I'm in Greece and will be in Thessaloniki in a few days. I plan to take the bus to Kastraki where I have a 3 night stay to see Meteora. I've searched online and on this forum, but I'm unable to find out how to buy a bus ticket. I don't want to rent a car, as I'm going on to Corfu and would rather not drive the mountain roads. At this point it seems best to just go to the bus station in Thessaloniki when I arrive, unless anyone here has information that can help me.
Posted by
France Southwest - Occitanie
4254 posts
There is no direct public bus line from Thessaloniki to Kastraki.
You will need to take a KTEL bus to Trikala (journey time: 3h) from the Thessaloniki bus station located here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ftw3RXDKyGA9SjBK9
Then, at Trikala bus station, you'll need to take another bus to Kalambaka (journey time: 30 minutes).
Information and tickets are available here:
Posted by
161 posts
I am traveling on this route in September. I researched the buses and came across the same website for ticket purchase that JoLui included in her response (via https://ktelmacedonia.gr/en/routes/tid=34). You can buy a ticket to Kalambaka from Thessaloniki using that link, but you will be changing buses in Trikala.
Posted by
OP
Capitola
31 posts
Thank you both for your responses. This is extremely helpful. :)
Posted by
161 posts
DianeC, did you end up buying this ticket online? If so, did you show the ticket on the phone or did you have to print it out to show when boarding the bus? I just bought the ticket online and there is a fineprint telling me I have to print it out. I wonder if that fineprint is an artifact of a pre smartphone era?
Thank you.
Posted by
OP
Capitola
31 posts
Pam, I went to the ticket office before boarding the bus in Thessaloniki and asked them to print it for me. They are used to doing this as it happens all the time. I'll just add that since the bus only goes as far as Kalabaka, I took a taxi up the hill to where I stayed in Kastraki. I think it was 5 Euros. I know you will enjoy that beautiful area. I stayed 3 nights and it was one of my top favorites during my 4 months of travel.
Posted by
161 posts
Thank you, Diane. I ended up getting the ticket printed at the bus station as well. For my trip to Kavala, the Kavala ticket counter folks insisted that the drivers will scan the online ticket and so they did.
I loved Meteora as well. Loved hiking down from the monasteries and enjoying the views of the rocks. The geology museum in Kastraki is quite good. I stayed in Kalabaka as I relied on the local buses to go up to Meteora each day and then hiked down. It was quite convenient.
Posted by
OP
Capitola
31 posts
Thanks for letting us know how it worked out for you. As I mentioned, I stayed in Kalastraki and the tour company picked me up at my hotel the two days of my tours. My last day I hiked up to one of the monasteries... didn't think I could do it, but there was plenty of shade on the trail so it was very doable for this 70 year old ;)
Posted by
161 posts
The weather was wonderful for the most part this week in Meteora. It did rain one afternoon, but that was after I finished my hike, so it didn't affect me. The Trinity trail down from the Holy Trinity monastery to Kalabaka is wonderfully shaded for hot weather, but unfortunately that means one doesn't get to see the meteora rocks much on the way down. The second day, I walked down the road from Great Meteoran monastery passing the other 3 on Kastraki side and got to see the rocks and monasteries from all the angles on the way down. It was sunny and pleasant as well.