Originally Posted by
rankourabu
Actually there is a direct train (or probably just a direct car that gets attached to many trains along the way) from Prague to Thessaloniki, Greece,
departs at 5:00am, arrives in Thessaloniki at 13:07 the next day, so just over 31 hours
It goes via Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade and Skopje
I personally would break down the journey in Budapest, Belgrade and Sofia
- except that this train doesn't go anywhere near Sofia (which would be quite a detour on this particular route).
I did a similar train journey 30 years ago - not from Prague (which wasn't very accessible in those days) but from Munich. There used to be a direct service - leaving Munich late in the evening on Day 1, getting into Athens in the afternoon of Day 3. Obviously I don't know what it would be like now (though the landscape won't have changed much), but all I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed the trip back then, and that the memories of that journey will stay with me forever.
The train from Munich went via Salzburg, Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade and then took the same route as the train mentioned by
rankourabu - i.e., Skopje - Thessaloniki - Larissa - Athens. Some parts of the journey, especially were truly spectacular - you just don't get these views when you fly.
One day I'm hoping to take that journey again...