Two overnight ferries, three trains, a bus, and a boat – do you think we shudda booked a plane instead?
I’m not fond of air travel. I think of the term “air travel,” as an oxymoron. “Travel,” in my mind, involves discovery, unpredictability, enterprise, and above all: adventure. I wouldn’t use those terms to describe air travel.
Oh dear: do I sound like a snob?
I’m the one who drafts up our calendar, and I’ve left a week between Greece and Italy. Instead of a two-hour flight, we plan to travel via two overnight ferries, three trains, a bus, and a boat. That, I figure, will be an adventure.
We leave Chania tomorrow (Saturday, August 3rd), on a bus destined for Heraklion, a two-hour ride (red line above). We board a ferry at Heraklion, bound for Piraeus (Athens), on the mainland. (Green line above.) It’s an interesting ferry as it departs at nine Saturday night and arrives at six Sunday morning. We have a stateroom. On a ferry! (Perhaps it’s a party boat. Not everyone will have a stateroom. What will those without staterooms do all night? Will there be raki?)
We arrive in Piraeus Sunday morning and have eighteen hours to cross the Grecian peninsula to Patras (blue line above). We assume there will be a train. Or a bus. Mule, maybe? In eighteen hours, we could almost walk…
In Patras Sunday night we board another overnight ferry, headed for Venice (red line above). This leg requires two nights, and just look at the ferry:
It’s essentially a cruise ship. There is a cruise ship on this route, but it’s five times the price. From the looks of the pictures above, we won’t be sacrificing much.
Starting Tuesday: four days in Venice. I’ve never been there. We have a modest apartment reserved:
On Saturday morning August 10th, we’ll board a train to Milan (red line above), then another train to Como (green line). Together with the Piraeus-Patras leg, that’s three trains. I love trains.
Saturday afternoon a boat will take us from Como to Bellagio, where we’ll stay until the end of August (red line above). I love boats too.
Now I ask you: isn’t that more adventurous than a two-hour flight?
It’s also unlikely we’ll have much access to Wi-Fi, so you may not hear from us for a while. Don’t worry about us; we’ll just be … traveling.
Photo credits: Google Maps, Anek Lines (web.anek.gr), http://www.homeaway.com,
The Expat Almanac 
Back in 1983 when four of us were traveling, we found it cheaper to take a taxi than a train from Patras to Athens. You want an adventure? Ride with a Greek taxi driver!
As for Venice in August, think of New Orleans humidity.
Enjoy!
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Buzzkill!
Our Venice apartment is air conditioned. We figure after a month in Greece in July, we can handle anything (as long as there’s air conditioning so we can sleep). The Athens-Patras leg is unplanned. No reservations. We’re hoping we’ll gain some insight during tomorrow night’s ferry ride to Athens. And as I say in the blog, we will have 18 hours to make the journey. Surely we’ll figure something out, and we’ll look into a taxi by all means: after reading your description, it may be the most adventurous option of them all!
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Two lane road at nearly 100 mph and they treat it like the middle of the road is a passing lane. Not for the faint of hear!
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LOVE the travel plans and all the boats and trains. Much more fun than being cooped up on a plane. Thank you for excellent maps and lines in different colors so I can follow your adventure in detail and on google maps. In this age of GPS I am still a map person. And the ferry looks like a dream cruise come true. Have a great week !
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Thanks, Marcia, for noticing the the colored lines on the maps. We’ll do our best to stay in touch.
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I recall Crete as rather hard to arrive and depart, we unlike you spent a 5 hour layover in Athens airport! Not nearly as much fun! Enjoy.
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We had a long layover in the Athens airport on the way here. I thought that if one has to linger at an airport, Athens is a pretty good choice. Outdoor tables serving beer!
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wOW, we can hardly wait to hear how it all goes. Have fun, we’ll be thinking of you.
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And I’ll be think of you, Jacquie, in September when you visit Chania!
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My traveling companion and I, except for two plane trips, traveled down the Coast in Turkey Istanbul, to Antalya. in various taxis. One driver would take us to a rendezvous to meet up with another (friend) driver who would take us to another”meet-up” . They were satisfactory drivers and had varied political views. We really learned a lot. We flew from Antalya to Ankara Where we hooked up with another driver to go on to Capadoccia. It was amazingly well-coordinated. The vehicles could have used new shocks but , , what the hell?
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That’s two thumbs up for taxis. You can be sure we’ll check into a tax tomorrow on our way to Patras.
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Don’t keep us in suspense; how do you plan to leave Bellagio?
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I took that ferry from Brandisi (Italy) to Patras then to Athens in 1964,
after Alan and I had met in Grenoble and fell madly in love.
We slept outside on the deck of the ferry and we woke-up covered of dust :
We managed to sneak illegally into the first class showers..
What beautiful memories !!
You’ll love this trip : the 5 days in Venice will be like a dream.
Enjoy, you lucky geasers
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Mapi, you’re such a romantic!
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Haven’t had time to read lately, so got caught up tonight. I was way back at the pink sand. Pink sand?????? Sounds beautiful. What a great time you have had in Crete. Now, you are actually going to some place I have seen. Spent time in Venice, Milan and Lake Como. More adventures await! We had an in state adventure to the Warner Wetlands, Hart Mountain Antelope Reserve and Dorhety Slide on the way to Denio, Nevada. We would drive miles between any other cars. At one point we started laughing about the fact that because people were on a two lane road, they were traveling with the headlights on, but since it was such a BIG event to see another car, there was no need to wear out the lightbulbs. Singing in a recital tomorrow. Wish me luck.
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Anita — We took a road trip to Santa Fe two years ago, driving nothing but the back roads. You’re right: one can drive for miles out there without seeing another car. What a great place to let the car (we had a supercharged sports car then) show its stuff! I believe we wore out more than just light bulbs on that trip…
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Had a great recital, in case you were worrying. 🙂 Wish you were there. Joining other comments for advice, be sure and go to the roof of the Duomo in Milan. Amazing and the number of years it took to complete. Whew! Oh yes and the Last Supper. A very surprising location for such an iconic piece of art.
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So Kappy ( your good friend) just fixed me a Vodka and Tonic, and we read your post. I’m using her computer because our modem died.
But when you are in Venice, go to the Jewish Ghetto. It is lovely. And has a really wonderful art studio but I can’t remember the name but the Ghetto is not very big. It is near Gam Gam and Gam Gam is on a canal. Gam Gam is a totally wonderful restaurant. You must eat there.
There was also a Gondolier who was the only non Italian Gondolier in Venice. He is Polish. His Gondola was elegant. He took us on the “back roads” of Venice. He sang traditional songs. Not cheap but very worth it.
My husband and I are looking forward to meeting you when you return. I hear you will be living near our neighborhood. We are about 2 blocks north of Kappy.
Stanley& Karen
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Thanks, Stanley and Karen, for the comment and the advice. We look forward to meeting you when we’re in Portland. New Portland friends! Yayy!!
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This is not a trip, this journey is an odyssey (speaking of Greece). I too appreciated the colored lines . My dream would be for Bernie and I to follow in your footsteps before an advanced phase of geezerizm sets in. I know you are only in Como for a day or two but if you happen to run into George Clooney please give him my best.
Be safe and don’t get sea sick.
Thinking of you, Kathy
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Kathy, we are in Como for almost a month! Surely George will appear during that time, lured by Louise’s pheromoninal charms. BTW, I have added “geezerizm” to my vocabulary.
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My method for traveling from Venice to Athens (reverse direction from yours) was to hitchhike down the Dalmatian Coast in 1968 – not so insane then as it would be now to travel this way – my companion and I had an uneventful trip (thank you guardian angel of naive college hitchhikers) along the most beautiful and unsafe highway I’ve ever been on – NO guardrails and lots of cliffs. Then as Albania was closed to outsiders, a ferry to Patras and bus to Athens. I seem to recall monasteries high up on the top of hills on the way to Athens. As all this happened in another era, I cannot offer any suggestions. Look forward to the next blog.
I second the request to extend best wishes to George Clooney !
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I never knew, Ms. Boyd, that you were such a free soul. Now that we’ve made the journey, you and Louise can compare notes from disparate eras.
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Wow Tom, now THAT’S what I call traveling! I love the route and modes of transport you’ve planned. You’ll have so many great stories. Bon voyage, Terri
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Thanks, Terri. Half the journey is complete. We’re catching our breath in Venice, which — come to think about it — ain’t such a bad place to catch one’s breath at all…
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