The best and cheapest way to get to Meteora is to take a train from Athens to Meteora i.e.. From Athens to Kalambaka.
We booked this train journey well in advance and cost us just 11 Euro for a 5 hour trip.
Website: Click here
Always try booking beforehand, though the trains are not that busy. The website is not the most user-friendly one. First of all look for a small icon(En) for localisation i.e.. change the language to English on the website –assuming you wouldn’t know Greek. Once you enter your journey details and click search you would get a list of all the trains – look for 884 for the forward and 885 for the return trip. There are 2 classes A and B and look out for the cost online column.
Click on the top right for seat selection on next page after which is quite self-explanatory. Class A are the upper class seats with just 4-5 Euro difference in price. We opted for class B but if I were to go again I would prefer Class A which has its own little cabins for 6 people – but you never know how the neighbours turn out! However class B was very spacious and quite comfy.
The name of Athens central station is: ‘Stathmos Larissis’ – do not confuse it with a city in Greece named Larissa. On the metro map it’s the Larissa station on Line 2(Red). So we took a direct metro from Akrpoli station (very next to the Acropolis museum) and reached Larissa in 15 minutes. It cost us 0.80 Euro one way.
Athens Metro Map:
Once at Larissa station you need to see for Train – 884 which runs from Athens to Kalambaka. There is quite a rush for boarding class B as the train arrives but don’t hurry as the train halts at Larissa for 15-20 mins.
It was a wonderful journey through beautiful Greece landscapes and the 5 hours journey had very few stops finally pulling into Kalampaka a small sleepy town at the heart of Meteora.
Kalambaka station –
We had an awesome time in Meteora (Read here), before taking the evening train back to Athens.
Read more about our Greek trip here – Click here
If u need any help or additional information on a getting a train from Athens to Meteora feel free to leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.
This is Aldrin and my partner Amoli. We bring you "Earths Pilgrim" - a unique insight into our travel escapades while leaving life in a cubicle. If you are looking for some inspiration to break the shackles of a regular life, then you are the right place. Read more about us- Click here.