InterRail Forum

[Peter]

FERRY: ITALY - GREECE (Bari, Ancona, Igoumenitsa, Patras)



There are two ferry companies which offer this "free" crossing from Italy to Greece and back.
The official information for this summer is:



Attica Enterprises
Blue Star Ferries: http://www.bluestarferries.com
Superfast Ferries: http://www.superfast.com

If you have an InterRail Global Pass or an One Country InterRail Greece PLUS Pass you can use the following ferry for "free" (deck passage):

Patras / Igoumenitsa (Greece) to Ancona / Bari (Italy)

Supplements:
June and September: 10 EUR per person
July and August: 20 EUR per person + fuel surcharge (4 EUR) + port taxes

More information: http://www.superfast.com/site/content.asp?sel=434&loc=2

Example per person, one-way:
port dues, 7.00 EUR
fuel surcharge, 10 EUR
high Season supplement, 20 EUR
air seats, 18 EUR (you don't need them when sitting just on deck)






Minoan Lines
http://www.minoan.gr

Only with an InterRail Global Pass you get a "free" deck passage on the routes:

Patras - Igoumenitsa - Ancona
Patras – Corfu – Igoumenitsa - Venice

Supplements:
June and September: 16 EUR
July and August: 26 EUR (attention: you DON'T have to pay port taxes !!!)

Upgrades for cabins:
50% on the official prices (based on availability)






Hellenic Mediterranean Lines (HML)
http://www.hml.it

Route: Patras (Greece) to Brindisi (Italy)

You don't travel for free, but you get a discount on all categories (except the luxury cabin) of:
- 25% in high season (15 June to 15 September)
- 50% outside the high season


Information and booking
Brindisi
phone: +39 0831 528 531
email: resa@hml.it
Rome
phone: +39 06 4740141
email: hml.roma@tiscalinet.it.






If you are travelling with an InterRail pass "XX days out of YY days", you need only ONE of your InterRail pass travel-days.
just choose if you want to fill in the departure day or the arrival day of the ferry - as the ferry runs overnight.

Buy your ticket always at their official offices !!!



European train schedules: rail-timetable-europe-train-schedule-t1025.html
Official InterRail (only Europeans or persons with a stay longer than 6 months in Europe) passes are available via: http://shop.interrailer.com
Official Eurail (Non-Europeans and persons with a stay less than 6 months in Europe) passes via: http://shop.eurailer.net
IR = traveling with an INTERRAIL or EURAIL pass
FULL FARE = 2nd (1st) class full fare. Limited special offers available: buy them early - up to 3 months in advance - you are fixed on dates then and lost your flexibility.



Update: September 2010

[Martinina]

I want to use the fairy Patras/Corfu-Venice or Ancona.

How does it work? Can I just come and go on deck or do I have to reservate my passage before? Where?

Is the fairy still passing in the first days of October?

Thanks a lot for your replies!

MArti

[Peter]

just go to the harbour to the ticket office and buy the ticket by telling that you travel with Interrail. and the ships are running the whole year...

[CARLITOSLITOS]

hi my name is carlos i will buy the global pass 30 days and i want to know how can i go from the south of italy (brindisi or bari) to athenes, grece and how log will be the trip to go and back? (en moyene) , and if with this pass i can take trains betwen patras and athenes and in all grece?
Carlos SUAREZ

[Peter]

hi Carlos ...
you have to calculate it like this:
Departure of the ferry in Italy (the same for Greece on your way back) at the afternoon (1500h) for overnight travel (both from Brindisi and Bari). Arrival in the morning (1000h) in Patras. Take a free regional train to Athens (3:30h).
have a look of the ferries companies websites to find out the exact schedules.
in Greece you have to pay attention, not to use the IC, ICE trains as you have to pay supplements for them: click here - the supplement depends on the distance.
for more details about traveling Patras to Athens and back: click here
have fun, Peter

[whimz]

Hi,

I'm thinking of using the patras - venice ferry route. just wondering how long it will take and how many days pass would it take up as i'm planning to buy the 10 days travel in 22 days global pass this summer. Do you think it'll be worth it? Any advice would be most appreciated!

Thank you!

[Peter]

Hi ...
The timetables for Minoan Lines are here: click.
You need either the departure day or the arrival day (as it goes over night) as one of your travel days. But as you have to reach Patras by train (click here) you normally need one of your travel days.
Peter

[VolatileWorld]

Does Greece Plus Pass apply when using ferry not only Greece->Italy, but also Italy->Greece? Thank you

[Peter]

yes... both directions !!

[Iristja]

wich station in Bari do I have to go too? I am searching on the ferry website but cant find it..

[Peter]

It is "Bari Central Station". You have to walk either 45 minutes (3 km) to the ferry terminal or use the bus Nr.20.

[Iristja]

Ok thank you, I have been taking the buss.. after asking to many people if they speak english they could tell me I had to take bus 20/! Then I wanted to buy an ticket, he said BBBBB, so I said, bus? yes yes yes,, he ment bar But the busdriver was really nice so I could travel without a ticket

It was a nice trip, it was not very busy so instead of the deckplaces if just been sleeping in the airplane seats

[italia]

Hello

I'm Mihai and I would really appreciate your help on this matter as my example will be quite different than,
what I've read so far .... and I cannot find an answer thought I will check more for it

I have some free tickets like InterRail stuff, they are called FIP cause my father works in the railway system in Romania,
I have 4 days free pass using the trains in these 2 countries: Italy and Greece, do you have any idea if I can use these ferries
from Bari-Patras ? on almost the same agreements as InterRail .....

Cause as far as I see it, we've been presented different passes .... for travelling in these 2 countries....and I guess it's
also related to it somehow

If I can't use them....can you tell me the cheapest option to get from Bari-> Patras and Patras-> Bari. I will take in considerance
Patras-venice if I'll afford it

Thanks in advance

Becks

[italia]

and another thing ....just as a fact.... I forgot to mention that based on these FIP passes that I have I've been crossing from
Calabria to Sicily , I took the train 4 years ago, train Roma-Palermo and our train was somehow introduced in the
ferry ....and the FIP passses were quite ok, but this can also be because .... we were still in the train....even if the
train was placed on the ferry to arrive in Sivily ....

Still I would appreciate if you can help me on the Bari-Patras issue

Becks

my 2 cents

[flow]

You will get a 50% discount on all types of ticekts - deck, cabin etc, in addition you have to pay port and fuel taxes.

On the ferry to Sicily you didnt have to pay because you were still on the train - the train runs through to Sicily without changing their number or anything.

And by the way, traveling with FIP - am I jealous!

[italia]

I suppose that (50% discount on all types of tickets - deck, cabin etc), I can't get it online.....
I guess I should go to the "Bari Central Station" and show them my FIP pass for Italy and Greece
and then they will 50 % out of the 53 euro (the deck price) and then I will add:

20 EUR per person + port dues 7.00 EUR + fuel surcharge, 10 EUR

and my total price will be around 63, 5 euro one way Did I got it right ?

and by the way...have you actually seen some people get discounts on this route with FIP ? or
you heard some gossips or you just assume I should get a discound

Thanks

[flow]

Just search for it on their website:
http://www.superfast.com/site/content.a ... =879&loc=2

As you can see, there's a link "Book online", I didn't check it out but you may try your luck.

Your bill seems correct however fuel and port taxes are subject to change more or less frequently.

[Leika]

Hi.. I'm trying to book for Bari -Patras on 15th August 2009 at the travel agent, but they told me that all (deck, aircraft seat cabin, etc.) are booked. So that mean we cannot just show up at the harbour and want to travel with the ferry isn't? Or they also have open contingen for people who show up without booking?

Thanks, Leika

[flow]

You should always get a deck passage if you're showing up at the terminal.

[OlegK]

Hello!

A question, if I have a One Country Pass for Italy, could I have a discount to go from Bari to Corfu?

Thank you, Oleg.