Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GETTING AROUND
By bus
Buses to the east cover two main routes: Vólos-
Hánia-Zagorá and Vólos-Tsangarádha-Áyios Ioánnis (see
below), with scarce services linking Zagorá and
Tsangarádha to complete a loop. The far south is equally
infrequently served with departures to Milína, Tríkeri,
Plataniá and Katiyiórgis, though the respective northern
and western highlights Makrynítsa and Vyzítsa both have
more frequent connections, as does Áfyssos.
By car
Given patchy bus services, a rental car is your best
option. Note that driving is slow progress, since perilously
narrow, often rock-strewn roads snake around ravine
contours, seemingly never getting closer to villages just
across the way. Car rental is available in Volós (see p.224)
and from Pelion Rent (
T
24230 54365,
W
pelionrent.com)
in Áfyssos and Milína.
INFORMATION
Services
Banks and petrol stations are found along the
commercialized coastal road just out from Vólos. Otherwise,
there are post offices in Zagorá, Tsangarádha and Áyios
Yeóryios, ATMs in Zagorá, Tsangarádha, Ayía Kyriakí and
Argalastí, and petrol stations in Zagorá, Argalastí, Ayía
Kyriakí and elsewhere.
3
Vólos
Sitting at the northwest corner of the Pagasitic Gulf, the city of
VÓLOS
is a major port
and looks promising enough based on the glittering view from the hillside as you
approach. Close-up, however, the resolutely industrial outskirts and the mostly
lacklustre centre evoke nothing of its mythological past as the spot from which Jason
and the Argonauts embarked on their quest for the Golden Fleece.
With a population approaching 150,000, Vólos ranks as the fifth-largest Greek city,
rebuilt in utilitarian style after a series of devastating earthquakes between 1947 and
1957, and now edging to its natural limits against the Pelion foothills. University of
Thessaly students make it a lively place, and you could do worse than spend a few
hours or even a night here while waiting for a bus into the Pelion or a boat to the
Sporades islands, for which Vólos is the
main port
. The most attractive place to linger is
along the eastern
waterfront esplanade
, between landscaped
Platía Yeoryíou
and the
archeological
museum
.
Archeological museum
Athanasaki 1 • Tues-Sun 8am-8pm; Mon 1.30-8pm • €2
Vólos's
archeological
museum
boasts exemplary labelling and well-lit galleries, one
reserved for changing exhibits. Highlights of the permanent collection include one of
the best European assemblages of Neolithic (6500-3500 BC) figurines from various
surrounding sites; faint but expressive painted grave stelae
from Hellenistic Dimitrias
depicting everyday scenarios of fifth-century BC life, with some inscriptions helpfully
translated; and a massive quantity of items, including superb stone and gold jewellery,
from tombs of all eras across Thessaly.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
VÓLOS
By air
The nearest airport, receiving overseas flights (but
not domestic flights), is 26km southwest of the city,
beyond Néa Anhíalos (Almyrós). Buses generally meet
flights and transfer passengers to Vólos. Package
companies monopolize most such flights while Ryanair
also offer flights from Germany, Belgium and Italy.
By train
The train station is just off Platía Ríga Feréou.
Destinations
Athens
(1 daily express service via Lárissa;
4hr 30min); Lárissa
(15 daily; 52min).
By bus
The KTEL city bus terminal is on Sekéri, just off
Grigoríou Lambráki, a 10min walk southwest of the main
square, Platía Ríga Feréou. There is a taxi rank outside.
Destinations
Áfyssos (6 daily Mon-Fri, 5 Sat & Sun; 1hr);
Áyios Ioánnis (2 daily Mon-Fri, 1 Sun; 2hr 15min);
Katiyiórgis (2 daily Mon-Fri, 1 Sat & Sun; 2hr); Makrynítsa
(9 daily Mon-Fri, 7 Sat & Sun; 50min); Miliés (6 daily Mon-
Fri, 4 Sat & Sun; 1hr); Milína via Hórto (4 daily; 1hr 30min);
Plataniás (3 daily Mon-Fri, 2 Sat & Sun; 2hr); Thessaloníki
(8-9 daily; 3hr); Tríkala (4 daily; 2hr 30min); Tríkeri (2 daily
Mon-Fri, 1 Sat & Sun; 2hr 30min); Tsangarádha (2 daily; 1hr
45min); Vyzítsa (6 daily Mon-Fri, 4 Sat & Sun; 1hr 10min);
Zagorá (3 daily Mon-Fri, 2 Sat & Sun; 2hr-2hr 30min).
Parking
The city
centre has pay-and-display parking - or
try the covered car park on Ógl.
