You need to get a train from Athina to Thessaloniki, then there seem to be two options.
There is a daytime train from Thessaloniki at 0557 via Skopje to Beograd, then a sleeper from there to Budapest. You'd need to stop a night (and get up early) in Thessaloniki to do this.
Alternatively, there is an overnight sleeper train from Thessaloniki to Beograd, then a daytime train to Budapest.
Personally, I'd want to break a journey of this length by using it as an opportunity to visit Thessaloniki, Beograd or somewhere else en route.
In most countries (except Britain) trains run to Sunday schedules on the Christmas public holidays with some exceptions which need to be checked carefully.

Thanks for the information. We’ll check train schedules for that time period.

At first glance it seems that spending a night in either Thessaloniki or Beograd would be preferable to a lengthy trip. Of the two, which has the train station and adjacent hotels within reasonable walking distance to some historical sites?

Yes, the journey is a real adventure, with some great scenery on the way.

Athens-Thessaloniki takes you through spectacular mountains just south of larissa, over the viaducts blown up by partyisans assisted by Britsh SOE agents in WW2, then past Mt olympus itself, mythical homeof the Greek gods.

Once in Bulgaria it's pleasant green valleys, and I also like the alpine scenery between Ploesti and Brasov if you take the route via Bucharest. But the run through Serbia is also great.

Thanks. This train trip is still our primary choice of transportation between Athens and Budapest. And from what I'm reading, the scenery along the way is very worthwhile and diverse. That's good to know! We’re looking into train schedules, what we might see and do in Thessaloniki on Christmas Eve, and which would be the better route from there to Budapest.

If the train schedule doesn’t work, we’ll stay two more days in Athens, then fly on the 26th. But that seems like such a lackluster way to go.

Appreciate all the information.

Just seems the wrong time to do that. Be realistic:

I'm doubtful that all the green scenery described here will actually be so when you pass through - just as likely it will be socked in and grey and foggy and rainy and even snowing, and the days will be so short you won't have too many hours to look out the window even if the weather should be clement.

Mother Nature is not at her best at that time of the year - no flowers, no foliage on the barren trees - don't raise your expectations or you may be disappointed.

If you get off the train, most everything might be closed due to the holidays, and too cold to hang around or walk the streets in search of the lone open establishment.

Take a cheap flight while you can still find one, and plan that trip for late spring or early autumn some other year, that's my advice.

Also note that at or around December 11 all over Europe the railway timetables are being adjusted, many train timetable websites and such resources don't have information beyond that date at present.

Oh my… That certainly puts things into perspective.

Thanks for your input even though it wasn’t the positive news I was hoping to read. I had wondered about inclement weather and if it would impact the train schedule; but I was thinking more of snow and ice delays, than of dismal or foggy scenery.

We need to do more thinking and planning for this interim three day period.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but better that than you getting rained on when you were hoping for sunshine...

For family reasons I've travlled by train around that time every year in Europe, and looking at raindrops form interesting patterns as they get swished along the train windows soon gets old.

You get to a place and there's no taxi, the only two guys in town who drive cabs are at home by the Christmas tree...

Out of 24 hours there's maybe 8 hours of daylight... Your trip take 26 hours - for how many of them do you even stand a chance to see anything?

So here's what I suggest:

You save up your money and vacation time, and when you can go, do it in late Spring or late Summer (not in the heat of mid-summer when a non-airconditioned train is a hellhole).

Do it in more than three days, so you can board a train in the morning, get off the train in some location by mid-afternoon, look for lodgings, and enjoy dinner and strolls and a late balmy evening. Talk to locals, take pictures, use your phrasebook and learn some new words in a language you'll never forget.

Then move on the next day. Sleep in a bed when it's dark so you don't miss the scenery. Travel by day. Pack so light that you don't even need a roll-away. It can be done with just two of everything, in microfibers that wash easily in a sink and dry quickly, from ex officio or travelsmith or the like.

Footloose and fancyfree.

The train trip may not work, but the time period remains. The Dec 24-26 time period is the transitional time between Athens and Budapest. We are unable to leave Athens until the 24th and need to be in Budapest by the close of day 26th. The obvious choice is to stay two additional days in Athens, then fly on the 26th, which is what we will probably do to keep things simple.

But, we had thought- wouldn’t it be nice to take a slow trip by train, to get from one place to another, and let the trip be the focus.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Kathy

Sorry to be the voice of doom again, but it looks like you'd better plan on flying on Sat. Dec. 25 if you can find a flight (the Hungarian airline has no flight on that day) - it is a day when nobody wants to fly and your chance at getting a decent fare is a lot better.

The 26th is a Sunday, there will be heavy demand from people who have to be back at work on Monday.

Athens is not well served with budget airlines in winter, Germanwings for example has no flights on those dates.

You may have to pay a lot of money, like well over 400 Euros per person for Malev on the 24th or 26th, and you may have to cobble together a two-hopper with two separate budget airlines just to get there.

It is peak travel season, and seasonal workers and emigrants from Greece are found all over Europe and beyond, a lot of them will want to visit home during that time and demand will be up, hence prices will be up. Get in while you can or you may miss out.

So I suggest you get busy with www.skyscanner.com, www.whichbudget.com, www.momondo.com, www.kayak.com, www.malev.com etc. and remain creative with your route planning.

Worst comes to worst, fly to Vienna or Bratislava and take the train. See www.bahn.de

Noted.
Thanks.
These couple of days are beginning to be a real transportation planning pain.

after having driven that route twice i would not call the scenery anything spectacular - pleasant at points but like DalaiLlama says in winter... pretty bleak.

Okay. Plan B
For the time period of Dec. 24-26, delete the train trip, add the flight.

Here’s what we’re thinking now.

Either Dec 24 or 25 fly direct to Vienna. Prices seem to be more reasonable into Vienna, than into Budapest, and they are direct in some cases. Spend the night in Vienna and train on the 26th to Budapest. (We’ve been to Vienna a couple of times, so we’re thinking that if we stay in centre city, we’d find enough to do. Even if nothing is open, just walking around will be rewarding)

My question is: How is Olympic Air as a carrier? They seem to be coming in much cheaper than any other airline listed.

In one word - Greek, very Greek, flag-flyingly Greek (sorry, that was more than one word...). They'll get you there, probably amid some chaos (not necessarily Olympic's fault) since you have elected to travel on one of the crazier days of the year. Vienna will be fine, maybe you'll catch a church service with nice music.

Thanks once again. We'll probably go with Plan B (via Olympic Air) And some nice music in a beautiful cathedral sounds wonderful.

The famous Wiener Sängerknaben (Boys Choir) give two concerts when you might be there, on the 25th and the 26th - book very early!

http://tinyurl.com/38jvwc5

The website for tickets is in German: www.hofburgkapelle.at/htm/service.htm

I would really not do that if i were you. its too long and very tiring. I would fly by wizzair budget airlines.

We jumped on the train from Budapest to Thessaloniki in Bucharest a few years back. It was a bit of a nightmare - We were onboard for 26 hours (the border crossings were brutal - but that may now have changed) from Romania, through Bulgaria, and into Greece. The train was old and not very comfortable, ***There wasn't a foodcar on the train***, and the scenery became very monotonous (how many valleys full of sunflowers can you look at) very quickly. Few people speak English (If that is important to you) and the sleeper cars were not comfortable. It is too long of a trip, and it is exhausting. Find a discount carrier and fly.

Well, since this whole adventure was to take place a couple of days ago....

word has it that Greece has or is abandoning all cross-border rail traffic and closing many domestic lines - there may not be any thru Athens to other country trains anymore or even any easy way to change at the border. Not sure but irrelevant to the OP but maybe not to others.

The following is according to "The_Man_in_Seat_61"

"Greece cut off as all its international trains cancelled from 2011.

Due to its dire economic situation, the Greek government is implementing major cuts in the state-owned train service.

The very scenic main line Piraeus - Athens - Larissa - Thessaloniki line and (when completed) the new standard gauge line Athens - Korinthos - Patras both remain, but many branch lines close, including those to Olympia, Argos & Kalamata in the Peloponnese.

Most significantly, all international trains to and from Greece, meaning those linking Thessaloniki with Sofia, Belgrade, Bucharest and Istanbul are cancelled until further notice as from January 2011, effectively cutting Greece off from the rest of the European rail network. So much for being part of Europe, let alone part of the EU!

It will still be possible to take a train to Venice, Ancona or Bari then a ferry to Greece, but the overland rauil route looks to be cut, after over 100 years.

The cuts to international trains are described as 'until further notice' so there's a glimmer of hope that they may one day be reinstated and Greece once more linked to the rest of Europe. But don't hold your breath, the nightmare is here..."

We're in Budapest now. We took an Olympic Air flight to Vienna, then a short train to Budapest which worked out perfectly.

Budapest is cold and we keep thinking back to the beautiful and warm weather we had in Athens. However, Budapest is presenting me with wonderful wintry scenes for shooting.

@ DalaiLlama: The sites you mentioned are great, but a site which also finds some very cheap prices for flights and hotels is http://www.travelmarket.com/. So I recommend to check prices on this one too.

I'm planning a trip to Europe for 2013 and thought when my river cruise ended in Budapest I could take a train to Athens. Thanks to those that posted about Greece shutting down the railroads at the border. I'm saddened to hear it but know now I'll have to fly instead. What a shame, I really enjoy rail travel.