Detailed Travel Tips

Want a little more detail in your travel advice? Here are some tips compiled by Kalikalos visitors over the years.

Overland to Greece

One possible route includes the superb, newly refurbished Thello Night Sleeper service from Paris to Milan or Venice. Similar night services are being introduced from Scandinavia, Germany and Austria.

Another affordable option to consider is the Balkan Rail Pass giving three days travel in Greece (and throughout the Balkans, including Turkey) within two calendar months. (€60 adults, €51 over 60’s, €45 ages 12-26, €30 under 12, under 4 free.)

Some example prices in June from London or Paris, with advance booking;

London-Paris €79 (Change Train Stations.) Eurostar.

Paris-Venice €29 (Night Train with Sleeping Couchette.) Thello.

Venice -Patras €70 (Deck class.) Minoan Ferries.

It’s also possible to take the sleeper from Paris to Milan, and then add an additional train to Ancona and get a different ferry.

The advantage of the Ancona route is that it shortens the ferry ride, and departs Ancona in the afternoon, arriving in Patras the following day, allowing the traveller to get the direct 15.45 KTEL bus from Patras to Volos. (Only on Mon/Thur/Fri/Sun.) €40

In these three easy steps the traveller has the opportunity to lunch in Paris, take a comfortable overnight sleeper to Venice, breakfast in La Serenissima or Milan, before a relaxed cruise down the Adriatic. It’s very sedate and civilised.

Flying to Greece

Fly direct to Volos (VOL)

Every flight to and from Volos airport (with the exception of charterflights.co.uk from London) has a coordinating Bus Transfer to Volos bus station (€5).

Fly to Skiathos Island (JSI)

  • From AUSTRIA: Vienna, on Austrian.
  • From BRITAIN: Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle, all on TUI or Jet2.com
  • From CYPRUS: Larnaca on Cyprus Airways
  • From GERMANY: Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and München (Munich) on Condor
  • From ITALY; Bari, Bologna, Milan, Naples, Rome, Turin, Venice, Verona, on Blu Express and Volotea.
  • From FINLAND; Helsinki, on Finnair.

Once on Skiathos, take the Ferry to Volos. The Ferry terminal is a 5 minute taxi ride from the airport or a 25 minute walk.

Fly to Thessaloniki (SKG), on EasyJet, Ryan air, Jet2.com or many other airlines, from many UK and European airports, including Birmingham, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Manchester and Newcastle.

Fly to Corfu (CFU) from various European and UK airports. Proceed by ferry to Igoumenitsa. Then take the bus out to IOANINA (Epirus), and change for a bus to Volos. The very longest journey but feasible and possibly the cheapest route.

Fly to Athens (ATH) on Easy Jet, Aegean, BA, Olympic and many other airlines.

Staying in Athens

Friends of Kalikalos, Tracy Seed and Michael Haidas located at 31 Gounari St, Agia Paraskevi, 15343 Athens., Tel. 00 30 6943623970 offer Double rooms, at €25.00 per night with breakfast, shared dorm space available €15.00 per night. They may be willing in some situations to consider work exchange instead of payment.

Michael’s email is alternativegreece@gmail.com. Airport bus X 95 takes you to Agia Paraskevi square (20 minutes). Their house is just 5 min walk from the square, located close to the Metro and coach station to travel to Pelion. Michael is a great person to give guests clear directions and support and he can even collect people from the airport for a fee if arranged in advance.

Thessaloniki to Volos

Local bus No. X1 (or N1 night bus) KTEL- Airport (€2), will take you to the main KTEL intercity coach station, (45 min) followed by a 2½ hour bus trip to Volos (€20).

We recommend that you book your Thessaloniki—Volos bus by phone (Tel +30 24210 33254 or +30 24210 25527) the day before. The KTEL bus company will hold your reservation up to 30 min before the bus departs.

https://ktelvolou.e-ticketing.gr has real-time availability, an option for English language, and you can book and pay online with a credit card.

Thessaloniki – Volos (2 1/2hours): 08:15, 11:00, 13:15, 15:15, 17:15, 19:15, 21:15, 23:00

Ticket Price: one way 19 €, return 35€

We can also organise a shared taxi transport from Thessaloniki Airport right to our centre (€230/car, max. 4 passengers, or a taxi-minibus €300/bus, max 8 passengers).

Athens to Volos

From Athens Airport Bus X95 goes to Syntagma or Omonia Square where there are many budget hotels. Bus X93 will take you directly to the LIOSION bus terminal (45 min) where you can get a bus to Volos. TAKE CARE NOT TO GO TO KIFISSOS TERMINAL (which serves the South of Greece.)

Buses X95 and X93 depart every 25 minutes,and are located between exit 4 and 5 at the arrival level. The metro goes direct from the airport to Omonia or Syntagma square in central Athens.

KTEL buses for Volos leave from Liossion Terminal B (Gousiou, a side street off 260 Liossion street), near Kato Patissia metro station. The trip takes about four hours. The 9:00 a.m. bus is the last one to catch the 13:30/14.00 local bus to Kissos. As Friday is often a busy travel day in Greece, we suggest that you pre-book your Athens–Volos bus ticket in advance: Call 0030 24210 33254 or 0030 2108 329 585 (They speak English).

https://ktelvolou.e-ticketing.gr has real-time availability, an option for English language, and you can book and pay online with a credit card.

The Athens – Volos bus (4 hours) leaves at: 07:00, 09:00, 10:30, 12:00, 13:30, 15:00, 16:30, 18:00, 20:00, and 22:00. Check here to confirm bus schedules: http://ktelvolou.gr/en/routes/map/&map=greece

We can also organize a shared taxi transport from Athens Airport right to our centre (€280/car, max. 4 passengers.

Train to Volos

The beautiful Athens to Volos train journey takes 5 hours. It requires a platform change at Larissa which can be challenging for those with mobility issues or heavy luggage. Be aware that Greek trains can only be pre-booked in person at the train station, and are often fully booked on Fridays.

Check https://tickets.trainose.gr/dromologia/ for times.

One affordable option to consider is the Balkan Rail Pass giving three days travel in Greece (and throughout the Balkans) within two calendar months. (€60 adults, €51 over 60’s, €45 ages 12-26, €30 under 12, under 4 free.)

The Balkan Rail Pass should be available at the Airport train station counter, and at Athens Main Train Station (called “Larissa Station”).

Staying in Volos

Coming to Volos earlier gives you a leisurely night and morning in this pleasant small city. It is also your last chance to get Euros since there are no ATM machines near our Centres. Here are some options for Volos hotels on a budget (25-35 euros).

  • Jason Hotel, seafront, corner of Mela and Argonafton streets, opposite the port entrance: (Tel.24210 26075) €30
  • Hotel Kipseli, seafront, Kallergi 1, (Tel. 24210 24420) €60
  • Hotel Galaxy, near seafront, Ag. Nikolau 3, (Tel. 24210 20750) €42
  • Hotel Roussa, near the Hospital, Iatrou Tzanou street 1, Tel +30 24210 21732. Hotel Roussa is about 2 km from the bus or train stations. The €6,50 bus to Kissos/Ag. Ioannis stops just outside the hospital one block inland.
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