An Athens airport transfer takes travelers from Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos to a hotel in the city, the port of Piraeus or a resort on the coast, with a driver who meets the flight in the arrivals hall. This post covers what an Athens airport transfer includes, where it starts, private rides, the route to central Athens, Piraeus and the other ports, how the metro, the train, buses and taxis compare, trips to the coast, the busiest times and the FAQ. It is one of the private transfers in Greece on Greece VIP.
Each section ends with an Athens airport transfer that can be booked online.
What does an Athens airport transfer include?
An Athens airport transfer is a pre-booked ride from Athens International Airport to an address. A professional driver supplies the car, minibus or minivan, and the party travels door to door instead of on a fixed public route.
A vehicle for hire provides private transport for a fee, and the passengers do not drive it themselves, as they do with car rental. Taxicabs, sedan services, limousines and air charters belong to the same family. An Athens airport transfer is one case: a hired driver and vehicle take the passengers from the airport to a destination in the city.
An Athens airport transfer is driven by a chauffeur, a professional driver of a passenger motor vehicle. Chauffeurs began as employees of the car owner. Specialist companies and individual drivers now provide both the driver and the vehicle. The word dates from the 1890s, when French makers used Daimler engines with hot tube ignitors that needed heating, chauffer in French.
Door-to-door services collect passengers directly from private residences, hotels or other designated addresses, while standard airport shuttles run fixed routes between transit hubs and airports. A destination in the city can be a sight such as the Acropolis, an ancient citadel on a rocky outcrop above Athens, and an Acropolis tour visits its ruins, the best known being the Parthenon.
- Fleet: Private hire uses minibuses or minivans.
- Training: Limousine companies require extra chauffeur training.
- Luggage: The main terminal has eleven conveyors.
The main terminal of Athens International Airport has a separate level for arrivals. Airport buses carry larger luggage space and have been in use since the 1960s. An Athens airport transfer sits beside them as the private choice, with a professional driver and a vehicle booked for the passengers alone.
Where does an Athens airport transfer start?
An Athens airport transfer starts at Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos, the largest international airport in Greece. It lies at Spata, in the Mesogeia plain, about 20 km east of central Athens, and serves the city and Attica.
Spata is a town in the middle of the Mesogeia plain, east of Mount Hymettus and west of the Aegean coast. The airport covers the eastern part of the town and lies between Markopoulo, Koropi, Spata and Loutsa. Hills stand between the airport and the capital, so an Athens airport transfer covers 30 km by road, not about 20 km.
The airport replaced the Ellinikon airport, which was at capacity with no space for growth. Studies began in the 1970s and covered 19 locations before an area near Spata won. The building was complete in October 2000, and the opening waited a month for the Attiki Odos connections. It opened on 28 March 2001, ahead of the 2004 Summer Olympics.
The airport has two terminals, the main terminal and the satellite terminal, joined by an underground link with moving walkways. The main terminal holds all 153 check-in desks and fourteen jet bridges on three levels. Hall A serves non-Schengen and non-European flights, and Hall B serves intra-Schengen and domestic flights. The satellite terminal has two levels and ten jet bridges.
- Runways: Two parallel runways serve the airport.
- Capacity: Phase one allows 26 million passengers.
- Finds: Excavated finds are exhibited in the main building.
Passenger numbers record the growth since the opening: 12.5 million in 2013 and almost 18.1 million in 2015. The airport passed 20 million in 2016 and reported more than 24.1 million passengers in 2018, with 217,094 aircraft movements. An Athens airport transfer therefore starts at the 15th-busiest airport in Europe.
Why book a private Athens airport transfer?
A private Athens airport transfer differs from other options: it is pre-booked, runs door to door and uses a vehicle for hire with a professional driver. The passengers choose the destination, and a minibus or minivan carries a group.
Airport buses mainly travel to major transit hubs. Share taxis, dollar vans and airport buses operate along fixed routes but offer a degree of flexibility in the point of origin or destination. A vehicle for hire leaves the passengers free to choose their points of origin and destination, unlike public transport, and a private Athens airport transfer applies that principle.
A chauffeur service is similar to a taxi but much more luxurious. Professional services offer limousines or rental cars with a chauffeur on request, the model that a private Athens airport transfer follows. The cited benefits are convenience, productivity, time savings and driving safety for business people and seniors. The legal requirements for a chauffeur vary with the local jurisdiction.
Private hire airport transfer companies use minibuses or minivans to carry groups of people. Certain public bus operators run demand responsive shuttles that bridge the gap between premium fixed route services and private hire airport taxicabs. Pre-booked passengers are collected in an area where the service can vary its route, and these shuttles remain legally public buses, unlike private hire firms.
- Hotel shuttles: Airport hotels offer complimentary buses.
- Premium routes: Airport buses are limited stop.
- Late flights: Standard buses run outside normal hours.
The airport handled about 28.17 million international and domestic passengers by the end of 2023, 10.2% more than in 2019. That volume includes business people, seniors and groups. A private Athens airport transfer serves all three groups because the passengers set the destination and a professional driver handles the vehicle.
Which route does an Athens airport transfer take to central Athens?
An Athens airport transfer to central Athens follows the Attiki Odos motorway, which links the airport with the centre and northern Athens. The airport stands about 20 km east of the centre, and the road distance reaches 30 km.
Attiki Odos is a toll motorway system that forms the outer beltways of the Greater Athens metropolitan area. Its A6 section runs from Eleusis to the airport, and part of the A6 opened in March 2001 with the airport. The A64 from Koropi also ends at the airport. An Athens airport transfer uses a road built to serve the airport.
The airport stands between the towns of Markopoulo, Koropi, Spata and Loutsa. Hills lie between the two points, so 30 km of road cover a straight distance of about 20 km. Four roads reach the airport: Attiki Odos from the centre and the north, Varis-Koropiou Avenue from the west, Lavrio Avenue from the south and Spata-Loutsa Avenue from the east.
Syntagma Square is the central square of Athens, and the name covers the neighbourhood around it. The square is named after the Constitution that Otto granted after the uprising of 3 September 1843, and the Old Royal Palace beside it has housed the Greek Parliament since 1934. Plaka, Monastiraki, Psiri, Kolonaki and the Acropolis lie within walking distance of it.
- Length: The system measures 70 km.
- Cameras: It has hundreds of CCTV cameras.
- Toll: It is paid once, on entry.
Omonia Square, to the north, was the second central square of modern Athens. King George I Street borders Syntagma Square on the north, and the National Gardens around the Old Royal Palace stay open to the public. An Athens airport transfer into the centre ends within walking distance of the oldest neighbourhoods.
Can an Athens airport transfer go straight to Piraeus?
An Athens airport transfer can go straight to Piraeus, the chief port of Athens. The airport lies about 20 km east of the centre, while Piraeus lies eight kilometres southwest of it, on opposite sides of the capital.
Piraeus is a port city within the Athens urban area, on the east coast of the Saronic Gulf. The Port of Piraeus is the largest port in Greece and one of the largest in Europe. The Greek state owns the port, and the Piraeus Port Authority operates it. An Athens airport transfer to Piraeus therefore ends at a public harbour.
Ferries from Piraeus reach the Saronic islands, the Cyclades, Crete, the islands of the northern Aegean Sea and the Dodecanese. A free shuttle bus inside the port runs from the Metro Line 1 terminal around the north side to the ships for Crete, the eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese. In 2017 passenger traffic at the port reached 15.5 million.
About a third of the cruise sailings at Piraeus are home ported there, so passengers join or leave the ship at its quay. An Athens airport transfer ends at the quay where such a voyage starts. Cruise passengers who spend a day at the port can book a Piraeus shore excursion to the Acropolis, the Plaka district and Syntagma Square.
- Owner: The Greek state owns the port.
- Operator: The Piraeus Port Authority runs it.
- Gateway: The port is sometimes called Europe’s gateway.
The port earns that title from its position between Europe, Asia and northern Africa. The Greek state leased the port lands to the port authority in 2002, and the lease ends in 2052. An Athens airport transfer to Piraeus reaches a harbour that serves ferries, cruise ships and cargo carriers.
Which other ports does an Athens airport transfer reach?
An Athens airport transfer reaches Rafina and Lavrio, the two other ports in eastern Attica. Rafina serves ferries to southern Euboea and much of the Cyclades, and Lavrio serves ferries to Cyclades islands such as Kea and Kythnos.
Rafina is a suburban port town on the eastern coast of Attica and in the Athens metropolitan area. It lies east of Mount Pentelicus, 25 km east of central Athens, 5 km north of Artemida and 7 km south of Nea Makri. The port acts as the second port of Athens, after Piraeus. The 2021 census counted 14,620 residents.
An Athens airport transfer to Rafina stays on the eastern side of Attica, because the airport stands about 20 km east of central Athens and Rafina lies 25 km east of it. Spata-Loutsa Avenue joins the airport from the east, and Lavrio Avenue joins it from the south. The Attiki Odos expansion plan lists extensions to Rafina and Lavrio ports.
Lavrio lies in southeastern Attica, about 60 km southeast of central Athens, and an Athens airport transfer to its port reaches the ferries for the Cyclades. Kea is the Cyclades island closest to Attica, and its villages include the port of Korissia and the fishing village of Vourkari. Athenians have rediscovered Kea as a destination for weekend and yachting trips.
- Rafina: Ferries serve southern Euboea and the Cyclades.
- Lavrio: Ferries serve Kea and Kythnos.
- Kea: It had 2,568 residents in 2019.
Kythnos is a Cyclades island connected to both Piraeus and Lavrio by ferry, and its port town is Merichas. As of 2019, the planned Attiki Odos extensions to Rafina and Lavrio had not begun construction. An Athens airport transfer to either port runs on the road network of eastern Attica.
How does the metro compare with an Athens airport transfer?
An Athens airport transfer carries a passenger from the terminal to one address in a single ride, while Line 3 of the metro stops at Syntagma and Monastiraki and leaves each passenger to carry luggage along the platforms.
Line 3 of the Athens Metro runs between Dimotiko Theatro in the west and Doukissis Plakentias or Athens Airport in the east, via Syntagma. It is the longest line of the whole system. The airport station stands beside the terminal and joins it by an elevated walkway. It has three tracks, but metro trains can only use the middle one.
Line 3 stops at Monastiraki, which serves Psirri, and at Syntagma, which serves the city centre. Monastiraki joins Line 3 to Line 1, and Syntagma joins it to Line 2, so a passenger bound for another line changes there. The system has five interchanges, at Attiki, Monastiraki, Omonia, Piraeus and Syntagma. An Athens airport transfer skips each of these interchanges.
Trains that end at Doukissis Plakentias stop short of the airport. On 1 November 2018 the operator scrapped the direct service from the centre, because spare parts for the fleet had run short, and travellers had to change at Doukissis Plakentias. Airport services use dual voltage trains with greater luggage space. An Athens airport transfer makes no change of train.
- Fare: Airport trains need separate tickets.
- Fleet: Seven trains carry overhead equipment.
- Surface: The airport section runs overground.
Line 3 opened between Ethniki Amyna and Syntagma on 28 January 2000 and reached the airport in summer 2004. Exhibitions of ancient finds stand at Monastiraki and Syntagma. The system has 66 stations on three lines. An Athens airport transfer replaces all of these stops with one drop at the address.
How do the train and buses compare with an Athens airport transfer?
An Athens airport transfer follows one booked route to one address, while the suburban railway and the express buses run on fixed lines to fixed stops, and each passenger carries luggage to the platform or the bus stop.
The Athens Suburban Railway is a commuter rail service run by Hellenic Train. Its first section linked the main Athens railway station with the airport and opened on 30 July 2004, two weeks before the Olympic Games. Since 1 August 2023 the railway has four lines. Line A2 reinforces it along the A6 motorway median between the airport and Ano Liosia.
The network has 45 stations. A single Athens ticket covers the stretches from Magoula to Koropi and from Piraeus to SKA, while stretches outside the urban area need a ticket priced in stages and issued by the train operator. Five-car electric units form the main fleet of the electrified network. An Athens airport transfer is one booking for one private car.
The Athens Transport Authority runs four express lines from the airport. X95 serves the city centre, X93 serves the Kifissos and Liosion bus stations, X96 serves the Port of Piraeus and X97 serves Elliniko metro station. Buses drop passengers at the departures level and leave from the arrivals level between exits 4 and 5. Passengers cannot buy fares on board.
- A1: Links Piraeus and the airport.
- A3: Runs from Athens to Chalcis.
- A4: Runs from Piraeus to Kiato.
Regional buses of KTEL Express link the airport with Rafina, Markopoulo, Lavrio, Kalyvia and Keratea. The suburban railway reaches Attica, Boeotia, Corinthia and the city of Chalcis. Each of these services stops at set points on a fixed route, while an Athens airport transfer stops once, where the booking says.
How do taxis compare with an Athens airport transfer?
An Athens airport transfer is booked before arrival, while a taxi is taken from the airport rank, where the car at the front of the line takes the next fare, so the passenger rides with whichever driver stands first.
Taxis wait at a designated area at exit 3 of the arrivals level. Taxi stands sit at airports, railway stations, major retail areas and hotels, where passengers gather. The airport lies about 20 km east of central Athens, and the road distance is 30 km because hills lie between. An Athens airport transfer starts with a booked car, not a queue.
A taxi is a vehicle for hire that carries passengers from one point to another on an exclusive basis. This differs from public transport, where the service provider sets the stops for getting on and off. Taxi rules differ from country to country in the vehicles used, the way a car is hired, the dispatching and the way payment is agreed.
Two main forms of taxi exist. A hackney carriage is licensed for hailing, while a private hire vehicle is licensed for booking in advance only. A booked Athens airport transfer belongs to the second form. A taxi fare includes a set drop plus a rate per kilometre, and the state and the city set the fare where the taxi operates.
- Dispatch: Passengers call a central office.
- Meter: It tracks time and distance.
- Apps: Mobile apps also hire taxis.
Where private hire is licensed for booking ahead only, a driver who picks up a passenger off the street risks suspension of the taxi licence, or even prosecution. Other areas run a mix of both systems. An Athens airport transfer is a booked ride, made before the passenger reaches the rank.
Can an Athens airport transfer go to the coast and beyond?
An Athens airport transfer can run by road from the airport to the Saronic coast south of the city, to Aegean shore towns in the east of Attica, and on to places farther away such as Nafplio in the Peloponnese or Delphi in central Greece.
The Athens Riviera runs from Piraeus to Sounio and Lavrio, and its main areas include Glyfada, Voula, Vouliagmeni, Lagonisi, Varkiza and Anavyssos. Poseidonos Avenue and Vouliagmenis Avenue join Glyfada to central Athens. For what the coast south of Athens offers visitors, an Athens Riviera tour passes the marinas of Alimos and Flisvos and reaches the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion.
The east coast of Attica holds beaches and ancient sites. Nea Makri sits on the Petalioi Gulf in the easternmost part of Attica, 7 km north of Rafina and 8 km south of Marathon. Brauron, one of the twelve cities of ancient Attica, stood on the eastern coast. An Athens airport transfer to Nea Makri reaches Zoumberi Beach and the Brexiza Wetland.
- Nea Makri: Greek National Road 83 links Athens, Marathon and Rafina through the town.
- Nafplio: The city lies on the Argolic Gulf in the northeast Peloponnese.
- Delphi: The sacred precinct lies on the southwestern slope of Mount Parnassus.
The coast and the far destinations differ in region. The Athens Riviera and the east coast lie in Attica, the triangular peninsula that juts into the Aegean Sea. Nafplio lies in Argolis in the Peloponnese, and Delphi lies in central Greece. An Athens airport transfer to either leaves Attica, while a transfer to the coast stays inside it.
When is an Athens airport transfer busiest?
An Athens airport transfer is busiest from late spring to September, the period when about 75% of all tourist visits to Greece happen. Tourist arrivals in Greece rose from 17.93 million in 2013 to more than 22 million in 2014 and 26 million in 2015.
Traffic at Athens International Airport fell for six consecutive years during the debt crisis, and in 2013 it stood 25% below the 2007 high. Growth returned in 2014 with 15.1 million passengers, a rise of over 21%, and 2017 brought a record 21.7 million. In the first ten months of 2023, passenger numbers rose 19.5% to 24.4 million.
Summers in Greece are hot and dry, and winters are mild and wet. Beach resorts on Crete, Rhodes, Kos, Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Skiathos attract millions of foreign tourists every year. In the debt crisis years, other airlines suspended service at the airport in the winter.
- Markets: Germany led the tourist markets for Greece in 2023.
- Attica: The region welcomed 2.6 million tourists in 2009.
- Winter: The government intends to promote four seasons and winter tourism.
The timing of an Athens airport transfer follows two curves, the season and the yearly total. Tourism sets the season, and its peak falls in summer. The airport sets the total, and its design extends in six phases, with a sixth and final phase that allows 50 million passengers a year.
What do travelers ask about an Athens airport transfer?
An Athens airport transfer starts at the largest and busiest airport in Greece, which serves the city of Athens and the region of Attica. The airport belongs to Group 1 of Airports Council International, the group for airports with over 25 million passengers.
Do children need a seat on an Athens airport transfer?
A child safety seat is designed to protect children from injury or death during vehicle collisions. Directive 2003/20/EC of the European Parliament and the Council requires an approved child restraint system for children less than 135 centimetres tall in vehicles.
Which vehicle suits a group on an Athens airport transfer?
A minibus is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle designed to carry more people than a minivan but fewer people than a full-size bus. Minibuses have a seating capacity of between 12 and 30, and larger minibuses can be called midibuses.
What do arrivals pass before an Athens airport transfer begins?
For international arrivals, the baggage reclaim area is a restricted area that comes after passport and visa control and before customs. The Schengen Area, a system of open borders among 29 European countries, has abolished border controls at the common borders of its members.
Which motorway links an Athens airport transfer to the city?
Attiki Odos is a toll motorway system, and its motorways form the outer beltways of the Greater Athens metropolitan area. The A6 runs from Eleusis to the airport, and the A64 runs from Koropi to the airport. Drivers pay the toll once, when they enter the motorways.
Which roads reach the airport for an Athens airport transfer?
Four roads in all reach the airport. The Attiki Odos serves the centre and the north of Athens, Varis-Koropiou Avenue serves the western part, Laurio Avenue serves the south and Spata-Loutsa Avenue serves the east. Lots P1 and P2 sit opposite the terminal.
Which code names the airport for an Athens airport transfer?
The airport is named after Elefthérios Venizélos, and its full name reads Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos. Its IATA code is ATH, its ICAO code is LGAV, and it is commonly initialised as AIA. The Hellenic Republic and the private sector divide ownership of the operating company in a 55%-45% stake.
Featured photo: Manfred Werner (Tsui), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.