Getting from the airport to the city in Greece

Athens airport is 33 km east of the city centre.

• Official taxi: The rank is directly outside Exit 3 in the arrivals hall. Trips into the inner city ring - Syntagma, Omonia, the Acropolis area - are covered by a legally fixed flat fare: EUR 40 from 05:00 to 00:00 and EUR 55 from 00:00 to 05:00. That is the total, including luggage, VAT and motorway tolls, and the rate is set by the time you arrive at your destination rather than the time you set off. The journey takes 35 to 50 minutes.
• Metro line 3 (blue): The station connects to the terminal by a covered walkway and runs direct to Syntagma and Monastiraki. A single airport ticket is EUR 9, valid 90 minutes from validation. Trains run every 36 minutes from 06:10 to 23:36 and take about 40 minutes to the centre.
• Express buses X95 and X96: The stop is between Exits 4 and 5. X95 runs to Syntagma square, X96 to the port of Piraeus. The fare is EUR 5.50, buses run 24 hours a day every 15 to 30 minutes, and the trip takes 45 to 75 minutes depending on traffic.
• Uber, FreeNow and Bolt: All three work in Athens, but Greek law only lets them dispatch licensed yellow taxis - there is no cheaper private-hire tier. Pick-up is on the departures level, and the price matches the official flat fare or the meter.
• Straight to the ferries: Rafina port costs EUR 35 to EUR 50 (25 to 35 minutes). Piraeus is metered at roughly EUR 55 to EUR 75 and takes 45 to 75 minutes; the X96 bus does the same run for EUR 5.50.

Thessaloniki's airport is 13 km south-east of the centre.

• Express bus 01X (01N overnight) runs direct to the centre and the main railway station for EUR 1.80 to EUR 2.00, taking 40 to 50 minutes.
• Official taxis wait outside arrivals and run on the meter; the usual fare into central Thessaloniki is EUR 25 to EUR 35.

• Solo traveller: The X95 into Athens at EUR 5.50, or the 01X into Thessaloniki at EUR 1.80. Both beat the metro on price and, at night, on availability.
• Family or group of three to four: The EUR 40 flat taxi works out at about EUR 10 a head, the same as a single metro ticket, and it puts you at the hotel door with the luggage.
• Night arrival between 00:00 and 05:00: The metro has stopped and the taxi flat fare jumps to EUR 55, but the X95 runs all night at the unchanged EUR 5.50.
• On a budget: The express buses, every time. Buy the ticket from the booth at the stop before boarding.