Country Information

Olympic Airlines (www.olympicair.com) and Aegean Airlines (www.aegeanair.com) operate flights on many domestic routes. Private charter flights are also available.

It is both cheap and easy to travel around the islands. There are ferry services (www.greekferries.gr) on many routes, with services most frequent during the summer. The main ports in Attica are Piraeus and Rafina, although there are regular services to the islands from the smaller ports of Alexandroupolis, Igoumenitsa, Kavala, Kyllini, Patras, Thessaloniki and Volos.

Tickets can be bought from the shipping lines' offices located around the quaysides or online. In major ports the larger companies have offices in the city centre. There are two classes of ticket (First Class and Economy Class) which offer varying degrees of comfort; couchette cabins can be booked for the longer voyages or those wishing to avoid the sun. Most ships have restaurant facilities. During high season it is wise to buy tickets in advance, as inter-island travel is very popular.

Routes from Piraeus: Piraeus offers frequent services to most islands in the following groups: Argo-Saronic, Cyclades, Dodacanese and the Northeast Aegean, plus Crete and several mainland ports.

Check sailing times either with individual lines, the Greek National Tourism Organisation (see Contact Addresses), or in Piraeus.

Routes from Rafina: There are ferries to nearby Evvia from Rafina, plus to some islands in the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, and the northeast Aegean.

Other routes: Several other routes between the mainland ports and the islands are also covered.

Hydrofoil: A hydrofoil service, also called the Flying Dolphins, (www.hellenicseaways.gr) offers a fast and efficient service from Piraeus, travelling to many of the nearby islands. Although this is somewhat more expensive than travelling by ferry, journey times are cut drastically. They also serve some other routes. For further information on various ferry and hydrofoil timetables, see the Greek Travel Pages (www.gtp.gr).

Yachts: Numerous types of yachts and sailing vessels can be chartered or hired with or without crews. ‘Flotilla holidays' are popular, and the Greek National Tourism Organisation (see Contact Addresses) has a full list of companies running this type of holiday.

Athens now has only one main train station, Larissa. Train information and tickets are available from the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) (tel: 1110, within Greece only; www.ose.gr) and a large number of destinations are served every day going north and south from Athens.

InterRail One-Country Pass: various tickets allow for travel for three, four, six or eight days to be taken during the period of a month and within Greece. The passenger must be an EU resident. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Travellers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children's tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. The InterRail Greece Plus Pass also allows free deck tickets from Italy to Greece aboard Superfast ferries. Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064; www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).

Balkan Flexipass: offers five, 10 or 15 days' unlimited rail travel within one month in Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of) and Romania. Available from the Hellenic Railways Organisation Ltd (OSE) (www.ose.gr).

Greece has a good road network. Traffic drives on the right.

Coach: Coaches link Athens and all main towns in Greece. Services on the islands tend to be less reliable, and on some small islands there is no motorised transport at all. Fares are low.

Bus information: There are two long-distance bus terminals in Athens: Terminal A (100 Kifissou Street) and Terminal B (260 Liossion Street). KTEL run long-distance bus journeys (tel: 14505; www.ktelattikis.gr).

Car hire: Most major international car hire firms operate throughout Greece.

Regulations: The minimum age for driving is 18. Children under 10 must sit in the back seat. Seat belts must be worn. There are fines for breaking traffic regulations. The maximum speed limit is 120kph (75mph) on motorways, 110kph (68mph) outside built-up areas and 50kph (30mph) in built-up areas. It is illegal to carry spare petrol in the vehicle.

Emergency breakdown service: ELPA (Automobile and Touring Club of Greece; tel: 210 606 8800; www.elpa.gr). Emergency breakdown services can be contacted toll-free by dialling 10400.

Documentation: A national driving licence is acceptable for EU nationals. The car registration documents must be carried at all times. Nationals of non-EU countries may need an International Driving Permit and should contact ELPA.

Athens: Athens city centre is well served by frequent buses and trolleybuses. Tickets can be purchased from the Athens Urban Transport Organisation (www.oasa.gr) at various booths and kiosks situated around the city.

Athens has a reliable underground system that consists of three major lines. Line 1 (www.isap.gr) runs north-south between Athens (suburb of Kifissia) and Piraeus daily; Line 2 (www.metro.gr) runs between Aghios Antonios and Aghios Dimitrios and line 3 (www.metro.gr) runs between Egaleo and the airport, passing through Monastiraki en route. Tickets can be purchased in the stations.

The tram system in Athens cuts through the city from Syntagma Square right through to the coast and runs a pleasant route from Peace and Friendship Stadium (in Neo Faliro) all the way to the most southern point of Glyfada. Tickets can be booked at all stations and trams connect with the Metro at Syntagma, Neos Kosmos and Neo Faliro.

Athens' large fleet of yellow taxis are extremely cheap by European standards. If you hail a taxi down in the street, it is not unusual to share the ride with other passengers going in a similar direction. Drivers are obliged to run a meter. Prices go up between midnight and 0500.

Thessaloniki: The city centre is well served by frequent buses. Tickets can be purchased from periptera (kiosks). Construction of the long-awaited metro in Thessaloniki finally began in 2006. If building work goes to plan, the single line running east-west will have 13 stations and should be ready for 2012. Taxis in Thessaloniki are dark blue and white. As in Athens, they are cheap and plentiful.

The following chart gives approximate journey times (in hours) from Athens to other major cities/islands in Greece.

	Air	Road	Water	Rail
Corfu	0.50	11*	-	-
Crete	0.50	-	6-9**	-
Rhodes	0.55	-	14	-
Thessaloniki	0.50	6	14	5

Note: *The journey time by road to Corfu includes a sea crossing from Patras.
**The overnight ferry is slower, taking 9 hours instead of the usual 6.