Getting to Athens
Arriving by Plane:
Athens's Hellenikon International Airport
Only 7 miles south of central Athens, but traffic to and from the airport is often so heavy that you should allow an hour for the trip. The East Anatoliko Air Terminal on the eastern side of the airport runways handles non-Olympic flights and some charters. The West Airport Dhitiko, usually called Olympiakon, handles all Olympic flights. A third, smaller terminal handles most charter flights. Both the East and West terminals have free luggage trolleys, exchange and banking facilities, ATMs, post office and telephone offices, luggage storage, cafes, taxi and bus stands, tourist information offices, and hotel-booking agencies.
Numbers for the East Air Terminal include:
Switchboard 01/969-4111,
Arrival/Departure Information 01/949-4466 or 01/949-4467,
Tourist Information 01/969-4500 or 01/961-2722.
Numbers for the West Air Terminal include:
Switchboard 01/926-9111 or 01/936-9111,
Arrival/Departure Information 01/936-3363
Tourist Information 01/969-4500 or 01/961-2722.
Flight information on Olympic flights is sometimes available at tel. 01/966-6666 or 01/926-9111; both numbers are usually busy. There is no shuttle bus between any of these terminals, but they are usually linked by bus nos. 091 and 91, which run into Athens and Piraeus.
Getting To Athens:
Since buses run on erratic schedules, the easiest way into town is to take a taxi from immediately outside the terminal. This is not as simple as it sounds: it is necessary to be assertive!. A cab into the center kentro of town will cost you about $7 to $10, double that between midnight and 5am. Depending on traffic, the cab ride can take less than 30 minutes or well over an hour-something to remember when you return to the airport.
If you want to take a bus from the airport into central Athens, be prepared for what may be a substantial wait and a slow journey. In theory, bus no. 091 runs to Syntagma and Omonia squares before continuing to Piraeus every half hour from 7am to 10pm Dr200/65¢, and then every hour from about 10:15pm to 6:30am Dr400/$1.35. Because of Metro construction, the bus sometimes stops first near Omonia Square and then doubles back to Syntagma Square.
Eleftherios Venizelos International
Athens's new airport, Eleftherios Venizelos International, is currently under construction and scheduled to open at Spata, 23 kilometers 14 miles outside Athens, sometime in 2001 (currently projected for a March, 2001 opening), well in advance of the 2004 Olympics. If you are traveling around that time, be sure to check with our travel agents to see whether the airport has, in fact, opened.
Getting Between The Airport and Piraeus:
A taxi from the airport to Piraeus should cost Dr2,000 to Dr2,500 $7 to $8. It's important to know that island boats leave from several different Piraeus harbors. Most ferryboats and hydrofoils Flying Dolphins for Aegina leave from the Main Harbor. Hydrofoils for other islands leave from Marina Zea, a vigorous half-hour walk from the Main Harbor. All this makes Piraeus a good place to take a taxi to and from the airport. If you do not know which harbor your boat is leaving from, tell your taxi driver your destination and he can probably find out the harbor and even the pier you are leaving from.
Bus no. 19 runs from the East to the West Terminal and then to Piraeus every hour from 5am to midnight Dr200/65¢, and every 2 hours from midnight to 5am Dr400/$1.35. The bus will leave you in Karaiskaki Square, several blocks from the harbor.
A word about making air connections after an island trip: It is unwise-even foolhardy-to allow anything less than 24 hours between your return to Piraeus by island boat and your departure by air, as rough seas can make for significant delays.
