Ioannina is the capital of Epirus, inland in the mountains of north-west Greece, sitting on a lake with high country all around it. There is no ferry and no coast: this is a road or air journey, and it is the gateway to the best walking country in Greece.
Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.
By road
The usual way, and the one that makes the rest of the trip work. The route runs west from Athens towards Patras and the Rio-Antirrio bridge, or north-west and then across, and finishes climbing into Epirus.
Modern motorway covers a good deal of it, which has changed this journey substantially compared with the mountain roads it replaced. We print no drive times, because they depend on the traffic leaving Athens and on the season, and a printed figure ages badly.
Driving in Greece covers the tolls and the road rules.
By air
Ioannina has an airport with a short domestic hop from Athens. That is the sensible option if the city and the lake are the destination in themselves.
It is the less sensible option if the point of the trip is Zagori and the mountains, because you will want a car the moment you land and the drive is half the pleasure.
By bus
Intercity coaches run, and the durable fact worth carrying is that the KTEL network publishes no single national timetable. Each regional operator publishes its own, and the connections between regions are not built to meet.
That makes bus travel across Greece workable and not something to plan a tight connection around. Check each leg with its own operator rather than looking for one national schedule that does not exist.
What the city is the gateway to
This matters for how long you stay. Ioannina’s walled citadel on the lake shore is the best-preserved Ottoman old town in Greece and is still lived in, with two inner strongholds, mosques, an exceptional silverwork collection and a boat out to the island in the lake.
North of it lies Zagori: forty-six stone villages across the Pindus, connected by cobbled paths and arched bridges, with the Vikos gorge cutting through the middle. That is the reason most people come this way at all.
East, the road carries on over the mountains to Metsovo and Meteora, which is the standard mainland circuit.
Winter
Epirus is a winter destination in a way the islands are not, and the mountain passes carry snow. Check conditions rather than assuming, particularly if you are heading up into Zagori.
Where this leaves you
No ferry, because Ioannina is inland. Drive west and north on motorway for much of the way, or fly in and hire a car at the airport. The city itself justifies two nights for the citadel and the lake, and the mountains behind it justify more. If you are on buses, check each regional operator separately, because there is no national timetable.
Quick answers
Is there a ferry to Ioannina?
No. Ioannina sits inland on a lake in the mountains of Epirus, with no coast at all. It is reached by road or by a short domestic flight from Athens.
How do you drive from Athens to Ioannina?
West towards Patras and over the Rio-Antirrio bridge, or north-west and across, then climbing into Epirus. Modern motorway covers much of the route now, which has changed the journey considerably from the mountain roads it replaced.
Does Ioannina have an airport?
Yes, with a short domestic service from Athens. It suits a trip focused on the city and the lake. If you are heading into Zagori and the Vikos gorge afterwards, you will want a car regardless.
Can you reach Ioannina by bus?
Yes, on the intercity coach network, though it needs checking region by region: the KTEL operators each publish their own timetable and there is no single national one, so connections between regions are not designed to meet.