How to Travel From the UK to Greece by Train

If you have a sense of adventure or are an avid train traveller, it is entirely possible to make an overland journey all the way from the UK to Greece.

The train (and ferry) journey from the UK to Greece – or, to be precise, from London to Athens – is one I’ve done myself, and it is  a trip I can highly recommend.

There are two ways you can travel from the UK to Greece:

Route 1: UK to Greece via Italy

The easiest way to travel overland from the UK to Greece is by train and ferry via Italy.

There are several ports in Italy from which you can catch a ferry to Greece, including Venice, Ancona, and Brindisi, although the harbour of Bari typically sees the most departures.

Patras is the Greek port with the easiest onward public transport connections to Athens and other destinations across Greece, although it is also possible to take a ferry from Italy to Igoumenitsa on the Greek mainland, or to the island of Corfu.

When I travelled from the UK to Greece, I first travelled by train all the way to Bari, then travelled by ferry from Bari to Patras with Superfast Ferries, followed by a train journey from Patras to Athens.

Of course, there are numerous ways to travel from the UK to Bari, although the fastest option is to take the Eurostar from London, then a TGV or Trenitalia Frecciarossa high-speed train from Paris to Milan, followed by either a Frecciarossa high-speed service or a night train from Milan to Bari.

Route 2: UK to Greece via the Balkans

The most epic overland route from the UK to Greece takes you through Central Europe and across the Balkans, although unfortunately it is not currently possible to complete this journey entirely by train.

There are currently no train services between Greece and its northern neighbours, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Turkey.

This means that you need to take a bus for part of the journey to bridge the gap.

Given that North Macedonia is also cut off from Serbia by rail at present, and there are also no train connections between Serbia and Bulgaria, the only realistic way to travel to Greece by train is via Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

The easiest way to travel would therefore be to take a Eurostar train from London to Brussels, followed by a Nightjet sleeper train to Vienna.

From Vienna, you can take the Dacia night train to Bucharest.

Once you reach Bucharest, you can travel onward by train to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, which is a direct train service in the summer season but requires a change of trains in Ruse during the rest of the year.

Given that there are currently no trains from Bulgaria to Greece, the easiest solution is to take a bus from Sofia to Thessaloniki.

However, rail purists may want to travel further south by train to Blagoevgrad and catch a bus from there, maximising their time on the train and shortening the bus ride, although bus services from Blagoevgrad are more limited than from Sofia.

Another option would be to take a train to Kulata, the closest you can get by rail to the Bulgarian–Greek border, although from there you will likely find a taxi willing to take you across the border into Greece, as there is no reliable bus service there (Strymonas is the nearest railway station on the Greek side of the border).

Once you reach Thessaloniki, there are daily InterCity trains south to Athens.

Booking your train trip to Greece

As it is a long journey from the UK to Greece involving numerous connections across multiple train and ferry operators, it can be difficult to piece together an itinerary and book all tickets if you are a relatively inexperienced train traveller.

The easiest way around this is to book a rail holiday to Greece, with operators such as Byway offering a range of holiday packages that include all train and ferry tickets from your local station, accommodation, and full support throughout your journey in case you encounter any problems along the way.

Byway is one of the UK’s most established and trusted rail travel specialists, and its train holiday packages are all supported by comprehensive consumer protection.

All aspects of the train trip to Greece will be handled by Byway, so all you need to do is to board the train, travel, and relax!

Byway rail holiday packages can be fully customised, so it is up to you to decide which accommodation you select, which route to take, and which cities or countries you may want to include as stopovers.

If you use my discount code DiscoverByRail75, you will receive £75 off any rail holiday booked through Byway.

Conclusion

It is possible to travel overland by train and ferry to Greece via Italy, or by train and the occasional bus if you take the route across the Balkans.

Whichever route you decide to take, it is a fascinating journey across almost the entire European continent.

A journey from the UK to Greece is at its best if you make stopovers along the route, as there are many fascinating places you can discover along the way.