The cost of flying is about USD 80 more than the cost of taking the train, but you avoid five days of almost constant and very unpleasant travel. Also, if you’ve got a Flexi Eurailpass, you save a whopping five travel days, at a cost of roughly USD 40 per day. With an unlimited pass, flying saves you time and misery. With a Flexi pass, it saves you time, misery, and big, big bucks. Even better, if you can get a flight from London directly to one of the larger islands, rather than to Athens, you don’t need to think about the cost and hassle of the ferry. The pleasure of sitting on a beach sipping a beer while others are cursing their lives in Brindisi is worth it. And when you’re ready to leave, you get on the plane and you get off a few hours later in London.

Other than Greece, the reaily incredible deals out of London are to Turkey, Egypt, and Israel - and to smaller European cities on the no-frills airlines. Check and see what deals are available when you arrive in London, and plan ahead if you are coming back and can take advantage of something. I recommend flying into Portugal almost as much as Greece - even at this date Portugal is quite isolated from the rest of Europe, and getting there from London will take several days of train travel.

Also, no matter how you get to one of these exotic locales, you may be able to get a cheap charter back to London. Don’t count on this, though, if you have to catch a flight home on the day after your charter is due to arrive. Charter companies vary in their reliability and may leave you in the lurch.with the expense of traveling to Ramsgate or Dover and leaving from there. Don’t expect companies to give a full range of options - most will claim never to have even heard of their competitors. Also consider the availability of onward transport from your ferry’s destination. A cheap ferry into an industrial port miles from the nearest train station won’t seem like such a good deal after a long walk or taxi ride.