ThomasSchobesberger
Traveller
1 comments
Posted 5 years ago
Dear all,
I\'m trying to figure out a connection from Vienna (Austria) to Athens (Greece). There\'s a direct train from Vienna to Belgrade, which is almost half the way. From there, it get\'s complicated as neither the Serbian nor the Macedonian website offer much clue. There seems to be the "Hellas Express" on this route, but it seems to be running in summer months only. Could anybody confirm this?
If the Hellas Express does not run, would it be more recommendable to go via Sofia or via Bucarest?
Thanks for your help!
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi and welcome to railcc!
The least complicated way to get to Athens (in February) would be to go to Italy and take a ferry (from Venice, Ancona or Bari) to Patras; then by rail replacement bus and train via Kiato to Athens.
Budapest - Belgrade will be (partly) closed due to construction works from beginning of February; there is no official information regarding train services or replacement bus services available yet. Maybe there will be one daily train still running across the border, but in any way the journey will be even longer and more cumbersome that it already is.
Belgrade - Skopje - Thessaloniki is currently only operated in summer with the Hellas Express: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/belgrade-skopje-thessaloniki-train/[/ux]; the train will run from June to September only. There is no other international train service on this route.
Travelling via Bulgaria is possible but time consuming; how long do you want to travel, or to be more precise, how long are you willing to travel? Do you wan to cover as much of the route as possible by train or would be travelling (partly) by bus also ok?
Flo
ThomasSchobesberger
Traveller
1 comments
Hi Flo,
Thanks for the swift reply - unfortunately we haven\'t to too much time, we would leave around Friday, 1 February and should be back in Vienna on Sunday, 10 February. Of course we\'d love to do the bigger part by train but I\'ve been starting to realise that won\'t be possible. I know there is a direct bus from Budapest to Athens which takes 23 hours. This might be the only option given the short time span. :-/
Best,
Thomas
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hi Thomas.
I would have a look on the "Italian" option of Flo as well. At least for one direction. Maybe the return connection as tickets might be still cheaper.
Example:
[b]Vienna to Rome[/b] by nightjet. They currently offer a whole seat-compartement (6 seats) for up to three adults for [b]Euro 99[/b]. Tickets available here: [ux]https://rail.shop/oebb[/ux] Please also have a look at our blog: [ux]https://rail.cc/blog/nightjet-night-train-munich-rome/[/ux]
You can of course already exit the night train at Bologna or Florence if you want to continue directly in the evening by ferry to Greece. Or continue to Rome and stay there one night.
Arrival time in Rome is then about 09:30h. The both other cities at around 06h in the morning.
[b]Bologna/Florence/Rome to Ancona[/b]. It is a journey of about 4 hours from Rome or Florence. Bologna is faster. Tickets depends on your route but available from about [b]Euro 20[/b]. Have a look on [ux]https://rail.shop/omio[/ux]
If you exit in Bologna/Florence, you will get the ferry departures in Ancona at 16:00 to 17:00h by Minoan Lines [ux]https://rail.shop/minoan[/ux] or Superfast ferries [ux]https://rail.shop/superfast[/ux] . Check their booking websites for prices. Usually you get a seat from [b]Euro 75[/b].
The ferry route is then [b]Ancona to Patras[/b].
And finally as explained already by Flo continue from [b]Patras to Athens[/b] by bus/train for [b]Euro 17[/b]. Schedules and prices here: [ux]https://rail.shop/ose[/ux]
Pete :)