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By Air
The new Athens International Airport built in 2000 and named after the statesman Eleftherios Venizelos is a convenient destination for both international and domestic flights. Airport express bus leaving every 30 minutes connects Athens airport with the city. Direct flights also operate from major European cities to Thessalonica International Airport in Northern Greece, as well as to the islands of Corfu, Crete, Rhodes and Santorini. The Greek national carrier Olympic Airways provides flights within Greece and abroad.
By Sea
The geographical location of Greece has determined that Greeks are a seafaring nation and it has been so since the beginning of ages. Several seaports accommodating sailings of passenger ships, cruise ships and freighters are by any standards busy. You can get to the hub of the Mediterranean Sea Piraeus in Athens or other ports of Greece Patras, Thessalonica and Heraklion by cruise ship or ferry from Italy, Israel, Egypt or the Black Sea. Island hopping around the 166 inhabited isles is an essential feature of a Greek holiday and boats and ferries are still the most indispensable form of the public transport ensuring the most popular and enjoyable way to experience that. Ferries leave frequently from Piraeus to the Saronic Gulf islands, the Cyclades, Dodecanese, Chania and Heraklion on Crete.
By Land
Trains
The Athens Railroad station is the last or the first stop in the Eurailpass system. The Greek rail network is not very extensive, the trains are not fast, but it is cheap and often scenic way to cover long distances, and more comfortable than the bus. Trains to northern Greece, Evia and Europe leave from Larissas Station, near Omonia Square in the center of Athens. Trains to the Peloponnese leave from the terminal next door to Larissas Station, referred to as Peloponnese Station.
Buses
You can get to Greece by bus from France, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy and Turkey on a regular basis.
Greece has an extensive, inexpensive and reliable regional bus system (KTEL) made up of local operators. Each city has connections to towns and villages in its vicinity. Buses from Athens, however, travel throughout the country. Long distance buses are cheap, frequent and reliable, and those on the main inter-city routes are often air-conditioned, but can still be uncomfortably crowded. Buses are faster and slightly more expensive than the train over the same route, but the bus network is far more extensive than the railways. Terminal A (Kifissou St.100) is the arrival and departure point for bus lines that serve parts of northern Greece, including Thessalonica, Epirus and Macedonia, and the Peloponnese destinations of Epidauros, Mycenae and Corinth. Terminal B (behind Liossion 260) serves Evia and eastern and central Greece, including Delphi.
Athens Public Transport
Athens has a network of bus and trolleybus routes, with frequent services between 6 a.m. and midnight. Buy a ticket from a newsstand or street kiosk before boarding
Metro
A new, modern, fast, comfortable, reliable and safe transport mode has been gradually been in operation since January 2000. Today, 23 Metro Stations are in operation at both METRO lines: Line 2 SEPOLIA - AGHIOS DIMITRIOS/ALEXANDROS PANAGOULIS (red Line) and Line 3 DOUK.PLAKENTIAS - MONASTIRAKI (blue Line).
The two Metro lines serve 650,000 passengers per day. The existing Athens-Piraeus Electric Railway line (Line 1 - ISAP) carries approximately 415 thousand passengers per day. Passengers can perform 'combined trips', thus saving plenty of time on a daily basis.
The frequency of trips is every 3 minutes in rush hours and 5 to 10 minutes in non-rush hours. By car in rush hours it takes 35 minutes to drive from ETHNIKI AMYNA to SYNTAGMA, while by Metro it takes only 10 minutes. A similar trip from Dafni to Omonia has been reduced from 35 to 9 minutes. Moreover, using the new dual voltage trains, the distance SYNTAGMA-DOUKISSIS PLAKENTIAS-AIRPORT ia covered in 37 minutes.
Taxis
In Greece, going by taxi is more widespread practice than in other countries. It is especially so in case of Athens where the lack of parking space and the constrictions on driving in the center for private car owners encourage the taxi business. You can pick up a taxi at a taxi rank in one of the main squares, or flag one down on the street. If you order a taxi there is an extra charge for this, as there is for each piece of luggage; for pick-up from an airport, harbor, or railway station; for waiting; for travel between midnight and 5 a.m.; and for travel beyond the city limits.
Taxis are relatively cheap and easy to find in the towns of mainland Greece and on the islands of Crete, Corfu and Rhodes. The number of taxis is limited though on other islands, so we suggest to arrange a transfer if your hotel offers one. |
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