Athens Airport Uber and ATMs

Instead of Uber, I used Welcome Pickups in Athens.

I pre-ordered and paid online. The driver met me as I exited customs and walked me to the car. It was also a taxi. He spoke excellent English, the car was clean, and he even had a bottle of water for me. The price was similar to what a taxi would cost.

I've used them other times and the experience was pretty much the same.

While I can't speak for Athens airport, some ATM's at airports are not with banks but currency exchange companies. You won't get a good exchange rate.

If you pre-book a car to pay online, I'd wait until I got to my hotel and asked them where the nearest bank ATM is located.

I've never taken an Uber so can't help.

I have used the ATMs at the airport and they are reliable.

I've also used ATMs all over Greece.

However, DID NOT USE Euronet as it's a rip off that charges exorbitant fees.

It is very important how to use the ATMs either at the airport or elsewhere.

Use only the 4 Greek bank ATM’s--Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank, National Bank of Greece and EuroBank. Do not use the bright yellow and blue EURONET ATMs which are absolutely everywhere as they are not a bank but a company operating out of the USA which offers misleading rates and makes bigger charges.

Greece has mandated that all businesses must accept Credit Cards so you may not need a lot of cash except for small purchases

To make it easier you could get a some Euros from your local bank rather than deal with ATMs in Greece.

Uber-type drivers are prohibited in Greece.

Only licensed taxi drivers are authorized. If you call a taxi using Uber, Freenow, or any other app, you will simply get an official taxi driver using that app. How to identify the driver depends on the app's features.

If you pre-book a taxi using Welcome Pickups, you will know the driver's name, and he/she will be waiting for you at the agreed time in the public area just after the baggage claim exit with a sign displaying your name.

Regarding ATMs, avoid "Euronet" ATMs. They are not affiliated with a bank.

I recommend Welcome Pickups. When I just got a taxi at the cruise port, he tried to rip me off

Hi Frank II,

One follow-up question about Welcome Pickups. It's a taxi, so there will only be space for 2 people; correct? Friends and I are coming in at the same time for this cruise. I don't know how much luggage they will have, but I'm sure it will be alot.....lol It's fine if we're not in the same vehicle; I'm just asking...............thank you.

Hi Tommyk5,

Thank you so much for the ATM info!!! I will be sure to keep this info with me while in Greece.

Samantha

Thanks everyone for taking the time to your share information. I will definitely avoid "Euronet" ATM! and I will book with Welcome Pickups. I've seen some not too flattering reviews about them, but I do prefer to have a driver waiting for me at the airport.

Thank you again!!!

Samantha

It's a taxi, so there will only be space for two people; correct?

Taxis in Greece are allowed to carry up to four passengers. They are sedan-type cars (mostly Skoda Octavias). If you have relatively large suitcases, you might need to book either a minivan or two taxis. With Welcome Pickups, you can enter this luggage information and contact them to determine the best option.

JoLui - Thank you for that information. There will probably be a few of us, on the flight, that know each other so being able to put up to 4 in a minivan would be nice.

Samantha

hey hey Samantha
welcome to the forum
just a few tips you can think about or take with a grain of salt.
no uber for you LOL, we did a greek island cruise from venice about 10 years ago, it was fabulous. (no stop in athens, what ship, dates of your cruise). best thing i did was pick up 100/200E here at my bank (small bills) before going, then a bank ATM in greece for more euros when needed. so many posts here DO/DO NOT get. ugly issue in rome, 3 flights landed, rushed like cheetahs to ATM, one broken and other the line went around the airport!!! borrowed from friend for taxi & a snack, paid her when reached rome. never again. nowdays i just smile & wave passing by the lines. tell your friends to pack LIGHT!!

georgestaxi.com
email for quote to pick you & gang up, take to hotel then to cruise ship, one less headache stress
arriving in athens will be not much to do, next day JETLAG, it's real! market or food tour, george does a town tour, ask him
culinarybackstreets.com greekality.com secretfoodtours.com athens eatwith.com athens (Click food tours)
i did research for private taxi tours for our ports, shared cost with couple of cruise ship, met us at ship and did our tour. was very adament of getting back to ship before sailaway (was 4-5 hour tour and was fabulous, had a shot of ouzo at bar before boarding ship)
cruisemapper.com
check it out. unselect ships, click ports, put in port name, click month 2026, scroll down to date and see how many ships in port (some days can have 4 which can bring 12.000 to 15,000 people into port) OMG
any questions keep asking, forum here to help with good bad and ugly. have fun and enjoy. oomap
aloha

Hi Princess Pupule;

My cruise is NCL, Athens to Venice; June 2026. After the cruise we plan to travel, by train, from Venice to Florence for a couple of nights and then to Rome. We'll fly home from Rome. I can tell them to pack light, but getting them to do it is another thing....lol

I'll reach out to my credit union to see if there is a charge to order euros. It would be nice to not have to find a bank atm. I always use CC, when out of the country, as much as I can.

I'm part of a large cruise group; 25-30 persons. They're not friends of mine. My cruise, inner circle, is about 8 persons. I don't know if even a minivan can handle the luggage of these women....lol I will reach out to Georgestaxi to get a quote. The eight of us will probably need 2 vehicles and that's ok. I've traveled internationally before so I don't need all 8 of them to be with me.

We arrive on a Thursday and our cruise departs on Saturday. I will probably want a full tour day on Friday; I don't know about the others. We have transportation to the dock; it's part of a cruise. I'm familiar with cruisemapper.com. I looked there for our Santorini port. We are 1 of 2 ships that arrive in port early AM. A 3rd ship arrives in the afternoon around 2 PM.

I've never been to Greece and have spent minimal time in Italy. No matter what happens; I know I'll still have a great time!

Thank you for your help!!

I would suggest contacting Welcome Pickups at the same time you email George's Taxi. I believe you will find a better rate with W-P ... because George's Taxi is a kind of "tour taxi" approach, where they purport to show you the sights ... it is an outfit that got famous by recommendations on a famous Greece Tourism website ... all the Drivers claim to be George's brother, son, uncle, whatever. I would not book it on just on the recommendation of a R Steves contributor who gives no specifics about how much it costs. If you just want good reliable transport why pay for bells & whistles.

As for vehicles for your group -- Full-size 4-door, mini-van, and larger van. Legit organizations will ask for the number of riders, and perhaps the number of suitcases. A standard taxi (Mercedes 4-door) will take 4 adults IF 2 are smaller-size (women) & 2 men, but not 4 200-lb men. Also 4 medium roll-aboard suitcases (20-21"). You woul fhave to hold your "shoulder bag" or day-size backpack in your laps. A mini-van would take 4 or 5 & somewhat bigger bags. If you all are gooing on cruises & taking along huge suitcases for lots of clothes & shoes, you would need a van tht would either seat 12, or 6 with tons of luggage. A legit organization will be very specific on size & price.

Hi Janet,

I'm going to get a quote from Welcome Pickups. A short tour on the way to my hotel would be fine, but primarily I just want to get to my room, take a shower and change clothes after a long flight.

My plan is to pass the info to everyone in my smaller group of 8. My preference is 4 per vehicle. I find that it can be like herding cats when you have too many people to organize.....lol

Thank you!

I'm going to get a quote from Welcome Pickups.

You don't need to get a quote from WP. You'll get the price when booking on their website. If you specify at least 4 passengers and more than 4 pieces of luggage, you'll get a minivan and a price of around €85 to go to the center of Athens.
A taxi ride in a car for 4 passengers and no more than 4 pieces of luggage costs around €45.

https://www.welcomepickups.com/athens/airport-transfer-book/

Note that a taxi ride from the airport to the city (not pre-booked) is a flat rate of €40 during the day, all inclusive. It's clearly displayed on a sign in front of the airport taxi rank.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CJ3VnUKcFaLUgP9S9

However, some taxi drivers like to rip off tourists by ignoring this flat rate and charging extra for tolls, luggage, or whatever else.

As far as I know, George's Taxi, as Janet said, is more of a service for tourists who want to get around town than a traditional taxi.

JoLui - Thank you; I am going to go to Welcome Pickups site.