Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sea Jets
( 210 412 1001;
www.seajets.gr
)
Catamarans calling at Athens, Crete, San-
torini (Thira), Paros and many islands in between.
Sea Star
( 22460 44000;
www.net-club.gr/tilosseastar.htm
)
High-speed catamaran
connecting Tilos with Rhodes, Halki and Nisyros.
Skyros Shipping Company
( 22220 921164;
www.sne.gr
)
Slow boat between Skyros
and Kymi on Evia.
Strintzis Ferries
( 26102 40000;
www.strintzisferries.gr
)
Larger, older ferries in the
Sporades.
Superfast Ferries
(
www.superfast.com
)
As the name implies, speedy ferries from the
mainland to Crete, Corfu and Patra.
Ventouris Ferries
( 210 411 4911;
www.ventourissealines.gr
)
Big boats from the main-
land to the Cyclades.
Zante Ferries
( 26950 49500, in Athens 210 410 0211;
www.zanteferries.gr
) Older fer-
ries connecting the mainland with the western Cyclades.
Bus
The bus network is comprehensive. All long-distance buses, on the mainland and the is-
lands, are operated by regional collectives known as
KTEL
(Koino Tamio Eispraxeon Leo-
forion;
www.ktel.org
). Details of inter-urban buses throughout Greece are available by di-
alling 14505. Bus fares are fixed by the government and bus travel is very reasonably
priced. A journey costs approximately €5 per 100km.
Services
Every prefecture on the mainland has a KTEL, which operates local services within the
prefecture and to the main towns of other prefectures. With the exception of towns in
Thrace, which are serviced by Thessaloniki, all the major towns on the mainland have fre-
quent connections to Athens. The islands of Corfu, Kefallonia and Zakynthos can also be
reached directly from Athens by bus - the fares include the price of the ferry ticket.
Most villages have a daily bus service of some sort, although remote areas may have
only one or two buses a week. They operate for the benefit of people going to town to
shop, rather than for tourists, and consequently leave the villages very early in the morn-
ing and return early in the afternoon.
Practicalities
»
It is important to note that big cities like Athens, Iraklio, Patra and Thessaloniki may
have more than one bus station, each serving different regions. Make sure you find the
