Getting There

By Plane

The vast majority of travelers reach Greece by plane, and most of them arrive at the new Athens airport -- officially Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport (ATH is its code when searching online), sometimes referred to by its new location as the Spata airport. Thessaloniki (SKG is its code) in northeastern Greece is an alternative for those who might like to make their way south but it has far fewer connecting flights to foreign cities.

From North America -- United States -- At press time, only four regularly scheduled airlines offer direct, nonstop flights from the States to Athens: Olympic, Delta, US Air, and Continental. Olympic Airways (tel. 800/223-1226; www.olympicairlines.com) offers nonstop service daily from New York and twice weekly from Montréal and Toronto. Olympic will make arrangements to have your luggage transferred from other airlines arriving at New York for your connection. Also, if you fly Olympic transatlantic, it offers reduced fares to all its destinations within Greece. Delta Air Lines (tel. 800/241-4141; www.delta.com) offers service from throughout the United States, with all flights connecting to their nonstop Athens flights at JFK in New York (and in Atlanta during the summer). US Air (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usair.com) instituted its direct flights only in 2007; its daily flights leave from Philadelphia. And Continental (tel. 800/231-0856; www.continental.com) also commenced service in 2007 by offering daily flights from Newark Airport. Many airlines these days belong to an alliance or code-sharing group so you might be able to use or earn frequent flyer miles with one of the other members.

All the other airlines make stops at some major European airport, where a change of planes is usually required. Alitalia (tel. 800/223-5730; www.alitalia.com) offers flights from JFK that go to Greece via Rome. British Airways (tel. 800/247-9297; www.britishairways.com) has service to Athens from a number of major U.S. cities, all stopping in London (most at Heathrow, but some at Gatwick). Lufthansa (tel. 800/645-3880; www.lufthansa.com) provides service to Athens, Thessaloniki, and Crete from 10 U.S. cities, most via Frankfurt. Northwest/KLM/Northwest (tel. 800/447-4747; www.nwa.com) has service from 10 major cities in the United States to Athens, with all flights stopping in Amsterdam. Swiss International Airlines (tel. 877/359-7947; www.swiss.com) offers service from Boston as well as New York, with all flights connecting to Athens at Zurich. Virgin Atlantic Airways (tel. 800/862-8621; www.virgin-atlantic.com) offers flights via London, with daily flights from Los Angeles and the New York area, and less frequent service from several other cities.

Canada -- In addition to the various airlines flying out of the United States, Canadians have a number of choices. Olympic Airways (tel. 800/223-1226; www.olympicairlines.com) offers the only direct flights from Canada to Athens -- two flights a week from Montréal and Toronto. Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262; www.aircanada.ca) flies from Calgary, Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver to various airports in Europe with connections on Olympic to Athens. Air France (tel. 800/237-2747; www.airfrance.com), British Airways (tel. 800/247-9297; www.ba.com), Czech Airlines (tel. 800/223-2365; www.czechairlines.com), Iberia (tel. 800/772-4642; www.iberia.com), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (tel. 800/447-4747; www.klm.com), Lufthansa (tel. 800/645-3880; www.lufthansa.com) and Swiss International Airlines (tel. 877/359-7947; www.swiss.com), have at least one flight per week from Calgary, Montréal, Toronto, or Vancouver via other European cities to Athens.

From Europe -- Ireland -- Aer Lingus (tel. 01/836-5000 in Dublin; www.aerlingus.com) and British Airways (tel. 0345/222-111 in Belfast; www.britishairways.com) both fly to Athens via London's Heathrow. Less-expensive charters operate in the summer from Belfast and Dublin to Athens, less frequently to Corfu, Crete, Mykonos, and Rhodes. Contact any major travel agency for details. Students should contact USIT, at Aston Quay, Dublin 2 (tel. 01/602-1904), or at Fountain Centre, College Street, Belfast (tel. 02890/327-111).

United Kingdom -- British Airways (tel. 0845/773-3377; www.ba.com), Olympic Airways (tel. 0870/606-0460; www.olympicairlines.com), and Virgin Atlantic (tel. 0870/380-2007; www.fly.virgin.com) offer several flights daily from London's Heathrow Airport. For the smaller companies offering no-frill flights, contact EasyJet (tel. 0870/600-0000; www.easyjet.com). Or consider the Flight Pass sold by Europebyair (in North America, tel. 888/321-4737; www.europebyair.com), which allows one-way flights for 129€ ($168) between Athens and several European cities (including Milan, Brussels, Bucharest). Several of the eastern European airlines, such as CSA Czech Airlines (tel. 0870/4443-747; www.czechairlines.co.uk), have offered cheaper alternatives, but in recent years the status of some has been in doubt; make inquiries at the time you are prepared to book. There are also connecting flights to Athens and to Thessaloniki via various airlines from Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, and Southampton, as well as flights to Athens and the major islands from Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow, Luton, and Manchester.

From Australia & New Zealand -- Australia -- Service to Athens is offered daily from Perth and Sydney and several times weekly from Brisbane and Melbourne by Alitalia (tel. 02/247-1308 in Sydney; www.alitalia.com), via Bangkok and Rome; KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (tel. 800/505-747 throughout Australia; www.klm.com), via Singapore and Amsterdam; Lufthansa (tel. 02/367-3800 in Sydney; www.lufthansa.com), via Frankfurt; and Olympic Airways (tel. 02/251-2204 in Sydney; www.olympicairlines.com), via Bangkok.

Generally, the lowest fares are offered by Aeroflot (tel. 02/233-7148 in Sydney; www.aeroflot.org), which provides weekly service from Sydney via Moscow; and by Thai Airways (tel. 02/844-0900 in Sydney; www.thaiair.com), which flies from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney to Greece via Bangkok. British Airways (tel. 02/258-3000 in Sydney; www.britishairways.com) and Qantas Airways (tel. 02/957-0111 in Sydney; www.qantas.com) have regular service to London; the "Global Explorer Pass" allows you to make up to six stopovers wherever the two airlines fly, except in South America.

New Zealand -- Air New Zealand is the first choice (tel. 0800/737-000; www.airnewzealand.com). Other possibilities, which often involve stopovers and airline changes, include: Singapore Airlines (tel. 09/303-2506 in Auckland; www.singaporeair.com), with service via Singapore; Thai Airways (tel. 09/377-3886 in Auckland; www.thaiair.com), with service via Bangkok; Qantas Airways (tel. 09/303-3209 in Auckland; www.qantas.com); Lufthansa (tel. 09/303-1529 in Auckland); British Airways (tel. 09/367-7500 in Auckland; www.ba.com); and Alitalia (tel. 09/379-4457 in Auckland; www.alitalia.com).

From South Africa -- Olympic Airways (tel. 11/880-1614; www.olympicairlines.com) offers the only direct flights to and from Johannesburg to Athens about three times a week. Air France (tel. 01/880-8040; www.airfrance.com), Alitalia (tel. 01/880-9254; www.alitalia.com), British Airways (tel. 01/975-3931; www.ba.com), and Ethiopian Airlines (tel. 01/616-7624; www.ethiopianairlines.com) also offer occasional flights to and from Johannesburg, with connections via other foreign cities.

Getting There By Ship

Most people who travel by ship to Greece from foreign ports come from Italy, although there is occasional service from Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, and Turkey. Brindisi to Patras is the most common ferry crossing, about a 10-hour voyage, with as many as seven departures a day in summer. There is also regular service, twice a day in summer, from Ancona and Bari, once daily from Otranto, and two or three times a week from Trieste or Venice. Most ferries stop at Corfu or Igoumenitsa, often at both; in summer, an occasional ship will also stop at Kefalonia.

If you want to learn more about the ferry services between Greece and foreign ports, the best website is Paleologos Agency's www.ferries.gr. Britons might try the London-based agency Viamare Travel, Graphic House, 2 Sumatra Rd., London NW6 1PU (tel. 0870/410-6040; www.viamare.com). The Superfast Ferries Line, 157 Leoforos Alkyonidon, 16673 Athens (tel. 210/969-1100; www.superfast.com), offers service between Ancona and Patras (17 hr.), or between Ancona and Igoumenitsa (15 hr.); also between Bari and Patras (12 hr.) or between Bari and Igoumenitsa (8 hr.). Not all these so-called superfast ferries actually save that much time if you take into consideration boarding and debarking. In addition, their fares are almost twice as much as those of regular ferries.

On the regular ferries, one-way fares during high season from Brindisi to Patras at press time cost from about 75€ ($98) for a tourist-class deck chair to about 135€ ($176) per person to share an inside double cabin. Vehicles cost at least another 75€ to 150€ ($98-$195). Note: The lines usually offer considerable discounts on round-trip/return tickets. Fares to Igoumenitsa are considerably cheaper, but are by no means a better value unless your destination is nearby. Because of the number of shipping lines involved and the variations in schedules, we're not able to provide more concrete details. Consult a travel agent about the possibilities, book well ahead of time in summer, and reconfirm with the shipping line on the day of departure.

Getting There By Car

It is unlikely that you will find it worthwhile to bring your own car all the way from North America to drive around Greece, but many Europeans do drive down into Greece -- and perhaps some North Americans bring their rented cars in. Drivers often come from Italy via ferry, usually disembarking at Patras; the drive to Athens is about 210km (130 miles). Others enter from the former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, or FYROM. (The road from Albania, although passable, doesn't attract many tourists.) There are no particular problems or delays at the border crossings, providing all your papers are in order.

If you come through Skopje, FYROM, the road via Titov Veles to the southeast leads to the border, where it picks up an expressway down to the edge of Thessaloniki (242km/150 miles). Over to the west, there is a decent enough road via Vitola, FYROM, that leads to Florina, Greece (290km/180 miles); that road then continues east to Thessaloniki (another 161km/100 miles) or south to Kosani (another 89km/55 miles). A long day's drive!

In any case, arm yourself with a good up-to-date map such as the ones published by Baedeker, Hallwag, Michelin, or Freytag & Berndt.

Driving your own Vehicle -- To bring your own vehicle into Greece, valid registration papers, an international third-party insurance certificate, and a driver's license are required. Valid American and E.U. licenses are accepted in Greece. A free entry card allows you to keep your car in the country up to 4 months, after which another 8 months can be arranged without you paying import duty. Check with your own car insurance company to make sure you are fully covered.

Car Ferries -- Car ferry service is available on most larger ferries. There's regular service from Piraeus to Aegina and to Poros in the Saronic Gulf; most of the Cyclades; Chania and Iraklion on Crete; Hios; Kos; Lesvos; Rhodes; and Samos. For the Cyclades, crossing is shorter and less expensive from Rafina, an hour east of Athens. From Patras, there's daily service to Corfu, Ithaka, and Kefalonia. The Sporades have service from Ayios Konstandinos, Kimi, and Volos (and then among the several islands). The short car ferry across the Gulf of Corinth from Rio to Antirio can save a lot of driving for those traveling between the northwest and the Peloponnese or Athens. There's also service between many of the islands, even between Crete and Rhodes, as well as car-crossing to and from Turkey between Hios and Cesme; Lesvos and Dikeli; and Samos and Kusadasi. (If you intend to continue on with your vehicle into Turkey or plan to enter Greece from Turkey, you should inquire long before setting off for either country, and make sure that you have all the necessary paperwork.)

Getting There by Train

In the late 1990s, train service from western Europe was disrupted by the trouble in the Balkans. Even when running, the trains tend to be slow and also uncomfortable in the summer. But a Eurailpass is valid for connections all the way to Athens or Istanbul and includes the ferry service from Italy. Endless types of passes are now offered -- long stays, short stays, and combinations with airlines, among others. Note that North Americans must purchase their Eurailpasses before arriving in Europe. For information, see www.raileurope.com, or call tel. 800/438-7245.