Which option suits your arrival?
| Your situation | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Solo or a couple, daytime, hotel near a line 3 station | Metro | Fixed timetable, no traffic, €9 each |
| Landing after about 23:30 or before 06:00 | X95 bus or taxi | Airport metro trains do not run then |
| Tight budget, hotel near Syntagma | X95 bus | €5.50, the cheapest single airport fare |
| Group of four, heavy bags or a late arrival | Taxi | Door to door for €50, against €36 for four metro tickets |
| Heading straight to the ferries | X96 bus or metro to Piraeus | Both serve Piraeus directly |
The arithmetic for a group: four metro tickets are €36, against a €50 daytime taxi. Five people need two taxis or a larger vehicle, which reverses the comparison. At night the taxi is €65, while the X95 is still €5.50 per person.
Metro line 3: price, times and frequency
Athens International Airport lists metro line 3 (Blue Line) as the direct link to the city centre and Piraeus, ending at Dimotiko Theatro. The operator, STASY, publishes the timetable (line 3 page, last modified 15 September 2026):
- Frequency: airport trains run every 36 minutes, every day of the week.
- From the airport: first train 06:10, last train 23:34.
- To the airport: first train passes Syntagma at 05:53 (arriving 06:35); last train leaves Syntagma at 23:18 (arriving 23:58).
- Journey time: the 06:10 from the airport reaches Syntagma at 06:49, Monastiraki at 06:51 and Piraeus at 07:11.
Line 3 runs 24 hours on Saturdays, but STASY states that airport trains are excluded from that all-night service. STASY also posts temporary closures and early finishes on the same page; check it on your travel day.
Fares (OASA price list):
- Metro airport ticket, one way: €9.00 full, €4.50 reduced (reduced fares need a personalised ATH.ENA Card).
- Two-way metro airport ticket: €16.00, valid 30 days.
- Tap a contactless Visa or Mastercard, or a phone or watch wallet, at the gate: €9.00 (OASA contactless page). Use the same card or device to tap in and out.
The €9 ticket also covers onward OASA buses, trolleybuses, trams and metro for 90 minutes from first validation, but not the airport express buses or the X80. For how this fits with daily tickets and the ATH.ENA Card, see Athens public transport tickets.
If stairs are a problem, our step-free airport-to-city route covers lifts and the final walk.
Airport express buses: X95 and the others
OASA runs four airport express bus lines, all 24 hours a day. OASA's measured journey times depend on traffic:
| Line | Goes to | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| X95 | Syntagma (metro lines 2 and 3) | about 60 min |
| X96 | Port of Piraeus, via the coast road (metro line 1) | about 90 min |
| X93 | Kifissos and Liossion intercity bus stations | about 65 min |
| X97 | Elliniko metro station (00:00-04:55 from Dafni metro) | about 45 min |
The fare is €5.50 full or €2.70 reduced, for one journey only to or from the airport, with no transfers. You can pay by tapping a contactless card once when boarding. OASA does not publish frequencies on this page; ask the OASA information line, 11185, or check its route tools.
Boarding rules are unusual: on buses leaving the airport you may only get off along the route, and on buses heading to the airport you may only get on. So these lines cannot be used for short hops in town.
Taxi and ride-hailing: flat fares
According to Athens International Airport's private transport page, taxis wait 24/7 at Exit 3 of the Arrivals level. Trips between the airport and the city centre inner ring cost a flat fare:
| When you arrive at the destination | Flat fare |
|---|---|
| 05:00-24:00 | €50 |
| 00:00-05:00 | €65 |
The rate depends on the time you arrive at your destination, and includes all applicable surcharges and extras. Drivers must issue a receipt. The airport does not define the inner ring on that page, so if your address is outside the historic centre, agree the fare before setting off.
Uber, which works with licensed taxi drivers in Athens, picks up opposite Exit 4 in a controlled pick-up zone and, per the airport, charges the same flat fares. Pre-booked taxis meet passengers at the Short Term 1 car park, the Arrivals pick-up/drop-off zone or the Retail Park.
Suburban railway
The airport is also on the suburban railway (Proastiakos), with links to Athens Larissa station, Ano Liosia and Piraeus, according to the airport. It is most useful for Larissa station and onward trains to other regions. OASA's price list says the €9 metro airport ticket is also valid on the suburban railway between Magoula, Piraeus and the airport, while standard city tickets cover it only as far as Koropi. Timetables were not checked for this guide; call 14511, the number the airport gives.
Late-night and early-morning arrivals
Between about 23:34 and 06:10 there is no airport metro. Your choices are the 24-hour X95 to Syntagma, the X97 (which runs from Dafni rather than Elliniko between midnight and 04:55), the X96 to Piraeus, or a €65 night-rate taxi. If you land just before midnight, remember the night rate is set by arrival time at your hotel.
Arriving from outside the Schengen area, passport control can add time before you reach any of these; see EES passport control at Athens airport. For a same-day ferry, see our guide to reaching Piraeus port and finding your gate.
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