Overland to the start

London to Athens by train and ferry

No flights ~2–3 days travelling Bike friendly Trains + ferries Ridden by the author

You can be in Greece two days after leaving London without going near an airport. Over the Channel by lunchtime, down through France and Italy on the railways, then the overnight boat from Bari with the bike parked on the car deck and a bunk booked upstairs. It sounds like an expedition. It is five trains and two boats, three boats if you carry on to Crete, and every one of them takes a bicycle.

The chain

  1. 🚆
    London to Dover by rail or road Off-peak trains out of London take an unbagged bike.
  2. ⛴
    Dover to Calais by ferry P&O / Irish Ferries / DFDS · about 1h 30m · bikes roll on
  3. 🚆
    Calais to Paris by rail Direct TGVs run from Calais Fréthun; book a bike space.
  4. 🚆
    Paris to Milan by rail The day train via Turin is the pretty way over the Alps.
  5. 🚆
    Milan to Bari by rail A long run down the Adriatic coast. The regionale take a full bike; the Frecce want it bagged.
  6. ⛴
    Bari to Patras by ferry Superfast / ANEK · about 15h 30m · bikes roll on
  7. 🚆
    Patras to Piraeus (Athens) by rail Patras to Kiato is a rail replacement bus at the time of writing, then the suburban train into Athens.
Ferry times here are typical crossings, not a timetable. Trains change with the season and the day of the week. The planner checks both for your dates and warns you when a train wants the bike bagged. Check anything safety critical with the operator before you travel.

Put your own dates on this and TourTrax will time every train, check the bike rules on each leg, and build the rest of the tour around it. Free to start. No account needed.

Plan London to Athens live →

Going further

Going on to Crete, take the evening boat from Piraeus and wake up in Heraklion. Rhodes and the Cyclades work the same way.

  1. ⛴
    Piraeus (Athens) to Heraklion (Crete) by ferry Minoan / ANEK Blue Star · about 9h · bikes roll on

Book the legs

TourTrax never sells tickets. Each leg is booked with its operator directly:

Why go overland

Flying with a bike means a box, an oversize fee, and an hour on the airport floor with a multitool. Go this way and the bike stays built. Wheel it onto the ferry, hang it in the bike carriage, ride away at the far end. The travelling stops being the tax on the holiday and becomes the first two days of it.

I have done this journey myself, bike and all. This page comes from that trip and from the corridor research that powers the TourTrax planner. Have a look at the curated routes for where the chain could take you.