Does anyone have a suggestion about getting from Athens to Venice relatively quick and inexpensively in August 2003? So far I've found one-way airfare for nearly $400, which seems a little expensive. We're willing to do planes trains and ferries, but we're avoiding busses. Any ideas?

There's a 24 hour ferry from the island of Corfu to Venice, are you going over to the Ionian islands? If so that would be a good plan. Check out:

http://ferries.gr/minoan/

It was just like being on a cruise ship. Very pleasureable.

An alternative might be to fly to Milan, then train.

Luxair fly Athens-Milan/Bergamo for € 250 + tax

Check out flights to Malpensa or Linate too.

Steve

Hi DoomedTX
I answered on your other thread. www.alpieagles.com Athens to Venice €149. each ticket one way. Looks like only one flight per day. Enjoy.

Take a bus or train to Patra, then a ferry. The ships have cabins, swimming pools, restaurants, etc, and the arrival in Venezia is magical as the ships sail right past the historic waterfront and Piazza San Marco. The two ferry companies are Minoan Lines (www.minoan.gr) with six sailings a week, and Blue Star (www.bluestarferries.com) with four sailings a week. You spend one or two two nights aboard the ship, so you should book early to get suitable accommodation.

Check out Europe by Air airpass. It is $99 for one way and looks likes it would work between Athens and Venice. I don't know anything about it, but have looked at it for future planning. I think if you look there is feedback on this site.

http://www.europebyair.com/eba/map/default.jsp

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. In this case we're coming off of a 7-day cruise and returning to Spain via a train-hotel, so quicker and cheaper is definitely better. I went to the Alpieagles site, and the price for the day we're going is 99 Euros, or about $115. Europebyair is $99 plus whatever taxes Alpieagle may charge us on arrival. Either way it looks like we'll be taking the Alpieagles flight. Thanks again for the advice!