Most people come to Greece by plane, take a link to Volos, the main city of the region, and then take a taxi (ours or the local Greek taxis) across the mountain to Anilio where we are based. If you fly Via Skiathos, you will need to take a ferry to Volos. If you fly to Thessaloniki (Easyjet - now flys Gatwick to Thessaloniki) or Athens there are connecting bus routes to Volos.

You can fly direct to Volos, which is the quickest route and several tour operators offer seats when their Villas are full or at a large discount within a week of flying.

Please note: We and/or your workshop leader will do our best to support you with your travel plans and sharing, but please check your travel plans and connections thoroughly before booking your flight.

Latest flight info into Volos: -

Click Here for details of how to get from Volos to the Pilion Centre.

Travel digest to the Pilion Center

Here are some travel suggestions & useful contacts we hope will be helpful. Your input would be appreciated.
If you discover any useful travel info, please let us know so that we can pass it on.

VIA SKIATHOS: This has been a popular way of travelling to the Centre for many years; taking the same route as Jason and the Argonauts, the ferry leaves Skiathos Island, crossing a beautiful part of the Aegean to Volos harbour on the Pilion peninsular.

Please check Cat and Ferry (Expr) availability using this link Ferry Times to ensure your outward and return flight times can be met. You can stay in Skiathos overnight if needed and we recommend the Mimosa (see below)

Gatwick, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Bristol and Newcastle all have Friday departures for Skiathos, and the whole journey can take as little as 7 hours. By catching the early morning flights, you can enjoy your afternoon at the Centre.

Click the links or telephone direct. (Airport code JSI)

The 'Flying Dolphin' hydrofoil takes 1hr 15mins from Skiathos to Volos) and runs at 7:40am, 15:20, 18:35 (14:30 Last Cat Until 15th June) on Fridays. A slow Ferry runs at 12:30 and (22:25 from 29th June) and only 11:45 early and late season and takes 2.5 hours. (The Jetfoil cost 22 Euros one way, the Ferry 15 Euros approx.)

Return Flying dolphin (Volos to Skiathos) runs at 10:00am, 13:00 & 19:30pm, return Ferry runs at 7:45am & 16:45 high season, 16:00 low season.

The Ferry terminal is about 15 mins walk or 5 mins taxi from the airport.

Click the links or telephone direct fro more details or other days.

(For how to get from Volos to the Pilion Centre; see below.)

If you want to stay over the night, we can recommend Mimoza Studios
They will pick you up from the airport and take you to their studios inc in the price of the room (approx 30 euros).

Tel: (+30) 6946149175 mobile or (+30) 242 70 219 15
email: mimoza1studios@yahoo.gr

VIA THESSALONIKI: This can be one of the cheapest ways to fly. Flights to Thessaloniki leave from many UK airports, and can be much cheaper if booked in advance. For people with a flexible schedule, or for those planning a longer stay at the Centre, it is possible to book a single outward flight from many airports in the UK, and then, once in Greece, to use the Internet to source cheap return flights. (These can be as little as £60 Volos to Gatwick, low season.)

Click the links or telephone direct.  (Airport code SKG)

The most popular way to travel is by public transport. You will need to take a bus to Thessaloniki bus station, where it is possible to catch a coach or train to Volos. The journey is beautiful affording magnificent views of the Mount Olympus area.

The bus stop can be found directly across from the Airport exit. Buses run roughly every twenty minutes from 04:20 until 22:30, the last bus being 23:00. (Early in the season they are every ½ an hour). This will take you to the K'Tel (K'Tel pronounced like C in Cat then Tel)

When you arrive at the Thessaloniki bus terminal you will see a Roman columned entrance. This is where you buy your ticket for Volos. Tickets cost approx. 15 Euros.

Buses run every two hours from 7:00 to 23:00 and take 2.5 hours. They fill up quickly so you may not be able to get on the next available bus. It's worth calling the bus station to reserve a place but if you arrive less than ½ and hour before the bus leaves, you will almost certainly loose it and have to wait for the next bus. Tel: 0030 2310 595 424 to book. There is a restaurant where you can relax and get quite good food.

Do leave plenty of time to board your bus. It is not obvious which bus to take, you may have to ask several times.

Click the links or telephone direct.

(For how to get from Volos to the Pilion Centre; see below.)

VIA ATHENS: Again, this can be a good idea for people with a flexible schedule, or for those planning a longer stay at the Centre. It is possible to book a single outward flight from many airports in the UK, and to find cheap return flights at a later date. Although this is the longest journey by air, it means you can arrange to see the Acropolis and other Greek antiquities, do some shopping and have an interesting 180 mile drive or coach-ride along the coast, which takes about 4.5 hours. There is also a train from Athens to Volos.

Click the links or telephone direct.  (Airport code ATH)

Once at Athens airport you will need to get to Liossion bus Station, and then take one of the hourly busses ( for 20 Euros aprox.) from there, to Volos. (260 Liossion st. 00 30 21 0831 7186 / 7179)
An express bus x93 runs to and from Athens Airport to Liossion in the summer months. This can be taken from the main road a short walk from the bus station.  

Also try: Kiffisou bus station , 100 Kifissou str.( 00 30 210 5130220 ).

If you decide to stay overnight in Athens, 'John's Place' 5 Patrou, Athens 105 57, on: 00 30 21 03229719 is reasonably priced and close to the Acropolis and the tavernas of the Plaka.

VIA VOLOS:  (Anchialos Airport): 'Flight only' reservations (that is, without hotel accommodation) have been drastically reduced this year. Exel operate the only charter flight into Volos, which runs on Fridays. Some 'flight only' seats are available are at short notice, so check with the agents below. The cost of flights to Volos usually gets less close to departure.

Click the links or telephone direct.  (Airport code VOL)

If you want to hire a car from Volos Airport, try: Hertz who deliver cars to the airport at no extra cost.
Tel: 00 30 24210 22544. It is about a 40 minute drive from the airport to Volos town.
Also great deals can be taken from www.onairportcarhire.com.

There are rarely taxis waiting outside Volos airport (which is tiny!)
Please contact us to arrange a lift or book a taxi for you from the centre.
                      Tel:       0030 242 603 2173  
                      Mobile: 0030 697 273 9393

See below for local taxis, or to arrange a lift in the Centre Vehicle if it is in Volos that day.

BY ROAD: From London the journey is approximately 3,000 klm, across France, Switzerland and Italy. Overnight Ferries from Italy from £135 Euros with a vehicle and two passengers are available...

You can advertise for car-shares on our Forum. (Please note, we will be driving the Centre Vehicle from the UK to Pilion in May, returning in Oct, and will post our overland travel tips as and when we have them.)

Plan your route here....

BY RAIL: Volos, the main town of the Pilion region,can be reached by rail from Larissa and Thessaloniki. (For people romantic about trains it is worth noting that part of the journey from the UK includes the Orient Express.)

Please note: trains are not as reliable as busses in Greece and connections can cause delays, so we recommend you travel by bus where possible.

TRAVELLING FROM VOLOS TO THE PILION CENTRE:

This is one of the best bits!
Crossing the lovely Mount Pilion Region, it is approximately 50 kms drive from Volos town to Anilio (our village.) This takes about 1.5 hours.
Wherever possible we encourage people to travel together, or meet up en route, which can bring down the cost of this part of the journey. The local bus service tends to be a bit mysterious (!) so most people travel by Taxi.

There are several good local taxi firms with friendly safe drivers. Many of the drivers are happy to give historic information, or to make diversions to villages of historic interest. Most drivers do not use a meter; the charge can vary, but is usually around 50 Euros from Volos town to the Centre.

The Centre Vehicle is sometimes available to pick people up from Volos airport (at a cost of 20 Euros per person) or from Volos town (harbour or bus station) at 15 Euros per person. For a large group we can arrange mini-bus transport (subject to availability.)

If you would like us to arrange a mini bus or a lift, please contact us at the Centre on: 0030 242 603 2173 or on our mobile: 0030 697 273 9393 or email us at: booking@pilion.org two weeks before you travel.

If you wish to stay overnight in Volos, the Hotel Roussa is a family-run hotel at the quiet end of Volos seafront, not far from the road leading out of Volos to Mount Pilion. Tel: 00 30 24210 21732.

Hiring Wheels locally: Once you are at the Centre you may want to explore the Pilion region by hiring a car, motorbike or scooter.

See below for driving directions. (click here)

Coming from Continental Europe
There are numerous charters from various French, German and Scandinavian cities to Athens, Thessaloniki (Halkidiki) and Skiathos. In some cases (e.g, Geneva, Zurich, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris), if Easy Jet serves your nearest city, it may be cheaper to fly Easy Jet to Athens via London. From Brussels or Paris try Hellas air to Athens, from Berlin try Germania to Athens, from Cologne try German Wings to Thessalonki. Click to find most of the European “no frills” airlines serving Greece. From Italy take the overnight ferry to Igominitsa from Ancona, Venice or Trieste and then proceed by local buses to Volos.

Coming from North America
Participants coming from North America generally fly to Athens or Thessaloniki with either an onward connection to Skiathos, or they stop overnight in one of those cities and connect the next morning with the bus or train to Volos. Thessaloniki is about an hour closer to Volos than Athens, and its airport is smaller and closer to the city, so if you can get there as cheaply as you can to Athens and don't want to visit Athens, it is a good choice.

Driving Directions from Volos
Arriving in Volos head for the centre of town, passing the harbour with the fishing boats on your right, bear right at the first traffic light after the harbour into the one-way system. Continue straight ahead (you should be on Dimitriados street) to the traffic lights at K. Kartali street. Turn left there following signs to Pilion, or Portaria. Carry straight along Kartali street till the street dead ends (about 3/4 mile). Turn left at this T junction and in a few dozen meters you will get a sign to turn right for Pilion and you are now on the main road to Pilion.

From here the street (Iolkou) goes straight towards Mount Pilion. Ascending the mountain above Volos, you reach the village of Portaria. At the top of the mountain, about 1 hour from Volos, you pass through the ski resort Hania. Continuing downhill now, you reach a T junction, signposted Zagora (left), and Tsagorada (pronounced Tsangaratha) (right). Take the right fork.

In about 10 min you pass through Makriraki, with a petrol garage on your left and houses with hundreds of potted plants grown for export to Athens. Anilio is 2 miles further on.

About 1/2 km past the Anilio sign, look out for a sign on your left to the Platia. (Village square.) Turn left there down the hill.You are now on the "lower paved road". Continue to the Platia (square). Our footpath (signposted—'Pilion Centaur, Spiti ton Kendavron' see photo below) is about 1/2 km further along from the Platia. If you come to the Anilio BP petrol station on your right, you have passed the left turnoff to the "lower paved road". In that case, just continue on past the Anilio supermarket on your right and make the next main left turn to reach the "lower paved road" at its other end. Park near to the footpath down to the Centre. (See map above.)

Centre Address and telephone number:

Our address is Spiti ton Kendavron, Anilio, Pilio, Greece GR.37001

The telephone number of the Centre is +30 242 6032173
We also have a mobile number +30 6972739393