TRANSPORTBUSto Cyclades and between
the Sporades and Saronic
islands.
Ionian Ferries (%210 324
9997; http://www.ionianferries.gr))
Large ferries serving the
Ionian Islands.
LANE Lines (%210 427 4011;
http://www.ferries.gr/lane)) Long-
haul ferries.
Minoan Lines (% 210
414 5700; http://www.minoan.gr))
High-speed luxury ferries
between Piraeus and Iraklio,
and Patra, Igoumenitsa and
Corfu.
NEL Lines (%22510 26299;
http://www.nel.gr)) High-speed, long-
haul ferries with services
between Northern Greece
and Limnos, Lesvos, Chios,
Samos and the Sporades.
SAOS Lines (%210 625
0000; http://www.saos.gr)) Big, slow
boats calling in at many of
the islands.
Sea Jets (%210 412 1001;
http://www.seajets.gr)) Catamarans
calling at Athens, Crete,
Santorini (Thira), Paros and
many islands in between.
Sea Star (%22460 44000;
http://www.net-club.gr/tilosseastar.
htm) High-speed catama-
ran connecting Tilos with
Rhodes, Halki and Nisyros.
Skyros Shipping Com-
pany (%22220 92164; http://www.
sne.gr) Slow-boat between
Skyros and Kymi on Evia.
Strintzis Ferries (% 26102
40000; http://www.strintzisferries.gr))
Larger, older ferries in the
Sporades.
Superfast Ferries (www.
superfast.com) As the name
implies, speedy ferries from
the mainland to Crete, Corfu
and Patra.
Ventouris Sea Lines (% 210
41 14911; http://www.ventourissea
lines.gr) Big boats from the
mainland to the Cyclades.
Zante Ferries (% 26950
49500; http://www.zanteferries.gr)
Older ferries connecting the
mainland with the western
Cyclades.Bus
The bus network is compre-
hensive. All long-distance
buses, on the mainland and
the islands, are operated by
regional collectives known
as KTEL (Koino Tamio Eisprax-
eon Leoforion; http://www.ktel.org).
Details of inter-urban buses
throughout Greece are avail-
able by dialling %14505. Bus
fares are fi xed by the govern-
ment and bus travel is very
reasonably priced. A journey
costs approximately €5 per
100km.Services
Every prefecture on the
mainland has a KTEL, which
operates local services
within the prefecture and
to the main towns of other
prefectures. With the excep-
tion of towns in Thrace,
which are serviced by
Thessaloniki, all the major
towns on the mainland have
frequent connections to
Athens. The islands of Corfu,
Kefallonia and Zakynthos
can also be reached directly
from Athens by bus – the
fares include the price of the
ferry ticket.Most villages have a daily
bus service of some sort,
although remote areas may
have only one or two buses
a week. They operate for the
benefi t of people going to
town to shop, rather than for
tourists, and consequently
leave the villages very early in
the morning and return early
in the afternoon.Practicalities» (^) It is important to note that
big cities like Athens, Iraklio,
Patra and Thessaloniki may
have more than one bus sta-
tion, each serving diff erent
regions. Make sure you fi nd
the correct station for your
destination. In small towns
and villages the ‘bus station’
may be no more than a bus
stop outside a kafeneio (cof-
fee house) or taverna that
doubles as a booking offi ce.
» (^) In remote areas, the
timetable may be in Greek
only, but most booking of-
fi ces have timetables in both
Greek and Roman script.
Timetables give both the de-
parture and return times and
are listed using the 24-hour
clock system.
» (^) It’s best to turn up at least
20 minutes before departure
to make sure you get a seat,
and buses have been known
to leave a few minutes
before their scheduled
departure.
» (^) When you buy a ticket
you may be allotted a seat
number, which is noted on
the ticket. The seat number
is indicated on the back of
each seat of the bus, not on
the back of the seat in front;
INTERNATIONAL TRAIN ROUTES
DESTINATION DEPARTURE POINT ARRIVAL POINT DURATION FREQUENCY
Bulgaria Athens Sofi a 18hr 1 daily
Bulgaria Thessaloniki Sofi a 9hrs 1 daily
FYROM Thessaloniki Skopje 5hr 2 daily
Russia Thessaloniki Moscow 70hr 1 weekly (summer only)
Turkey Thessaloniki İstanbul 11½hr 2 daily