By land, there are road connections from Turkey,
Bulgaria, Albania and Macedonia. There are also trains
from Macedonia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey. Travelling
to Greece on an Inter-rail or Eurail pass does not necessarily
entail travel through Macedonia, however, as the ferry-crossing
from Italy is often included in the ticket.
Greece
has 16 international airports and has air links
to every major city in Europe. In addition, there are
direct flights to and from the USA, Canada, Australia
and various Asian cities. There are also frequent flights
to/from Istanbul and Sofia. Cheap charter flights are
available from London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris
to Athens, Thessaloniki and some of the islands. However,
conditions apply; if you take a side trip to Turkey you
may not be allowed to use the return portion of your charter-flight
ticket.
Perhaps the cheapest fares are offered from Easyjet
which flies from Luton Airport, England to the new Spata
Airport (Airport Eleutherios Venizelos).
Situated 27 kilometres north-east of central Athens,
access to the airport is via Attiki Odos, a six-lane ring
road. As this is only partially completed, however, a
large part of the journey is through smaller roads. Average
journey times vary from 40 to 90 minutes and there is
a €0.24 toll to enter Attiki Odos
Parking at the airport is situated within easy
reach of the terminal building, with a frequent shuttle
bus service in operation.
Taxi fares for the airport are charged at the
regular rate of €0.24/km but with a €1.17
starting fare, €0.30 for luggage and €1.00
for the Attiki Odos toll. The average cost of a taxi
ride from central Athens to the airport is around €15.Taxis
are available at the taxi rank immediately outside the
Terminal, 24 hours a day.
Two express buses serve the airport on a 24-hour
basis, the E95 departing from Syntagma Square in central
Athens every 25 minutes and the E96 departing from Karaiskaki
Square near Piraeus port every 20-40 minutes.
A third express bus, the E94, runs from the
Ethniki Amyna metro station to the airport every 16
minutes from 6am till midnight. The €2.94 ticket
is valid for ONE journey to or from the airport and
unlimited journeys on Athens buses, trains, trolleys
and metro for the rest of the day.
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