Travel to Greece... by all means
08-03-2013 14:33
Greece is an easily accessible country, situated at the southernmost corner of Europe and the Balkan Peninsula. By plane, ship, train or car, your trip here can be easy, safe and pleasant.
The country has two large airports at the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki, but also smaller ones that service travellers from every corner of the world with direction to other big cities or famous islands in the Aegean and the Ionian Sea.
The railway network, as well as the road network, link Greece with the rest of European countries via the Balkans. Finally, easy is access by sea, since there are two large ports, that of Piraeus and the one in Igoumenitsa, that handle the arrival of coastal ships via mainly Italy.
Travelling by plane
This is the most common way to travel to Greece. The most important entry point by air is the “Eleftherios Venizelos” International Airport in Athens. It is located in the region of Spata, 33 km away from the city centre and started operating in March 2001, so it’s a new and modern airport, offering high standard services and facilities. There is rapid access from the airport to the centre of Athens city via a central road artery connecting Athens with Mesogeia region, called “Attiki Odos”. Alternatively, travellers use the Metro and Proastiakos Suburban Systems.
There are other airports too, that handle direct flights from certain foreign countries, by regular and special airlines (especially during high summer season), as well as from charter flights. These are: the Thessaloniki “Macedonia” State Airport, the Heraklion “Nikos Kazantzakis” International Airport, the Alexandroupolis “Dimokritos” International Airport and the Corfu “Ioannis Kapodistrias” Airport.
Of course there are many smaller airports on the Greek islands and other destinations of the mainland country. Some of them are located in Santorini, Karpathos, Corfu, Chania, Kefallonia, Ioannina, Chios, Mykonos, Naxos, Kos, Kalamata, Kozani, Lesvos, Rhodes, Samos, Zakynthos.
Travelling by sea
There’s a “bridge” connecting Greece with the ports of Italy, serving the main volume of European tourists travelling to Greece by car. Indeed, there are daily routes from the city of Patras and Igoumenitsa to Italy, from the ports of Ancona, Bari, Brindizi, Venice and Trieste. These routes are serviced with new ships equipped with all modern comforts and speeds.
The dense scheduling provides as many departures and arrivals as possible, so that tourists can choose among a wide selection the one that suits them best. In order to better cover the ever-increasing demand for mobile home transportation, shipping companies have scheduled ships with specially configurated areas for campers and caravans.
The ships offer all the modern services so that the trip to Greece to be comfortable. They offer various types of cabins (both outside and inside, with WC and shower) for pleasant overnight stays, but also other facilities such as air-conditioning, bar, restaurants, stores, video games and gambling, pools, self service facilities, disco, cinema, children’s playroom, escalators, camping on board, satellite communications etc.
Passenger Passport Control
With the application of the terms of the Schengen Agreement in our country, all passenger ships/ferries sailing regular routes from Patras and Igoumenitsa to Italy and back (without visiting any non-Schenken third-country ports) are included in the category of ships executing domestic routes.As a result, passengers travelling in these ships, whose only destinantion is to those ports situated on the sovereign land of the Schenken countries, do not have to undergo passport control.
Useful Tel. Numbers
Piraeus Port: (+30) 210 4060900
Patras Harbor: (+30) 2610 341002, 341024, 361470
Igoumenitsa Harbor: (+30) 26650 99400, 99460
Travelling by train
Travelling by train is an interesting experience. It’s worth looking at the architecture of the old stations along the line, most of which had been built at the end of the 19th century and are of unique workmanship and symbols of early industrial architecture.
Nowadays, Greece’s railway network is approximately 2.500 km long, covering the greater part of the mainland and linking the country to Central Europe and Turkey. There are regularly scheduled routes, amended every year, that service passengers, luggage and driver-accompanied vehicles.
The Greek trains vary from regular high speed ones to high quality Intercity-type trains (express and regular).
Useful Info & Tel. Numbers for the Hellenic Railways Organization, also called “OSE”
For pre-recorded info giving train departures (domestic and Athens-Thessaloniki): 1440
For telephone reservations for those travelling from Attica to Thessaloniki: 1110
Central Information Office (1-3 Karolou str., Athens): (+30) 210 5297777
Thessaloniki Railway Station (18 Aristotelous str., Thesaloniki): (+30) 2310 517517-8
Patras Railway Station: (+30) 2610639108-9
Larissa Railway Station (37 Papakyriazi str., Larissa): (+30) 2410 236250
Volos Railway Station (17 Iasonos str., Volos): (+30) 24210 24056
For special info and assistance for persons with special needs: (+30) 210 5298838 (for Athens) or (+30) 2410 590263 (for Larissa). If you travel by train and need help, ask for the competent OSE staff at the Athens and Larissa Railway stations.
Travelling by car
Travelling to Greece by car is now easier, because of the two large national highways, as well as the construction of a major section of the Egnatia Road. The country’s road network covers 117.000 km. Drivers and passengers do have the chance to enjoy a pleasant trip, but also stop and rest briefly when needed at the numerous gas stations, restaurants and parking areas sited along the length of the road network.
Tourists entering Greece by road will have to pass from the following border points, when coming from the Balkans: Exochi Drama for Bulgaria, Evzones Kilkis for FYROM, Kakavia in the prefecture of Ioannina for Albania and Kipoi Evrou for Turkey.
These are the main road axes in Greece, with their European number:
Athens - Thessaloniki (E 75)
Athens - Corinth (E 94)
Corinth - Patras (E 65)
Corinth – Tripoli - Kalamata (E 65)
Patras – Pyrgos - Olympia (E 55)
Thessaloniki – Kavala - Alexandroupoli (E 90)
Igoumenitsa - Alexandroupoli (Egnatia Odos Motorway)
Chania - Agios Nikolaos (Crete E 75)
What you need to know about Driving Licences
E.U. Member-State citizens may use their own national driving licence, while citizens of other countries must have an international driving licence together with their own valid national driving license.