Athens to Lefkada

[ostra4]

Not boatyard but for all those like me who have driven from Athens airport to Lefkas in past years -
When I first drove this route some 20 years ago 7 hours was a normal time depending on tractors/hgvs/bead twiddling locals / sheep ect and gradually over the years the time has reduced as large stretches have become motorway .Last January took 4.4 hours admittedly on a Sunday and very happy with that which included a detour trying to access the road to the Rio bridge at Patras through the maze of cones and blinking lights.
I travelled yesterday so Sunday again, picked car up at Athens airport at 12:45 and crossed the bridge onto Lefkas at 1655 .The tolls came to approx 30 euro of which 13 wS fir crossing the Rio bridge . Happy days .

 

[Irish Rover]

It did it for the first time last September/October both ways and heading back again in a couple of weeks. It's not a bad drive and an excellent road apart from the last half hour or so. Car hire is cheap if you're doing a round trip but €300 odd premium for one way.

 

[sailaboutvic]

It did it for the first time last September/October both ways and heading back again in a couple of weeks. It's not a bad drive and an excellent road apart from the last half hour or so. Car hire is cheap if you're doing a round trip but €300 odd premium for one way.

We spend two winters I Greece over the years , both time we used the bus , in all about 6 hours ride with a stop on the way for the toilets and a drink , I think it was 30 euros , bus service was good .
If you already there it's a bit late now to say but I would had consider a bus to Lefkas then hired a car locally for running around , this time of year you can get a good deal .
Good luck sorting out the new boat , we did just that two years ago , although we had two boats to sort out at the same time plus the owner of the boat we have now just took of their clothes in two suitcases and left every thing else ,

 

[Irish Rover]

We spend two winters I Greece over the years , both time we used the bus , in all about 6 hours ride with a stop on the way for the toilets and a drink , I think it was 30 euros , bus service was good .
If you already there it's a bit late now to say but I would had consider a bus to Lefkas then hired a car locally for running around , this time of year you can get a good deal .
Good luck sorting out the new boat , we did just that two years ago , although we had two boats to sort out at the same time plus the owner of the boat we have now just took of their clothes in two suitcases and left every thing else ,

Car hire is so cheap on a round trip it's not worth thinking about the bus. I'll be doing the one way at the end of March and there will be 3 of us traveling from Athens and I expect we will have 4 x 23KG bags with some tools and essentials. Flight from Izmir arrives in around 18.00 and I understand you have to get a bus from the airport to the city terminal which takes around an hour and then the bus to Lefkas. I couldn't establish definitely if there was a bus at that time but in the end I decided the extra cost of the car hire is worth it to save all the hassle and get there at a reasonable enough time in one day. I read something about getting a rapid transport train direct from the airport to Korinthos and a bus from there but I simply couldn't get enogh good information to be sure of it.

 

[Davy_S]

If your flight timings don't work out and you need an overnight stay, try Peri's he will pick you up from the airport and take you to the hotel, there is a Taverna in walking distance from the Hotel. https://www.perishotelapt.gr

 

[Irish Rover]

If your flight timings don't work out and you need an overnight stay, try Peri's he will pick you up from the airport and take you to the hotel, there is a Taverna in walking distance from the Hotel. https://www.perishotelapt.gr

Thanks. That's really helpful.

 

[matt grant]

We just did this trip last week, car hire was about £60 for 7 days! Roughly 4 hours mostly motorway, hardly saw another car and the toll roads are some of the best roads I have driven on for a long time! I am told the last piece of motorway to Preveza/Lefkas will be opening soonish which will make it even quicker.

 

[AndrewB]

I prefer the route on the north side of the Gulf of Corinth. Much slower of course, but spectacular along the cliff-top and through the mountains. Done it twice. While it can be done in a day, I've made an overnight stop in Galaxidi about half way to allow for a bit of sightseeing en route: Delphi, Navpactos, Arta.

 

[Tranona]

Did the trip several times and found an overnight flight to Athens, bus to the Kifosi terminal to get the first bus (7.30am?) arrived in Levkas in time for a late lunch.

 

[Irish Rover]

Does anybody know anything about the option of getting a "city" train to Korinthos and a bus from there? I saw some information about it somewhere but couldn't get full info.

 

[Cariadco]

If your flight timings don't work out and you need an overnight stay, try Peri's he will pick you up from the airport and take you to the hotel, there is a Taverna in walking distance from the Hotel. https://www.perishotelapt.gr

+1 for Peris and BIG 1 for the Taverna, as well. Had a blast in there one cold wet winter night.

 

[Davy_S]

+1 for Peris and BIG 1 for the Taverna, as well. Had a blast in there one cold wet winter night.

We have used Peris quite a few times, and the Taverna, we had to arrive a day early one year because of ferry strike, it was winter but sunny, we were killing time and walked all along the lanes past the Taverna to the seaside village, very pleasant, but in the cool evening it was nice to sit in front of the log burner in the Taverna, good food and Wine at a price that suited a cheapskate

 

[Flica]

Went to a wedding in Fiskardo, in 2016. Met the wife @ Venizelos @ 10:20, caught the X93 to Kiffousis St and were in the hotel in Levkadya for 17:20. Total cost for the two of us was €48.90, return €2.50 each way on the X93.
Whilst I use a hire car getting to the boat in Nea Pyrgos, that only costs me €146.70 for a week's hire and pick up ATH drop off Oriei. Coach is cheap and takes about 6 hours.

First intro to Athens was 1959, it's slipped downhill badly since and isn't a place in which I linger - though I did spend a week in the marina in Alimos, being re-rigged.

 

[AndrewB]

Does anybody know anything about the option of getting a "city" train to Korinthos and a bus from there? I saw some information about it somewhere but couldn't get full info.

There is a train between Athens and Patras (via Corinth) roughly every two hours. Journey time three hours. I've not done it myself though, only the bit from Patras to Aigio. There is certainly a direct bus from Patras to Preveza, and from Preveza to Levkas, but I don't think there is a direct service.

The Patras-Athens line was undergoing considerable renovation last year, so may be interrupted: you would need to check. Simpler is the direct bus service from Athens to Levkas about three times daily, takes six hours; but as you pointed out earlier, with 3+ people car hire would be cheaper.

 

[Irish Rover]

What I was told is that instead of getting a bus into Athens you can get on the suburban train at the airport heading to Kiato. Korintos is 2 stops before Kiato and if you get off there it's a short taxi ride to Isthmia from which there is a regular bus service to Preveza. I was also told if you stay on the train you can get a bus from Kiato to Patras and onward to Levkas. Because there's going to be 3 of us and because we're going to have a lot of gear and we're arriving fairly late in Athens I've decided to bite the bullet and pay the one way car hire premium. Because of that I didn't fully research the suburban train + bus option but others may want to as it saves getting a bus into Athens central from the airport.

 

[Mr Cassandra]

Also look at the Collision damage waiver on hire cars from the airport, where the un-insured excess amount can be as high as 3000euro.

 

[santelmo]

We did the trip last November. I can recommend athens-carrrental.com new car and personal service. On the way to Corinth we stopped at the Cokkinis Hotel, not far short of Corinth. It was a filthy night and we were welcomed by a log fire and a very good restaurant. Nice family run place.

 

[ostra4]

The hire car cost £146 for two weeks from Firefly based in the airport and their cars are a 150 meters just outside arrivals hall , there's loads of cheaper cars but they need a shuttle bus to and from airport and I just couldn't be bothered
I paid £39 for annual car hire excess insurance just in case - .Just a point about the buses, a local told me the other day the bus companies are still working to the old timetable , Iv no idea if that's correct but being Greece ........