TRANSPORTHITCHING» (^) If you are involved in an ac-
cident and no one is hurt, the
police will not be required to
write a report, but it is advis-
able to go to a nearby police
station and explain what
happened. A police report
may be required for insur-
ance purposes. If an accident
involves injury, a driver who
does not stop and does not
inform the police may face a
prison sentence.
Hitching
Hitching is never entirely safe
in any country in the world,
and we don’t recommend
it. Travellers who decide to
hitch should understand that
they are taking a small but
potentially serious risk.
People who do choose to
hitch will be safer if they
travel in pairs and should let
someone know where they
are planning to go. In particu-
lar, it is unwise for females to
hitch alone; women are
better off hitching with a
male companion.
Some parts of Greece are
much better for hitching than
others. Getting out of major
cities tends to be hard work
and Athens is notoriously
diffi cult. Hitching is much
easier in remote areas and
on islands with poor public
transport. On country roads
it is not unknown for some-
one to stop and ask if you
want a lift, even if you haven’t
stuck a thumb out.
Local Transport
Bus
Most Greek towns are small
enough to get around on foot.
All the major towns have lo-
cal buses, but the only places
you’re likely to need them are
Athens, Patra, Kalamata and
Thessaloniki. The procedure
for buying tickets for local
buses is covered in the Getting
Around section of each city.
Metro
Athens is the only city in
Greece large enough to war-
rant the building of an un-
derground system. For more
details, see p 125. Note that
only Greek student cards are
valid for a student ticket on
the metro.
Ta xi
Taxis are widely available in
Greece except on very small
or remote islands. They are
reasonably priced by Euro-
pean standards, especially
if three or four people share
costs. Many taxi drivers now
have sat-nav systems in their
cars, so fi nding a destination
is a breeze as long as you
have the exact address.
Yellow city cabs are me-
tered, with rates doubling
between midnight and 5am.
Additional costs are charged
for trips from an airport or
a bus, port or train station,
as well as for each piece of
luggage over 10kg. Grey rural
taxis do not have meters, so
you should always settle on a
price before you get in.
Some taxi drivers in
Athens have been known to
take unwary travellers for a
fi nancial ride. If you have a
complaint about a taxi driver,
take the cab number and
report your complaint to the
tourist police. For more infor-
mation see p 120. Taxi drivers
in other towns in Greece are,
on the whole, friendly, helpful
and honest.
Tours
Tours are worth considering
if your time is very limited or
if you fancy somebody else
doing all of the organising. In
Athens, you’ll fi nd countless
day tours (p 95 ), with some
agencies off ering two- or
three-day trips to nearby
sights. For something on a
larger scale, try Intrepid
Travel (www.intrepidtravel.
com). With offi ces in Aus-
tralia, the UK and the USA,
Intrepid off ers a 15-day
tour of the Greek Islands
(£1575/US$2475/€1615)
and an eight-day tour from
Athens to Santorini (£870/
US$1370/€1045), including
everything except meals and
fl ights. Encounter Greece
(www.encountergreece.com)
off ers a plethora of tours;
a 10-day tour across the
country costs €1285 while
three days on the mainland
is €375. Flights to Greece are
not included.
More adventurous tours
include guided activities
involving hiking, climbing,
white-water rafting, kayaking,
canoeing or canyoning. For
more information on activity-
based tours, see p 51.
Some options:
Alpin Club (www.alpinclub.gr)
In Athens; operates out of
Karitena in the Peloponnese.
Robinson Expeditions
(www.robinson.gr) Run tours
from the centre and north of
Greece.
Trekking Hellas (www.trek
king.gr) Another outfit that
runs tours from the centre
and north of Greece.
Train
Trains are operated by the
Greek railways organisation
OSE (Organismos Sidirodromon
Ellados; http://www.ose.gr)..) Due to
fi nancial instability, train
services throughout Greece
were in a very precarious
state at the time of research
and prices and schedules
were in a state of fl ux. Details
of schedules and fares within
this guidebook were accurate
at the time of research but
should be double-checked
on the OSE website. Informa-
tion on domestic departures
from Athens or Thessaloniki
can also be sought by calling
%1440.
The Greek railway net-
work is limited with essen-
tially only two main lines: the
standard-gauge service from
Athens to Alexandroupoli via
Thessaloniki (p 123 ), and the
Peloponnese network (p 141 ).
Prior to the current fi nancial
crisis, train services that did
exist were of a good stand-
ard and improving all the
time and an excellent way
to see the mainland. Fingers