We are flying in to Istanbul and then going to Ephesus, then take the ferry to Samos. We have reservations to go to Thessaloniki, but we just found out that Aegean air is not running-can not find out what is going on. Suggestions??? We know a ferry would take multiple days to go from Samos to thess. Then we had planned to travel around Thessaloniki and take the overnight train to Istanbul, then home, but ha, no train service. Taking a bus for 10 hours sounds horrible. Appreciate any insight. thanks.
Posted by
Cary, NC
687 posts
Any particular reason you were going to Thessaloniki? If you weren't planing to see anything between Thess and Athens I'd be inclined to skip it. If you really want to see Thess I'd take the bus and stop on the way - the long distance buses in Greece are very good and there's good scenery on the way south. I stopped in Kastoria, Ioanina and Meteora.
Posted by
Centennial, CO, US
2145 posts
Did you call Aegean? When I called to re-schedule some of my flights that they had cancelled, they said they would be adding more flights this summer. So they may be reinstating that Samos-Thessaloniki flight. It's worth asking. From the US, their number is 011 30 210 626 1000. Use Skype if possible, as I had about 15 minutes on hold. If they don't anticipate that flight being available, here are a couple of options: Last I heard, there's a daily flight from the island of Lesvos to Thessaloniki. To get to Lesvos, there's a ferry from Samos (just once or twice a week) so you'd have to hit the days right to do that. Or you could travel from Ephesus to Ayvalik, Turkey, and take a ferry (daily) to Lesvos, then fly to Thessaloniki. The ancient Greek city of Pergamon is near Ayvalik; it has an acropolis and theater ... worth seeing.