This Summer University will start on Tuesday, July 24th and will end on Tuesday, August 7th in Patra. If you are planning to arrive earlier, or leave later please inform us beforehand.

We will cover all the travelling within the SU but not your tickets from your place to Patra or back to your places. However we will help you find the best and cheapest way for your travelling :)

1. Coming to Greece
1.1 Airplane
1.2 Ferry-boat to Patra

2. Coming to Patra from Athens
2.1 By bus
2.2 Athens Airport to Patra by train
2.3 Athens to Patra by train

3. Coming to Patra from Thessaloniki

4. Getting around Athens

1. Coming to Greece

1.1 Airplane

Araxos

The nearest airport to Patra is Araxos (40km away) at which Ryanair operates. During the summer there are some charter flights (like TUIfly) that can have special offers.

More info: http://www.theairdb.com/airport/GPA.html

Athens

The major airport of Greece that serves the most international flights is Athens' International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos". Many airlines have direct flights to Athens. The two biggest Greek air carriers are Olympic Airlines and Aegean Airlines. You can also search for flights by reffering to your local airlines. An extensive search for air connections between various destinations can be performed on:

www.airtickets.gr
www.whichbudget.com/en/cheapflights.php?to=ATH (low cost airlines)

1.2 Ferry-boat to Patra

If you are coming from Italy (or nearby places) this is a good option for you. Ferries travel from Italy to Patra many times a day and offer a comfortable and cheap way of coming to Greece. You are also arriving to the city where the Summer University will begin directly and don't have to use extra means of transportation.
Ferries that arrive to Patra depart from the following Italian cities: Venezia, Ancona, Bari and Brindisi. Depending on schedules, you can get a ticket with a return trip for 80 euros or even less. Various companies operate ferry lines to Greece, the most important among them being Superfast/Bluestar,ANEK, and Minoan. For alternative options you can check the website ferries.gr.

2. Coming to Patra from Athens

Unless you took the ferry directly to Patra, you will need to use internal transportation to come to Patra either from Athens or Thessaloniki.

2.1 By bus

In order to take the bus for Patra you have to go to "KTEL Kifissou", the central bus station in Athens serving trips to Peloponnesus. A bus trip to Patra takes about 2,5 hours (express bus) or 3 hours (regular bus). They both cost about 20 euros. You have to issue a ticket for Patra when you get there, look for a sign called "Patra" or "Achaia" at the ticket office. Advanced booking is not necessary. The routes are roughly every half hour (http://achaiaktel.gr/?module=default&pages_id=24&lang=el).

To get to "KTEL Kifissou" you have the following options:

• You can get there directly from Athens International Airport by taking bus X93. You will get off the bus at the end of the line.
• If you find yourself in the centre of Athens, you can go to "KTEL Kifissou" by taking bus 051. To take bus 051 follow these instructions: From Omonoia square (metro station Omonoia) find the street "Agiou Konstantinou" that starts from Omonoia. Take this street and turn left at the 3rd street (called "Menandrou"). The bus stop for bus 051 is a few meters away. Final stop of bus 051 is "KTEL Kifissou".

2.2 Athens Airport to Patra by train

To come to Patra without visiting Athens you can take a suburban railway train directly from the Airport to "Kiato". It is operated every hour, leaving every XX:50 from the airport and arriving 1,5 hour later in Kiato (http://tickets.trainose.gr/dromologia/attachments/AER-KIATO-SKA.pdf).
Then from Kiato to Patra there is a bus connection operated by the train company leaving 5 times per day, so the connections you are interested are:

Tickets

Airport -> Kiato
Single ride = 14 (7 student)
Both ways = 22

Kiato -> Patra
Single ride = 10 (7,5 student)
Both ways = ?

Athens Metro Map

Routes Airport - Kiato

Routes Kiato - Airport

Routes Liosia - Piraeus - Liosia

Tickets & Prices

2.3 Athens to Patra by train

The Central Train Station in Athens is called “Larissa Station” and you can reach it by Metro. There are 7 routes per day connecting Athens with Patra. The 5 of them are the above through Kiato, where you need to get to Ano Liossia and get change to go to Kiato. The other 2 (13:00 and 15:00) are operated by express bus.

Tickets

Athens -> Kiato -> Patra
Single ride = 17 (12.80 student)
Both ways = 27.20 (25.50 student)

Athens -> Patra (express bus)
Single ride = 18 (13.50 student)
Both ways = 28.80 (27.00 student)

3. Coming to Patra from Thessaloniki

You can come either by bus or train. Bus is a bit expensive, about 40 euros, but is faster and has a direct route three times a day for Patra. Buses for Patra leave from "Makedonia Bus Station". You can issue tickets at the station, look for signs called "Patra" or "Achaia" at the ticket office. To get to "Makedonia bus station" from the train station you need to take bus number 1.

If you choose the train you have to travel through Athens because there are not directly trains from Thessaloniki to Patra. You can look the timetables from Thessaloniki to Athens and from Athens to Patra.

4. Getting around Athens

If you have some time to spend in Athens, here is some useful information:

• To get from Athens Airport to the centre of Athens (Syntagma) you have to take bus X95.
• To get from Athens airport to the nearest metro station (Ethniki Amyna) you can take bus X94.
• To go to the bus station for Patra from the centre of Athens you have to take bus 051 (see above for info).
• To get to the train station from Athens centre you have to use the Metro. You must take the Metro with direction to Sepolia and get off at "Larissa Station" (it could also be displayed as "Stathmos Larissis").

Also refer to the website of Athens Urban Transportation Organization and Athens Metro for details.