As Britain prepares to put up barriers to Continental Europe, Turkey is opening up – with a new ferry link with Greece for the summer.
After years of negotiations between the governments in Ankara and Athens, a new daily ferry route connecting mainland Greece with Turkey will start in June.
According to the new edition of the European Rail Timetable, Aegean Seaways will operate the international ferry from 2 June.
It will link Lavrio, 25 miles southeast of Athens, with Cesme, 55 miles west of Turkey’s third city Izmir.
The voyage is set to take seven hours. A free connecting bus service will run in conjunction with the ferry, offering a wide rang of connections: from Athens and Patras (where ferries arrive from Italy) to Lavrio; and in Turkey from Cesme to Kusadasi and Bodrum.
Until now, a few ferries have linked Turkey with Greek islands close to the Turkish shore, such as Marmaris to Rhodes.
The new link will considerably expand options for terrestrial travel to and through southeast Europe.
Chris Woodcock, editor of the European Rail Timetable, called it “a very welcome development” and said it would greatly expand horizons: “It will be particularly useful for Interrail or Eurail ticket holders planning to include both Greece and Turkey in their itinerary.”
