Things were going way to smoothly ..........
Oh dear, hit a couple of a stumbling blocks.
Stumble number 1:
The Serbian train company has decided to cancel all trains to Skopje, which means that there are no trains to Greece via this route. The only options are:
The horrendous option: Train to Bucarest taking 1 day and 1 hour which has 4 changes and a stop over of 6 hours in the dead of night at a provincial station. I’m brave but think that might just be a stretch to far for me - all on my own-some in a strange country and in the middle of nowhere In the middle of the night! Then a train again overnight from Bucarest to Sofia and then Sofia to Thessoloniki
The only real option: Fly!
Think I will have to bite the bullet and book a flight from Belgrade to Thessoloniki which are looking around £120. Had hoped to do this trip all by land/sea but this has really put a spoke in the wheel.
So, this has now prompted me to revise the schedule slightly from 1st June onwards. It will look as follows:
1st June to 6th - Thessoloniki (will take some time for a bit of beach therapy)
6th June Train from Thessoloniki to Athens
6th to 11th June - Athens
11th June - Travel to Patras for boat to Bari (2nd Stumbling block).
Stumble number 2:
The ferries sleeper accommodations were booking up really quickly so have had to book quicker than I was planning. Have now secured a bed in a 4 berth cabin which is great - no problem there. This is a 15 hour crossing, so more like a mini cruise - lol. The issue has come in getting to Patras to get on the boat.
Googling transport from Athens to Patras brings up 2 options - Train which involves a change and is nearly 4 hours plus connection time or bus which is a straight 3 hours through some pretty countryside. Both are ok however though I have searched both RailCC (train) and KTEL (bus) for tickets both do not allow you to book online - both state destination not available. However, posts on google seem to re-assure that they are available but you have to been in Athens and buy the respective tickets at the stations. So have had to have a leap of faith in booking the Ferry ticket that I will be able to get transport once I get to Athens.
Hey-ho!!!
Stumble number 1:
The Serbian train company has decided to cancel all trains to Skopje, which means that there are no trains to Greece via this route. The only options are:
The horrendous option: Train to Bucarest taking 1 day and 1 hour which has 4 changes and a stop over of 6 hours in the dead of night at a provincial station. I’m brave but think that might just be a stretch to far for me - all on my own-some in a strange country and in the middle of nowhere In the middle of the night! Then a train again overnight from Bucarest to Sofia and then Sofia to Thessoloniki
The only real option: Fly!
Think I will have to bite the bullet and book a flight from Belgrade to Thessoloniki which are looking around £120. Had hoped to do this trip all by land/sea but this has really put a spoke in the wheel.
So, this has now prompted me to revise the schedule slightly from 1st June onwards. It will look as follows:
1st June to 6th - Thessoloniki (will take some time for a bit of beach therapy)
6th June Train from Thessoloniki to Athens
6th to 11th June - Athens
11th June - Travel to Patras for boat to Bari (2nd Stumbling block).
Stumble number 2:
The ferries sleeper accommodations were booking up really quickly so have had to book quicker than I was planning. Have now secured a bed in a 4 berth cabin which is great - no problem there. This is a 15 hour crossing, so more like a mini cruise - lol. The issue has come in getting to Patras to get on the boat.
Googling transport from Athens to Patras brings up 2 options - Train which involves a change and is nearly 4 hours plus connection time or bus which is a straight 3 hours through some pretty countryside. Both are ok however though I have searched both RailCC (train) and KTEL (bus) for tickets both do not allow you to book online - both state destination not available. However, posts on google seem to re-assure that they are available but you have to been in Athens and buy the respective tickets at the stations. So have had to have a leap of faith in booking the Ferry ticket that I will be able to get transport once I get to Athens.
Hey-ho!!!
Gotta love a bit of a jigsaw puzzle. Adds to the fun ;-)
ReplyDelete