I'm looking for a hotel close to the airport. I have a full day though, staying a whole day & leave the following morning.
Was wondering if anything in Glyfada (someone suggested staying there). When I do Airbnb searches it comes up with many neighborhoods. Which one? How far is this from airport?
Thank you!
Literally right across the street from the Departures Hall is the Athens Airport Sofitel Hotel. The closest besides that one are Peri's Hotel, Pantheon Hotel and the St. Thomas B&B.
The Sofitel is about 50 yards away from the airport. Super quiet and very nice.
The comparable prices per night/double (in May-June) are: Peris, €80, St. Thomas, €100, Sofitel -- a WIDE range, depending on whether it is offering special promotions ==anything from $130 (limited special off-season) - $275.
If you want to experience Athens then you best bet is to stay in central Athens. You can get to the airport via several ways: Metro, bus or taxi with the bus the cheapest but more work involved, the Metro is very convenient, economical and will take you from Central Athens all the way to the last stop at the airport for around 10 euros or less if you are a senior citizen. Bear in mind you'll be upclose and friendly with locals along the way, which may be good or bad depending on you comfort level. I use the Metro a lot while in Athens to get to and from the Airport and find it very convient, inexpensive and get to know locals.
A taxi will be your most convenient, door-to-door service but also the most expensive, around 38 euros during regular hours or up to 55 euros during non-regular hours.
All depends on your comfort level, stress, budget and how much research you do.
I would recommend staying in Central Athens to experience the city and use the most convenient and budget-friendly option to get to the airport.
We have this same issue in early October. We have been to Athens before and didn't want to stay in the city. We found an apartment (several actually) in Artemida about 4 miles from the airport. It is close to the beach and is very reasonable price. The owner will pick us up and return us to the airport for a small fee. We found this on booking.com. We can't tell you about it as we haven't been there yet but this particular apartment has very good reviews on booking.com. If you are not interested in Athens city and want to relax near the beach, this area might fit your needs. Let us know if you want more information.
" Bear in mind you'll be upclose and friendly with locals along the way, which may be good or bad depending on you comfort level"
If you have not been to Greece before, you will find Greeks to be a friendly helpful people
On our way from the airport to town a woman sat next to us and we started some small talk. Turns out she has family in Greece and was on her way home to her Athens ( she also had a home in Fla.). She had some fresh picked lemons and she gave us one ( one was plenty it was the size of a grapefruit) We had lemon water for our entire trip!
When we got to the station where we had to change trains, a local saw I was studying the sign board trying to figure out what track I needed to get to and how to get there. He directed me to the stairs and pointed to the platform I needed to be at.
That was my first 90 minutes in Greece. The next 2 weeks I felt treated more like a long lost cousin, than a tourist or customer. ( But my valuables were always in my money belt--- I could enjoy all the nice people and not worry about the few scoundrels that might be around)
