Help! Daughter stuck in Athens - how do we get her to the Uk

[BertieB]

My daughter and friends are stuck in Cyprus...however we can get a flight into Athens tomorrow. The problem then is getting from Athens to Calais...any suggestions?
Can you hire a car in Greece and drop it off in France? A quick look at the major players indicated yes but then I couldn't get a quote.
Or is the train the way to go?
Any thoughts appreciated!

[Sheets Tabuer]

Quite a few people on the news are clubbing together and hiring coaches to split the cost.

[Rotary Madness]

Pay me to drive down and get her? I recon I could be back within 24 hours.

Ok just had a look, and its about 4000 miles round trip, so erm, 48 hours to do it.

Edited by Rotary Madness on Sunday 18th April 12:27

[Racefan_uk]

Do they Have to get back, or can they wait it out for another day or so? Otherwise, probably the cheapest way is rail travel I should think, although hiring a car is possible, but will be expensive anyway to take from one country and leave in another, without the hire car companies getting wise to this now everyone is trying to get back to the UK.

You'll also then have the problem of getting back from France, apparently Calais is chaotic at the minute.

[pincher]

I think there are a few Facebook groups popping up now, asking about car-sharing etc.

Could be worth a nosey on there?

[Shelsleyf2]

HI, I drove to Athens last year. Your daughter can get a bus to the ferry terminal Ingonamistra ( spelling) ferry to Venice ( overnight as foot passenger) and bus/coach/train from Venice to France and onto Calais.Or maybe club together with other French/Brits and car hire?.

[beefbeef]

Maybe get to Athens as she can definitely do that, flight to Paris if she can get one, then Eurostar straight through to London? Not sure of prices though, but it might work.

[Flanders.]

Wouldn't it be cheaper to stay in a hotel until its calmed down?

[craste]

Fedex?

[pokethepope]

Its probably cheaper and more fun to spend another few days on her casual sex and drug filled holiday of endless debauchery while waiting for things to get back to normal...

HTH.

[killsta]

craste said:

Fedex?

DHL for 48 hour Euro Transit

[Super Veloce]

Id sit still however I know this is going to take weeks to sort out, a friend is stuck in the states..


I know of some car tickers for the Eurotunnel.....

Maybe a little PH profiteering retrieveing fallen PH loved ones....

[TimJMS]

Shelsleyf2 said:

HI, I drove to Athens last year. Your daughter can get a bus to the ferry terminal Ingonamistra ( spelling) ferry to Venice ( overnight as foot passenger) and bus/coach/train from Venice to France and onto Calais.Or maybe club together with other French/Brits and car hire?.

Igoumenitsa, and from there its the ferry to Ancona, and then onward using the European Rail Network. we are trying to get to Igoumenitsa at the moment, having rather further to travel than your daughter.

[TimJMS]

Some friends have been quote 2600 Euros today to hire a Fiat Punto from Portugal back to the UK.

[Pvapour]

live in Nice currently and trying to get a few vehicles over to Aquitaine which is about 6 hours away from a ferry terminal, if anyone can get to Nice I still have 4 vehicles to get over there, 2 I can take care of but 2 are up for grabs, I could then take you the rest of the way to Le Harve, St Malo etc.

[Super Veloce]

TimJMS said:

Some friends have been quote 2600 Euros today to hire a Fiat Punto from Portugal back to the UK.

Well with the prices in LHD cars in the UK strong as they are Id buy a banger and set off back

[Robert Burns]

If you hire a car in athens and travel to patra in greece, or can go by train, this is the ferry termials that get you to italy. take a ferry, overnight to venice then jump on a train to paris, you can get a overnight train to paris and eurostar to london.

Its about a 200km drive to patra from athens so it will take abotu 3 - 4 hours. Take the ferry to venice, this get you to italy and allows you jump on the train to paris from venice.

It looks a real struggle to do but if you want home, it a easy way. getting out of athens by train isn't easy, its really get a ferry to italy or fly. and we all know flying isn't the option atm.

The ferry i took from patra was Minoan Line and leaves midnight every couple of days if i remember the timetable. The Artesia train connects venice to paris, its about a 7 - 8 hours trip from venice to paris.

I took the ferry to venice after i started the holiday in athens and finished in venice, and i've been to venice before and used the trains before to get to the italian lakes and have seen the train leave.

--edit--

If the ash cloud continues south east and hits athens, i would rather want to be on mainland europe than a island, becuase cyprus i dont think has any ferries off it and surives on air, but not a 100% sure.

I would just get that flight to athens

Edited by Robert Burns on Sunday 18th April 16:23

[condor]

Flanders. said:

Wouldn't it be cheaper to stay in a hotel until its calmed down?

I'd go with that suggestion...just extend the holiday

[Penny-lope]

Super Veloce said:

a friend is stuck in the states..

I go back to work tomorrow and so far, we have a teacher stuck in Singapore, a cook in Egypt, a nursery teacher somewhere and the school auxiliary stuck in Canada. This is just the ones we know of

[Robert Burns]

Penny-lope said:

Super Veloce said:

a friend is stuck in the states..

I go back to work tomorrow and so far, we have a teacher stuck in Singapore, a cook in Egypt, a nursery teacher somewhere and the school auxiliary stuck in Canada. This is just the ones we know of

So just another typical day penny?