The standard overland public transport in Greece is the bus. Train networks are limited, even more so with recent cutbacks. Buses cover most primary routes on the mainland and provide basic connections on the islands. The best way to supplement buses is to rent a scooter, motorbike or car, especially on the islands where – in any substantial town or resort – you will find at least one rental outlet. Inter-island travel involves taking ferries, catamarans or the few remaining hydrofoils, which will eventually get you to any of the sixty-plus inhabited isles. Internal flights are mostly relatively expensive, but can save literally days of travel: Athens–Rhodes is just 2 hours return, versus 28 hours by boat.
Bus services on major routes are efficient and frequent, departing promptly at scheduled departure times. On secondary roads they’re less regular, with long gaps, but even the remotest villages will be connected once or twice weekly to the provincial capital. On islands there are usually buses to connect the port and main town (if different) for ferry arrivals or departures. The national network is run by a syndicate of private operators based in each county, known as the KTEL (Kratikó Tamío Ellinikón Leoforíon; 14505 premium call charge and no national online timetable). In medium-sized or large towns there may be several scattered terminals for services in different directions, so make sure you have the right station for your departure.
From major departure points, ticketing is computerized, with assigned seating, and on inter-city lines such as Athens–Pátra buses often get fully booked at the ekdhotíria (ticket-issuing office); some regional KTEL companies have online booking, though it’s no cheaper than buying from the ticket office on the day. On secondary rural/island routes, it’s first-come, first-served, with some standing allowed, and tickets dispensed on the spot by a conductor (ispráktoras). Prices are fixed according to distance: note that return tickets are not always cheaper than two one-way fares.
Symi island in Greece © Shutterstock
The Greek mainland’s railway network is run by OSE (Organismós Sidherodhrómon Elládhos; 14511, http://trainose.gr); with a few exceptions, trains are slower than equivalent buses. However, they can be much cheaper – fifty percent less on non-express services (but much the same on express), even more if you buy a return ticket – and some lines are intrinsically enjoyable, such as the rack-and-pinion service between Dhiakoftó and Kalávryta in the Peloponnese.
Timetables are available online or at station schedule boards or information counters. If you’re starting a journey at a station with computerized facilities you can (at no extra cost) reserve a seat; a carriage and seat number will be printed on your ticket.
There are two basic classes: first and second, the latter about 25 percent cheaper, while first class includes a meal on certain routes. Express trains, called Intercity (IC on timetables), run between Alexandhroúpoli, Thessaloníki, Vólos, Kalambáka and Athens, though part of the section between Alexandhroúpoli and Thessaloníki is currently closed and served by replacement buses; also, if the line upgrade is ever completed, Pátra and Kalamáta, although currently all trains on this route terminate at Kiáto, with bus transfers completing the journey.
Tickets issued on board carry a fifty-percent penalty charge; by contrast, under-26s and over-60s get 25 percent discounts at off-peak seasons for non-express trains. InterRail and Eurail pass holders must secure reservations, and pay express supplements, like everyone else.
There are several varieties of sea-going vessels: ordinary ferries, which never exceed 17 knots; “high-speed” boats (tahyplóö) and catamarans, which usually carry cars, and are capable of reaching 27 knots; hydrofoils, similarly quick but which carry only passengers; roll-on-roll-off short-haul barges, nicknamed pandófles (“slippers”); and local kaïkia, small boats which do short hops and excursions in season.
Schedules for ferry connections are notoriously erratic and must be verified seasonally; details given are for departures between late June and early September. When sailing in season from Pireás to the Cyclades or Dodecanese, you should have a choice of at least two, sometimes three, daily departures. Out-of-season departure frequencies drop sharply, with less populated islands connected only two or three times weekly.
Reliable departure information is available from the local port police (limenarhío) at all island and mainland harbours of any size; around Athens there are offices at Pireás (210 455 0000), Rafína (22940 28888) and Lávrio (22920 25249). Busier port police have automated phone-answering services with an English option for schedule information. Many companies produce annual schedule booklets, which may not be adhered to as the season wears on – check their websites (if any) for current information, or refer to http://gtp.gr or http://openseas.gr.
Except for some subsidized peripheral routes where older rust-buckets are still used, the Greek ferry fleet is fairly modern. Routes and speed can vary enormously, however; a journey from Pireás to Santoríni, for instance, can take anything from five to ten hours.
Tickets are best bought a day before departure, unless you need to reserve a cabin berth or space for a car. During holiday periods – Christmas/New Year, the week before and after Easter, late July to early September – and around the dates of elections, ferries need to be booked at least ten days in advance. Ticketing for most major routes is computerized and you cannot buy your ticket on board, although booths on the quay sell last-minute tickets. Many companies allow you to reserve places and pay online, but tickets must still be picked up at the port at least fifteen minutes before departure.
The cheapest fare class, which you’ll automatically be sold unless you specify otherwise, is ikonomikí thési, which gives you the run of most boats except for the upper-class restaurant and bar. Most newer boats seem designed to frustrate summertime travellers attempting to sleep on deck. For long overnight journeys, it’s worth considering the few extra euros for a cabin bunk; second-class cabins are typically quadruple, while first-class double cabins with en-suite bathrooms can cost as much as a flight.
Motorbikes and cars get issued separate tickets, which can cost as much as five times the passenger fare, depending on size and journey duration – the shortest crossings are most expensive in comparison to a passenger ticket. It’s really only worth taking a car to the larger islands like Crete, Rhodes, Híos, Lésvos, Sámos, Corfu or Kefaloniá, and only if staying a week or more. Otherwise, it is cheaper to leave your car on the mainland and rent another on arrival.
Hydrofoils – commonly known as dhelfínia or “Flying Dolphins” – are at least twice as expensive as ordinary ferries, although their network has been drastically reduced in recent years. The other drawback is that they are the first vessels to get cancelled in bad weather and even in moderate seas are not for the seasick-prone. Hydrofoils aren’t allowed to carry scooters or bicycles.
Catamarans and high-speed boats (tahýplia) are ruthlessly air-conditioned, usually without deck seating and with Greek TV blaring at you from multiple screens – paying extra for dhiakikriméni thési (upper class) merely gets you a better view. Car fares are the same as on the ferries, though passenger tickets are at least double a comparable ferry journey, i.e. similar to hydrofoil rates. Most hydrofoils and catamarans don’t run October–April.
In season, small boats known as kaïkia and small ferries sail between adjacent islands and to a few of the more obscure satellite islets. These are extremely useful and often very pleasant, but seldom cheaper than mainline services. Swarms of taxi boats are a feature of many islands; these shuttle clients on set routes to remote beaches or ports which can only be reached arduously, if at all, overland. Costs on these can be pretty stiff, usually per person but occasionally per boat.
Scheduled Greek domestic flights are run by the merged partnership of Olympic Air (801 801 0101, http://olympicair.com) and Aegean Airlines (801 112 0000, http://aegeanair.com), as well as minor operators Sky Express (801 112 8288, http://skyexpress.gr), Ellinair (801 100 8182; http://ellinair.com) and Ryanair (http://ryanair.com). Together they cover a broad network of island and mainland destinations, though most routes, especially on Aegean/Olympic, are to and from Athens or Thessaloníki. All four airlines are geared to web and call-centre e-ticket sales, as there are few walk-in town offices. Tickets bought through travel agencies attract a small commission charge.
Fares to/between the islands usually cost at least double the price of a deck-class ferry journey, but on inter-island routes poorly served by boat (Rhodes–Sámos, for example), consider this time well bought, and indeed some subsidized peripheral routes cost less than a hydrofoil/catamaran journey.
Island flights are often full in peak season, so make reservations at least a month in advance. Waiting lists exist and are worth signing on to, as there are almost always cancellations. Small prop planes, which won’t fly in strong winds or (in some cases) after dark, are used on many routes to less popular destinations. A 15kg baggage weight limit can be strictly enforced; if, however, you are connecting with an international flight or purchased your ticket outside Greece, you’re allowed the standard 20–23kg limit.
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Naxos island aerial panoramic view © Shutterstock
Greece is blessed with dramatic mountain and coastal scenery, which is undoubtedly a joy to drive through. You should, however, bear in mind that it has one of the highest fatal accident rates in Europe. Local driving habits can be atrocious; overtaking on bends, barging out from side roads and failing to signal manoeuvres are common practices. Drunk driving is also a major issue, especially on Sunday afternoons, public holidays or late at night.
Road conditions can be very poor, from bad surfaces and inadequate signposting to unmarked railway crossings. There is a limited but growing number of motorways on which tolls are levied, adding noticeably to the cost of the drive from Athens to Thessaloníki, for example. Fuel, whether regular unleaded (amólyvdhi), super or diesel, is more expensive in remoter areas. Be aware that many petrol stations close after 8pm and on Sundays.
Parking in almost every mainland town, plus the biggest island centres, is uniformly a nightmare. Pay-and-display systems, plus residents-only schemes, are common, and it’s often unclear where to obtain tickets.
You drive on the right in Greece. Uphill drivers demand their right of way, as do the first to approach a one-lane bridge; flashed headlights usually mean the opposite of what they do in the UK or North America, here signifying that the other driver insists on coming through or over-taking. However, this gesture rapidly repeated from someone approaching means they’re warning you of a police control-point ahead. Bizarrely, there is no national law about who has the right of way at roundabouts – more often than not it is the vehicle entering the round-about, but proceed with care.
Seat-belt use (and wearing a helmet on scooters and motorcycles) is compulsory, and children under the age of 10 are not allowed to sit in the front seats of cars; infractions of these rules are punishable by fines. It’s illegal to drive away from any kind of accident – or to move the vehicles before the police appear – and where serious injury has resulted to the other party you can be held at a police station for up to 24 hours.
Increasingly, car rental in Greece, including unlimited mileage, tax and insurance, is cheaper if booked online, particularly for periods of a week or more and during high season. At quieter times, smaller local outfits may offer attractive rates, especially for three days or more. Rates for open jeeps cost between two and three times as much as cars.
Rental prices in Greece almost never include collision damage waiver (CDW) and personal insurance. The CDW typically has a hefty deductible charge, which may be levied for even the tiniest scratch or missing mudguard. To avoid this, it is strongly recommended that you pay the extra daily charge for full coverage. Frequent EU-based travellers should consider annual excess insurance through Insurance 4 Car Hire (http://insurance4carhire.com).
Most major agencies require a credit card to swipe as a deposit, though smaller companies on the islands may ask for cash payment upfront; minimum age requirements vary from 21 to 23. Driving licences issued by any European Economic Area state are honoured, but an International Driving Permit is required by all other drivers (despite claims by unscrupulous agencies). You can be arrested and charged if caught by the traffic police without an IDP, if required. At the time of writing UK drivers did not require an IDP for Greece but the situation may change so you should check with the Post Office, who sell them for a nominal fee.
Avance, Antena, Auto Union, Payless, Kosmos, National/Alamo, Reliable, Tomaso and Eurodollar are dependable Greek, or smaller international, chains with branches in many towns; all are cheaper than Hertz, Sixt or Avis.
If you intend to drive your own car to and within Greece from the UK, make sure you have European breakdown cover, either through your insurance company or AA/RAC/AAA membership. This should entitle you to free road assistance from ELPA, which runs breakdown services throughout the mainland and on several of the larger islands; in an emergency ring 10400. Insurance contracted in any EU state is valid in any other, but in many cases this is only third-party cover.
EU citizens bringing their own cars are free to drive in Greece for six months, or until their home-based road tax or insurance expires, whichever is first; keeping a car in Greece for longer entails more paperwork. Non-EU nationals will get a car entered in their passport; the carnet normally allows you to keep a vehicle in Greece for up to six months, exempt from road tax. British car owners should check what the current rules are for Greece and any other countries they will be travelling through because they have been evolving since Brexit. Always make sure you have your vehicle insurance details and V5C logbook with you. Note that since 2021 bumper stickers must say UK, not GB.
Small motor scooters with automatic transmission, known in Greek as mihanákia or papákia (little ducks), are good transport for all but the steepest terrain. They’re available for rent on many islands and in a few of the popular mainland resorts at fairly modest prices. Prices can be bargained down out of peak season, or for a longer rental period. Only models of 80cc and above are powerful enough for two riders in mountainous areas, which includes most islands.
True motorbikes (mihanés) with manual trans-missions and safer tyres are less common. With the proper licence, bikes of 125cc and up are available in many resorts. Quads are also increasingly offered – without doubt the most stupid-looking and impractical transport yet devised, and very unstable on turns – make sure helmets are supplied.
Reputable establishments demand a full motorcycle driving licence (Class B) for any engine over 80cc and sometimes even for 50cc models, which is the official legal requirement. You will sometimes have to leave your passport as a deposit. Failure to carry the correct licence on your person also attracts a stiff fine, though some agencies still demand this rather than a passport as security.
Many rental outfits will offer you (an often ill-fitting) crash helmet (krános), and some will make you sign a waiver of liability if you refuse it. Helmet-wearing is required by law, with a steep fine for failure to do so; on some smaller islands the rule is laxly enforced, on others random police roadblocks do a brisk business in citations, to foreigners and locals alike.
Before riding off, always check the brakes and electrics; dealers often keep the front brakes far too loose, with the commendable intention of preventing you going over the handlebars. Make sure also that there’s a kick-start as backup to the battery, since ignition switches commonly fail.
Greek taxis are among the cheapest in the Mediterranean – so long as you get an honest driver who switches the meter on and doesn’t use high-tech devices to doctor the reading. Use of the meter is mandatory within city or town limits, where Tariff 1 applies, while in rural areas or between midnight and 5am Tariff 2 is levied. On certain islands, set rates apply on specific fixed routes – these might only depart when full. Baggage in the boot is charged a nominal fee per piece.
Additionally, there are surcharges for leaving or entering an airport, and for leaving a harbour area. There’s an additional charge if you summon a taxi by phone and the meter starts running from the moment the driver begins heading towards you. All categories of supplemental charges must be set out on a card affixed to the dashboard. For a week or so before and after Orthodox Easter, and Christmas, a filodhórima (gratuity) of about ten percent is levied.
Lesvos island, view of town Molyvos (Mithymna) with old castle above © leoks/Shutterstock
Cycling in Greece is not such hard going as you might imagine (except in summer), especially on one of the mountain bikes that are now the rule at rental outfits. You do, however, need steady nerves, as roads are generally narrow with no verges or bike lanes, and Greek drivers are notoriously inconsiderate to cyclists.
If you have your own bike, consider taking it along by train or plane (it’s free if within your 20–23kg international air allowance, but arrange it in writing with the airline beforehand to avoid huge charges at check-in). Once in Greece, you can take a bike for free on most ferries, in the guard’s van on most trains (for a small fee), and in the luggage bays of buses. Bring any small spare parts, since specialist shops are rare.
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