Volos is a working port city on the Pagasetic Gulf, and most people arrive there for one of two reasons: the Sporades ferries, or the Pelion peninsula rising immediately behind it.
Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.
The ways
By car, about three and a half hours north on the A1 motorway and then east. Straightforward driving the whole way.
By train, on the Athens-Thessaloniki main line to Larissa and then the branch to Volos. It is one of the few genuinely useful Greek rail journeys. See trains in Greece.
By KTEL bus, direct and frequent, roughly four to five hours.
Why people come
The Sporades. Volos is the main port for Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos, with conventional ferries and high-speed craft. If you want a car on those islands, this is where it goes on the boat. See Athens to Skiathos.
The Pelion. The mountain peninsula curling south-east from the city, which is one of the loveliest regions in Greece and almost unknown to foreign visitors: chestnut and beech forest, stone villages with slate roofs, cobbled mule paths, and beaches on both coasts. Makrinitsa, Portaria, Tsagarada, Milies and Zagora are the villages, and the Pelion narrow-gauge railway still runs a short tourist line up the hill in season.
In Greek myth the Pelion was the home of the centaurs, and the landscape makes the story feel less arbitrary than most.
The tsipouradika. Volos has a drinking-and-eating institution of its own: order a small bottle of tsipouro and a plate of food arrives with it, and each new bottle brings a different plate. It is one of the best cheap meals in Greece and the reason many Greeks stop in Volos deliberately.
Practical notes
- The port and the station are central, which makes the train-then-boat combination unusually easy.
- The Pelion needs a car, and its roads are narrow, steep and slow.
- Ferry timings drive the day. Check the sailing before you book a night here.
Last checked August 2026. Ferry, train and bus schedules change - see our editorial policy.
Common questions
How long does it take from Athens to Volos?
About three and a half hours by car, four to five by KTEL bus, and there is also a train via the main line and the Larissa branch.
Is there a train from Athens to Volos?
Yes, on the Athens-Thessaloniki main line with a change at Larissa onto the Volos branch, and it is one of the more useful Greek rail journeys.
Why do ferries to the Sporades leave from Volos?
Volos is the closest major mainland port to Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos, and it is where car ferries to those islands sail from.
What is the Pelion?
The mountain peninsula behind Volos: forested slopes, stone villages with slate roofs, cobbled paths and beaches on both coasts, with a narrow-gauge tourist railway.
What are tsipouradika?
A Volos institution: you order a small bottle of tsipouro and a plate of food comes with it, with a different plate for each new bottle.
Next
Read Volos, Skiathos, or Athens to Skiathos.