Papa Nero Beach

How to get to Papa Nero Beach ?

Well... it's almost impossible to travel to the Pilion without passing through the city of Volos.
So, this page is divided into three chapters:

1. How to go to Volos ?
2. How to go from Volos to Papa Nero ?
3. and for the immovable: How to go to Papa Nero without passing through Volos ?

1. How to go to Volos ?

If you fly to Greece, you can use different airports.

The closest airport is the one in Nea Anchialos, which is situated at approximately 20 kilometres south-west of Volos. However, this is a military airport with - during the summer - only a few weekly charter flights to and from some West European cities, including at least one in the UK. More info

Seen on the map of Greece Skiathos airport is also close to the Pilion. There are regular (but no daily) flights to and from Athens, and there are a direct charter flights to and from several European cities.
However, to go from Skiathos to the Pilion you have to take a boat ("Flying Dolphin" hydrofoil). There are several connections per day from Skiathos to Volos, and a few to the small ports of Trikeri and Platania in the south of the Pilion. So, unless you want to visit Skiathos itself, this is no ideal solution.

If you cannot have a flight to Nea Anchialos, look if you can fly to

Thessaloniki. This airport has regular connections with many European cities like Amsterdam, Berlin, Bucharest, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Larnaca, London, Munich, Prague, Rome, Stuttgart (Olympic Airways, Cronus Aegean Airlines). That list is not complete.

As far as we know Thessaloniki airport has not yet an official website, but you can find a lot of information on Captain Chris' unofficial website with arrival and departure times. More information can be found on the website of the Air Traffic Safety Electronic Engineers Association of Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority. Thessaloniki airport is relatively small so you don't have to walk a lot with your luggage, and when you arrive it's easy to find people waiting for you (if you rent a car for example).

The airport is situated 15 kilometres southeast of Thessaloniki.

There is a good ring road around the city so that you can avoid the center. At the other side of the city, follow the sign-posts to Katerini - Larissa - Athens and follow the highway until 40 kilometres after Larissa. Most of the highway is large with 2-3 lanes in each direction. A few parts are still under construction (around Katerini and in the Tembi Valley (between Platamonas and Larissa).

In Velestino leave the road to Athens and follow the direction of Volos. You will enter the city from the northwest. The whole way from Thessaloniki airport to the center of Volos can take between 3 and 4 hours.

If you have or rent no car, you can also travel from Thessaloniki to Volos by train or by bus.
More on how to go to Volos can be found here.

Finally, if you can't fly to Thessaloniki, you'll have to fly to Athens' brand new airport (opened in March 2001). Athens has direct connections with many other cities. For more information about the airport and all connections, go to the official website.

The road from Athens airport to Volos is about one hour longer than the road from Thessaloniki.

2. How to go from Volos to Papa Nero ?

You have to go by road, so you can go by bus, by taxi or with your own or a rented car.

For the buses, you can contact the KTEL company. Unfortunately, the Magnisia page on their website does not give any useful information about lines or timetables in the Pilion. However we know that there are daily buses between Volos and Agios Ioannis. Look at the KTEL website for telephone numbers.

In Greece, it is very common to travel over long distances by taxi.

If you rent a car, or come with your own car: from the port and city center of Volos two main roads lead to the Pilion peninsula. You can use both to go to Papa Nero beach. Both take between 1 and 2 hours, depending on whether you are used to drive in a mountainous area, whether you are stuck behind a truck or a bus, and how often you stop to admire the magnificent landscapes and make pictures.

The first main road leaves the city in a north-eastern direction via El. Venizelou Street, through the suburbs of Ano Volos, Iolkos and Portaria. This road crosses the Pilion mountains and climbs to 1200 metres above sea level in Hania (Chania).

Of course, this road offers magnificent views of the city of Volos and the Pagasitic Gulf (Pagasitikos Kolpos). After Hania (where a well-known ski resort is situated) the roads goes down to about 300-400 metres above sea level and from then on it continues in a south-western direction. All the places on the Aegean coast (Horefto, Agios Ioannis, Damouhari, Tsangarada, Milopotamos, Limnionas) are reached via smaller roads that link them to the main road. To reach Papa Nero beach, stay on the main road until Mouresi and from there follow the road down to Agios Ioannis and Damouhari. Papa Nero is between these two villages.

The second main road leaves Volos in a south-eastern direction via Iasonos and Polimeri Streets, and follows more or less the coast line of the Pagasitikos Kolpos through the villages of Agria, Kato & Ano Lehonia, Kato Gatzea until Kala Nera. Just past Kala Nera, take the road to Milies and Tsangarada. This road also crosses the peninsula to the Aegean side, but it does not climb any higher then 500-600 metres above sea level. After Tsangarada, stay on the main road until Mouresi and you reach the same place as with the first road.

3. How to go to Papa Nero without passing through Volos ?

Why? There is no reason to avoid the city of Volos! It is a modern, busy, rapidly growing Greek city but it does not have the traffic jams and the air pollution which Athens is known for.

It is also the place where you will find the things you might need during your holidays and you won't find in the small Pilion villages, such as: banks, cash distributors, travel agencies, larger book shops, a hospital and .... internet cafés !

But if you really want... the only way to avoid Volos is this: take a plane or boat to the island of Skiathos, from there take a ferry boat to the small ports of Trikeri, Platania or Katigiorgis in the south of the Pilion, and there look for a bus going north... there are a few each day.

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