The most common question that we are asked about travel
involves ferry schedules. Ferries are subject to a great many more
variables than trains, for instance, so they are seen as "unreliable". To
me, rather, it is just part of the Greek island experience to be more relaxed
and tolerant of the uncertainties caused by wind, water, holidays and even
labour strikes.
So rather than list all the possibilities for ferry travel
here I will just state that it is very easy to island hop, but it does cost a
lot of time and a little money.
E-mail me with your particulars of preferred dates and islands and I will
respond with the best information available.
Kathimerini - A quick look at current sailings from Pireaus, Rafina and
Lavrio.
Every year it gets easier to transfer between the Athens
airport and the ferry ports.
Search our blog for the latest reports on underground (Metro), suburban
railway and express busses.
Car Rental
Argus Car Hire is well represented through
out Greece--and internationally. They have a lowest price guarantee.
Click on the banner for details. In my experience you can only do better
if you are bargaining on the spot face to face, and you are good at negotiating.
Athens
Athens is difficult to write about. There
is a lot to see and do, but a big city is a big city. Most people are
happier spending their time at other mainland sites or on the islands. So
we recommend two days, including arrival and departure, at the end of your
vacation to take in the Acropolis and other essential antiquities.
This builds in some safety time in case of unforeseen delays.
Matt Barratt - As
usual does a great job with Athens.
Note: There are no reasonably priced hotels anywhere
near the airport, but it doesn't matter because there are dedicated express
busses to Athens, Pireaus and Rafina.
Email for specific prices and schedules. The only hitch is to allow
plenty of time for traffic; the fastest is 1 hour travel time and busses every
20 minutes; the slowest . . . .
you can find for your home city all
discount flights to Athens, Greece.
If you prefer working with a travel agent, find
one willing to work with consolidators(bucket shops in the UK) or seats only
charters.
If you are flying long haul from the US,
Australia or the like, don't search for Paros. Locate your flights to
Athens and then buy the Paros leg separately from Olympic. It is much
cheaper that way. Our Economy
Travel site is a good source for lowest price flights from standard airlines
as well as deep discounts for restricted tickets.
Also, we have found, in
general the most economical way to fly is to find a direct flight from your
nearest gateway city to a European gateway. Then a "no frills" or charter
flight to Athens or one of the islands. Most European cities, including
several within the U.K. have direct flights, both charter and scheduled to
nearby Mykonos, Santorini and Iraklion on Crete.
Paros is easily reached by ferry from all of these.
Ryan Air - Doesn't fly into this region, but usually has very cheap flights
to Brussels where you can connect with Virgin--beware that they use different
airports, but it is not difficult to transfer.
Fly Budget by Fwoggie
-
A very useful site for anyone taking the economy route,
including a guide to where to sleep in major airports and all European discount
airlines.
Use Kayak to check all possibilities in one go:
Oh yeah, you can fly to Paros from Athens for about
80 Euro each way. A beautiful flight over the
Greek islands, but not quite the experience of a ferry ride.
Contact
Olympic Airways for availability.
In 2007
Airsea
Lines has started regular Seaplane routes to several islands, including
Paros. They also offer charters and excursions called flightseeing.
Eventually they intend to have a true inter-island route, that is island hopping
by air. Since then they have had delays in licensing--as does everyone in
Greece--. Check their site for current status.
Trains
A few people do come to Greece by train, the
intrepid few. The most common way is to choose a route to an Italian ferry
port, then a long ferry trip, usually overnight, to Patras, then on again to
anywhere in Greece. The last couple of years, however, it has been
possible to bring the train all the way to Thessalonica or Athens.
The Man in Seat Sixty-One tells how it
is done in great detail and reliability. This is a thoroughly great site
for train travel.
Athens News - We buy it for the TV schedule, but get a lot of good reading.
Kathimerini -
English edition inside International Herald Tribune.
Was there something Greek that you wanted to buy but didn't? We can
recommend
Greek Shops. They have high quality merchandise at reasonable prices
as well as separate delivery centres for both Europe and the USA. Just
like browsing the Plaka in Athens without the air fare.
We have also set up an Amazon U.K. Store with a selection of
Greece Stuff
Want to know what to expect in the way of food and drink?
Read some of our experiences:
Crete is a big island with plenty of everything, including the
incomparable Knossis. During the summer it is easy and quick to ferry to
and from Paros. A quality place to stay in the fun town of Chania is
Hotel
Mike.
Ephesus
One of the most preserved cities of ancient Greece is in Turkey.
Everybody who goes there raves about it, but it is complicated to cross the
Greece-Turkey border. The best site I have seen for information--and a
great place nearby to stay--is
Atilla's Getaway
GreeceIndex.com - A good list of all things Greece including excellent photo
messages.
Seniority U.K. - a community for United Kingdom over 50's, including travel.
A most excellent site for well written feature articles is
Greece for Visitors in the About Network by deTraci Regula
In
Norwegian and English
Greek
Landscapes- A quality site with good graphics including thoughts and
pictures from the natural and cultural landscapes, ancient to modern.
Greek
Links - A directory with all the links you could ever want on everything and
anything Greek.
Jump to a selection of sites about the whole region:
Delmare Yachts offers everything you need for the ultimate sailing or
luxury yachting throughout the whole country.
Visiting Crete? Custom holidays for individuals or
groups in eastern Crete. Apartments for up to 6 persons in beautiful Agios
Nikolaos.
Visit
Steve and Viki at the Mantraki!
Spirit of Greece - The islands of Paxos and Halki are well presented here
for the independent traveler.
Greece Passion - A fun site for the mainland and the islands by two
travelers with plentiful photos.
WebGreece - Ditto the above; browse
for the fun of it.
Travel
Greece - Travel guide with information about the popular destinations in
mainland Greece and the Greek islands.
