Important Greece train update

As you’re probably aware Greece is experiencing a difficult period right now, which is causing disruption up and down the country. Read about the various strikes that are taking place to help you plan your trip. Greece is still a beautiful country to visit, but it’s important to consider the current conditions when travelling there. 

Also before travelling to Greece make sure you’re aware of the current situation of the country’s train network. International trains to and from Greece are temporarily suspended. If you still want to travel to Greece, you’ll need to make alternative arrangements for your international travel. Depending on where you’re travelling to and from, some parts of your journey may be covered by your InterRail pass, but others won’t be.

Travel between Greece and Italy

We advise you to take a ferry to travel between Italy and Greece. Your InterRail pass entitles you to FREE or discounted ferry crossings between the Italian ports of Ancona, Bari, Brindisi and Venice and the Greek ports of Igoumenitsa / Patras. Read more about Greece Pass Benefits.

Please note: A new port has opened in Patras, just south of the old port. Regular buses will run between the two ports.

Travel between Bulgaria and Greece

According to Bulgarian Railways, the international train route Bucharest – Sofia – Thessaloniki (and vice versa) will only operate the Bulgarian section of the route (Bucharest – Sofia). Here are instructions of how to enter Greece from Bulgaria, and how to travel to the nearest operational train station:

  1. From Sofia catch a train to the Bulgarian town of Kulata at the country’s border.
  2. Make the short walk across the border into Greece.
  3. Close to the Greek Customs there is a public telephone from where you can call a taxi to take you south to the bus terminal in Serres. Expect to pay around €25.
  4. From Serres take a bus to Thessaloniki. From here you can connect to Greece’s train network.

There is also a  bus service from Bulgaria to Greece, but this is not covered by your InterRail pass. There are several buses between Sofia and Thessaloniki each day, available from a number of bus companies. The Central Bus Station site (select English in the top right corner)

The OSE operates a bus route from Sofia to Athens (duration: 15 hours) and from Sofia to Thessaloniki to (duration: 7½ hours).

Travel between Turkey and Greece

There are several bus services available between Istanbul and Thessaloniki. These aren’t covered by your InterRail pass.

KTEL Bus: Thessaloniki – Istanbul

Departs daily at 10:00 and 22:00 from Irenes Street 17, in the centre of Thessaloniki

Approximate cost: €35

Duration: 12 hours

More info

OSE Bus: Alexandroupolis – Istanbul

Departs Tuesday to Sunday at 8.30

Aproximate cost: €15

Duration: 6 hours

Get information and tickets at Greek railway stations

More info about Turkish bus companies

Travel between FYR Macedonia and Greece

There are several ways you can reach Greece from FYR Macedonia:

Find useful information about international buses in Greece.

  • A number of local travel agencies in Skopje arrange transport to Thessaloniki daily, by car or minibus. More info
  • There is also a bus service between Gevgelija and Thessaloniki. More info
  • You can also travel by taxi between the railway stations of Bitola (FYR Macedonia) and Florina (Greece). More info

Closed section of Greece train network

  • The narrow gauge railway around Peloponnisos (Patras – Alfios – Kiparissia – Tripolis – Kiato) has apparently been permanently taken out of service.
  • The line running between Patras and Kiato on the northern coast is also closed, due to construction work. Travellers entering Greece by boat in Patras need to take a bus to Kiato, where it is possible to connect to the  Proastiakos suburban train to Athens, or take a direct bus from Patras to Athens.
  • These lines in the Peloponnisos area are running:
    • Olympia-Pirgos-Katakolo
    • Diakopto-Kalavrita

To find train times in Greece use the Trainose website. The English section does not currently show train times, so you must use Google Chrome to view the travel planner in Greek – this will automatically translate everything and then you can find the train times of most Greek trains. If the planner states that ‘there were routes between … and …’ this means that particular line has now been taken out of service (except for the suburban train Proastiakos between Athens Airport – Athens – Kiato , see below)

At the bottom left of the page you can download a PDF that shows the schedule for the route: Athens Airport – Athens – Kiato run by Proastiakos. From Kiato you can then connect to Patras by bus.

Please note: Due to the changeable situation within Greece we cannot guarantee that trains shown in the timetable will be running.

Share your experiences

We'd love to hear about your experiences of travelling on the Greece train network and any tips you might have for other InterRail travellers. Please email: experiences@eurail.com. Unfortunately, we cannot reply to your messages, due to the large volume of emails we receive.