Our flight home from Athens leaves at 6 a.m. but we really don't want to stay at the Sofitel in the airport. We'd like to end our trip in a "Greek" style hotel but are worried about being able to get to the airport that early. Anybody experience this or stay at a place that you'd recommend that isn't too far from the airport? How much do taxis charge per kilometer and it is fairly easy to find one at any hour of the day?
Thanks, Rebecca
Posted by
Camarillo, California
3122 posts
Nearest to the airport are the St. Thomas B&B and Peri's Hotel. I don't know what a taxi would charge, probably around €15-20, but prices double before 6am, so it might be just as cheap to stay at the Sofitel if you can get one of their internet discounts. At least try.
Other than that there's the Airport Express Bus X95 that leaves from Syntagma Square in Central Athens every 20-30 minutes 24/7/365 for €5pp. It takes about 45 minutes to reach the airport, so you'd need to be at the bus stop around 3am to reach the airport 2 hours before flight departure.
The least expensive hotels nearby to Syntagma Square are the Metropolis on Mitropoleos Street and the Athos Hotel on Patroou Street. The Athos is closest and slightly cheaper.
The Blue Line Airport Metro doesn't start running until about 5am and a taxi will cost around €50.
Posted by
Camarillo, California
3122 posts
I just did a trial search on both booking.com and hotels.com for the Sofitel Athens Airport and hotels.com offered the excellent price of $170 for a double room in May and $186 for the same room in June. booking.com's rates were MUCH higher for the same room.
Posted by
Brighton, UK
1388 posts
Rebecca
There is a flat night time rate of 50 euros from the city centre to the airport. Your hotel will be able to book you a taxi and there will be no problem getting one. (With the current economic crisis every rank in the city seems to be full.)
You can undoubtedly get a hotel in the centre cheaper than the Sofitel, even at the rate Lee has found. The Attalos, for example, is around 90 euros.
It's then a question of whether you want to get up an hour earlier to make the journey at 3 in the morning.
Alan
PS I'm assuming you're not coming back into Athens from the Cyclades? If you are I would consider getting a ferry back into Rafina and having your last night in Greece there. You can get a taxi from there easily enough.