Planning a Trip

Visitor Information

Travel Tip -- Visit Epirus between early June and mid-September, unless you don't mind cooler weather. In the winter, you can come up here to ski.

Museums & Sites Hours Update -- If you visit Greece during the summer, check to see when major sites and museums are open. According to the official postings, they should be open from 8am to 7:30pm, but some may close earlier in the day and are often closed 1 day a week.

Getting There

By Plane -- Olympic Airways (tel. 210/966-6666; www.olympicairlines.gr) offers flights to Ioannina from Athens -- usually two a day. Olympic flies at least once a day between Ioannina and Thessaloniki. Aegean Airlines (tel. 210/626-1000; www.aegeanair.com) offers daily flights between Athens and Ioannina. Olympic also flies about once a day from Athens to Aktion, just outside Preveza on the southernmost coast of Epirus; from here you can get a bus to Igoumenitsou and Ioannina or even to the island of Lefkada, which is connected by a viaduct to the mainland.

By Boat -- Igoumenitsou, on the coast opposite Corfu, is the point of entry to northwestern Greece for many people. In summer, ferries connect hourly to Corfu (trip time 1-2 hr., depending on the ship) and less frequently to Kefalonia, Ithaka, and Paxi. A hydrofoil service also runs twice daily during high season, between Corfu and Igoumenitsou (allow about a half-hour). Numerous ferries and ships that put into Igoumenitsou go to and from ports in Italy -- Ancona, Bari, Brindisi, Venice; some of these connect with Patras or Piraeus in Greece or with even more distant ports such as Iraklion, Crete, or Cesme, Turkey.

In high season a ferry connects Astakos -- on the Ionian coast south of Preveza and north of Messolonghi -- to the offshore islands of Ithaka and Kefalonia.

The schedules are too complex to list here. For information in advance, contact Thalassa Travel in Igoumenitsou, at 20 Ethniki Antistasseos (tel. 26650/22-001). You can also go to www.ferries.gr.

By Bus -- The KTEL line (tel. 210/512-5954 in Athens, or 26510/26-211 in Ioannina) enters northwestern Greece from points such as Athens (7 1/2 hr.) or Thessaloniki (8 hr.).

By Car -- From Athens, there are two main routes. One takes the inland route north via Livadia, Lamia, Karditsa, Trikkala, Kalambaka, and Ioannina. The second runs via Corinth and then along the southern coast of the Gulf of Corinth to Rio; from there, take the new bridge to Anti-Rio, and then drive north via Messolonghi, Agrinio, and Arta to Ioannina. Alternatively, head to the Ionian coast after Messolonghi, and go up to Igoumenitsou via Astakos, Preveza, and Parga.

The preferred route from Thessaloniki goes by Veria west to Kozani and Konitsa and then south to Ioannina. (Sections of a new expressway are now open.) From western Europe, you can drive through the former Yugoslavia (now independent nations) -- either along the Dalmatian Coast or via the inland expressway -- and enter Northern Greece at Florina, from where you head south to Kastoria and Ioannina.

Getting Around

By Bus -- With enough time, you can see most of Western Greece by bus (add time for side trips); given the many mountainous roads and curves, you might prefer to let others do the driving. KTEL provides bus links between most towns in Western Greece. Buses leave for Athens and points north, northwest, and northeast (Igoumenitsou, Metsovo, Konitsa, Kastoria, and Thessaloniki) from Ioannina's main bus terminal at 4 Zosimadon (tel. 26510/26-211). A smaller bus terminal in Ioannina (at 19 Vizaniou; tel. 26510/25-014) handles travel to the south (Parga, Arta, Preveza, Astakos, Messolonghi, and Patras).

By Car -- Having a car is probably the best way to experience Western Greece at its fullest. Trips take much longer than a map might suggest due to the many mountain roads. (Mopeds and motorcycles are not advised except for the most experienced.) Western Greece doesn't offer the choice in car rentals found in more touristed parts of Greece. We think Budget in Ioannina (109 Dodonis; tel. 26510/43-901), is the best agency to deal with. This family affair is run by owner Angela Tsamatos, her son Stelios, and genial manager Paul Angelis. Don't expect to haggle during high season -- there are a limited number of vehicles for the influx of tourists.

By Taxi -- With all the switchbacks and hairpin roads, you might prefer to take a taxi. Agree on a fee before you set out. Each hour's drive into the countryside should cost about 40€ ($52); each hour's waiting, about 10€ ($13), so that a full day's excursion would run about 140€ ($182). Try to get a driver who speaks some English or a foreign language you understand, and you'll get a guide, too. Reward him in turn with a generous tip.