Ah, Athens—the city where history meets chaos, and where your taxi fare is anyone’s guess! When we landed at Athens International Airport, bleary-eyed but excited, we faced the all-important question: how do we get to the city? After much debate (and one strong cup of Greek coffee), we went with the classic choice—taxis. Faster, easier, and surprisingly affordable.
Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos is located approximately 30 km from the city, and as a transfer method you have the choice between taxi and public transport. Both upon arrival and departure, we opted for taxi for two reasons: 1) it is faster and more comfortable; 2) considering the distance, it was not that expensive.
In the previous article, I presented the tourist attractions and places we visited in Athens, and in this article, we want to talk to you about two aspects related to organizing any citybreak, namely: accommodation and transportation.
Taxi
I must admit that the fare system is not very clear to us. Initially, we thought that taxis have a standard fare for trips from the airport, but later we saw that the taxi driver was using the clock. Either way, the taxi from the airport will cost between 25 euros (the clock variant) and 38 euros (the standard fare variant). However, we do not know which of them is the correct option!
Regarding taxis, it is good to know that UBER works, but it is a bit different from the UBER we know. Through the UBER app you can call a taxi, but you won't know how much the trip costs. In other words, normal taxis (the yellow ones) also work with the UBER app, but you will be charged per km. Also, you don't have to pay directly to the driver because UBER will take the money from your card as soon as the order has been confirmed.
So, Uber works the same way, with the caveat that the cars are not private, but are standard taxis.
We used taxis quite often in Athens and were very surprised by how cheap they are compared to other European cities. For a 5 km ride we paid less than 5 euros.
Public transport
The first and most convenient option is the bus. There are 4 bus lines that depart from in front of the airport (from arrivals), from exits 4 and 5. The bus lines are as follows:
x93: Athens Airport – Kifisou Avenue
Route x95: Athens Airport – Syntagma Square – the best option to get to the city center
x96: Athens Airport – Piraeus
Route x97: Athens Airport – Elliniko – connects the airport to the Elliniko metro station
A trip costs 6 euros.
Accommodation in Athens
Like in any other big city, you have two options: Airbnb or hotel. During the time we were there, and I think it applies to all summer months, hotels were quite expensive, which is why we chose an airbnb again. Staying for 4 days, we opted for a studio apartment with a kitchen and private bathroom… and equipped with air conditioning (in Athens it is absolutely necessary).
For a small apartment we paid 30 euros per night, and the cleaning and administration fees were around 20 euros. Although the apartment was not located in the central area, but in a less hectic neighborhood behind Filopoppau hill, it was quite easy for us to get to the center. Moreover, the kitchen was fully equipped, and the room was spacious and clean.
I think that for a 3-5 day vacation in Athens, such an apartment is the best and cheapest accommodation option.
If you prefer to stay in a hotel, then booking.com comes to your rescue with a bunch of accommodation units and offers. Here are just a few of my suggestions for the period 3-6 October:
- Pallada Athens boutique rooms & apartments – 256 euros/double room/ 3 nights
- Crystal City Hotel *** – 196 euros/double room/ 3 nights + breakfast included in the price
- Athens Lights – 184 euros/double room/ 3 nights
- My Athens Hotel *** – 145 euros/double room/ 3 nights
- Gazi Penthouse (apartment) – 119 euros/double room with bathroom and kitchen/3 nights
This was the second article about Athens. I hope this article was useful for you and inspired you to plan your trip to Athens right now. See you next week with more vacation stories!
