Trying to plan a last night of vacation stay. Arriving on the ferry at Piraeus on a Wednesday afternoon and flying out of Athens at noon on Thursday. Looking for a nice place to stay that is reasonably convenient to airport that may have lodging that doesn't feel like we're at the airport. Maybe a place that we could walk to a nice dinner on the water? Any suggestions? AI is telling me the Athens Riviera, but I have seen no recommendations for that area on this forum.
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
3240 posts
I just stayed here after the RS Greece tour and liked it. It was mentioned by other forum participants.
https://www.hotelavra.gr/
Posted by
10 posts
We stayed at the Hotel Avra in Rafina for our last night in Greece. Flew in from Naxos and took their free shuttle to the hotel and had a really nice afternoon and evening walking around the tiny harbor. Enjoyed our last chicken gyros while the proprietor told us about meeting Jackie O. in the 70’s! Then we took their shuttle back to the airport in the morning. The hotel had been a recommendation on this forum last year. It was a really nice last night to a great trip.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
8687 posts
We used Peri’s Hotel, which was recommended in the Rick Steves guidebook, and is just 10 minutes from the airport, but definitely not at it. It’s not a waterfront place, but the staff are very accommodating, and the beach area could be reached after walking maybe 15 minutes. They provide a free shuttle to get you to the airport the next day. Their Website is https://www.perishotelapt.gr/
Posted by
France Southwest - Occitanie
3704 posts
First of all, be aware that taking the ferry back the day before your return flight is a bit risky. If your ferry is cancelled due to a strike, bad weather, etc., even if you take the next day's ferry, you won't be able to arrive in time to catch your flight.
The Athens Riviera is rather ugly, very built-up, in my opinion not really a pleasant place for a last night, hence the understandable lack of recommendations.
It's true that Rafina is nice, with some good tavernas on the port and the Avra Hotel is pretty good, but when we stayed there it was just to catch a ferry the next day
So staying at the Avra Hotel might be an option mainly when you have a flight from an island to Athens airport before taking your return flight the next day, but if you arrive by ferry at Piraeus I don't really see the advantage compared to spending a night in Piraeus, where I guarantee you won't feel like you're near the airport, especially if you stay in the marina areas .
Zeas Marina
https://maps.app.goo.gl/wpCQ4e8UaWPiwifm8
Mikrolimano Marina
https://maps.app.goo.gl/KaxfyS7Ut6ibEXaM6
.
The same goes for the Peris Hotel, which is in a kind of ghost town compared to Athens and Piraeus, and is almost a 30-minute walk from the sea.
Personally, I'd say there's nothing better than finding a hotel in Athens, spending the evening there, and then the next day taking a taxi, the metro, or the bus to the airport. Never mind missing the sea view.
Even when we have a very early return flight that requires us to be at the airport around 6:00 AM, we stay in Athens the night before and pre-book a taxi. We've done this countless times.
I've compared the options extensively and realized that staying near the airport offers no significant advantage, only allowing us to gain, at best, 20 minutes of sleep.