Trains across Europe? (UK->Athens..)

BrunoM

Hi all,

[background, you don't have to read this!

Thinking ahead here - my OH and I marry in a fortnight, but we're having "the wedding and celebration" this summer/September when her American relatives can plan ahead to make it, etc. We're cheating by having two holidays therefore, one next month (as we have to go over to California anyway to sort out her settlement visa), one after the event in September to be the official "honeymoon"

Now we went to Naxos (Greek island) last summer and absolutely loved it. Our plan this time is to visit there again and travel around a few other islands too. So far so good, this is pretty easy to sort out I think and hope. ]

The potential hiccup is that the bride-to-be absolutely loves train journeys and is determined that we should get to Athens by train, taking a day or three or more to cross Europe as required. Probably we'd fly back at the end of the holiday.

Can anyone tell me

a) has anyone else travelled that route? Is it as mad as I suspect it is? Time taken, number of changes, cost? Was it... at all nice?!

b) of any good resources out there which might help in planning? Suspect if this is to be at all viable I may want to make an early start in bookings etc...

Thanks in advance!

o_t_e

I think the three days is more realistic an 'perhaps more' is advisable - I did it years ago and sleeping on trains, even sleepers, is an acquired taste.

I think if you break it up ie a a day travelling, a day in a city you'd like to visit, then travelling again, it could be quite enjoyable but would be eating into your island hopping time.

There is a european timetable your can buy from Thomas cook that might prove useful.

As to cost it may well work out as cheap, and more flexible, to buy an interrail card each but even then you're looking at £295 for a 16 day pass, £205 if you are under 26.

I went through what was (at the time) Yugoslavia, and to be honest there is nothing noteworthy about that final leg of the journey so it might be nice to go down through France and Italy then get the ferry to Greece - I believe there is a ferry service at the bottom of italy that is covered by the interrail pass.

mixu

Start here with your planning: https://www.seat61.com/Greece.htm

Lemmy_Caution

I agree with o_t_e: I've been through the old Yugoslavia route, and there really isn't much to recommend it. Going the Italy way - Brindisi-Patras ferry (Patras is more interesting than it is given credit for, by the way) and onwards is the best route. Train travel is cheap in Italy and Greece.
It is possible to get to Athens in 48 hours by train, and ferry. Might I suggest a sort of compromise - cheap return flight to somewhere in Italy, Interrail zone G - covering; Italy, Greece, and Turkey (ferries Italy-Greece included)
Bear in mind that you may have to pay supplements on top of the pass for certain faster trains.
All of these things require a little bit of planning of course. Travelling by train in Italy and Greece by train is great, (despite the latter's poor reputation) enjoy!
Edit: At this time of year, I would say that you will not need to book that far ahead.

ruthiejane

To get the best prices you need to be booking 4 months ahead - or at least contacting a travel agent around then. We book to Greece quite often, most people choice to travel to southern Italy (about 24 hours from London) and then take a ferry.

If flying back you may want to consider flying back to Paris as you'll have to buy a return Eurostar ticket anyway, unless you are both under 26.

I work for Ffestiniog Travel which is how I have this information.

Voyager2002

Firstly, I agree with her. Doing a journey of that length by rail is a good way to appreciate how far you are going, and to get a feel for the changing landscapes that you cross.

I did that journey in reverse once. Crossing Yugoslavia was tedious, but once we had entered Italy things looked up. I broke my journey in Trieste (a delight); Venice (wonderful of course); Verona (perfect); Geneva, and Paris (where I lost my money, passport and camera and then realised that my insurance had just expired. Fortunately I got everything back half an hour later!).

If you want to minimise costs, try to get bargain tickets on the voyages-sncf web site.

Voyager2002

Oh: I don't think there is much point in buying a rail pass for the zone mentioned (Italy - Greece - Turkey) since trains there are cheap anyway.

ruthiejane

InterRail and Euro Domino passes are about to have a big shake up, so if you are planning to travel after March there is no point trying to price the journey using them at the moment.

Lemmy_Caution

Voyager2002 wrote:

Oh: I don't think there is much point in buying a rail pass for the zone mentioned (Italy - Greece - Turkey) since trains there are cheap anyway.

I agree really. The only reason I suggest Interrail is that it takes in the ferry - around £60 RTN, and the flexibility. As I said before, train travel is cheap in both countries.

davidlizard

BrunoM - we have visited Naxos every summer now since 1996, using it as a base and taking in two or three different islands for several days at a time each year. As you probably found out last summer, Naxos is nicely placed on the ferry network so getting to other islands is relatively easy, but we loved the "little Cyclades" (Iraklia, Koufanissi, Schinoussa) round the back end of the island if you like smaller islands. Have a look at https://www.greekislandhopping.com - fully recommend purchasing the book as it has a fair bit on international travel, Athens, the ferries and the islands.

I would second some of the other recommendations here and take the train to Italy - Venice would be not so hot in September and is worth a couple of days looking round.

Venice to Patras on the ferry takes about 36 hours. Minoan (https://www.minoan.gr) certainly do this route and others, but I know there are some others. Ancona, Bari and Brindisi usually have ferry links to Patras if you want more train and less boat. Ferrys down the Adriatic also open options up with the Ionion islands. There are trains and buses from Patras to Athens reasonably frequently. Once you get to Athens, boats to Naxos from Pireaus tend to leave either at around 8am or 4pm (with some exceptions with a reduced service on Wednesdays last year for some reason), but there are also boats from Rafina about 1-2 hours further on, which go to Naxos via Andros/Mykonos which are another option.

Have a good wedding.