Greece - Korina Miller [600]
France has a network of travel agencies that can supply discount tickets to travellers of all ages. They include OTU Voyages ( 01 40 29 12 22), which has branches across the country. Other recommendations include Voyageurs du Monde ( 01 40 15 11 15; www.vdm.com) and Nouvelles Frontières ( 0825 000 747; www.nouvelles- frontieres.fr).
In Germany, STA Travel ( 01805 456 422; www.statravel.de) has several offices around the country. For online fares, try Expedia ( 0180 500 6025; www.expedia.de).
In Denmark, My Travel ( 7010 2111; www.mytravel.dk) and in the Netherlands, Airfair ( 020-620 5121; www.airfair.nl) are recommended.
Cyprus
Olympic Air and Cyprus Airways share the Cyprus–Greece routes. Both airlines have flights between Larnaca and Athens, as well as to Thessaloniki. Cyprus Airways also flies between Pafos and Athens once daily while Olympic has two flights weekly between Larnaca and Iraklio.
Turkey
Olympic Air, Aegean Airlines and Turkish Airlines all fly between İstanbul and Athens. There are no direct flights from Ankara to Athens; all flights go via İstanbul.
UK
Discount air travel is big business in London. Advertisements for many travel agencies appear in the travel pages of the weekend broadsheet newspapers, in Time Out, the Evening Standard and the free magazine TNT.
STA Travel ( 0871 230 0040; www.statravel.co.uk) has discounted tickets for students and travellers under 26, while Flight Centre ( 0870 499 0040; www.flightcentre.co.uk) offers competitive rates and also has deals for students. Both agencies have offices in most cities. Other recommended travel agencies in London include Trailfinders ( 020 7938 3939; www.trailfinders.co.uk), Travel Bag ( 0870 814 6614; www.travelbag.co.uk) and ebookers ( 0800 082 3000; www.ebookers.com). Online, check out www.charterflights.co.uk and www.cheapflights.co.uk.
The cheapest scheduled flights are with easyJet ( 0871 750 0100; www.easyjet.com), the no-frills specialist, which has flights from Luton and Gatwick to Athens. Pricing varies wildly depending on departure days and times. See the website for current rates.
Greece’s two main airlines have regular flights between the UK and Athens and offer good deals for online booking. Olympic Air (www.olympicairlines.com) has services from Manchester, Heathrow and Gatwick while Aegean Airlines (www.aegeanair.com) operates flights from Heathrow, Stansted and Manchester. From Athens, you can connect with domestic flights to reach the islands.
USA
STA Travel ( 800 781 4040; www.statravel.com) has offices in most major cities that have a university. For online bookings try www.cheaptickets.com, www.expedia.com and www.orbitz.com.
New York has the widest range of options to Athens. The route to Europe is very competitive and there are new deals almost every day. Olympic Air and Delta Airlines both have direct flights but there are numerous other connecting flights.
While there are no direct flights to Athens from the west coast, there are connecting flights to Athens from many US cities, either linking with Olympic Air in New York or flying with one of the European national airlines to their home country, and then on to Athens.
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LAND
Travelling by land offers you the chance to really appreciate the landscape, as well as the many experiences that go along with train or bus travel. International train travel, in particular, has become much more feasible in recent years with speedier trains and better connections. You can now travel from London to Athens by train and ferry in less than two days. By choosing to travel on the ground instead of the air, you’ll also be reducing your carbon footprint. It’s a win-win situation.
Border Crossings
ALBANIA
There are four crossing points between Greece and Albania. The main one is at Kakavia, 60km northwest of Ioannina (Click here), and it can have intensely slow queues. The other crossings are at Sagiada, 28km north of Igoumenitsa; Mertziani,