Bus

About seven buses a day make the 7-hour trip from Athens's Terminal A (Kifissou) to Ioannina's main Papandreou Station. One of these takes the longer route east through Kalambaka and Trikala rather than the usual southern route to the Rion–Antirion ferry over the suspension bridge, which is the largest in Europe. From Athens's dismal Terminal B (Liossion), seven buses leave daily for the 5-hour journey to Kalambaka. Most routes require you to hop on a different bus for the final leg from Trikala, but one morning bus goes direct. From Thessaloniki to Ioannina there are six buses a day, and, thanks to the Engatia highway, the trip takes a mere 3½ hours and costs €28. Thessaloniki to Kalambaka takes 2¾ hours (€19.70) with four buses leaving daily. Around four KTEL buses leave Ioannina daily for Metsovo (about 1 hour) and two buses for Kalambaka (2 hours); frequencies are the same in the opposite direction. Buses also head to Dodona. The several-times-weekly bus heading for Melingi village passes the ancient site. Other bus options drop you off 1 km (½ mile) or ½ km (¼ mile) from the site; ask for information based on the day you want to go. On Sunday, service is reduced for all towns. Regular bus service runs from Ioannina's main terminal to the towns in the Zagorohoria. There is also regular and frequent bus service from Athens to Volos (€27.40), of little interest to travelers but a major transportation hub in the region; from Volos, you can easily connect to Thessaloniki (€18.40) and other destinations in the region.

Contacts

Ioannina Bus Station. Papandreou 45, Ioannina, Epirus, 45444. 26510/25014; 26510/26286; www.ktelioannina.gr.

Kalambaka Bus Station. Ikonomou 9, Kalambaka, Thessaly, 42200. 24320/22432; www.ktel-trikala.gr.