Booked on A & HoG Tour 8/31-9/13. I have an 8 AM departure flight from Athens on 9/13.
Does anyone have experience departing Athens hotel very early AM ....say between 3 & 4 AM by pre-arranged taxi to ATH?
My other option would be to take taxi after final dinner and stay overnight at the ATH Sofitel.
Thoughts?
Ask your hotel to arrange a taxi for you.
Your tour guide will help you arrange a taxi to airport.
Hi Greece,
My wife and I did this tour earlier this year...wonderful expereince!
The 2 previous answers both work. We chose to spend the night at the airport Hotel and walk to our early morning flight. Others did the taxi from the Hotel. Our reason was we spent extra days on our own after the RS Tour.
Both work...FYI...the airport Hotel is a bit pricey but being there for us was worth it. My other comment is that your Hotel after the final dinner is already paid for...so...I'd suggest the early taxi...it will save you money.
We found the Athens airpot easy to navigate.
Enjoy Greece
So if the flight is at 8AM is it to somewhere in the EU or directly back to North America or something else? If it’s EU you want to be to the airport at 6. Anywhere else and maybe aim for 5.
So you’d need to leave at 4-5AM at the earliest depending. It’s a 45 minute drive, low traffic that early. I’m conservative on timing, many people will tell you to cut it closer.
I had an early flight out of Athens last year, not on a tour but staying in an Airbnb. I used Welcome Pickups, arranged online, and the driver was outside the apartment waiting at 4AM as scheduled. I’ve also used uber, but they might not be in Athens now (it seems to change).
On a tour the guide or hotel will arrange a taxi for you. It happens all the time, taxis are operating and used to early departures because the airport has early flights.
As mentioned upthread, if you choose to do the early flight, no problem with pre-arranged taxi. After our RS tour a couple years ago we took a taxi in the am to catch a ferry to the islands. We flew back to Athens and stayed at the Sofitel and flew home in the am. It was so convenient to simply walk across to the airport. We had booked the hotel months in advance so the price was discounted. We had a lovely well appointed room and delicious breakfast before departing. Enjoy your tour!
Thank you all.....I think I’m leaning to spending what is left of my night after the final dinner at our tour hotel since it is paid for and I can save the money I’d spend at the Sofitel. I think either way I’d get about the same amount of sleep. If the drive is approximately 45 minutes ...it’s similar to my December stay in Paris and having a 7 AM flight to U.K. at CDG. I was picked up the at 3:30 AM (my choice) but 4 would’ve been fine since nothing was open until 6.
I’m leaning toward Welcome Pickups since I’ve read very good reviews and I can pre-pay.
My 8 AM flight is BA to LHR with connection back to US.
Since you are leaving the day the tour finished, I'd wait to book as the guide may be able to pair you with others from the tour for a ride to the airport.
Thanks Pam.....I was actually just thinking the same thing😌...I will wait.
Chris, Pam is correct. Plus, the guide will often match others into your taxi to save costs as well.
Your guide will arrange it for you. 7 of us shared 2 taxis to the airport at 3:30 am for a flight to Paris before connecting to the US.
It's likely a few others will have early departures as well, so your guide will arrange taxis. Another option is the Metro, which I think starts at 5am, but if others are doing the taxi (usually you'll know in advance), that'll be more comfortable.
Athens airport is one of the smallest ones I've flown in or out of in Europe. If you have an 8 am flight, you probably don't need to be at the airport much before 6 am. I just looked at tomorrow's departures. The first flights out are at 6 am. Between 6 and 8.30, there are only 22 int'l flights all to European or Mediterranean destinations - no long flights so presumably no huge planes. That means not all that many passengers checking in and going through security.
Thank you Chani....that should make things smoother☺️
I recently did this tour and my flight also departed at 8:00 am. The tour guide will work on grouping people to share rides to the airport at various times. I shared with another family and it helped on the cost. The train also goes there but as it was early in the morning I wanted a taxi. I'm sure there will be others leaving at similar times, there always is in my experience on RS tours. After the final dinner most people went back to the hotel and went to bed. Not worth paying for another hotel, cheaper to share a ride to the airport. The hotel also gave us boxed breakfasts to go.
Thank you Lynn....this seems to be the consensus🙂
