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Transportation
in Thessaloniki and Greece For in-city commuting you can also rely on Taxies. The rate is the cheapest in Europe and ranges from a minimum of 500Drx to a maximum of 1200Drx for a in-city ride. During some festivities taxi drivers are also granted a bonus prize for each run which is around 100-150 Drx (It is a kind of legalized tip). Night transfers are subject to a different rate (more expensive) but due to the absence of traffic you will pay almost the same price. Being the second largest city in Greece, Thessaloniki is perfectly integrated into the Greek communication system. Look under for the numbers to get in touch with all the communication providers. The preferable way of commuting from city to city is the use of the KTEL buses. KTEL is the denomination of the public bus system, prices are the cheaper in many cases and discounts for students are seldom granted. They don't have a common office (e.g. a bus station) but a multitude of separate offices (one per destination) mostly located near the train station. Train is also a viable way of moving but I don't recommend it. While is cheaper than the KTEL buses it is usually uncomfortable and takes longer. the only exception might be the nightly train to Athens where you may sleep. Finally airplane isn't expensive and it is easy to find tickets for Athens-Thessaloniki around 10.000Drx during companies promotions (there are some private companies). You have to include also the price of commuting from the city to the airport (3000Drx). Anyway the saving in time is impressive. "The
Periptero" The typical periptero offers to the occasional pedestrian a assortment of soft drinks, little alcohol (Beers mainly), newspapers, Snacks, Batteries, Condoms, some chemicals (Aspirin), Notepads, Pencils, Telephone cards, Stamps, films, souvenirs, chips, sweets, soaps, ice creams and so on... As you will see the periptero is one of the best friends of the erasmus student. There is some periptero open 24h/day and if you're in need of a snack or a cache or a film for your camera you will find it as easy as ABC. The frequency of peripteros on some street is as much dense as much as one each 20 meters (in the center) to that of one each 200 mt (in the unlucky suburbs). Of course not all of the peripetos offer the full range of newspaper (or of drink brands) but as shops, there are some more specialized in food and other on paper stuff. This is a minor problem since all of them offer a basic range of products just slightly above the supermarket cost.
The
Climate Usually in the winter the temperature doesn't go far beyond 0 degrees. Just for some week it may be possible to have some snow in the city. For instance when I have been Erasmus it snowed in the days of Christmast (1 meter of snow in front of my door). in the same period rains are kind of frequent and of low intensity (nothing to compare to England anyway). In summertime the things are
completely different and you can really expect a tropical
climate. Very few rain days and a lot of heat to keep you up
in the night. In the unfortunate case that wind is blowing
from Africa you can get as much as 45 degrees in the shadow
against a season average of 30~35 degrees. Radical
Sports : Having a car or a bike in
Greece The most disgusting problem is the way that Greek shop owners consider the road. According to their behavior the road is not a common good but a private extension of their shop. Next to every periptero there is a chair or some boxes to avoid cars from parking, other shops have a couple of cars strategically parked, others use boxes or motorbikes. But the most disgusting bastards are definitively the garage owners that manage to fit any car they have inside their garage on the road parking any time that they become available; doing so they get a couple of advantages, first they can rent more inside space and secondly they stress the parking problem to an extent that they are likely to get more customers. Of course NO-ONE of them pays the license to do so. Another problem related to parking are the dead cars that can be spotted any place on the road. Theoretically it is cars on sale but in practice it is pieces of junk that just take space. Police instead of prosecuting the infraction closes both eyes. So if you're going to take the car be advised, this is a difficult city to park. The asphalt is another problem. Being the cheapest of Europe and being more resistant to heat, lesser quality asphalt is used inside the city. This asphalt is made of a mixture of tar and some kind of white stones and is way more slippery than Italian asphalt (the one I know most). This is a lesser problem during dry days with an average of 10-20% of longer breaking spaces but it is a SEVERE problem when it rains. Actually I feel more conformable driving on snow or unpaved roads than on Thessaloniki's wet asphalt. Both the asphalt quality (with its stones being glass smooth) and the dirt accumulated in the dry season form a formidable combination that makes even people fall when walking... think about cars and motorbikes. With this asphalt you have to be deadly careful when driving. Please note that the asphalt problem extends also to the other big Greek city: Athens. So also if you're planning to come here with a bike you're advised. Do not think that you're Superman : wear always the helmet (unlike the Greeks) and the more protective garments the best. Useful
Info & Numbers GNTO Thessaloniki : +30/(0)31/271.888, +30/(0)31/ 222935, Aristotelous Square 8 Thessaloniki Youth hostel of Thessaloniki. This might be useful for a couple of days when you need to make contact with your local Erasmus office. Showers are located underground and beds are next to the road (noisy!). I won't suggest it for long times, anyway the price is definitively cheap (2000Drx/Day). It is closed daily from 11 till 19 and has curfew at 23. Tel +30/(0)31/225.946 Air Transports. Olimpic Airways tel +30/(0)1/9666.666 (Athens), +30/(0)31/281.880 (Thessaloniki) The airport is connected to the most international airlines. Daily flights to the major towns of Greece. There are also some other private companies operating internal flights. Look here for a list of flight from the Airport. Road Transports. For Athens-Thessaloniki (8 rides daily) and Thessaloniki-Halkidiki contact the KTEL Thessaloniki at +30/(0)31/924.444. There are many other KTEL offices be sure to ear from the GNTO. If you're Italian there are a couple of companies which offer Italy-Thessaloniki at a very cheap price by bus. Using "Kotsidis" the bus goes to Padova - Firenze - Roma - Napoli - Bari - Thessaloniki, you can take as much luggage as you want. If you want you can send/receive luggages from the above cities as well for a cheap price. Contact them at +30/(0)31/215910 Kotsidis tours. Using "Sechidis Travel" you get the same service but with some changes in the route (like Pescara and so on). Their numbers are : +30-1-8211025 (Athens office) +30-31-520607 (Thessaloniki office) Rail Transport. Rail connects Thessaloniki with Athens. There are other trains to the eastern Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and to the former Yugoslavian republic of Macedonia (Skopie). There is the possibility of travelling by train carrying the CAR - BIKE from Athina to Thessaloniki for a cheap price. Information at +30/(0)31/517.517. Sea transport. There are many connections with the islands from the port. For information contact the port authority +30/(0)31/531.505. From Thessaloniki the prices on internal boat transport are discunted 50% for students carring the Greek passo (30% discounts from islands to Athens). If you need some information on the boat to Santorini - Crete call this agency : Tsourekas Travel +30-31-552211 |