Amsterdam to Brindisi, by train or by road

Fascadale

Fascadale

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We are considering chartering a boat in Corfu for a couple of weeks next summer.

But I detest flying: I like traveling by train and I quite like driving

It's easy to get from the Athens of the North to Amsterdam by the Newcastle ferry, either on foot or with the car, then its about 1300 miles to Brindisi and then another ferry to Corfu.

If I went by car I presume there is secure parking somewhere in Brindisi so no need to take the car on the second ferry

I'm finding it difficult to research trans European trains: I can't find a simple enough website.

Has anyone done this journey lately? Any suggestions or advice would be very welcome.

(I last did this journey on an InterRail ticket in 1973: I don't think Mrs Fascadale would now wish to spend the night in her sleeping bag on a night train corridor with the backpackers)
 
Wasn't there an Athens-of-the-north to Zeebrugge ferry once?

Brindisi is like the car theft capital of Italy - theft of car; theft from car etc quite often they offer it back to you, only slightly damaged, for something not much less than the difference between what your insurers would give you and its real value. This has happened to two people I know, one of whom is a policeman (and he paid the ransom).

You'd be better taking your car with you to Corfu, could be useful to you there for shopping, land based excursions etc.

By train could be fun but very very long. Check out Italian railways (not as cheap any more as they once were) http://www.trenitalia.com .

Since you seem to like long ferry rides, why not consider embarking at Venice? The Corfu ferries leave 100 or so meters from where the Brindisi, Bari, Ancona, Venezia ferries arrive in Igoumenitsa.

Or ... rent your boat on the Greek mainland in or near Igoumenitsa - I've seen hire fleets at Platarias and Sivota that seem to belong to "Sailingholidays.com"

Hope this all helps. My wee boatie should be on the hard at Platarias now, I gave a bloke called Elias a wad of Euros to ensure this would be the case, but at the time someone had strung an electric cable across the road end of the slipway and he was waiting for a council deliberation to get it removed!
 
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I've taken a motorbike from Ancona, Brindisi and Bari to either Corfu or the mainland. However, I prefer the Ancona overnight ferry so I've done that two or three times as, although it's more expensive, it avoids that final hot and dusty Italian stretch along a fairly uninteresting autostrada.

Might be worth considering leaving the car in Ancona?

Richard
 
Yes, train is a possibility. When I looked at it a couple of years ago it was Eurostar to Paris. Sleeper to Milan, then change to Brindisi. In the end I drove via Dover/Dunkirk. 2 days driving with an overnight stop in Switzerland. Ferry to Corfu is infrequent and ship is old. Would not leave a car, or even a chewing gum wrapper, in Brindisi. On balance if you are going ferry route then Venice or Ancona are more popular - shorter driving but better ferries, although longer sea time so overall much the same elapsed time.

You need at least 4 in the car to get anywhere near the cost of flying, and nearly 4 days travel each way. Great if you are taking a lot of gear and use one way as a holiday. We took 7 days coming back. One of the advantages of Corfu is the frequent flights from various UK airports and the proximity of the airport to Gouvia.
 
Zen Zero said:
Wasn't there an Athens-of-the-north to Zeebrugge ferry once?

Brindisi is like the car theft capital of Italy - theft of car; theft from car etc quite often they offer it back to you, only slightly damaged, for something not much less than the difference between what your insurers would give you and its real value. This has happened to two people I know, one of whom is a policeman (and he paid the ransom).

You'd be better taking your car with you to Corfu, could be useful to you there for shopping, land based excursions etc.

By train could be fun but very very long. Check out Italian railways (not as cheap any more as they once were) http://www.trenitalia.com .

Since you seem to like long ferry rides, why not consider embarking at Venice? The Corfu ferries leave 100 or so meters from where the Brindisi, Bari, Ancona, Venezia ferries arrive in Igoumenitsa.

Or ... rent your boat on the Greek mainland in or near Igouenitsa - I've seen hire fleets at Platarias and Sivota that seem to belong to "Sailingholidays.com"

Hope this all helps. My wee boatie should be on the hard at Platarias now, I gave a bloke called Elias a wad of Euros to ensure this would be the case, but at the time someone had strung an electric cable across the road end of the slipway and he was waiting for a council deliberation to get it removed!
Click to expand...

No need to go to Ignoumenitsa as the ferries from Italy mostly stop in Corfu anyway. Sailing Holidays use Platarias as the changeover point for their flotillas because their contract with Monarch for flights is to Preveza/Aktios with a bus to Platarias.

Corfu is a much better place to start if you are bareboating as there is a wider choice of boats and flights from UK, with only a 20 euro taxi ride to the marina.
 
Tranona said:
No need to go to Ignoumenitsa as the ferries from Italy mostly stop in Corfu anyway. Sailing Holidays use Platarias as the changeover point for their flotillas because their contract with Monarch for flights is to Preveza/Aktios with a bus to Platarias.

Corfu is a much better place to start if you are bareboating as there is a wider choice of boats and flights from UK, with only a 20 euro taxi ride to the marina.
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing this out!
 
The ferry from Venice to Corfu can be one chilled out experience, almost a mini holiday, forget Brindisi or Bari, they will steal the saddle of a nightmare there. I have heard reports of peeps driving straight down the coast from venice to Corfu without any problems, plus great roads, not done it so cannot comment.
 
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