From: john@earljb11.ingr.COM (John H. Earl)
Subject: Re: Ferry from Brindisi to Patres - info request.
Keywords: eurail
Reply-To: john@earlj.b11.ingr.COM
Organization: Intergraph Corporation, Huntsville, AL.
Pae: PA to Boston                               
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 13:39:34 GMT

In article <l7gbk7INNi86@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>, sriram@cremona.Eng.Sun.COM (Sriram Ramachandran) writes:
|> I plan on using a Eurail pass on the Brindisi-Patres ferry crossing. 
|> How long does this journey take ? Any recommendations, experiences 
|> will be appreciated. 
|> thanks,
|> sriram/.
|> 

The following is an excerpt from Rick Steve's book Europe Through The Back
Door:

	Brindisi, the spur of the Italian boot, is a funnel where
	thousands of Eurailers (who get to cross for free, except taxes
	and supplement) and backpackers fall out to catch the boat for
	Greece.  Three boats make the 21-hour crossing each day in the
	summer, usually sailing in the evening.  Getting on the boat is no
	problem without reservations except at peak season time (Italy to
	Greece - late July to mid August: Greece to Italy - about August
	11 to September 3), when it's a mob scene.

	Tickets cost about $40 for deck class (really on the deck unless
	it rains and they open up the otherwise closed restaurant), $47
	for an assigned airplane-type seat, $55 for a bed in a four-bed
	stateroom, and $90 for a bed in a double.  During peak season,
	prices are $30 higher.  Voyagers under 26 can save about $10.
	Children who can pass for 2 to 12 go for half price.  Cars cost
	$40 to $60.  A Eurail pass gives you, in essence, a $30 discount
	on these prices.  You get a free stopover halfway on the lush and
	popular island of Corfu if you have "S.O.Corfu" marked on your
	ticket.

	For summer crossing, make a reservation at least three days in
	advance from an Italian (or Greek) travel agency (easy but with a
	small service charge).  On arrival in Brindisi, follow the mob on
	the half-mile stampede from the train station down the city's main
	drag to the dock.  Stop at one of the several agencies along the
	way which sell tickets and handle boat-related business such as
	reserving staterooms, collecting your port taxes and Eurail
	supplements, and distributing boarding passes.  Then, at the port,
	go through another round of customs related bureaucracy and board
	your boat.  The crossing from Patras to Brindisi features similar
	headaches.  Off-season, I'd go to the port and bargain.  Student
	discounts are often given to anyone who asks for them.

	The Patras to Athens connection is a five-hour train ride or a
	frightening three-hour bus ride. (The fear welds some special
	friendships on the bus.)  Buses meet the boat, and I'd buy the
	$10 bus ticket with the boat ticket.  Consider taking the indirect
	route, hooking south through the fascinating Peloponnesian
	Peninsula.  Start with the hour-long bus ride (leaving every two
	hours) to Olympia.

	Brindisi is well connected by night trains from Rome, Milan,
	Florence (via Bologna), and Venice.  If you have time to kill
	(boats leave in the evening, overnight trains arrive early) do it
	in Lecce, a hot, noble, but sleepy city of lovely baroque facades
	and Roman ruins; pick up a town map at the three-star hotel in
	front of the station (a $2, 40-minute train ride south, hourly
	departures) or at nearby beaches.  Mobbed by transit tourists
	throughout the summer, Brindisi has arranged an hourly "Sea Bus
	Service" that shuttles those on there way to Greek beaches to one
	last Italian beach, either Punta Penne or Apani (the better, just
	30 minutes north of town on the Adriatic coast).  The beaches are
	fair; the water is clean.  Get information in Brindisi on the bus
	service (when you arrange for yoru boat trip.

Hope this helps.  If you haven't read this book, it's well worth the
$16.95 price!

The next excerpt is from the 1992 Eurail Guide:

	The Brindisi-Patras boat trip is covered by Eurailpasses -- but
	only if you go on Adriatica di Navagazione Line or Hellenic
	Mediterranean Line.  WARNING:  The employees of other lines
	intimate that their ships honor the 2 passes and then charge fees
	after the boat leaves the pier.

	With or without a Eurail pass, a reservation can theoretically be
	made on day of departure or day before departure -- but it is very
	unlikely that space will be available (particularly during July
	and August) unless a reservation is made many weeks in advance of
	departure dates.

	Those gambling on making a reservation after arriving in Brindisi
	can make application January 1 - June 9 and October 1 - December
	31 only at the Adriatica di Navagazione embarkation office,
	located at Maritime station, a 15-minute walk from Brindisi's
	Central railstation, along Corso Umberto and Corso Garibaldi.
	Taxis are available at the railstation.

	From June 10 to September 30, those without advance reservations
	can also apply to any Brindisi travel agency that displays in its
	window the green badge "Eurail Information - Eurail Pass".

	Holders of advance reservations must go at all times directly to
	the Adriatica di Navagazione embarkation office to have their
	tickets checked, settle port taxes due, and obtain the required
	Embarkation Ticket.  That office is open 08:30 - 13:00 and 15:30 -
	22:30.  Passengers with advance reservation must obtain the
	Embarkation ticket at least 2 hours prior to the ship's departure
	time.  The ships reserve the right to cancel a reservation when
	that is not doen and to give the space to a standby passenger.

	There is a port tax of 7,000 Lira that is not covered by
	Eurailpass and must be paid in Lira.

	Trains from northern Italy to Brindisi, timed to connect with
	ferry departures, are frequently late.  For that reason, it is
	advisable to arrive Brindisi the day before a ferry departure to
	Patras.

	Readers reported to us in 1990 that conditions on the boat were
	unsatisfactory.

Rick Steves is a bit more laid back.  I like his approach a lot better!
-- 
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