A Blue Star ferry at Piraeus, the port most island sailings leave from.
The short answer: for almost every sailing from Piraeus, sleep in central Athens rather than at the port. The blue metro line (line 3) runs from the centre to Piraeus without a change in about 25 minutes, and a taxi takes about 25 minutes at dawn for around €20. The metro opens at about 05:30, so for a sailing before about 07:00 book a car the night before rather than relying on the first train. Two departures warrant sleeping outside central Athens: a Rafina ferry before 08:00, for which I would stay in Rafina, and an early Lavrio ferry, for which I would stay near Lavrio port. Before you plan anything, read two things on your ticket: the port, because the island does not decide it, and the gate, because the gates at Piraeus are up to 40 minutes' walk apart.
I have lived in Kolonaki for more than ten years and host guests in two apartments here, a few minutes from Evangelismos station on the blue line. Guests ask me some version of this question most weeks, usually the evening before, usually with the gate number sitting unread in a confirmation email. This guide follows the order you will need it: find your port, understand the Piraeus gates, choose how to get there and when to leave, then the special cases of the afternoon boats, Rafina, Lavrio and early flights. Some of the answers send you somewhere other than us.
Last checked 11 October 2026. Ferry gates and Attica timetables change more often than travel guides do, so the official sources are linked for you to check against your own date.
Which port are you sailing from?
Mykonos sails from both Piraeus and Rafina; Milos and Sifnos sail from both Piraeus and Lavrio. The island you are going to does not tell you which port you leave from, and plenty of people find that out too late. Your ticket does. Once you know it, this table gives you the answer:
| Your departure | Where to sleep the night before | How to get to the boat |
|---|---|---|
| Piraeus, morning sailing to the Cyclades or Crete | Central Athens, on the blue line | Metro, or a taxi to the gate |
| Piraeus, sailing before 07:00 | Central Athens | Taxi or transfer booked the night before |
| Piraeus, afternoon boat to Rhodes, Crete, Lesvos or Chios | Central Athens, and the day is yours | Taxi to the far gates |
| Rafina, sailing before 07:00 | Rafina itself | Walk to the quay |
| Rafina, sailing 07:00 to 08:00 | Rafina itself | Walk to the quay |
| Rafina, sailing after 08:00 | Central Athens | Taxi or transfer booked the night before |
| Lavrio sailing | Lavrio for an early boat; near the airport if you land late and sail later | Walk from Lavrio lodging or pre-book a transfer |
| Arriving on a late ferry, flying out next morning | Piraeus | Taxi to the airport |
Piraeus handles most island traffic: Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Crete, the Dodecanese, the Saronic islands and the cruise terminals. Rafina serves Mykonos, Tinos, Andros and much of Evia. Lavrio serves Kea and Kythnos, and seasonally Serifos, Sifnos and Milos.
Piraeus: your gate matters more than your hotel
Getting from Athens to Piraeus is easy. What catches people out is the size of the port itself, and the distance between the gates.
The gates and how far they are
Piraeus from the air. The berths run the whole length of the waterfront, which is why your gate matters more than your sailing time. Photo: Cristo Vlahos / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Piraeus metro station sits between gates E5 and E6. From there:
| Gates | On foot from the metro | Typically used by |
|---|---|---|
| E5 to E7 | About 5 minutes | Conventional ferries to the Cyclades |
| E8 to E10 | 10 to 15 minutes | High-speed catamarans to the Cyclades (often E9 and E10); Saronic boats to Aegina and Hydra (E8) |
| E1 and E2 | Up to about 40 minutes | The long crossings: Rhodes and the Dodecanese, Crete, Lesvos, Chios |
A free port shuttle bus runs from the main entrance near gate E5, across from the metro, to the far gates; screens at the stop show the wait (Ferryhopper's port guide).
E1 and E2 are where the long boats leave from, in the afternoon or evening, so it is not a pre-dawn emergency. It is worse than that. You would be doing that walk in the middle of an August afternoon, along the water with no shade, dragging a week's luggage. I would never send a guest to do it on foot. So "stay near the port" is a less useful instruction than it sounds when the far gate is forty minutes from the near one. Take a taxi to the gate itself; the metro leaves you at E5 and the rest is yours to solve.
The gate on your ticket is not always the way in
Gates are assigned by vessel, operator and date rather than by destination, and they move, so I deliberately do not publish a list of which island leaves from where. Two sailings to the same island on the same day can leave from different gates.
There is a second thing nobody warns you about: the gate number on your ticket is not always the entrance you can get in by. Your ticket says E9 and the way in that morning is through E8. Gates get closed for works, for a cruise call, for reasons nobody explains at the barrier. You have not misread anything; walk along until you find the one that is open. The honest advice for Piraeus is patience and buffer time:
- Read the gate on your ticket or in the operator's confirmation email.
- Check it against the Piraeus Port Authority departures board the evening before.
- If it is E1, E2 or E3, take a taxi to the gate and add half an hour to every time below.
- When you get there, follow the signs and the crowd rather than the number in your hand.
Getting to Piraeus from central Athens
Evangelismos, our station, on the blue line. The same line reaches Piraeus and the airport without a change. Photo: Argybz / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
By metro: line 3, or line 1
The blue line (line 3) runs from the centre to Piraeus with no change: about 20 minutes from Syntagma and 25 from Evangelismos, on a standard €1.20 ticket (STASY, the operator). The line opens at about 05:30 and runs to about midnight, later on Friday and Saturday nights, which matters if you are coming back off a late ferry. Through autumn 2026 STASY is replacing track on line 3 in phases, with some stretches closing at about 21:40 from Sunday to Thursday; the phase from 11 to 22 October affects only Ampelokipi to Halandri, not the Piraeus run, but check STASY's announcements before you count on a late train. If the blue line has stopped, take the green line or a taxi. The same line also runs to the airport, so a base on it sits on the direct route between the two.
The green line (line 1) also ends at Piraeus, at the same station by the gates. It is the one to use if you are staying near Omonia, Monastiraki or Thissio. Koukaki and Makrygianni are on the red line, and much of Plaka is a walk with luggage from the nearest station, so either costs you a change or a haul on the one morning you least want it. For a sightseeing trip I would happily send you there; for a ferry morning, read Kolonaki vs Plaka vs Koukaki first.
The tram reaches Piraeus too, along the coast, with a terminus at Akti Poseidonos by the port since February 2026. From Syntagma it means a change and a slow ride, so keep it for a daytime trip with light bags, not a sailing.
At the ticket machine, note that the airport is a separate €9 fare. Ride out there on a €1.20 ticket and the exit gates stay shut and you can be fined.
By pre-booked transfer
At that hour this is the least work. The driver takes you to the gate itself rather than to the metro, and the price is agreed before you get in, typically €30 to €45 from the centre. It matters most for an E1 or E2 sailing, a pre-dawn start, or four people with a week's luggage. If you are staying with us, send me your sailing time and gate and we will book the car and tell you when to come down.
By taxi
Central Athens to Piraeus is around €20 on the meter and about 25 minutes at dawn. Taxis in Athens are yellow and licensed, and the easiest way to get one is through a ride app that takes your card:
| App | What it books | iPhone | Android |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uber | Licensed taxis (in Greece) | iPhone | Android |
| Bolt | A ride | iPhone | Android |
| FREENOW by Lyft | Licensed taxis | iPhone | Android |
| Lemon | Licensed taxis | iPhone | Android |
To phone for one instead: Parthenon +30 210 532 3300 or Kosmos +30 210 411 8300 (both can be called from a foreign phone). Kosmos also has the short number 18300, from a Greek mobile. Taxis are required by law to accept cards, but ask before you get in.
The catch is availability, not price. At 05:30 in August a car does not necessarily appear because you opened an app, so for anything before 07:00 book it the night before.
A worked example: a 07:25 sailing (the gate, E6 here, is only illustrative)
Seajets asks foot passengers to reach the embarkation area at least 30 minutes before departure, so aim to be at the gate by 06:55 for a 07:25 sailing. Against that deadline the metro and a taxi are not the same journey. At that hour trains run every 7 to 9 minutes rather than every three, so the wait is part of the journey.
| Step | By metro from Evangelismos | By taxi from Kolonaki |
|---|---|---|
| Leave the apartment | 05:55 | 06:15 (06:00 if you have paper tickets to collect) |
| Walk to the platform | A few minutes | |
| Wait for a train | Up to 9 minutes | |
| On the train or in the car | About 24 minutes | About 25 minutes |
| Walk to the gate | About 5 minutes | None: dropped at the gate |
| At the gate | About 06:35 | About 06:40 |
Leave by metro at 06:15 instead and an unlucky wait could put you at the gate at 06:58, three minutes past that target.
Sort tickets out the night before rather than on the quay. Booked direct with Seajets, Blue Star or Hellenic Seaways, you can usually check in online and board with a QR code. Booked through an aggregator, you may be collecting paper at a port kiosk, and that queue adds a quarter of an hour to a morning that has none spare.
The afternoon boats and when to sleep at Piraeus
The overnight boats are a different day
Boarding after dark at Piraeus. The Dodecanese boats load in the evening and sail overnight. Photo: KF / Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Rhodes and the Dodecanese, Crete, Lesvos and Chios are long crossings, from about 7 hours to Chios or Crete to 15 hours or more to Rhodes, depending on the vessel and its stops, and most leave in the afternoon or evening. On the overnight boats you sleep on board and arrive the next day.
So the day is yours until mid-afternoon. Take a late checkout, leave your bags with us, and spend it in town; our two to three day Athens itinerary has ideas, and the walk up Lycabettus starts a few minutes from both apartments. Sitting in Piraeus from midday only buys you a long wait. Allow more time than the 07:25 example, because these boats usually leave from E1 and E2. Their departure times move by day and season more than the Cycladic ones, so check the ticket.
When a Piraeus hotel is the right answer
Mikrolimano, the one corner of Piraeus worth an evening. The Acropolis is on the skyline behind it. Photo: George E. Koronaios / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
On most Piraeus mornings a port hotel saves you 20 to 30 minutes, and out of E5 to E7 almost nothing. It costs you the evening, because outside Mikrolimano there is little reason to be in Piraeus after dark. It is still the right answer when:
- you are arriving on a late ferry after the metro has stopped, and flying out the next morning;
- a pre-dawn start with luggage is not realistic for your group, whether that means small children, limited mobility, or more bags than a metro platform can absorb;
- your sailing is very early and you would rather not spend the evening thinking about it.
If that is you, book in Piraeus and eat at Mikrolimano.
Rafina: where I send you elsewhere
Rafina from the air. The town sits directly behind the quay, which is the whole reason early sailings belong here. Photo: Hansueli Krapf / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Rafina is the second port of Athens, about 30 km from the centre on the east coast of Attica: 50 minutes to an hour by car, and roughly €40 to €50 by taxi on the meter from the centre, more for a pre-booked transfer. That drive decides everything else. The Port of Rafina publishes its own information.
| Your Rafina sailing | My advice |
|---|---|
| Before 07:00 | Sleep in Rafina the night before |
| 07:00 to 08:00 | Sleep in Rafina; the drive lands in the early rush |
| After 08:00 | Stay in central Athens, with a taxi or transfer booked the night before |
The first boats to Mykonos leave at around 07:00 to 07:45, depending on the season and the operator. An hour in the car plus the margin you would want at that hour means leaving the centre at about half past five, so for these morning sailings move out to Rafina. The Hotel Avra is about 200 metres from the quay and offers its guests a pre-arranged airport shuttle, so if you land the evening before you can go straight there and skip Athens altogether; confirm the shuttle when you book.
For a later sailing from central Athens, a taxi booked the night before or a pre-booked transfer is the reliable way to get there with luggage. Agree the price in advance.
Lavrio: the airport is closer than the city
Lavrio. Quiet, small and a long way from central Athens. Photo: FocalPoint / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Lavrio sits about 60 km from central Athens and about 35 km from the airport, roughly 45 minutes by car from the airport. The Port Authority of Lavrio has the port's own information.
The airport's €50 flat fare (€65 at night) does not cover this run; it applies only between the airport and central Athens. Lavrio is on the meter, so budget about €50 by day and up to €70 at night, and agree the price before you set off rather than at the port gate. From the city it is over an hour and costs more again.
If you are flying in for an early Lavrio sailing, go to Lavrio the night before and sleep near the port; an airport hotel can work if you land late and sail later the next day. Coming into Athens first costs you hours each way and leaves you further from the boat than when you landed. If you are already in town, allow an hour and a half in the car and leave about three hours before departure.
Flying out early from Athens airport
Start from the time you need to be at the terminal, not your flight time: two hours ahead for an international flight, ninety minutes for a domestic one. The blue line takes about 40 minutes from the centre, but the airport branch is not like the rest of the line. Airport trains start later and run only every 36 minutes, so missing one costs you more than half an hour. The first leaves Evangelismos at 05:55 and reaches the terminal at 06:35 (STASY timetable).
Most line 3 trains do not go to the airport; they turn back at Doukissis Plakentias. Board only a train showing an aeroplane symbol and Airport on the front and on the platform display. Coming the other way, the last train from the airport is around 23:30, so a slow bag after a late landing means a taxi on the flat fare instead. The Athens airport website has the current transport details.
| You need to be at the terminal | Best plan |
|---|---|
| Before about 05:30 | Airport hotel if you want to walk to the terminal, or central Athens with a taxi booked for the night |
| Between about 05:30 and 06:45 | Central Athens with a taxi booked: flat fare €50 by day, €65 from 00:00 to 05:00 (since 18 September 2026) |
| After about 06:45 | Central Athens, then the blue line: about 40 minutes, no change, €9 |
The airport hotel is the Sofitel Athens Airport, opposite the terminal and a short walk away.
Check the total before you book the airport hotel
The reason to sleep at the airport is that you can walk to the terminal, which on a 04:00 start is worth paying for. It is not automatically the cheaper option, though most people assume it is. Three things change the sum:
- The climate resilience fee. On a five-star hotel it is €15 a night from April to October (Greek City Times). Our apartments, licensed by the Greek tourism authority (EOT), charge €2 a night.
- The taxi is per car, not per person. The flat fare is €50 by day (€65 at night) for the whole car, so four people pay it once. Or €9 a head on the metro if the timing works.
- Dinner. At the airport it is at airport prices, because there is nowhere else to go.
Both sides move with the season, so run it on your own dates. If the gap is small and missing the flight is unthinkable, take the airport hotel. If the total matters more, check our dates and we will book the car.
If your dates allow it, stay two nights
One night covers a straightforward Piraeus connection. Two nights give you a day in Athens that is not organised around the ferry. It matters more on the way back: most island trips end with a flight home, and stepping off the last ferry into Piraeus is a poor moment to start looking for a room. Keep one base for both ends and there is somewhere to leave the bags on the last day. Ask about the return night when you book the outbound one; we can usually hold both.
Where we fit, and where we don't
Both apartments are a few minutes from Evangelismos on the blue line: about 25 minutes to Piraeus, or 35 to 40 minutes door to port once you have walked down and waited, and about 40 minutes to the airport, neither with a change. The neighbourhood is residential and quiet at night; the Kolonaki page tells its story and has a map. On a one-night stop, four things do the work:
- Self check-in, so a 23:00 arrival off a delayed flight does not need anyone awake.
- A kitchen, which sounds minor until you are leaving at 05:30 and nothing is open.
- A quiet residential street, because you are trying to sleep before a short night.
- We book the car. Send us the sailing and the gate.
The one-bedroom suits couples and solo travellers. The two-bedroom near Evangelismos is what I would pick for moving four people and eight bags to a ferry. Check your dates and the direct rate, or send us your ferry time, port and gate through the contact page and I will tell you what time to leave, booking or no booking.
Do not book with us if your Rafina ferry leaves before 08:00, if you are sailing from Lavrio, or if you are arriving on a late ferry after the metro has stopped. In those three cases the port or the airport is the better answer.
Where to go next
- Choosing a neighbourhood rather than a port: where to stay in Athens, and for this side of the city, where to stay in Kolonaki.
- Tickets, metro and taxis in general: getting around Athens.
- The evening before your boat: dinner within a few minutes' walk in where to eat like a local in Kolonaki, and the neighbourhood itself in our local's guide to Kolonaki.
- Planning the season: best time to visit Athens covers the August heat and the quieter months.
Last updated 11 October 2026. Photos: Jebulon / Wikimedia Commons / CC0; Cristo Vlahos, Argybz, FocalPoint and George E. Koronaios / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0; Hansueli Krapf / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0; KF / Wikimedia Commons / public domain.