And why? Why travel London to Athens overland? Isn’t it a hassle/expensive?
Why
Haven’t you ever thought to yourself that there has to be more to a ‘holiday’ than merely arriving at your destination? For me, my holiday starts when I 1) step foot on the plane or 2) step foot on the container ship (that’s a story for another day) or ferry or train or whatnot.
So, with this in mind, I decided to save time by COMING to the UK, so I could spent precious time with my dear, dear dad. The journey back to Greece I decided to make ‘exciting.’ Despite being in my 40s, I still get a little tearful when I leave my dad, so I decided to make my return journey something to take my mind off the potential floodgate farewell.
Expensive?
Well, the ticket from London St. Pancras to Paris (1st class don’t you know!) and then in a single sleeper overnight from Paris – Venice cost £415. I arrive into Venice early morning (09:30) and have decided to stay one night there – the hotel, found on www.expedia.com cost me £75 for a double room near St. Marks Square, then the ferry from Venice – Patras (in Greece), 2 nights shared cabin with one other ‘person of the same sex’ (damn!) cost 178 Euros (you do the maths).
I should add the ‘ferry’ is more like a mini-cruise as it’s 2 full nights, has a swimming pool and entertainment.
Am I happy? YES! To me, it’ll be totally worth it. I’ve never been to Venice and am looking forward to it – maybe I should have also booked one night in Paris, but never mind.
So, keep following this blog – when I set off, I shall update you as and when I can. Oh, I should add the following websites that are great for booking overland European rail:
Rail Europe