Arriving in Athens Airport

Arriving in Athens can be somewhat overwhelming, especially if you have just been on a very long flight. You are still about an hour away from the center of the city.  Unless you have friends or family willing to pick you up, there are a few other ways you can get to your hotel.

Some hotels will offer a transfer for free, others as a paid service.  These are booked along with your hotel reservation.  If it is a paid service, do some comparison shopping, and if the hotel doesn’t offer it at all, you can use a transfer through an agency, which will be the easiest and most comfortable way to go. Agency transfers will take you from point A to point B without any interruptions, problems or hassles and your drivers will be friendly, welcoming and will speak English.  Yet, you are paying for a service, therefore a one way transfer for up to 3 people will cost anywhere from €50-€100 depending upon the time of day (normal business hours or late night/early morning hours).  

At least use them to comparison shop with.  I recommend round trip transfers booked in advance instead of the other options below, only because we are known to have transportation strikes in Greece.  At least with a paid service you have someone who is at least willing to try to get you to the airport in time.  They will do it if there are no major road closings.  This is why travel insurance is a good idea.         

You can certainly take the metro but you would likely have to get off and transfer to another line at some point and then walk to your hotel or try to hail a taxi on the road.  You can hail a taxi once you get out of the airport and this will be a cheaper option.  There are always plenty of taxis around but sorry to say that I have not had many great experiences in hailing a taxi in Athens.  There are many good drivers out there who will be friendly and kind, not "take you for a ride" and may even speak a good amount of English.  On rare occasions you will find some drivers who will pickup other passengers during your ride and drop them off first.  Leaving you to wonder if and how much extra you are being charged.  Then there are the gougers who charge the late night rate during the day, and of course there are those who will take you for a ride, around the city, before “finding” your hotel.  Most frustrating is when you are refused service over and over again by several drivers.  They ask you where you are going and then say “no” and drive away.  Many taxi drivers just don't want to be bothered with children or luggage or they might not feel like going where you need to go so they just drive off.

Syntagma and Plaka are the areas in Athens where you want to stay.  I do not recommend booking a hotel in the area of Omonia which truly is the center, of the center, of the city (you know how they say all roads lead to Rome?  The same applies here - all roads lead to Omonia.).  This area has become an unsafe neighborhood with plenty of negative elements, namely drugs and prostitution.  For a stay only in Athens, near the beach, choose Vouliagmeni, Lagonissi or Anavyssos. The later being a great place to stay if you enjoy scuba diving.   

Travel light.  I know you will need your day clothes, your night out clothes, your “something if it gets chilly” and your “something special,” and then you will need everything that goes along with it but I implore you to keep it to one suitcase - preferably with wheels. This is because you will not find help getting off and on buses, taxis, ships or anything else and airlines are now charging hefty fees for luggage.

Have a backpack and just want to get there?  Check the map for the location of your hotel and see which route you need for the bus or the metro on the Athens International Airport (AIA) website.  You will find everything from public transportation to an airport map.  Their site is helpful and you should bookmark it so you can check on your flight on your date of departure.  Getting to Syntagma is easy, see below:

How to take the bus from the airport to Syntagma in Athens:

1)  Arriving at the airport in Athens, you will first go through passport control and then customs.  Once you exit customs you are in the main airport terminal on the lower level.

2) As you exit the airport on your right (on the sidewalk) you will see a small ticket booth and there will be a few city buses on the road before you.

3) Ask for a ticket to "Syntagma."  The cost is about 4 euro.

4)  reconfirm that the bus you want is the X95 to Syntagma.  This is an express bus with stops but the final destination is Syntagma.

5)  When you get to Syntagma you will be above the square and will need to get/have a map to find your hotel from there.  If you are staying in this area, the walk will be less than 10 minutes to any of the hotels in the area.  If you are staying in Plaka, look for McDonalds (the golden arches) and walk down the street to the right of McDonalds (it is on a corner).  This is Ermou Street and it will take you right into the historic district.

You can get a map by printing one online before your trip or purchase one at any of the kiosks around the square.  I also recommend you have a look on the Athens Airport webpage for information about luggage storage, getting around and what to expect at the airport.

If you are traveling in June, July or August and have an arrival mid day, I do not recommend public transportation.  It tends to get VERY hot in the afternoon with temps reaching near 100 F every day (39C) and walking around with luggage in that kind of heat is a recipe for misery.  Pay the extra and go with the transfer, you will be glad you did.