has anyone taken a bus or taxi from a hotel in the acropolis area to the airport at 2:30am to catch a 5:00am int'l flight? which is safer - bus or taxi? there is a sofitel hotel close to the airport but it is very expensive, and one would be there only for half the night. thank. olivia
Posted by
San Francisco, CA, USA
32 posts
We just took the X95 bus from Syntagma Square at 5am last week (having arrived at 12:45am a few nights earlier) - it felt safe and it was really convenient. At 2:30am, the bus runs less frequently, but it was easy. I did not take a taxi in Athens because I've heard bad things about taxi scams, but I would hope your hotel could get you one without a problem. Bus took about 45 minutes.
Good luck!
Posted by
OP
Margate, FL, USA
204 posts
hi suzanne, were there many people in the bus? and on the streets? thanks.
Posted by
Grapevine, TX, USA
875 posts
We stayed at the Holiday Inn - Attica on our last night in Athens which has a free shuttle to the airport even for those very early flights.
Posted by
Fort Dodge, IA, USA
17 posts
We took the X95 from Syntagma Square at 1:30 AM in May. We had a 6 block walk, used busier streets, never felt unsafe or threatened. I would definitely take the bus over the taxi - less expensive and very safe and 45 minutes to the airport. The bus was actually almost full at that time of the morning. You can purchase your ticket from the driver and validate it on the bus.
Posted by
Camarillo, California
3122 posts
I took the 2:30am bus just last Sunday morning and had no problems at all. Athens is still very busy at that time of the morning, especially on the weekends. The bus costs 3.2 euro each but a taxi at that hour will cost closer to 70 euro.
Posted by
OP
Margate, FL, USA
204 posts
thank you all. we are back in the USA.
we actually took the bus to the airport at 9:40pm, took a nap on the floor like many others and waited for our check-in at 3:00am. the departure area is open 365/24/7 with coffee shops and many stores open at the time.
we had a great vacation.
Posted by
San Francisco, CA, USA
32 posts
wow, sleeping in the airport! I didn't even think about that. :)
The bus when we took it was pretty full - we got on easily, but it packed up and there was no empty seat around. When we took the bus from the airport, it was a double-length bus and it was fine. Early morning bus to the airport was a regular size bus.