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Trigono-Lamda - Travel in Greece

European Train Timetables in English

Greece railway map

KTEL - Greek Buses

(temporarily suspended inforation)

Alternative Bus Information

Newspaper - Athens News

(in English)

Fodor's Guide

Journey to Kalamata via Isthmus, (Corinth) and Tripolis

Bus station for the Peloponnese, Athens The area around Venezelos, the international airport of Athens, has been developing quickly since the Athens Olympics in 2004. The Athens Airport magazine gives details of all airport facilities in English and Greek. It is now possible to take the metro to the city centre and connect with rail stations to the Peloponnese.

Airport buses provide convenient cheap travel to the bus station for the Peloponnese (E96) and also to Syntagma Square in the centre of Athens(E95). Buses leave the airport at frequent intervals. You could also take a taxi or hire a car.

Ticket office at the bus station for the Peloponnese, AthensKTEL, runs bus services in Greece and there are regular buses from it's depot at Kiffisia, on the outskirts of Athens. It has suspended its website temporarily so our links direct you to other information sites. Please check exact details at the bus stations before you travel.

Tickets must be purchased in advance and seats are allocated at the time of purchase so your seat number will be printed on your ticket. Buses are modern, comfortable and may have toilets on board. Services leave for Kalamata about once an hour, the journey via Tripolis, takes approximately four and a half hours and includes a break for snacks and drinks.

An Express, non-stop, service is also available and takes about three and a half hours. Look out for the Corinth canal which you will cross on your journey and which effectively makes the Peloponnesian Peninsula an island.

Journey from Kalamata to Methoni via Messini and Pylos

KTEL Bus station at kalamata A new bus station, with much improved facilities, has been built at Kalamata. It is still some distance from the Centre of kalamata, but there are one or two stops in the city, unless you take the express!

If you are taking a bus that goes right through to Methoni, the break at kalamata will be short. I sometimes prefer to take the express from Athens to kalamata and then have a longer break, including a meal or short walk, taking a local bus to complete the journey. You can buy refreshments and souvenirs at the Bus station.

KTEL Bus station showing the new chapel.Kalamata is the capital of the Messinia region and has a large hospital and the main government buildings. Local buses to Pylos are fairly regular and some go on to Methoni or other local villages. From Pylos you can take a taxi on to Methoni for around €10.00.

The bus journey from Athens right through to Methoni takes about 6 hours. It is a long journey but very beautiful, with an opportunity to admire the flowers and observe the considerable effort being made to complete the motorway network across the Peloponnese. by the end of 2010 the journey will be much shorter. Buses are inexpensive and comfortable. (Approx €27 for the entire journey)

Rail Journey

Olympia-Pyrgos train It is worth taking a ride on the light railway which runs from Olympia to Pyrgos. For other journeys, rail travel is not good! Since I first travelled the route from Athens via Patras to Kiparissia in 1997 improvements have been made to the track and stations between Athens and Corinth and posssibly onto Patras, but there are few trains to Tripoli, Kalamata and Kiparissia and no fast rail travel as there is in northern Europe.

Easy Travel

People seem to love carrying luggage on holiday!

It's worth taking less and experiencing the joy and freedom from stress of travelling light. Most travel destinations aren't far from shops so why not buy a few items once you arrive and and support the local economy of the place you're visiting? In Methoni, new shops including smart boutiques and souvenir shops have recently opened so Pylos is not the only source of souvenirs and fashion items.