
is like, and how to buy your tickets.
London to Greece: A guide to the different options, with route map
London to Athens by train
& ferry via Paris & Italy (quickest, cheapest)
London to Athens by
train all the way via Paris, Munich, Vienna, Budapest
You can reach Greece from London
either by train to Italy then a cruise ferry to Greece, or by
train all the way to Athens across eastern Europe via
Munich, Vienna & Budapest.
Here are the best options:
This is the quickest, cheapest and most comfortable way from London to Greece
without flying. It's shown in red on the route map
below. It's a wonderful trip and a great
alternative to a flight, taking just 48 hours from St Pancras
station to stepping ashore in Greece. Take Eurostar from London to Paris,
the overnight sleeper from Paris to Bologna, then an
air-conditioned train to Bari in southern Italy.
Modern cruise ferries sail
overnight from Bari to Patras in Greece, for the train to
Athens. Why not stop off to see a little of Italy on
the way? Times,
fares & information for this route are
shown below.
The
overland route from London to Greece takes you via Paris,
Munich, Vienna, Budapest & Bucharest to Thessaloniki, Larissa &
Athens. This route is shown
in dark blue on the route map below. Alternatively, you can travel via
Brussels & Cologne, and/or via Belgrade - these alternative
routes are shown in light blue on the map below.
The complete journey from London to
Athens takes 3 nights, with safe & comfortable sleeping-cars
available for each of the overnight sections. It's an exciting
journey with some wonderful scenery on the way, via
Transylvania and the mountains of Greece. Feel
free to stop off if you like, too. Train
times, fares & information for this option are
shown
below.
This is a simpler but
slightly longer version of option 1. You
take Eurostar to Paris, catch the overnight sleeper to Venice,
then take a 2-night cruise ferry from Venice
to Patras in Greece for the train to Athens. This lets
you see Venice on the way, and it's a simpler journey to
book.
Ferries from Venice to Greece sail either daily or several
times each week, depending on the season. Train times, fares
&
information for this route are
shown below.
Don't fly to Greece, cruise there!
Take the train to Italy, then sail by cruise ferry from
Italy to Greece across the sunny Adriatic, perhaps the
nicest part of the trip.
This is the
most wonderful way to
reach Greece, just 48 hours from London,
with sleeping-cars & restaurant car on the Paris-Bologna
overnight train, a journey along the Italian coast on an
air-conditioned Bologna-Bari Eurostar City train, and best of all, an
overnight cruise on a
comfortable modern
ferry across the sunny Adriatic from Italy to Greece, with the
islands of Cephalonia and Ithaca passing slowly to
starboard...
Train times London ► Greece
Day 1:
Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar,
leaving
London St Pancras
at 14:04 and arriving
Paris Gare du Nord at 17:26. By all means take an
earlier Eurostar if you'd like to spend some time in Paris.
Cross Paris by métro
to the Gare
de Bercy.
Day 1:
Travel from Paris to Bologna overnight on the Artesia
sleeper train
'Palatino', leaving Paris Gare de Bercy at 18:52 and
arriving in Bologna at 05:58 the next morning (day 2).
The Palatino has 1, 2 & 3-berth sleeping-cars, 4-berth
& 6-berth
couchettes (no seats). There is a restaurant car for dinner and breakfast
(the 3-course dinner menu costs 28 euros, a half bottle
of wine 8 euros),
or feel free to bring your own picnic and wine.
Click here for an illustrated guide to the
Artesia sleeper trains from Paris to Italy.
Day 2:
Travel
from Bologna to Bari by fast, air-conditioned Eurostar
City train leaving Bologna at 09:50 and arriving Bari
at 15:35. There is a refreshment trolley, or feel
free to bring your own food & wine. The
train follows the Adriatic coast for much of the way,
past small towns and seaside resorts.
In Bari, you can
walk (25 minutes) or take a taxi to the ferry terminal, which is next
to Bari's attractive old town.
Day
2: Sail from Bari to Patras in Greece on the Superfast
Ferries / Blue Star Ferries ferry leaving Bari daily
except Sundays at 20:00 and arriving Patras
at 12:30 the next day (day 3) (On Sundays the ship
sails at 12:00, too early to make connections from
Bologna or anywhere else). You can book a
'deck place' (a good and cheap option in summer if you have your own sleeping bag) or
a reclining seat or a berth in various types of cabin,
including luxury cabins with private shower & toilet. The ship is modern and comfortable,
with good restaurants, bars and sun decks. You can check sailing times
&
dates at either the Seat61 Ferry
Shop or
www.superfast.com.
Strolling the decks in the morning sun as the ship
cruises
past the islands of Cephalonia and Ithaca is the nicest
part of the trip, and it's a wonderful way to arrive in
Greece. In Patras, the ferry arrives in the town
centre just five
minutes walk from the railway station, which is just
outside the ferry dock and along the harbour-front road to the right.
Day 3: Travel from Patras to Athens.
You used to make this journey by narrow gauge train, a
wonderfully scenic although not very fast ride.
The Greek railways are currently building a brand-new
faster standard-gauge line from Athens to Patras, but
it's not yet complete. Until July 2010 you could
still take the little narrow gauge train from Patras as
far as Kiato (near Corinthos) and change onto the new
standard gauge line the rest of the way to Athens.
However, I understand that the narrow gauge line has now
(from 4 July 2010) been closed completely for rebuilding, so
until the new fast line opens the best option is
probably to use the ferry company's own connecting bus
from Patras direct to Athens. You can buy
tickets for this bus on board the ferry, in fact that's
the best place to buy it. The bus leaves soon
after the ferry arrives in Patras and takes 3½-4
hours so should get you to
Athens by 17:00. It arrives at the Superfast
ferries office in Athens at 30, Amalias, GR-105 58.
Alternatively, Greek Railways are currently operating a
regular railway-replacement bus service from Patras to
Kiato, connecting with their standard gauge trains
onwards to Athens & Piraeus, fares 15 euros,
see here
for information. I'll update this as soon as I
know that the new line from Patras to Athens has opened
for business.
Train times Greece ► London
Day
1: Travel from Athens to Patras.
You used to make this journey by narrow gauge train, a
wonderfully scenic although not very fast ride.
The Greek railways are building a faster standard-gauge
line from Athens to Patras, and until summer 2010 you
could take the new train from Athens as far as Kiato
(near Corinthos) and change onto the little narrow gauge
train the rest of the way to Patras. However, the narrow gauge line
to Patras closed completely for rebuilding in July 2010, so until
the new fast line opens you can either take Superfast
Ferries' own connecting transfer bus from Athens
to Patras, or take a train from Athens to Kiato then the
Greek railways rail-replacement bus from Kiato to Patras. The
Superfast Ferries transfer bus leaves Athens at 08:45
from the Superfast ferries office in Athens at 30, Amalias, GR-105 58, journey
time 3½-4 hours.
This bus is timed for the earlier Ancona ferry, so
you'll have quite a long wait until the Bari ferry
departs. Alternatively, you can take the
10:06 train from Athens main railway station to Kiato
(arriving 11:27), from where Greek Railways operate a
regular railway-replacement bus service from Kiato to
Patras departing Kiato at 12:37 and arriving Patras at
14:44. The fare is 5 euros for the train plus 10
euros for the bus,
see here
for more information.
Remember to allow for a 2-hour ferry check-in. I'll update this as soon as I
know that the new line from Patras to Athens has opened
for business.
Day
1: Sail from Patras to Bari with Superfast
Ferries leaving from Patras daily at 18:00 and arriving in
Bari the next day (day 2) at 08:30. Walk (25
minutes) or take a taxi to the station. You can
check sailing times and fares at either the
Seat61 Ferry Shop or
www.superfast.com.
Day
2: Travel from Bari to Bologna by
air-conditioned Eurostar City train leaving Bari at 13:29 and
arriving in Bologna at
19:14. There is a refreshment trolley, or feel
free to bring your own food and wine.
Day
3: Travel from Paris to London by
Eurostar leaving Paris Nord at
11:13 and arriving at London St Pancras at 12:29.
From London to Paris by Eurostar
- see the Eurostar page
for photos & information...
From Paris to Bologna by sleeper
train -
see the Italy page for more photos & full details...
The
Paris-Bologna sleeper train, with sleeping-cars,
couchettes & restaurant car...
2-berth sleeper, for
privacy & comfort...
The same sleeper, in
evening 'sofa' mode.
4 or 6 berth couchette
compartment...
From
Bologna to Bari by Eurostar City train...
The Eurostar City train is fully air-conditioned with 1st &
2nd class. It also has a refreshment trolley, but feel
free to take your own refreshments and maybe bottle of wine
along.
From Bologna to Bari,
you travel in a Eurostar
City train, running
along the seaside for much of the way...
This is
1st class, less crowded and more spacious.
...and
this is 2nd class. 1st class doesn't cost much
more.
From Bari to Patras by
cruise ferry...
Several ferry
companies sail from Bari or Brindisi in Italy to Patras in
Greece. Probably the best one is the joint Superfast /
Blue Star Ferries service as this uses modern ships, sails
daily, and can easily be booked online. If you book a
'deck place' you can use your own sleeping bag and set up
camp in a covered area on deck near the stern. For a
few more pounds you can book a reclining seat. Or you
can book a berth in various types of cabin, including luxury
cabins. Most cabins have private shower and toilet.
The ferry crossing is the best part of the journey, over
deep blue waters and past many islands.
The best ferry service
from Bari to Patras is jointly run by Blue Star Ferries
and Superfast Ferries. This is the Blue Star 1 at
Patras.
On deck
next morning!
At sea, passing Cephalonia
and Ithaca
A 2- or 4-berth cabin,
with private toilet and shower.
Special fare = Book at
least 14 days in advance for couchettes, 30 days for sleepers.
Limited places available at these prices, no refunds, no changes.
Normal fare = Refundable and flexible.
There are no senior or youth reductions.
Child fare = Child 4-11 years with own berth.
Return fare twice the one-way fare. Use an adult
special fare if it's cheaper! Children under 4 free, if
they share a bed with an adult.
Railpass fare: What you pay if you have
railpasses (Eurail, Interrail, etc) covering both
Italy & France. If your pass only covers one country,
there's a higher supplement.
Prices from
www.raileurope.co.uk..
Bookings open 90 days before departure.
On certain summer & other peak dates, 10-20% higher
fares may be charged.
With berth in
cabin: From 110 euros (£96) one-way,
187 euros (£163) return
5. Patras to
Athens:
The
connecting bus fare costs 20 euros per person. Buy
on board the ferry or at Superfast ferries office
in Athens.
How to buy
tickets online...
You can book the journey from London to Greece online,
which is the easiest and cheapest way to do it.
Just follow the step-by-step instructions below. It involves 3 websites, so
do a dummy run on all three sites to check
prices and availability before booking for real.
It's really not rocket science, but make sure you get your
departure dates right for each leg of the journey
outward and back. It can help to jot down the
date and departure time for each separate train and ship
booking before you start (the
how to plan an itinerary & budget page may help).
Step 1: Buy the Paris-Bologna sleeper train ticket at
either
www.raileurope.co.uk
or
www.voyages-sncf.com. Which should you use?
Well,
www.raileurope.co.uk
is in English, for UK residents with tickets sent to any UK
address and backed by a UK call centre, 0844 848 5 848.
It's now easier to use and more reliable than
voyages-sncf.com.
www.voyages-sncf.com is for anyone from any country, it comes in several
languages, the English button is at the bottom, tickets
can be sent to
any address in Europe including the UK, it has same fares as Rail
Europe but in euros. Voyages-sncf.com is quirky,
so see this advice before using it.
Train reservations open 90 days before departure, you
can't book before reservations open.
Step 2: Still on
www.raileurope.co.uk or
www.voyages-sncf.com, click 'continue shopping' and book the
Eurostar from London to Paris and back. Use the
Eurostar times on this page as a guide, but feel free to
choose an earlier Eurostar from London, or a later
Eurostar returning from Paris, if these have cheaper
seats available or if you'd like to stop off in Paris.
Don't forget that on your return journey, your departure
date from Paris to London will be the day after your
departure date from Bologna to Paris..! For a
one-way trip, remember that on Eurostar it is usually
cheaper to book a return ticket and throw away the
return half.
Step 3, book the Bologna to Bari train. The
easiest way is to stay with
www.raileurope.co.uk,
click 'continue shopping' and book it there. However,
you can save a pound or two by booking direct with Italian
Railways at
www.trenitalia.com, if you can get it to accept your
UK-issued credit card (some it accepts, some it doesn't!). You pay by credit card and
simply quote your reservation reference to the conductor on
the train. Before using
www.trenitalia.com, see
the advice on using
it. The Trenitalia website
has been known to struggle with some UK-issued credit cards,
so if you have any difficulties, use
www.raileurope.co.uk.
Finally, step 4: Buy the Bari-Patras ferry
ticket online either at the
Seat61 Ferry Shop or at
www.superfast.com, selecting the type of
accommodation you want - either a deck place, a
reclining seat, or various types of cabin berth.
Both the Seat61 Ferry Shop
and
www.superfast.com offer ticketless booking, which makes it easy.
You simply book online and quote your
booking reference at the ferry check-in at the port. Reservations open
up to 12
months before departure.
You can buy the Patras-Athens train ticket at Patras station when you get there.
This is the easiest option, as it's difficult to buy
these tickets from outside
Greece. Getting a ticket on the day of travel at
the station shouldn't be a problem.
All
the trains between London and Bari can be booked through
any UK European rail agency, such as
www.raileurope.co.uk
on 0844 848 5 848 (lines open 09:00-21:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-18:00 Saturday) or
www.simplyrail.com (call 08700 84 14 14) or Ffestiniog
Travel on 01766 51240.
Click
here for a list
of agencies.
The
train from Patras to Athens is best booked at the
station in
Patras.
Traveller's
report...
Traveller
Nick Stone returned to London from Athens this way:
"We took the 12:06 train from Athens to Patras via Korinthos
and changed there for the Blue Star ferry to Bari. The
ferry ride was relaxing and we enjoyed beers and a lovely
à la carte meal for
34 euros including drinks. We were both impressed with
quality of the meal and service. We arrived 2 hours
late in Bari, but made the 11:03 train to Bologna with 5
minutes to spare, and celebrated by having the set 26 euros
menu lunch on the train and a bottle of wine. Spent a
5 hours in Bologna which a great place for a short break
before taking the sleeper overnight to Paris and the
Eurostar home. It was great trip and we thoroughly
enjoyed it."
Using a
railpass...
Using a
railpass for this journey will cost you more than buying the cheapest
point-to-point tickets as explained above. It also means you
can't go online and book everything yourself, quickly
and simply, but will need to buy a pass and make reservations
through an agency, who will almost certainly charge you
booking fees. However, an InterRail pass
(assuming you are a European resident) would give you
more flexibility and allow you to make side trips on the way
to explore the countries you pass through.
On top of the pass cost, add at least £69 return for the Eurostar,
then there is a pass price for the Paris-Bologna train, £19
one-way in 6-bunk couchette, £33 one-way in 4-berth
couchette. You can see that compared with the special
advance-purchase fares of 35 euros (£26) in 6-bunk or 60
euros (£44) one-way in 4-bunk, the pass doesn't save you
much money..!
InterRail global
passes give free
travel on Superfast Ferries (Ancona or Bari to Corfu and Patras), Blue Ferries (Ancona & Bari to
Corfu & Igoumenitsa) and Minoan Lines (Venice or Ancona
to Corfu & Patras). The InterRail gets you a 'deck place', and you will need to pay port taxes
(about 6 Euros for departures from Bari), plus a
supplement if you want a reclining seat or cabin berth. Depending
on the shipping operator, a reclining seat will
cost £6-£12 each way, a berth in a 4-berth
cabin about £19-25 each way. You rail
agency MAY be able to help you book a place on the ship in
advance, but otherwise either book it when you arrive in
Bari or Brindisi, or try contacting the ferry operator - for
example via
www.superfast.com. The ships rarely sail
completely full, and getting a
place on your chosen sailing is not normally too much of a
problem, even in the summer.
Alternative journeys via Brindisi or Ancona...
Superfast
Ferries from Bari is recommended rather than ferries Brindisi
for several reasons. Superfast Ferries and their
partners Blue Star Ferries use modern ships and sail
daily to a convenient schedule with good connections
possible from Paris, London, and most Italian cities.
Superfast Ferries sail from a terminal next to Bari's pleasant old town,
and you can walk there from the station.
In Brindisi, most ships now use a new terminal a couple of miles out of
town, reached by taxi or courtesy minibus from the shipping
company offices in town. Since 2004, there are few scheduled sailings from Brindisi, most go from
Bari.
If
you prefer travelling via Brindisi, the 09:50 train from
Bologna continues to Brindisi, where it arrives at
16:37. Most ships serving Brindisi now use a
modern terminal a couple of miles out of town, reached
by taxi or courtesy minibus from the shipping company
offices in town.
Endeavor Lines (www.endeavor-lines.com)
sail regularly from Brindisi to Patras, though dates &
times vary.
Superfast
Ferries have an (almost) daily ship from Ancona to
Patras, which is also free for InterRail passholders,
see www.superfast.com
for sailing dates & times. Train times from
London to Ancona are shown on the London
to Italy page.
Narrow gauge
trains used to run between Patras & Athens Peloponnese
station, a very scenic though not very fast ride. The
first stage of a new fast standard-gauge line has opened
between Kiato (near Corinthos) and Athens main station, and
until July 2010 you could still travel by narrow-gauge train
from Patras to Kiato, changing onto a standard gauge train
for the remainder of the journey to Athens. Now the
narrow gauge line has closed completely for rebuilding to
standard gauge. Greek railways are providing uses
between Patras & Kiato. One option is to use the ferry
company's own bus transfer between Patras & Athens.
The other option is to use the Greek railways bus/train
connecting service from Patras to Kiato to Athens.
To find
Patras-Athens or Athens-Patras train+bus times, go to
www.trainose.com & click 'Suburban and National Network
Services' at the bottom. This brings up a journey
planner. Typing 'Ath...' allows you to select 'Athina'.
Typing 'Pat...' allows you to select 'Patra'. In the
results, the Kiato-Patras 'trains' are now in fact buses.
Traveller
Guy Aston reports: "The Patras-Kiato narrow gauge
railway is now very much closed, the tracks having been
ripped up over lengthy sections, but OSE are running
replacement buses between Patras & Kiato as shown in the OSE
timetable (where they appear as trains!). In August
they were also running some non-stop buses which weren't in
the official timetable. The Patras-Kiato buses take about 2
hours, and connect with the hourly Kiato-Piraeus standard
gauge train service, which takes another 90 minutes to
Athens. A Patras-Kiato ticket costs €10 including a seat
reservation on the bus, Kiato-Athens/Piraeus costs €5
(second class only). The Patras booking office sold me the
two tickets stapled together for €15, so I didn't have to
risk missing the connection in Kiato with queuing at the
ticket office there. Coming back, however, the Piraeus
booking office could only do a ticket to Kiato. This
bus-train combination seems ideal if you're heading for
Piraeus and the islands, since it takes you directly to the
port in Piraeus without having to change in Athens. The
trains are reasonably comfortable air-conditioned diesel
multiple units. One thing you might also want to
mention is the possibility of breaking the Patras-Kiato
timetabled bus journey halfway at Diakopto, and taking a
trip on the spectacular narrow-gauge rack railway up the
gorge to Kalyvryta (4 trains a day: 70 minutes for 15
miles!).
Above: The
Parthenon, Athens. You appreciate world-class
sights like this even more when you've made the effort
to travel there overland...
This
is an overland adventure through the Balkans, via Paris,
Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Transylvania and Bucharest... Once
past Budapest, don't expect western standards such as
air-conditioning on the trains, and bring you own supplies
of food, water, wine or beer. But if you book a
sleeper you'll have a safe and comfortable journey,
rediscovering some of the mystery, intrigue and romance of
long-distance sleeping-car travel across Europe.
You'll also see some great Balkan scenery with your feet up and a
beer or glass of red in your hand.
Prefer to travel via Brussels & Cologne? The
journey shown below takes you via Paris, but you can travel
via Brussels & Cologne if you prefer. Simply
substitute the London-Brussels-Cologne-Vienna-Budapest train
times shown on the London to
Hungary page for the London-Paris-Budapest train times
shown below. East of Budapest, the trains are the same.
Journey time via Brussels & Cologne is similar to the one
via Paris shown here, you still leave London on day 1,
arriving Athens on day 4.
Prefer to travel via Belgrade? The recommended
journey shown below takes you via Bucharest in Romania,
but you can also travel on the more traditional route via
Belgrade in Serbia. Security problems there are now resolved,
but the journey via
Belgrade is not as comfortable or convenient as that via
Bucharest. See
the London to Serbia page for train
travel options between London & Belgrade, but do not rely on
connections in Belgrade less than several hours, as trains
often run an hour or two late (sometimes more) in this part
of the world. The Hellas Express
leaves Belgrade daily at 22:00 arriving Thessaloniki next
day at 12:31. It has seats (not recommended), 6-berth
couchettes & a
sleeping-car with 1 2 & 3 berth compartments. An
InterCity train from Thessaloniki at 14:54 arrives Athens at
19:49. Westbound, the Hellas Express leaves
Thessaloniki at 17:05 arriving Belgrade at 05:44 next
morning, sleeping-car & couchettes available.
Train times
London ► Greece
Day 1: Travel from
London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving
London St Pancras at 16:02 (15:32 at weekends), arriving Paris Gare du Nord at
19:17 (18:47 at weekends).
By all means take an earlier Eurostar from London if you'd
like to spend some time in Paris, or it has cheaper seats
available. In Paris, it's a
10 minute walk
from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est.
Day 1:
Travel from Paris to Munich overnight by the excellent
City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia', leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 20:20 and arriving in Munich at
07:16 next morning. This train runs daily for most
of the year, but only 4 times a week in winter. It
runs on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until 18 March 2010, then daily for the summer until
8 November 2010, then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays &
Sundays again until March 2011.
It has sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments, either
standard with washbasin or deluxe with private toilet &
shower), 4 & 6-berth couchettes & ordinary seats.
Pictures
& information about this City Night Line sleeper train.
If you need to travel on a day when this train isn't
running, simply use the alternative daily services from
London to Budapest via
Paris, Munich & Vienna or
via Brussels, Cologne &
Vienna as shown on the Hungary
page.
Day 2: Travel
from Munich to Budapest by
air-conditioned 140mph Austrian RailJet
train, leaving Munich at 09:27 and arriving in Budapest
Keleti station at 16:49. A bar-bistro car is available, so treat yourself to lunch.
If you want to stop off in
Salzburg or Vienna for a day or two, no problem, this train
calls at both Salzburg (arrive 10:54, depart 11:00) and Vienna Westbahnhof
(arrive 13:40, depart 13:50). There are of course plenty
of other trains between Munich, Salzburg, Vienna & Budapest if
you're stopping off in
those cities which may suit your plans better. You
can check train times using
http://bahn.hafas.de.
Look out for the crossing
of the Danube and great views of Salzburg citadel &
castle on the right as you approach Salzburg. The
train crosses the Danube again as it approaches Budapest.
More pictures &
information about this RailJet train.
Map of Budapest showing Keleti station.
Day 2: Travel from Budapest to
Bucharest overnight on the EuroNight sleeper train
'Ister', leaving Budapest Keleti station at 19:13 and arriving at
Bucharest Nord station at 10:34 next morning.
'Ister' is the ancient name for the River Danube. The Ister has
a modernised air-conditioned Romanian
sleeping-car with safe,
comfortable & carpeted 1, 2 & 3-bed rooms with
washbasin, 6-berth couchettes
(basic bunks) and ordinary seats. Travel in
ordinary seats is not recommended, a couchette is OK,
but a bed in the sleeper is the recommended option.
Sleepers can be converted to private sitting rooms for
evening/morning use, and there's even a shower at the
end of the corridor (which may or may not work).
There's usually no restaurant car on the 'Ister'
(the timetable says there should be, but it often
doesn't appear in practice!), so take your own
supplies of food, water and wine or beer. The train crosses
Transylvania by night, and soon after Brasov (reached
at 07:02 next morning) it descends the pass through
the Carpathian mountains, a wonderful and almost Alpine section of route.
Day 3: Travel from Bucharest to
Thessaloniki on the
'Romania', leaving Bucharest Nord daily at 12:24 and
arriving at Thessaloniki
05:40
next morning (day 4 from London). The
sleeping-car
has comfortable and safe 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments with
washbasin, see the photos below. The train crosses
the wide River Danube on a long steel bridge from
Romania into Bulgaria (2.5 km long, in fact, making it
the longest steel bridge in Europe), then it meanders
through pleasant green river valleys, a very enjoyable
journey. It stops in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia,
in the late evening. There's no restaurant car on
the 'Romania', so take your own supplies of food, water
and wine or beer.
Day 4,
travel from Thessaloniki to Athens by Greek InterCity
train. A comfortable, air-conditioned InterCity train
with buffet car leaves Thessaloniki at 07:13 arriving
Larissa at 08:34 and Athens at 11:40. Seat
reservation is obligatory on Greek InterCity trains, but
these cannot be made from outside Greece, so you will
need to make a reservation at the station when you get
there. If the 07:24 InterCity is full (which it
sometimes is), don't worry, there's another InterCity
train leaving Thessaloniki at 10:13 arriving Larissa at
11:36 and Athens at 15:21, and other later services if
you'd like to stop off for a few hours in Thessaloniki.
Soon after leaving Thessaloniki the trains pass right by
towering Mount Olympus, the mythical home of the Greek
gods, and once south of Larissa they snake through some
spectacular mountain scenery, crossing viaducts whose
predecessors were famously blown up by the British
Special Operations Executive in WW2, before descending a
dramatic escarpment to the plains below. A highly
recommended journey! You can check train times for
this section at
www.trainose.com.
Train times Greece ► London
Day 1, travel from Athens to
Thessaloniki by InterCity train, leaving Athens (Larissa
station) at 14:53 or Larissa at 19:31 and arriving in
Thessaloniki at 20:51. Greek InterCity trains are
comfortable and air-conditioned with buffet car.
It's a very scenic journey, as the train climbs a
dramatic escarpment and snakes through mountain scenery
south of Larissa, over the viaducts whose predecessors
were famously blown up by the British Special Operations
Executive in WW2. South of Thessaloniki it passes
Mt Olympus, home of the Greek gods. You can check
train times for this section at
www.trainose.com.
Day 1 evening (or rather, day
2 as it leaves after midnight), travel from
Thessaloniki to Bucharest by direct
sleeping-car, leaving
Thessaloniki at 00:28 daily and arriving in Bucharest at
18:30 in the early evening (day 2). The
sleeping-car has comfortable and safe 1, 2 & 3
bed compartments with washbasin. This train is the
'Romania', there's no
restaurant car so take your own supplies
of food, water and wine or beer. Enjoy the slow
meander through Bulgaria's green valleys and the
crossing of the Danube into Romania over Europe's
longest steel bridge.
Day 2: If you want to travel onwards straight
away, without a stopover in Bucharest, you
will not make the connection with the 19:10
EuroNight 'Ister' to Budapest, so don't book this train.
Instead, travel from Bucharest to Budapest by direct
sleeping-car, leaving Bucharest at 21:05 (Day 2) and
arriving Budapest Keleti at 10:47 next morning (Day 3).
This 'train' is n fact one through Bulgarian
sleeping-car en route from Sofia to Budapest (it was
actually attached to your Thessaloniki-Bucharest train
between Ruse and Bucharest, so you can walk down the
train to talk to the sleeper attendant before arriving
in Bucharest). You probably won't
be able to pre-book this sleeping-car from the UK or
anywhere outside Bulgaria, if so just ask your booking
agency for a basic travel ticket between Bucharest and
Budapest routed via Craiova & Timisoara, then approach
the sleeper attendant with some euros in cash and ask if
there are any berths free. There almost always
are.
Day 3: Travel from Budapest to Munich by
air-conditioned 140mph RailJet train, leaving Budapest at
13:10
and arriving in Munich Hauptbahnhof at 20:34. A
bar-bistro car is
available, so treat yourself to lunch! The train
travels via Vienna (arrive 16:08, depart 16:20) &
Salzburg (arrive 18:58, depart 19:03) if you're
stopping
off there. Look out for great views of Salzburg
citadel & castle on the left as you cross the Danube
soon after leaving Salzburg.
More pictures &
information about this RailJet train.
Day 3: Travel from Munich to Paris by
the excellent
City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia', leaving
Munich Hauptbahnhof at 22:43 and arriving at Paris Gare
de l'Est 09:23 next morning. This train runs daily
for most of the year, but only 4 times a week in winter.
It runs on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until
17 March 2010, then daily until 7 November 2010, then on
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again until
March 2011. The trains has ordinary seats, couchettes (6-berth
& 4-berth) and
sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-bed rooms, deluxe with toilet & shower or standard
with washbasin).
More
pictures and information about this City Night Line
train.
Walk from the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.
If you want to travel on a day when this train isn't
running, simply use one of the alternative daily
services from Budapest to London shown on the
Hungary page.
Day 4: Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris
Gare du Nord at
11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:29.
The Paris-Munich overnight train is one of the German Railway's excellent
City Night Line sleeper trains. Called the
'Cassiopeia', it has modern 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars
(1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with private shower and
toilet, 1, 2 &
3-berth standard rooms with washbasin. There is a shower at
the end of the corridor for passengers in standard rooms,
and all rooms have power-points for laptop computers),
modern air-conditioned couchettes
(choose between a berth in a 4- or 6-berth compartment),
and ordinary seats (not recommended).
Inclusive fares are charged covering travel plus
sleeping accommodation. The sleeping-car fare includes
a light breakfast.
More
pictures & information about this City Night Line train.
Travel tip: For a good meal in a classic
Parisian brasserie before boarding the sleeper train in
Paris, catch the earlier 14:04 Eurostar & dine at the
Brasserie Terminus Nord directly across the road
from the Gare du Nord. For a cooked breakfast in
Munich (or evening meal before boarding the Paris-bound
sleeper on your return) try the
Mongdratzerl restaurant, located in the hauptbahnhof
itself.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, with proper
beds & washbasin.
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes:
A very economical option, far better than a seat for
just a few euros more...
"Night train to Munich": The
'Comfortline' sleeping-car of the Paris to Munich
sleeper train boarding at Paris Gare de l'Est...
RailJet is
Austria's brand-new high-speed train, linking Munich, Vienna
& Budapest. It will soon also link Zurich, Innsbruck &
Vienna. Designed to run at up to 230km/h (143 mph) on
sections of upgraded track, it reaches 200km/h on part of
the route, but in other parts snakes around beautiful
scenery at a more sedate pace. Look out for great
views of Salzburg citadel & castle on the right as you cross
the river Salzach approaching Salzburg. RailJet has
three classes, Economy (2nd class), First (1st class), and
Premium (25 euros supplement over normal first class).
It has a bistro car providing drinks, snacks and hot dishes,
which are served on proper china at your seat in first and
premium classes. TV screens in each car tell you the
train's speed & location, with a list of next station stops
and times. A great way to travel.
More pictures &
information about this RailJet train.
"The RailJet has landed..."
The morning RailJet train from Munich has arrived spot
on time at Budapest's historic Keleti station...
Premium class costs
25 euros more than normal 1st class...
Economy class on
RailJet, comfortable open saloons with large picture
windows. Some seats are arranged around tables,
some are unidirectional.
Then by sleeping-car from Budapest to
Bucharest & from Bucharest to Greece...
Travelling in
the comfort & security of a sleeper is the recommended
option. The sleeping-cars on the
Budapest-Bucharest and Bucharest-Thessaloniki trains are
operated by CFR (Romanian Railways) and
bought second-hand from German Railways. Each
compartment can be used for 1, 2 or 3-person occupancy,
and each room converts from a bedroom with washbasin at
night to a private sitting room with sofa and coffee
table by day (though you might have to fold away the
bunks yourself, and the seats may be a bit dusty!). There's even a shower at the end of
the corridor which may or may not be working, although temperature and water pressure
could be better. Compartments are single-sex,
unless all berths in the compartment are occupied by
people travelling together. All rooms have both a
normal lock on the door, and a security lock which
cannot be opened from outside (even with a staff key),
so you'll be both safe and snug!
More information about travelling in sleepers.
Both trains also have 6-berth couchettes, but these are
far more basic and not a lot cheaper, so a proper
sleeper is always recommended.
Above: The
EuroNight sleeper train 'Ister' about to leave
Budapest. In the foreground is one of the
train's two sleeping-cars ('Vagon de dormit'),
coupled behind it is the couchette car.
A sleeper, set up
here as a 1-berth, the same room can be used as
2 or 3-berth.
The same sleeper, in
evening mode with beds folded away, sofa folded out.
... and by
Greek InterCity train from
Thessaloniki to Athens ...
Above: The
White Tower, one of Thessaloniki's best-known landmarks.
Above:
The journey from Thessaloniki to Athens by modern
air-conditioned Greek InterCity train. These
trains link Thessaloniki
(Salonika) to Athens in as little as 4½ hours,
with superb scenery through the mountains between
Larissa & Athens. But hurry, as in a few years
time a new 125mph section of line will by-pass these
scenic mountain sections, cutting the Athens-Salonika
journey time to little over 3 hours...
This is the famous
Gorgopotamos viaduct in
the mountains between Larissa & Athens, one of those
blown up by the British S.O.E. during world war 2.
After a great journey, the
Greek InterCity train arrives in Athens...
Journey's
end: The main (Larissa) station in Athens, over
2,000 miles from London St Pancras...
Of course!
Each train is ticketed separately, so feel free to book each
leg of the journey on whatever dates you like, spending time
in Paris, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest or Romania on the way. It
makes little or no difference to the cost. If you plan to stop
off, you can arrange all your reservations in advance from the
UK, or you can buy tickets as you go, it's up to you.
How much does
it cost?
Here are prices
using point-to-point tickets. Each train is ticketed
separately, so get a calculator and add up the fare for each stage
of the journey:
Savings fare =
cheap fare, price varies, limited availability,
no refunds or changes to travel plans.
Normal fare =
fully flexible, refundable, buy any time.
3. Munich to Budapest
by RailJet
Economy class special fares from 39 euros (£33) one-way
or 78 euros (£66) return
Economy class full price 105 euros (£91) one-way, 210
euros (£182) return.
First class special fares from 69 euros (£60) one-way or
138 euros (£120) return
If you want to stop off in Vienna, you'll need to buy
separate Munich-Vienna & Vienna-Budapest tickets.
Munich-Vienna special fares start at 29 euros (£25) each
way, and Vienna to Budapest is around £25 each way.
So in this case a stopover does cost a bit more!
4. Budapest
to Bucharest
on
the Ister:
Booked in UK:
£91 each way in 6-bunk couchettes, £96 each way in
4-bunk couchettes
£101 each way in 3-bed sleeper, £118 each way in 2-bed
sleeper (all per person)
Bought at the
station in Budapest, Budapest-Bucharest is about 60 euros
one-way, 120 euros return. For a
couchette, add 10 euros per night, or for a
more comfortable and secure sleeper, add about 25 euros
for a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, 36 euros for a bed in a
2-bed.
5. Bucharest
to Thessaloniki:
Booked in the UK:
Around
£64 each way in 3-bed sleeper, £73 each way in 2-bed
sleeper (all per person)
6.
Thessaloniki
to Athens:
Around 35 euros
(£30) each way by InterCity train.
How much does it cost using an InterRail pass?
Using an InterRail pass
is the most flexible
way to make a train journey from London or Paris to Athens. It's usually slightly cheaper than normal
tickets if you're under 26 years of age, but usually a few pounds more
expensive than normal tickets if you're over 26, depending on what
point-to-point prices you manage to get for your dates of
travel.
For a
one-way trip to Athens, a 5-days-in-10-days flexi
InterRail pass gives a total of 5 days of unlimited 2nd
class train travel in all the countries you pass through
within an overall period of 10 days, which is plenty to make
the journey, even with a day or two in Vienna, Budapest or
Bucharest if you want. It costs £149 if you are aged
under 26, £233 if you're aged 26-59, or £210 if you're over
60. Children 4-11
inclusive £117.
For a return
trip to Athens, a 10-days-in-22-days pass costs £224
if you are aged under 26, £336 if you're aged 26-59, or £302
if you're over 60.
Children 4-11 inclusive £168. This gives a total of 10
days of unlimited 2nd class train travel in all the
countries you pass through within an overall period of 22
days, which is enough to make the outward and return
journeys, even with a day or two in Vienna, Budapest or
Bucharest if you want, with over two weeks in Greece, as
long as you complete both your outward and return journeys
within the 22 day period covered by the pass. If you
plan to be away for longer than 22 days, you'll need either
a 1-month continuous InterRail, or you could buy one
5-days-in-ten-days flexi pass for the outward trip and
another 5-days-in-ten-days flexi pass to cover your return
trip, and spend however long you like in Greece. The
only limiting factor is that you can only buy InterRails a
maximum of 2 months before their start date.
Add the cost of a
Eurostar ticket: InterRail passes do not cover
Eurostar, so you need to add the cost of a Eurostar
ticket. You have two options: Buy a normal
cheap Eurostar ticket, from £69 return, £39 one-way, no refunds, no
changes to travel plans allowed, or you can buy a
special passholder fare, £57 one way or £100 return,
refunds and change of travel plans allowed.
Add the
cost of 3 nights sleeper or couchette supplement: In addition to the
cost of the pass, you will need to pay a
supplements for each of the 3 nights each way in a couchette or sleeper berth.
For a couchette, budget for around £17 per person for
the night between Paris & Munich, then £10 for each of
the next two nights onwards to Greece.
For a bed in a 3-berth sleeper, budget for £30 per
person per night for the night between Paris and Munich,
then £22 per person per night for each of the following
two nights Budapest-Bucharest and
Bucharest-Thessaloniki. For a bed in a 2-berth sleeper, allow £45 per person per
night for
the night between Paris & Munich, and about £35
per person per night for each of the two nights
Budapest-Thessaloniki. There's no supplement to pay
for the Munich-Budapest RailJet train, and a reservation
on RailJet isn't compulsory, although paying £4 for a
seat reservation is a good idea for such a long journey.
Important
note about InterRail flexi passes & overnight trains: When using an InterRail flexi pass, overnight
sleeper trains leaving after 19:00 count as the following
day, as long as the overall 10- or 22-day pass validity
period has started. For example, if you left Paris at
22:44 on 1 January on the sleeper to Munich using a
5-days-in-10-days InterRail, you should ask for the pass to start
its 10 day validity period
on 1 January, but as the sleeper train leaves Paris well
after 19:00, you would write '2nd January' in the first of
the 5 'free travel day' boxes printed on your pass.
This free travel day would cover both the Paris-Munich
sleeper and the Munich-Budapest train next day. You don't need to use up a free travel day for
the Eurostar, as Eurostar passholder fares don't require a
pass day to be used, and you will probably end up using a
normal (non-passholder) Eurostar ticket anyway as it's
usually cheaper.
Click the button (or
click here) and a booking form will appear which lists
all the
specific trains you
need to book. Fill in the form & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost,
which you can accept or decline. If you
accept, you can give them your credit card details over the
phone and they will send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
whose staff are used
to making more exotic bookings like this. They are
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £35 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. European Rail will normally
book your journey as a series of point-to-point tickets,
unless you specify that you'd prefer to use an InterRail in
the 'special requests' section. Seat61 gets some commission if you buy tickets
using this form.
Buy a special add-on ticket from almost any station in
Britain to London International (St Pancras).
How to buy
tickets, the full story...
Buy tickets
online: You can buy tickets online for the
London-Paris-Munich-Budapest part of the journey (in either
direction), and this is probably the cheapest way to book
because you can see all the cheap deals and don't have to
pay any agency booking fees. Before you start, I
recommend making a list of the specific trains and dates you
want to book, as each train is effectively a separate
booking.
See the
London to Hungary page
for step-by-step instructions on how to book London-Budapest
train tickets online.
Top tip:
If you want to stop off in Vienna for (say) a day, when
booking the Munich to Budapest train at bahn.de simply look
for the 'Via (1)' box and enter 'Vienna', then enter '24:00'
in the 'hh:m stopover' box. It'll then book you a 24
hour stopover in Vienna, but still let you buy a cheap 39
euros fare from Munich to Budapest (if it's available,
obviously). You can even spend a few hours in Salzburg
on the way as well, by entering 'Salzburg' in the via box
and (say) '04:00' in the stopover box, then clicking 'add
another stopover' and entering 'Vienna' & '24:00'. All
still for 39 euros!
You'll need to
book the Budapest-Thessaloniki sleeper by phone as it cannot
be booked online. Call either
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open
09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge) or
www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturdays, £35 booking fee).
Buy tickets
by phone or email: Alternatively, you can buy all
your London-Greece tickets together by phone. But please don't phone up a
ticketing
agency, say "I want to book a train
ticket from London to Greece" and expect them to know
which route and trains you want and to work it all out for
you. You aren't buying a ticket from London to
Athens as such tickets no longer exist, you're actually
buying 4 separate tickets for 4 separate train journeys.
So use the train times on this webpage to prepare a list
of the specific trains you want to book between specific
cities on specific dates (you may find the technique shown
on
How to plan an itinerary & budget
helpful). When you're ready to book, contact one of
these two agencies:
European Rail Ltd (www.europeanrail.com)
on 020 7619 1083, lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee, but
their staff are usually more experienced at booking journeys
like this.
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66,lines
open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday &
Sunday. They
also (obviously) use the German Railways reservation system
so charge the same prices as European
Rail but on the plus side don't charge a booking fee, just a
2% credit card fee. Tickets can be sent to UK or Irish
addresses, or (for a fee) overseas addresses. Just be
aware that their staff aren't always familiar with
complex bookings like this and may need gentle persuasion.
You will need to talk them through exactly what train
bookings you want, and be polite but persistent if necessary.
For booking a journey to Istanbul, the booking fee charged
by European Rail can be worth the extra few pounds.
Can all the necessary trains be reserved from the UK?
All the tickets & reservations you need for an eastbound
journey from London to Athens can be bought in the UK
through these agencies, except for the
Thessaloniki-Athens InterCity train. That's because
the Greek Railways reservations computer isn't linked to the
other railways' systems, so reservations for trains within
or starting in Greece cannot be made from outside Greece.
You will therefore need to make the Thessaloniki-Athens
reservation (or buy the whole ticket) at the station when
you get to Thessaloniki, though this is easy to do.
All the tickets & reservations for a westbound
journey from Athens to
London can also be made from
the UK, except for the sleeping-car from Thessaloniki
to Bucharest, which starts in Greece so also needs to be
booked when you get to Greece. Again, this is unlikely
to be any problem.
You can still buy the
basic travel ticket from Athens or Thessaloniki to Bucharest
from these agencies in the UK, it's only the sleeper
reservation you need to make when you get to Greece. You can of course buy tickets and make
reservations in the UK for the remainder of your return
journey (in other words,
Bucharest-Budapest-Vienna-Paris-London).
How
to book a UK-Greece journey using an InterRail pass...
Plan your
trip using the information on this page. Decide which
type of InterRail pass you need, by reading the
information about InterRail passes above and on the
InterRail page.
Decide which
route you want to use, and make a list
of which train reservations you want on which specific
dates.
This may
help you plan your trip:
How to plan an itinerary & budget.
Then buy your
InterRail pass online from
www.raileurope.co.uk (UK residents only).
Now buy your
Eurostar ticket from
www.eurostar.com, as that's the cheapest way, passholder
fares usually being more expensive than normal cheap fares.
Then call
Deutsche Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (no booking
fee, 2% credit card fee) or Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848
and make a sleeper reservation from Paris to Munich using
your pass (£8 booking fee). There's no supplement to
pay for the Munich-Budapest RailJet and reservations
aren't compulsory on RailJet, although paying £4 or so to
reserve a seat is a good idea for such a long journey. The remaining
sleeper reservation from Budapest to
Thessaloniki can either be made as you go along at the station in Budapest, there's almost always places available,
or you can also boo this in advance from Deutsche Bahn.
Alternatively, call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-17:00 Monday-Friday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge) or
www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (£35 booking fee, but the staff can
be more experienced in booking journeys like this) and buy
your InterRail pass, Eurostar ticket and all the
reservations you need by phone, all together.
Note that return
reservations for the sleeping-car from Thessaloniki to
Bucharest cannot be
made using the normal
railway reservation computer system, as this does not cover trains
within or starting in Greece or Bulgaria. You will need to make
this reservation for the
return leg yourself at the reservations office when you
reach Greece. You can of course buy tickets and make
reservations in the UK for the remainder of your return
journey (in other words,
Bucharest-Budapest-Vienna-Paris-London), it's only the
return reservations from Athens to Thessaloniki and the sleeper
reservation from Thessaloniki to Bucharest that you need to
make once you reach Greece. You are unlikely to have
any problem getting these reservations if you book a day
or two in advance.
Traveller's report...
Traveller
Nick Stone took the train from London to Athens:
"We booked a 2-berth sleeper from Budapest to Thessaloniki
[you now need to change sleepers in Bucharest]. The two day trip was great
fun, we followed your advice and bought our own supplies of
bread, water, cheese and wine. Spent happy hours
popping our heads out of the open windows and soaking up the
rural Romanian and Bulgarian scenery. Although we were
2½ hours late
arriving Thessaloniki, it didn't matter as we were treated
to a terrific sun rise over northern Greece plus a lovely
smell of Oregano in the air! We think the delay was
the endless wait at the border during the night. The
train down to Athens scenic too. A speedy trip at
first, but then train slows down for the windy and hilly
route through the Delphi Mountains."
The civilised way to reach Greece...
A Minoan Lines cruise ferry sails past the gondolas in
St Mark's Square in Venice, heading for Greece. You can buy Italy-Greece
ferry ticket online at the
Seat61 Ferry Shop.
Taking a ferry to Greece from Venice rather than Bari
means the London-Athens journey will take 3 nights rather than 2, but the simplicity of taking Eurostar to Paris,
an overnight sleeper to Venice, then a direct cruise ferry
along the Adriatic to Greece makes it a wonderful and
leisurely option.
With a free day in Venice (stop off for longer if you like), a two-night Adriatic cruise
on a modern ferry with cruise ship facilities, less
train travel necessary through Italy and a simpler booking process
involving just two websites not three, it's an alternative
that's well worth
considering. You could do the journey over a weekend!
Train & ferry
times London ► Greece
Travel from
London to Paris by
Eurostar, leaving London
St Pancras at 15:02 (15:32 at weekends) and arriving Paris Gare du Nord at 18:17
(18:47 at weekends).
Cross Paris by métro to the
Gare
de Bercy.
Travel
from Paris to Venice overnight on the Artesia sleeper
train 'Stendhal', leaving Paris Gare de Bercy
daily at 20:33 and arriving at Venice Santa
Lucia station on the banks of the Grand Canal
at 09:34 next morning. This train has 4- & 6-berth couchettes, 1,
2 & 3-berth sleepers & a restaurant car. Click
here for an illustrated guide to the
Paris-Italy Artesia sleeper trains.
Minoan
Lines and Anek Lines cruise
ferries
sail from Venice to Patras in about 36 hours,
daily at certain times of year, several times each week at off-peak times, usually leaving
Venice (Maritime station, walking distance
from Santa Lucia station) either at lunchtime,
late afternoon or early evening. Visit the
Seat61 Ferry Shop or the
Anek Lines or
Minoan Lines websites for sailing dates
&
times and to book online. Allow plenty of time for
connections in Venice, including a possible hour or two
delay for the train arriving in Venice, reaching the
ferry terminal and checking in for the ferry.
Booking a 14:00 sailing should be fine, but personally I
think 12:00 sailings don't leave much leeway if the
train is very late.
There
are regular trains between Patras and Athens, and it's
a scenic ride. See
www.bahn.de
(which may or may not have current Greek train timetable
data loaded in it, but give it a go)
or
www.trainose.com
for train times. Trains run every few hours, buy a
ticket at the station. You switch from a narrow-gauge
train to the new fast standard-gauge line at Kiato. Important
update: The narrow-gauge railway line from
Patras to Kiato is currently closed for 9 months
from August 2009 for rebuilding to standard gauge.
During this time, buses replace trains. The ferry
company's own bus from Patras to Athens is probably the best
option until the line reopens in 2010, you can buy
tickets for this bus on board the ferry.
Train & ferry
times Greece ► London
Take an early afternoon
train from Athens (main Larissa station) to Patras.
This involves a standard gauge train to Kiato where you
change onto the scenic narrow gauge train to Patras.
Check train times and buy a ticket at the station.
Important update: The
narrow-gauge railway line from Kiato to Patras is
currently closed for 9 months from August 2009 for
rebuilding to standard gauge. During this time,
buses replace trains. The ferry company bus from
Athens to Patras is probably the best option until the
line reopens in 2010.
Minoan
Lines and Anek Lines sail from
Patras to Venice in around 36 hours, daily in summer,
several times a week in winter, usually leaving Patras
late at night and arriving Venice in the morning 2
nights later. See the
Seat61 Ferry Shop or the
Anek Lines or
Minoan Lines
websites for sailing dates and times and to book online.
On arrival, put your bags in the left luggage at the
station and spend the day exploring Venice.
Travel from Venice to Paris by
Artesia sleeper train 'Stendhal', leaving Venice Santa Lucia station at
19:57 arriving Paris 08:19. Couchettes, sleepers &
restaurant car available, see the London
to Italy page for full details.
Cross Paris by
metro to the Gare du Nord.
Travel from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris Gare du Nord at 11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:38.
How to buy
tickets...
You can book this journey from London to Greece online,
which is the easiest and cheapest way to do it.
Just follow these step-by-step instructions. This
journey involves two websites, so do a dummy run on both sites to check
prices and availability before booking for real.
Make sure you get your
departure dates right for each leg of the journey
outward and back. It can help to jot down the
date and departure time for each separate train and ship
booking before you start (the
how to plan an itinerary & budget page may help).
Step 1: Buy the Paris-Venice sleeper train ticket
online at
either
www.raileurope.co.uk
or
www.voyages-sncf.com. Which should you use?
Well,
www.raileurope.co.uk
is in English, for UK residents with tickets sent to any UK
address and backed by a UK call centre, 0844 848 5 848.
It's now
easier to use and
more reliable than voyages-sncf.com.
www.voyages-sncf.com is for any user from any country, it comes in several
languages, the English button is at the bottom, tickets
can be sent to
any address in Europe including the UK, it has same fares as Rail
Europe but in euros. Voyages-sncf.com is quirky,
so see this advice before using it.
There are more detailed booking instructions in the
London-Venice section on the Italy
page.
Step 2: Still on
www.raileurope.co.uk or
www.voyages-sncf.com, click 'continue shopping' and book the
Eurostar from London to Paris and back. Use the
Eurostar times on this page as a guide, but feel free to
choose an earlier Eurostar from London, or a later
Eurostar returning from Paris, if these have cheaper
seats available or if you'd like to stop off in Paris.
Don't forget that on your return journey, your departure
date from Paris to London will be the day after your
departure date from Bologna to Paris! For a
one-way trip, remember that on Eurostar it is usually
cheaper to book a return ticket and throw away the
return half.
Advice on
one-ay Eurostar fares.
Step 3:
You can book all the ferries from Venice to Patras online at the
Seat61 Ferry Shop, or go to
the operators' own websites,
www.anek.gr or
www.minoan.gr.
To buy tickets by phone, contact their UK agents, Viamare
Travel, on 020
8343 5810. Minoan
Lines accept Eurail & InterRail passes (no port
taxes to pay, but cabins or a reclining seat are extra).
The
train from Patras to Athens is best booked on arrival in
Patras. Similarly, book the Athens back to Patras
train at the station in Athens.
The
overland route from London to Athens passes through Salonika
(Thessaloniki in Greek) and Larissa. See the London
to Athens section above for details.
Alternatively,
you could travel from London to Athens by train and ship via
Italy, then take a train from Athens north to Larissa and
Athens. See the London to Athens
section above, then use the Greek Railways website, You
can check train times for this section at
www.trainose.com
for train times between Athens, Larissa and Salonika.
Meteora is a
spectacular monastery perched on a huge rock, near the town
of Kalambaka. Kalambaka is at the end of a railway
branch line from Paleofarsolas on the main
Thessaloniki-Larissa-Athens rail line. There are two
direct trains from Athens to Kalambaka every day (about 4
hours 45 minutes), plus
regular trains throughout the day from Athens, Larissa and
Thessaloniki with a change of train at Paleofarsolas.
For train times from Athens or Thessaloniki to Kalambaka, see
You can check train times for this section at
www.trainose.com and use their journey
planner.
Travel by train from London to Bari or Brindisi. For
train times, fares and how to book see the
Italy page.
Superfast Ferries sail from Bari to Corfu every second
day from early June until early September, sailing from
Bari at 20:00 and arriving Corfu at 05:00 next morning.
Visit the Seat61 Ferry Shop
or the operator's own website,
www.superfast.com to check sailing dates, times,
fares and to book online.
Endeavor Lines (www.endeavor-lines.com)
sail from Brindisi to Corfu at 20:30 several times each
week year-round, daily in July & August, arriving in Corfu town at around
08:45
next day (day 3 from London). Visit their website
to check sailing dates and times. In the UK, this
ferry can be booked online at the Seat61 Ferry Shop
or by phone through Viamare Travel on 020
8343 5810.
If you have an InterRail pass valid
for Italy and Greece, it will include a 'deck passage' on
the HML or Superfast ferry, although port tax (about 6
euros) and a cabin berth or reclining seat will be
extra.
By train & ferry via Venice...
You might prefer to catch the ferry from Venice.
Travel by train from London to Venice,
using Eurostar to Paris and the direct Paris-Venice
sleeper train. For train
times, fares and how to buy tickets, see the
London to Italy page.
Allow a minimum of 3 hours
for any connection with a ferry in Venice, to allow for
transfer times, check-in and any delay to the train.
Minoan
Lines and Anek Lines sail from
Venice to Corfu, daily at certain times of year, several
times a week at off-peak times, usually leaving Venice
(Maritime station, walking distance from Santa Lucia
station) either at lunchtime, late afternoon or early
evening. To check sailing dates, times,
fares and for online booking, visit the
Seat61 Ferry Shop or the
Anek Lines or
Minoan Lines websites.
From the UK, these ferries can also be booked by phone through
Viamare Travel, call 020 7431
4560.
Made famous by the
book and film 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin', it's easy to
reach Kefalonia all the way from London in less than 48
hours, without flying.
Travel from London to
Brindisi by train, using Eurostar to Paris, the
overnight sleeper to Bologna and connecting train along
the coast to Brindisi. see the London
to Italy page for times, fares and how to
buy tickets. In Brindisi, use a taxi to the port a
few miles away.
Endeavor Lines operate a service from Brindisi ferry terminal to the main town of Sami
on
Kefalonia (Cephalonia) several times a week throughout
the Summer, typically sailing at 19:00 and arriving at
07:00 next morning. Visit
www.endeavor-lines.com
for dates, times, fares & online booking, or book online
at the
Seat61 Ferry Shop.
There
are also ferries year-round between Patras and
Kefalonia, see
www.ferries.gr.
Travel from London to Athens, see the London
to Athens section above. A
frequent metro runs between Athens and Piraeus, the port
of Athens, taking just 25 minutes or so.
Ferries
sail daily from Piraeus to Heraklion, the capital of
Crete, usually overnight. ANEK Lines sail daily at 20:30 arriving at
05:30 next day, Minoan Lines sail at 21:00 arriving
05:30 next day. Basic 'deck place' fares start at
23 euros one-way, 41 Euros return, or with the cheapest
berth in a 4-berth cabin, 41 euros one way, 74 euros
return.
Travel from London to Athens, see the London
to Athens section above. A
frequent metro runs between Athens and Piraeus, the port
of Athens, taking just 25 minutes or so.
The best way to find which
ferry company sails to which Greek island (and to find
timetables) is to use either
www.openseas.gr or
www.ferries.gr
(click 'domestic').
Paying
for a guidebook may seem an unnecessary expense, but it's
probably only a tiny fraction of what you're spending on
your whole trip. You will see so much more, and know
so much more about what you're looking at, if you have a
decent guidebook.
For independent travel, I recommend either the
Lonely Planet or Rough Guide. Both have plenty of
background historical and cultural information, with all the practical
information you need.
My own book, an essential handbook for train travel to
Europe based on this website called "The
Man in Seat 61", was published in June 2008, and
is available from Amazon with shipping worldwide.
Thomas Cook European Timetable
The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.
It's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. Still
not convinced you need one? More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings
Cross stations in London.
Or
buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with
laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:
Summer 2010 edition (June to December 2010)
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at
www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
It's easy to book hotels online to go with your train tickets,
but there are almost too many hotel booking websites to choose
from. So try
www.hotelscombined.com (just use the search box below).
This is not a hotel booking website, but a free search tool
which searches all the main hotel booking sites for you
(Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms, Opodo, Venere and many
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates on the net. Set
up in 2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place
to start for booking any hotel online in any country,
worldwide.
www.hostelbookers.com:
If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about the backpacker
hostels. Hostelbookers offers online booking of dorm
beds or ultra-cheap private rooms in backpacker hostels in
Paris and most other European cities at rock-bottom prices.
Travel insurance, health card, SIM card
Get travel insurance..
Never travel without insurance from a
reliable travel insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Columbus Direct or
Go Travel Insurance, or go to
Confused.com to run a price comparison on a whole range of
travel insurance providers for your dates of travel, seeing
their policy's features at a glance.
Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed
connection, but European international rail conditions of
carriage (known as the 'CIV') contain consumer protection
provisions that entitle you to travel forward by the next
available train if you miss a connection because of a delay to
the first train, irrespective of who operates which train, and
even if your ticket is in theory train-specific and
non-changeable.
Feedback from using
insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome.
If you're a
UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free
European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or
reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in
many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with
the NHS. This replaced the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available from
www.ehic.org.uk. It doesn't remove the need for
travel insurance, though.
Get a pre-paid euro currency MasterCard from Caxton FX...
You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency MasterCard, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' MasterCard.
Find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up over £1,000 in
data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. Go-Sim
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also allows cheap data access for laptops
& PDAs. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
www.hostelbookers.com
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, see
If you live in the USA or Canada, see
