Travelling to the Ionian - Recomendations please

S

steveinglis

New Member
Joined
1 Nov 2005
Messages
1
Visit site
Just got back from a sneaky last week in the North Ionian and it was just great. Weather warm and sunny, winds just right and harbours empty. The only thing that spoilt it was the journey home. We had a horrible 7 hour 240 mile drive from Lefkas to Athens in nose to tail traffic on Sunday and arrived home shattered and vowing never again !
Being very late season we couldnt get charter seats to Preveza (which we usually do) so tried the Easyjet to Athens/hire car option but the drive, although very scenic was a nightmare, so any ideas or recomendations for an easier route greatfully received.
Thanks
Steve
 
Do you have to go to Lefkas? i.e. do you keep your own boat there? If not you can always fly to Corfu - you can even do a one-way sail flying in to Corfu and back from Preveza or vice-versa. If you really have to get to Lefkas, though, Corfu's probably not much better than Athens.
 
Our boat is in Corfu and during the summer (Apr-Oct inclusive) we travel with Britannia/Thomsonair/Tui from one of several airports in the UK. We buy flight-only online and always get a good price. After 31/10 there are only two air routes, one with Olympic via Athens where the stopovers are very short and we can get a return for around £230 inclusive of taxes, meals & drinks. The other is Easyjet/Aegean Airlines, again via Athens but you have to re-check your baggage and hump it from Domestic Arrivals to International Departures at Athens whereas, with Olympic you check all the way through at the start. Also the Easyjet times and the Aegean schedule don't fit too well and you can miss the connection coming home or have half a day's wait going out.

Now the really relaxed way to do it is to drive to Venice and get on the Minoan Lines ferry to Corfu/Igoumenitsa/Patras with a very comfortable cabin and excellent dining and entertainment facilities. Almost a mini-cruise in itself! We have done this several times but you need a couple of days each way. This is of course the best way to transport heavy or bulky gear out there.

Steve Cronin
 
You probably picked one of the worst times to drive back, Sunday being the last day of a long weekend (28th is 'No' day, national holiday) and lots of people would have been making their way back home after going away for the break. It's still a 4-5 hour journey though...


Claire
 
Done that trip many a time, last one was leaving Athens aiprport at about 1.00pm getting to Levkas marina at 6.00pm.
never had a problem with traffic so perhaps you were very unlucky. I`m going out again next weekend same route I hope it`s not seven hours!! which route did you take??
Corfu is good alternative if you cannot get into Preveza or even Ryan Air to Bari /Bridisi and the ferry across to Igoumenitsa --- better for a two week or more holiday though.
Where do you keep yacht ? we`ll look out for you next season /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Hi Chris
Outward trip wasnt to bad but for return we drove via Agrinio, Patras and Korinth. I now realise that we travelled at the end of a Greek bank holiday weekend which obviously didnt help. Things were actually worse when we got past Korinth onto the motorway and even with police waiving people through the tolls, the queues were horrible. I think we were just unlucky but I'll try harder to get a direct flight to Preveza next time.
Our boat is in Lefkas marina - I sailed her round in June and this is our first year there. Planning to spend a month there next summer although this October break was something of a revelation wrt empty harbours. Hope you have a good time.
rgds
Steve (Affinite)
 
Hi all ..we thought that we would try the cropduster from Athens to Preveza when we went out at the beginning of Sept. we flew from Glasgow and arrived in Athens at 1 pm and expected to wait till 7 pm for the internal flight...wrong! it was delayed by 3 hours and we finally arrived in PVK at 23.30. Never again!! The return journey was by bus on a sunday night 4 weeks later.. Left Preveza at 12.20 and arrived Athens 18.00 .A long trip but comfortable and reasonably cheap.(28 E each).Unless we can persuade Mr Stelois to fly to PVK I reckon that whatever way we go will be a pain,but am considering drive/ferry next May ..How long should I allow for travelling?
 
My parents- now 69 and 70 years old- have been driving from Brussels to Crete and back every august for the last 20 years; but they cheat a bit by putting the car on the train in either Belgium or Düsseldorf, ang getting off the next morning, refreshed,in Verona or Bologna then drive to Ancona to catch the overnight ferry to Patras that evening;the next day they drive the 150 miles to Piraeus (they have also learnt to AVOID SUNDAY EVENINGS!!!!), hop on the evening ferry to Crete, and Bob's your uncle.
So thanks to the Channel Tunnel you could leave Blighty on a friday morning, arrive and depart from Italy on the saturday, and land in Igoumenitsa on the sunday, having only actually driven 500 miles tops. Might not be the cheapest option available, but if you're planning on staying out there a month or more, or if you're humping heavy gear out, I reckon it's not a bad deal.
incidentally, here's a website that we often consult for useful info about how to get to the Ionian: www.lefkas.net
 
I moved my boat from Preveza to Trieste last year partly 'cos the heat
was getting too much and partly so I could drive to boat.
Imagine my surprise when by setting off on Bastille day and
approaching Venice on a Saturday it took three days!!!!!
Returned via Austria and Germany in less than two days fortunately
but summer driving can be tedious.
After seven years in Preveza I had changed from Easyjet/Coach,
to Olympic right through to Preveza, although the crop duster does
not inspire confidence with it's bald flat tyres.
You can get charter flights to PVK but I haven't found them easy or cheap.
Satellite Travel are helpful with PVK flights.
This August the weather was so miserable in the Adriatic I am thinking
of returning to Greece.
 
Since the ferry fare from Venice is almost the same as that from Ancona or Bari, why do they drive (& pay the extra petrol) all the way down Italy?

Steve Cronin

web page
 
We get an early morning ferry across the Channel and then drive all day stopping only for lunch and fuel. This gets us within 30km of Venice by bedtime. We put-up at one of the many hotels on or just off of the Autostrada and then have a gentle drive into Venice the following morning (don't miss the turn off for the island as Mestre is a sod to route back from and the tourist traffic is always heavy and slow moving). The ferry leaves around 1300 but resist the axiety generated by the seeming chaos to get everyone aboard in time. It always works. the cabins especially on the newer ferries are comfortable and can sleep four. Food is varied and there are several bars, two restaurants and a casino. The swimming pool is only filled in the summer. On two of the four ferries, one TV channel is a feed from a GPS showing the ship's position but this is zoomed in too far so especially in mid voyage you can't see any land for reference.

Steve Cronin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top