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Well I'm worried the bad weather has set in and I have to switch from hitchhiking to public transport. I know there are buses from Istanbul to Tbilisi but I wonder if there might even be a direct bus connection from somewhere in Greece to Tbilisi since it seems to have a Georgian expat community.

So far I can't find anything with my Internet searches but maybe there are some secrets to be discovered by searching in Greek or Russian?

I've found mention on Lonely Planet's website that there are indeed buses from Thessaloniki to Tbilisi - but no details.

For the truly hardy, several companies run buses to Thessaloniki and Athens (€100) from Ortachala.

Elsewhere on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree there are some comments with more tidbits but no details:

djpeanut: A friend of mine took it at the end of last year. Not that amazing really.

fluffy_bunny: I had thought there were buses from Didube (Neo-turs). But the price of $100 0r so is about right. The trip takes about 2 days.

Can anybody find times, prices, companies, departure points, any juicy details I might need?

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    I took the bus from Thessaloniki to Istanbul last summer. While looking for the bus to Istanbul, I saw many buses bound for Georgia; it appeared that they were plentiful. Finding information about bus schedules, however, was nearly impossible. There seem to be many small bus stations (sometimes simply ad hoc) and much contradictory information. Your best bet is to ask around at several bus stations, or get a Greek-speaker to call and ask. It seems that the buses regularly fill up, so a reservation (if possible) would be prudent.
    – nibot
    Commented Oct 19, 2011 at 6:55

6 Answers 6

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OK after even more research and legwork I have reached some generalizations (any of which may be wrong so please correct me):

  1. There are not actually bus companies operating buses between Greece and Georgia, but travel agencies chartering buses.
  2. A bus departs Greece headed for Georgia each day of the week, with one particular travel agency dealing with each particular day of the week. This suggests there may be seven agencies assuming there is a bus on all 7 days of the week.
  3. All or most of the agencies have offices in the same area of Thessaloniki, at the part of Filippou Street near Agn. Stratiotou and Mitseon Streets, which is near the ruins of the Roman Forum of Thessaloniki.
  4. Not all of the agencies have any English-speaking staff, but Nougzari Tours does. Other agencies in the area will happily send you there if you can't manage in Greek, Georgian, or Russian.
  5. Departure times may vary, you are advised to check when booking. This is probably a subsequence of the buses being charters.

The ruins of the Roman Forum of Thessaloniki near several of the Georgian travel agencies which run buses to Tbilisi:

Roman Forum of Thessaloniki

Known agencies running buses on particular days of the week

Shopfronts of a couple of the Georgian travel agencies in Thessaloniki in the area described above: shopfronts

(This answer is a Community Wiki so please correct any mistakes or add any missing or new information.)

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While trying to visit the office of Borjomi Travel above, I found yet another travel agency practically next door with a bus departing on a different day:

NOUGZARI TOURS

Thessaloniki address: Fillippou 37

Thessaloniki hone number : 2310 239 080

Athens address: Ynonos 302 / Omonoie Square

Email: [email protected]

One way price : € 80, Return price : € 150

Departs : Thursdays at about 8am or 9am (but sometimes at a much earlier hour such as midnight to 4am!)

Arrives : Friday evening about 9pm or 10pm

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Norbis Travel in Thessaloniki is one option (Lonely Planet suggests there are others)

Telephone: 2310287721

The bus does not depart from a regular Thessaloniki bus station but from Makedonikis Aminis 7.

It goes only once per week on Mondays at 7:30 am.

The price is € 120.

The trip takes 36 hours from Thessaloniki.

(I will keep the bounty open since I still think there are apparently other possibilities besides this and I would also like to include the info for Athens)

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    Neo-Turs bus company offers bus transfers Tbilsi - Thessaloniki - Athens and back, starting from Didube bus station (price: 100 US-$).wikitravel.org/en/Tbilisi#b
    – Rudy Gunawan
    Commented Oct 18, 2011 at 4:27
  • @Rudy: After more research I'm now pretty sure the buses are run by travel agents and not bus companies, I believe they are all chartered. This may mean that the agent in Georgia has a different name to the agent in Greece.
    – hippietrail
    Commented Oct 18, 2011 at 12:24
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I can't find a lot of details, but there seems to be a bus. This website states that it goes over Athens to Tbilisi once a week.

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  • Nice find. I see the prices are even lower, I wonder if it's old. It looks to be a page made by a Japanese traveller?
    – hippietrail
    Commented Oct 14, 2011 at 18:26
  • Yes I think so. The whois entry say Daiki Ono, 1-1-3-#509,Choja-machi,Naka-ku,Yokohama-shi, KANAGAWA 231-0033 JAPAN
    – RoflcoptrException
    Commented Oct 14, 2011 at 18:34
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Here is a company recommended by a Georgian expat friend living in Thessaloniki as the best:

BORJOMI TRAVEL

Thessaloniki address: Fillippu 39

Phone number : 2310 243 238, Mobile : 693 25 96 441

One way price : € 80, Return price : € 150

Duration : approximately 34 hours

Departs : Sundays at 9pm

Departs from : Laggada Street near bus stop Ergatikes Katikies

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Oktavi Travel is going every Wednesday and Saturday from Thessaloniki. The tel. is 2310233964 and 2310566445, and the addresses are Fillippou 35 and Galopoulou 13 in the Xirokrini area.

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