Buses
Bus services on the major routes , both on the mainland and islands, are highly efficient and frequent. On secondary roads they're less regular, with long gaps, but even the remotest villages will be connected - at least on weekdays - by a school or market bus to the provincial capital. As these often leave shortly after dawn, an alarm clock can be a useful travel aid. Coming in the opposite direction, these local buses usually leave the provincial capital at about 2pm. On the islands there are usually buses to connect the port and main town for ferry arrivals or departures.

The network is nationally run by a single syndicate known as the KTEL ( Kratikó Tamío Ellinikón Leoforíon ). However, even in medium-sized towns there can be several scattered terminals for services in different directions, so make sure you have the right station for your departure. Some specimen one-way fares from Athens are: Thessaloníki (¬23.50), Pátra (¬10.30) and Delphi (¬8.40).

Buses are amazingly prompt as a rule, so be there in plenty of time for scheduled departures. For the major, intercity lines such as Athens-Pátra, ticketing is computerized, with assigned seating, and such buses often get fully booked. On smaller rural/island routes, it's generally first-come, first-served, with some standing allowed, and tickets dispensed on the spot by an ispráktoros or conductor. However, these tickets tend to be issued only up to the next major town, where you'll have to alight briefly and purchase an onward fare (there is always enough time for this).

Trains
The Greek railway network, run by OSE ( Organismós Sidherodhrómon Elládhos ), is limited to the mainland, and with a few exceptions trains are slower than the equivalent buses. However, they're also much cheaper - nearly fifty percent less on non-express services, even more if you buy a return ticket - and some of the lines are enjoyable in themselves. The best, a real treat, is the rack-and-pinion line between Diakoftó and Kalávryta in the Peloponnese .

Timetables are sporadically available during May or June as small, Greek-only booklets; the best places to obtain them are the OSE offices in Athens at Sína 6, or in Thessaloníki at Aristotélous 18, or the main train stations in these cities. Always check the station schedule boards, or at information counters for photocopied addenda sheets, since with the once-yearly printing, changes often crop up in the interim. Trains tend to leave promptly at the outset, though on the more circuitous lines they're invariably late by the end of the journey.

If you're starting a journey at the initial station of a run you can (at no extra cost) reserve a seat ; a carriage and seat number will be written on the back of your ticket. At most intermediate points, it's first-come, first-served.

There are two basic classes: first and second. First class may be worth the extra money, insomuch as the wagons may be emptier and the seats more comfortable. An express category, the Intercity (IC on timetables), exists on certain routes between Alexandhroúpoli, Thessaloníki, Édhessa, Vólos, Kalambáka, Athens, Pátra, Kórinthos and Kalamáta. German-made rolling stock is relatively sleek, and much faster than the bus if the timetable is adhered to; accordingly, stiff supplements are charged depending on the distance travelled. There is also one nightly sleeper (departs between 11pm and midnight) in each direction between Athens and Thessaloníki, again with fairly hefty surcharges; interestingly, private automobiles are carried on this departure as well. Note that any kind of ticket issued on board a train carries a fifty percent surcharge.

Credit cards are accepted as payment at the midtown OSE offices of Athens, Lárissa, Vólos and Thessaloníki, as well as at the stations in Athens, Lárissa, Vólos, Thessaloníki, Alexandhroúpoli and Pátra.

InterRail and Eurail Pass holders can use their pass in Greece but must secure reservations like everyone else, and may need to pay express supplements on a few lines. InterRail passes and Eurotrain tickets are available in Greece through the International Student and Youth Travel Service (ISYTS), Níkis 11, 1st Floor, Athens, USIT Etos, Filellínon 7, Syndagma, Athens, or at Wasteels, Mnisikléous 10a, Platía Mitropóleos, Athens.

Sea transport
Most of your sea travel is going to be to and between islands, though you may also want to make use of the hydrofoil routes between Athens and certain ports in the southeastern Peloponnese, up to Yíthio. There are four different varieties of vessel: medium-sized to large ordinary ferries (which operate the main services); high-speed catamarans , also medium-sized to large, which match hydrofoils in speed but carry a certain number of cars; hydrofoils , which carry only passengers; and local kaïkia (small boats which do short hops and excursions in season). Costs are very reasonable on the longer journeys, though proportionately more expensive for shorter, inter-island connections. Short-haul lines with monopolies - for example Alexandhroúpoli-Samothráki and Kymi-Skyros - are invariably overpriced.

We've indicated most of the ferry, catamaran and hydrofoil connections under "Travel Details" in the "Basics" section. Don't take our listings as exhaustive or wholly reliable, however, as schedules are notoriously erratic, and must be verified each year; details given are essentially for departures between late June and mid-September. Out-of-season departure frequencies are severely reduced, with many islands connected only once or twice a week. However, in spring or autumn those ferries that do operate are often compelled by the transport ministry to call at extra or unusual islands, making possible some interesting connections.

The most reliable, up-to-date information is available from the local port police ( limenarhío ), which maintains offices at Pireás (tel 010/42 26 000) and on or near the harbours of all fair-sized islands. Smaller places may only have a limenikós stathmós (marine station), often just a single room with a VHF radio. Their officers rarely speak much English, but keep complete schedules posted - and, meteorological report in hand, are the final arbiters of whether a ship will sail or not in stormy weather conditions.

Few ferry companies produce regular schedule sheets. The only attempt at an all-inclusive Greek ferry guide is the yearly Greek Travel Routes, Domestic Sea Schedules , co-produced by the GNTO and the Greek travel agents' manual the GTP. The printed guide is available at GNTO/EOT offices, but you'll find a sporadically updated version at www.gtpnet.com.

Motorbikes, scooters and bicycles
The cult of the motorcycle is highly developed in Greece, presided over by a jealous deity apparently requiring regular human sacrifice. Accidents among both foreign and local bikers are routine occurrences, with annual fatalities edging into two figures on the busier islands. Some package companies have even taken to warning clients in print against renting motorbikes (thereby making a bit extra on organized overland excursions), but with caution and common sense - and an eye to increasing ly enforced regulations - riding a two-wheeler through a resort should be a lot safer than piloting one through London or New York.

Many tourists come to grief on rutted dirt tracks or astride mechanically dodgy machines. In other cases accidents are due to attempts to cut corners, in all senses, or by riding two to an underpowered scooter simply not designed to propel such a load. Don't be tempted by this apparent economy - you won't regret getting two separate scooters, or one powerful 100cc bike to share - and remember that you're likely to be charged an exorbitant sum for any repairs if you do have a wipeout. Also, verify that your travel insurance policy covers motorcycle accidents.

One worthwhile precaution is to wear a crash helmet ( kránio ); many rental outfits will offer you one, and some will make you sign a waiver of liability if you refuse it. Helmet-wearing is in fact required by law, but few riders (except army conscripts) wear them - though compliance is increasing as police set up random roadblocks to catch offenders. Reputable establishments demand a full motorcycle driving licence for any engine over 90cc (the law actually stipulates "over 50cc"), and you will usually have to leave your passport as security. For smaller models, any driving licence will do.

Small motor scooters with automatic transmission, known in Greek as papákia (little ducks) after their characteristic noise, are good transport for all but the hilliest islands. They're available for rent on many islands and in a few of the popular mainland resorts for ¬11.80-17.80. This specimen rate-range can be bargained down out of peak season, or if you negotiate for a longer period of rental.

Before riding off, make sure you check the bike's mechanical state , since many are only cosmetically maintained. Bad brakes and worn or oil-fouled spark plugs are the most common defects; dealers often keep the front brakes far too loose, with the commendable intention of preventing you going over the handlebars. If you break down it's your responsibility to return the machine, so take down the phone number of the rental agency in case it gives out in the middle of nowhere. Better outlets often offer a free retrieval service.

There are vanishingly few true mopeds - motor-driven pedal-cycles - remaining in Greece; one or two models are still sold, but none is rented.

As far as scooters go, the Piaggio Vespa or Peugeot were always more comfortable than mopeds for long trips, but still aren't very stable on unpaved surfaces. The latest generation of these models is ultratrendy and practical enough, but thirsty on fuel; a few still don't have kick-starts as backups to the battery. Bungee cords (a khtapódi or "octopus" in slang) for tying down bundles are supplied on request, while capacious baskets are also often a feature.

In the family of true motorbikes with manual transmissions, the favourite workhorses, in descending order of reliability, are the Honda 50, Yamaha Townmate and Suzuki FB Birdie; gears are shifted with an easy-to-learn left-foot pedal action, and (very important) these can all be push-started if the starting crank fails. They can carry two, though if you have a choice, the Honda Cub 70-90cc series give more power at nominal extra cost, as does the Yamaha 80 Townmate. Best of all is the attractive, 1997-premiered Honda Astrea 100 and its rival-brand clones, very powerful but scarcely bigger than older models.

Driving and car rental
Automobiles have obvious advantages for getting to the more inaccessible parts of mainland Greece, but this is one of the more expensive countries in Europe to rent a car . If you drive your own vehicle to and through Greece, via EU member states, you no longer require a Green Card. In accordance with a 1998 directive, insurance contracted in any EU member state is valid in any other, but in many cases this is only third-party cover - the statutory legal minimum. Competition in the industry is so intense, however, that many UK insurers will throw in full, pan-European cover for free or for a nominal sum, up to sixty days; shop around if necessary.

EU citizens bringing their own cars should no longer get a carnet stamp in their passport, and the car is in theory free to circulate in the country for six months, or until its home-based road tax or insurance expires, whichever comes first. In practice, drivers of EU cars are rarely quizzed no matter how long they've been in the country, but if you call attention to yourself, by having an accident for example, the customs has the power to impound the car immediately until or unless you can prove it's been in Greece for less than six months (the ticket for any ferry you may have arrived on from Turkey or Italy is considered sufficient). The fines for overstaying are horrendous, and import duties are likely to be around half the actual value of the vehicle. If you're resident and don't officially import your car, you're only allowed to use a car for six-month periods each year (you choose the time period).

Other nationalities will get a non-EU car entered in their passport; the carnet normally allows you to keep a vehicle in Greece for up to six months, exempt from road tax. It is difficult, though not impossible, to leave the country without the vehicle; the nearest customs post will seal it for you (while you fly back home for a family emergency, for example) but you must find a Greek national to act as your guarantor , and possibly pay storage if you don't have access to off-street parking. This person will assume ownership of the car should you ultimately abandon it; you will also need a guarantor for the single, nine-month extension you're allowed until the vehicle has to remain under seal for six months, as described above.

Taxis
Greek taxis are among the cheapest in western Europe - so long as you get an honest driver who switches the meter on and doesn't use high-tech devices to doctor the reading. Use of the meter is mandatory within city or town limits, where Tariff "1" applies, while in rural areas or between midnight and 5am, Tariff "2" is in effect. On certain islands, such as Kálymnos and Léros, set rates apply on specific fixed routes for "collective" taxis - these only depart when full. Otherwise, throughout Greece the meter starts at ¬0.75, though the minimum fare is ¬1.50; any baggage not actually on your lap is charged at ¬0.15 apiece. Additionally, there are surcharges of ¬0.90 for leaving or entering an airport, and ¬0.60 for leaving a harbour area. If you summon a taxi by phone on spec, there's a ¬1.50 charge, while a prearranged rendevous is ¬1.80 extra; in either case the meter starts running from the moment the driver begins heading towards you. All categories of supplemental charges must be set out on a card affixed to the dashboard. For a week or so before and after Orthodox Easter, and Christmas, a filodhórima or gratuity of about ten percent is levied. Any or all of these extras will legitimately bump up the basic meter reading of about ¬4 per ten rural kilometres.

A special warning needs to be sounded about unlicensed taxi-drivers who congregate outside major train stations, particularly Athens and Lárissa. These shady characters may offer to shuttle you several hundred kilometres for the same price as the train/KTEL bus, or less; upon arrival you will discover that the fare quoted is per person, not per vehicle, and that along the way stops are made to cram several more passengers in - who again do not share your fare. Moreover, the condition of the vehicles usually leaves a lot to be desired.

Domestic flights
Olympic Airways and its subsidiary Olympic Aviation ( www.olympic-airways.gr ) at present operate most of the domestic flights within Greece. They cover a fairly wide network of islands and larger mainland towns, though most routes are to and from Athens or Thessaloníki. Airline operation has been officially deregulated in Greece since 1993, but the only private airlines to have successfully challenged the state-run carrier are the recently merged Aegean-Cronus Airlines ( www.aegeanair.com and/or www.cronus.gr ), and newcomer Axon. Aegean-Cronus has cherry-picked the high-volume, high-profit routes between Crete (Haniá and Iráklio), Thíra, Mytilíni, Rhodes, Corfu Kavála, Ioánnina, Athens and Thessaloníki; Axon, newly appeared in 2001, currently links Athens or Thessaloníki with Sámos, Mykonos, Santórini, Rhodes and Crete (Haniá and Iráklio), though their Embraer jets are the sleekest and fastest things going domestically. Tickets for all three airlines are most easily obtained from travel agents (their own high-street outlets are thin on the ground). Axon and Aegean-Cronus often undercut Olympic price-wise, and surpass it service-wise, though flight frequencies tend to be sparse. This, of course, could change drastically if financially troubled Olympic goes under, as is perennially threatened, and a successor state carrier offers inevitably reduced service.

For the moment, Olympic schedules can be picked up at their offices abroad or through their branch offices and representatives in Greece, which are maintained in almost every town or island of any size; English-language schedules are published twice yearly (April and Oct). Cronus-Aegean has historically produced two booklets per year, in spring and late autumn.

Fares for flights to and between the islands, including the domestic airport tax of about ¬10, work out around three to four times the cost of a ferry journey, but on certain inter-island hauls that are poorly served by boat (Rhodes-Kastellórizo or Kárpathos-Kássos, for example), you should consider this time well bought.

Island flights are often full in peak season; if they're an essential part of your plans, it is worth trying to make a reservation at least a week to ten days in advance. If a flight you've set your heart on is full, waiting lists exist - and are worth signing on to at the airport check-in counter; experience has shown that there are almost always one or two no-shows or cancellations. Domestic air tickets are nonrefundable, but you can change your flight, space permitting, without penalty as late as a couple of hours before your original departure.

Incidentally, the only surviving Olympic-run shuttle buses between the main town and the airport are on Kós, Límnos and Kastellórizo; others have long since been axed as a cost-cutting exercise. In several instances (Athens, Thessaloníki, Ioánnina, Híos, Rhodes), municipally run services have picked up the slack, but otherwise you're at the mercy of the taxi-drivers who congregate outside the arrivals gate.

Like ferries, flights are subject to cancellation in bad weather, since many services are on small, 50- or 68-seat ATR turbo-prop planes, or even tinier Dornier 18-seaters, none of which will fly in strong winds or (depending on the destination airport) after dark. Despite these uncertainties, a flight on a Dornier puddle-jumper is a highly recommended experience. You can watch the crew, who are often on first-name terms with passengers, flicking switches in the cockpit; virtually every seat has a view, and you fly low enough to pick out every island feature - you might even select beaches in advance.

Size restrictions also mean that the 15-kilo baggage weight limit can be fairly strictly enforced, especially on the Dorniers; if, however, you've just arrived from overseas or purchased your ticket outside Greece, you are allowed the 20-23-kilo standard international limit. All services operated on the domestic network are non-smoking .

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