The Thessaloniki to Athens train is now our favorite way to get to Athens. It’s almost as quick a trip to Athens as the plane, with much less hassle.
The New Thessaloniki – Athens Train
Brand new track and a new route have cut the travel time to Athens from about six and half hours to just over four hours. Only the plane is quicker. And when you add in the travel time to from the city center and to the city center in Athens, plus the time you need at the airport for security, the plane saves you only about an hour.
Thessaloniki to Athens by Train – Convenience
It’s very easy to get to the Thessaloniki train station by short taxi ride or public transit (here’s everything you need to know about how to use the bus in Thessaloniki). And then you arrive in Athens at the central Larissis Train Station, right by a Metro stop. But the best part of taking the train is that you have four hours to read, work, and enjoy the scenery in peace. There’s a comfortable dining car, open car seating, and seating in closed compartments of six.
Thessaloniki to Athens Train Price
The first class tickets are €52.50, and the second class tickets are €43.00, one way. There is a significant discount on the Thessaloniki to Athens train price for round trip fares. The round trip Thessaloniki to Athens train ticket price is €84.00 for first class, and €68.80 for second class. These prices are for tickets purchased on line at trainose. On the trainose site, you’ll also find information about the mobile app. There’s an additional discount if you use the mobile app.
Thessaloniki Athens Train Timetable
There are five trains a day, approximately 3 hours apart. The earliest train is at 6:27, and arrives in Athens at 10:24. Then they’re every three hours, departing at 9:15, 12:15, 15:15, and 18:15, each getting in just over 4 hours later. All the trains are InterCity express trains.
To book your ticket, go to Trainose. On the first screen, you choose your route. Click on the British flag on the upper left of the screen for English – otherwise it goes automatically to Google translate and the results are very funny – and sometimes obscene – but otherwise useless.
After you pick your cities and travel date, it brings you here:
If you want to book a round trip ticket (20% discount), go to the box on the top of the page in the middle where it says “one-way trip”- you’ll see a red x. click the arrow down to select “returning” and fill in your return date in the box that appears. A calendar will pop up, but you may have to fill in your return date manually. Another list of departure times from Athens to Thessaloniki will appear. Choose one. Then go to the box on the top right – there’s another red x in the screenshot above. This will bring you to the seat selection page.
Now choose your seats – A is for first-class, B is for second class. The composition of the cars depends on which train you’re taking. The available seats are in white. The one I chose here is indicated in blue. The red you see here indicates an unavailable seat – a safety measure during the covid 19 crisis.
After you choose your seats, you must fill in the passengers’ names on the right, under “total cost.” Then go to the box in the upper right that says “terms of transport” to continue.
You’ll need to click on the box indicating you accept the terms of service to continue – there’s a red x on the image above. Then proceed to payment – the box on the upper right.
Note – the trainose site can be tricky to use. When you pick a date, a calendar will appear, but sometimes it doesn;t work and you need to add the date manually.
