Greece - Korina Miller [118]
BOAT
Domestic
Patra is the departure point for ferry services to Kefallonia and Ithaki – operated by Strintzis Lines ( 2610 240 000); and Corfu – provided by ANEK Lines ( 2610 226 053; Othonos Amalias 25) and Minoan Lines ( 2610 426 000; Iroön Polytehniou 50).
International
Patra is Greece’s main port for ferry services to Italy – Ancona, Bari, Brindisi and Venice. All departures to Italy leave at midnight. (Be sure to check as this schedule changes.) Most of these ferries stop at Igoumenitsa and Corfu. Note: under no circumstances are you permitted a free stopover on Corfu.
Superfast/Blue Star Ferries ( 2610 622 500; Othonos Amalias 12) runs trips to Ancona and Bari; and Agoudimos Lines ( 2610 461 800; Iroön Politechniou 36, Gate 7) heads to Bari. Minoan Lines ( 2610 426 000; Iroön Polytehniou 50) and ANEK Lines ( 2610 226 053; Othonos Amalias 25) have ferries to Ancona and Venice. Endeavor Lines ( 2610 622 676; www.endeavor-lines.com/en/schedules; cnr Pantanassis & Othonas Amalias) services Brindisi.
BUS
The main KTEL Achaia bus station ( 2610 623 886; Othonos Amalias) has buses to Athens (€17, three hours, every half-hour) via Corinth Isthmus (€11.30, 1½ hours); to Pyrgos (€8.80, two hours, 10 daily); Ioannina (€20.90, 4½ hours, at least two daily); Kalavryta (€7.50, two hours, at least two daily); Kalamata (€20, four hours, two daily) and Thessaloniki (€40, seven hours, four daily).
Buses to the Ionian islands of Lefkada (€14.50, two weekly, three hours) and Kefallonia leave from the KTEL Kefallonia bus station ( 2610 274 938, 2610 277 854; cnr Othonos Amalias & Gerokostopoulou). Services to Kefallonia travel by ferry to Poros (€18, three hours) and continue by road to Argostoli (€21, one hour). Also departing from here are buses to Amfissa (for Delphi; €12, three hours, two daily Monday to Saturday, one on Sunday). Four daily buses to Zakynthos (including ferry; €15, 3½ hours, three on Sunday) leave from the KTEL Zakynthos bus station ( 2610 220 129; Othonos Amalias 48). Conveniently, they also travel via the port of Kyllini (€6.80, 1¼ hours). Note: the schedules change seasonally.
TRAIN
For Athens, there are at least seven trains daily from Patra to Kiato (where you change for the proastiako, the smart new Athens suburban rail service); five are normal trains (€3.70, 2½ hours) and two are intercity (IC; express) services (€6.90, 2½ hours). All trains between Patra and Corinth or Patra and Kiato stop at Diakofto (normal trains €2.30, one hour; IC €4.90, 45 minutes). Note: on arrival in Athens you can use your proastiako ticket for 1½ hours on the metro, but to do this you must validate the ticket or you will be fined.
There are also several daily services to Pyrgos (normal/IC €3.70/6.30, 1½ to three hours). For Olympia, change trains at Pyrgos. There are regular daily services to Kyparissia (normal/IC €5.10/9.80, three hours) and Kalamata (normal/IC €6.60/11.30, five hours).
Getting Around
Local buses leave from Plateia Georgiou.
Recommended car-hire outlets:
Avis ( 2610 275 547; 28 Oktovriou 16)
Europcar ( 2610 226 053; Othonos Amalias 25) In the ANEK Lines office.
Hertz ( 2610 220 990; Karolou 2)
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DIAKOFTO ΔΙΑΚΟΦΤΟ
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Diakofto (dih-ah-kof-to), 55km east of Patra and 80km northwest of Corinth, is a serene village, tucked between steep mountains and the sea, amid lemon and olive groves. There is a small beach on the eastern side of town; the holidaying hordes flock here in summer.
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GAUGING THE RAILWAY: TRAIN LINES IN THE PELOPONNESE
At the time of research the train lines in the Peloponnese were being upgraded from a narrow to standard gauge. Normally, there are two main routes: Athens to Kalamata (via the centre – Corinth and Tripoli, with another line from Argos to Nafplio) and Athens to Kalamata (via the west coast – Patra and Pyrgos, with another line from Patra to Olympia). At the time of publication services to Corinth and Tripoli (and Argos and Nafplio) were suspended; these lines were still being worked on. In many cases