What is an easy alternative to flying to Athens from London?
Will be traveling to Athens to meet a cruiseship this December so long as Covid allows, though i do not want to fly, so i looked in to alternative means of getting there and i could get a train to Italy and then a ferry from Ancona to Greece and then a bus to Athens. However this still means a good three days travel and quite a few changes along the way.
Does anyone know another way to get to Athens? I know there is a train goes from Paris to Moscow once per week, is there anything like this that goes to Athens? What is the closest i could get to Athens by one train from Paris? And how many trains from there?
It is a pity that the ferry from Marseille appears to have stopped going to Greece, as that would have been much easier from London, than Ancona.
Best Answer
The Man in Seat 61 has a detailed exploration of train routes from London to Athens, some including ferries.
Note that the state of basically all forms of transportation are in an indefinite state of flux due to the pandemic. It's impossible to say firmly whether cruise ferries from Italy to Greece will be running in December, and if they run, it's impossible to say on what schedule. This makes planning difficult, as small changes to the schedule of one segment can break the entire journey.
A trip like this before a cruise is also risky, as there are so many opportunities for your journey to be interrupted, which could cause you to miss your cruise. If you're relying on, say, four trains and a cruise ferry (plus various local transit systems) to get you to port on time, a problem with any one of those could ruin your trip or at least require significant scrambling to find alternate transportation.
None of these methods really count as easy: all will require at least a couple days of travel and a number of changes. Option one, with trains to Italy, an overnight ferry to Patras, and a bus/train trip to Athens was at least doable in normal times, though I would personally want to pad my time in Athens significantly before a cruise before trying it. Flying is probably the most practical option in terms of travel time and certainty.
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How do you get from England to Greece without flying?
No airports, no flights, just civilised trains and a cosy en suite cabin on a comfortable ferry. Take Eurostar to Paris and a high-speed train through the Alps to Italy, then an overnight cruise ferry across the Adriatic to Greece.Can you take a train from the UK to Greece?
Travel from London to Athens by train Traveling from London to Athens by train is an exciting journey with some wonderful scenery. The two leading companies serving this route are Eurostar and SNCB. The entire trip takes over 36 hours, with many connections.What is the fastest way to get to Greece?
By far, the fastest and easiest way to get to Greece is to fly. There are direct flights to many Greek destinations from all major airports. If you have more time, then driving or traveling by train can be enjoyable, although probably more expensive than flying.What can I do instead of flying?
7 Excellent Ways to Travel Without Flying- Travel By Coach/Bus.
- Travel By Car (Self-Drive)
- Hire A Driver.
- Travel by RV or Van.
- Travel By Train.
- Travel By Motorcycle.
- Travel By Boat.
Flying to Greece in 2022 - American Airlines to Heathrow \u0026 British Airways to Athens | Greece Travel
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Answer 2
There used to be Orient Express trains from London to Athens, but those stopped running... in 1962!
There are at the moment very limited international train services between Greece and the rest of the world. According to Wikipedia, the only trains running at the moment are:
- Thessaloniki – Skopje – Belgrade
- Thessaloniki – Sofia – Bucharest
- Thessaloniki – Sofia* Arrival train into Thessaloniki connecting with the 11pm service to Athens, thus being aimed at connecting passengers from Sofia to Athens
Rome2rio lists an itinerary from London to Athens with a bus from London to Sofia followed by Sofia-Thessaloniki and Thessaloniki-Athens trains, with a total of over 2 days and 5 hours (40 hours of which on the London-Sofia bus!).
The shortest option they list without a flight involves 5 trains, one bus and one taxi, taking a bit under 34 hours (London - Brussels - Frankfurt - Wien - Bratislava - Thessaloniki - Athens).
Very long distance trains have become a rarity in Europe, and the Paris-Moscow service is a bit of an exception.
The option with the least changes (but by far not the fastest) would probably be London - Paris - Venice - Patras - Athens.
I love trains, but I would most definitely fly!
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