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Several Turkish bus companies
run big, comfortable buses between Istanbul's Büyük
Otogar (Main Bus Terminal)
and the Pelopponese Bus Station (Stathmos
Pelopponisou Praktorio OSE) in Athens,
Greece, stopping at Xanthi (Iskeçe), Komotini (Gümülcine), Thessaloniki (Selanik)
and Larissa. There
is at least one bus per day.
It's about a 12-hour ride between Istanbul and Thessaloniki,
with a stop at Alexandroupolis along
the way. It's a 20- to 22-hour ride
(1150 km/715 miles) between Istanbul and Athens,
with stops for meals and toilet, but
no hotel (overnight) stop.
The one-way fare (single)
between Istanbul and Thessaloniki is
about US$60; between Istanbul and Athens US$80.
Round-trip (return) fare is discounted
about 12%.
Here's
how to buy bus tickets to Greece.
(Turista Travel sells both bus and train tickets for journeys
between Athens, Thessaloniki and
Istanbul. More...)
Click on the company names to go to
their websites.
ULUSOY (Büyük
Otogar Office No. 127-128)
Ulusoy runs buses from Istanbul to
Athens and return, once per week. On the Ulusoy
website (English section),
click on "International Lines" in the box in the
lower-right corner and you will be taken to a map
of...the Domestic Lines! (How smart is that?) But
on that map page, click on Yurt Disi
Seferleri ("International
Lines" in Turkish) and you will get a map
of Ulusoy's European
routes. (Unfortunately, the unnecessarily complicated
construction of the website does not allow me to
give you a direct link.) Click on a city name for
more info on buses to that city...all in Turkish.
VARAN (Büyük
Otogar Office Nos. 15-16)
One bus per week, days varying with the seasons,
20 hours, €67.50 one-way.
There is also nightly train service on
the Dostluk/Filia
Express between Istanbul and Thessaloniki,
taking about 12 hours.
A day train takes
nearly 15 hours, then you must stay
overnight in
Thessaloniki and continue your
journey to Athens the next morning.
The day-train fare
is about the same as the bus, but
the train journey takes twice as
long.
TurkeyTravelPlanner.com also
has a page for buses
to Bulgaria and other Balkan countries.
Buses
to Bulgaria and other Balkan Countries
Büyük
Otogar (Istanbul
International Bus Terminal)
How to Buy Bus Tickets in Turkey
Bus
Travel in Turkey
Istanbul Transport
Maps
of Istanbul & Region
Transportation
in Turkey
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