London to Greece

[Ian99]

I'm looking to go from London to Greece around 12 September going by Eurostar to Paris and then sleeper to somewhere in Italy before a further journey to Bari for a ferry to Greece.

I've done the Paris to Milan sleeper trip before which is a bit basic, sharing a 6 berth compartment, but fine by me. I'm wondering however about taking a different sleeper this time - maybe to Bologna or Venice before a train to Bari. Does anybody have any thoughts on the pros and cons of the different routes. I also wouldn't mind doing it in daylight but the need to get to Bari for the 2000hrs ferry may preclude that.

I'll also probably be doing it in reverse from Rhodes or Crete in early November.

Any input appreciated!

 

[Gordon]

I'm looking to go from London to Greece around 12 September going by Eurostar to Paris and then sleeper to somewhere in Italy before a further journey to Bari for a ferry to Greece.

Any input appreciated!

Have you thought about going via Brussels and Germany, or via Paris and Basel, or staying a night in Milano.

You could do London - Milano in a day by Estar and TGV, then get the morning Milano - Bari train




.

 

[Ian99]

Have you thought about going via Brussels and Germany, or via Paris and Basel, or staying a night in Milano.

You could do London - Milano in a day by Estar and TGV, then get the morning Milano - Bari train

.

Thanks for your input - I'll be travelling on my own so the idea of a hotel stop is less appealing than it might otherwise be but on the plus side I imagine going via Basel would be quite picturesque.

 

[philjo]

You could get the Paris-Rome sleeper?
There is a direct service from Rome to Bari (it skirts round Naples) - we used that train in 2004 when travelling from Florence to Rome, we just had to change at Rome.

I don't recommend the Italian domestic Milan-Bari sleeper! We had problems with it breaking down during the night (so we missed the TGV connection at Milan) & during that period my parents passports were stolen from our cabin (as were the belongings of some other passengers).
The International sleepers seemed much more secure - we used Paris-venice sleeper on the outward journey.

 

[Puffing Devil]

I've taken my entire family London-Paris-Venice-(Ferry)-Corfu. There's a sleeper train Paris-Venice with the usual accommodation, arriving in Venice in the morning. Spend a couple of days there, then take the ferry to Corfu, which also also runs along to Igoumenitsa and Patras. It's a pleasant little mini cruise. For a family of four a cabin made sense - you may want to tough it out on deck - beware it can get surprisingly windy!

For the reverse trip you may want to take a ferry from Patras to Brindis, then train to Rome and a night sleeper to Paris. Seat61 has timings and tips.

 

[30907]

If you don't want to use the Paris-Italy sleepers then DB's Paris-Munich (or Cologne-Munich) sleeper plus day train over the Brenner Pass, or the overnight Munich-Rome or Munich-Venice services, depending on how the connections work.

As usual, look at www.seat61.com for details of the options.

 

[gordonthemoron]

None of those DB sleepers has a restaurant car though

 

[306024]

I don't recommend the Italian domestic Milan-Bari sleeper! We had problems with it breaking down during the night (so we missed the TGV connection at Milan) & during that period my parents passports were stolen from our cabin (as were the belongings of some other passengers).
The International sleepers seemed much more secure - we used Paris-venice sleeper on the outward journey.

Glad I didn't read that before catching the Milan - Bari sleeper last week

My compartment was a sauna for the first three hours, but by the morning was comfortable. There were two sleepers from Milan, the first left 25 late, but mine left on time and only 10 late at Bari.

Don't rely on getting a taxi at Bari station to the port very quickly. At 10.00 there were a dozen people waiting, two taxi's, but no drivers. It is about a 30 minute walk which is fine if you are reasonably fit and don't have heavy luggage.

I have been overland to Greece once. My route was Harwich - Hook (HSS ferry), Hannover, Berlin, Warsaw, Kiev, Odessa, Istanbul (ferry), Athens. A bit of an adventure

 

[jamesontheroad]

Apologies if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs, but in case anyone reading this isn't aware of it, a great resource for planning any rail trip from the UK to the continent is Seat61, and in this case the page on how to get to Greece. Mark Smith does an amazing job of making complex itineraries easy for even non-rail-fans to follow.

 

[harry42]

Type into google seat 61 great site!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Apologies if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs, but in case anyone reading this isn't aware of it, a great resource for planning any rail trip from the UK to the continent is Seat61, and in this case the page on how to get to Greece. Mark Smith does an amazing job of making complex itineraries easy for even non-rail-fans to follow.

Sorry! Need to read before posting!

 

[waynenm1]

Indeed going via Basel would be picturesque. One could also do London-Paris-Basel or Geneva-Brig, overnight in Brig, then Brig-Milano-Bari. I was thinking of doing this once, but then, once I got to Brig, why bother going any further as you are in the heart of the Swiss Alps. wf.

 

[Ian99]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts.

I'm looking at getting a ferry from Piraeus towards Rhodes at 1900hrs on Monday 23rd September but the man at seat61 suggests that coming from Italy will mean an arrival in Piraeus too late for that trip. Obviously I can go a day earlier (I'll be in Italy a week before) but Piraeus doesn't seem an ideal place to spend 20 hours or so.

Does anyone have any ideas about a suitable stopping place which would still allow me to get to Piraeus late afternoon?

 

[cle]

Piraeus is basically a suburb of Athens. 20 hours, spend a day/night in Athens. Fantastic city for a very short visit - tons of close-by sites for one day.

 

[reb0118]

I had a great night in Piræus. Sorry can't remember where but will ask my friend. We barely made in to the airport the next day.

 

[Ian99]

Piraeus is basically a suburb of Athens. 20 hours, spend a day/night in Athens. Fantastic city for a very short visit - tons of close-by sites for one day.

I had a great night in Piræus. Sorry can't remember where but will ask my friend. We barely made in to the airport the next day.

Ah, that's useful information re Piraeus - are there any beaches?

 

[jb]

Ah, that's useful information re Piraeus - are there any beaches?

For the most part, Piraeus is a working port. Beaches are perhaps better a few miles down the road (Glyfada / Voula). Not sure about direct links to Piraeus from there but you may be able to get the metro somewhere near. You can certainly get to/from town from Piraeus.

If you are spending best part of a day, I'd recommend staying in town (Monastiraki / Thissio / Plaka area), making your way to the beach from the centre if that's what you wish to do, and head to Piraeus only really to catch the boat.