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Taking the Grimaldi lines ferry from Brindisi to Igoumenitsa (Ηγουμενίτσα) as a pedestrian sounds easy enough. You can easily book the tickets online (don't forget about the Interrail discount if you have a pass) but after booking it becomes a little bit more tricky.
Grimaldi lines ferry from Brindisi to Igoumenitsa (Ηγουμενίτσα)
You will want to go to the bus station named "Costa Morena" (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps). The bus line "AP" from STP Brindisi is going there, according to the current schedule (valid from 2023-05-23) it appears to run every 30 minutes during the day. A ticket is €2 per person, you can pay by cash in the bus.
current schedule (valid from 2023-05-23)
bus line "AP" from STP Brindisi
The bus stop next to the main railway station in Brindisi is called "Piazza Crispi - Stazione FF. SS.".
If you come by Flixbus, you'll arrive a bit outside of the center (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps). There you will have to walk a bit or take a different bus to the main railway station or to somewhere else along the "AP" route.
The full route for "AP" can be viewed on a map at OpenStreetMap but I'm not sure if it goes exactly the way shown there. Our bus took a little detour via the bus depot where we switched to a bus with a different driver which brought us to Costa Morena.
In any case mentioning "Costa Morena" and "Grimaldi" to the driver (or anyone else) should be helpful for communication!
Next up go into the ferry ticket office (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps) which is across the street from the bus station. Keep your "booking reference" handy which is printed on the pdf you received per email. With this you will get the actual ticket.
After you got the ticket, find your way to the line of cars that are queuing. Follow them for only a bit since you need to take the path via the parking spot on the left. The cars go a different way. At the terminal inside there will be a quick security check.
Image: Map of the route to walk in Brindisi
Once done with the security check it's time to follow the line of cars again and board the ferry via the big ramp. Take care not to get run over by the moving trucks! 😉 In the back of the ferry you can find some elevators that bring you to the decks.
For the trip during the day I can't recommend reserving the "pullman seats" ("business pullman seats" seem to be the same, just a bit more spacious and in a different room). I think it's quite a bit nicer sitting in the cafeteria area since it's much brighter and spacious, or just spend the time outside on deck 10. The (paid) WiFi didn't really work for the most part, and also isn't really available on deck 10. But probably worth the money if you want to check your email or a website once in a while. In some other areas of the ferry the WiFi might work better than described but it'll probably be hit-or-miss.
The ferry will arrive in the northern part of the harbour in Igoumenitsa (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps).
To get out of the harbour it's not too far to walk but still it's some minutes of walking next to - again - lots of moving trucks and cars. But once you're outside you're basically in the city with plenty of hotels nearby.
Image: Map of the route to walk in Igoumenitsa
For further travel, the KTEL Thesprotias bus station (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps) is also quite close. Also note that KTEL spells Igoumenitsa differently: HGOYMENITSA.
Hope you found this useful and I wish you a good ride!
