3 Day Metro Pass (Athens) – The Best Way To Get Around

If you’re in coming to Athens and plan to stay for around three days, I would highly recommend you get yourself a 3 Day Metro Pass at the bus ticket stand located just outside the airport exit. I’ll explain more about where the bus ticket stand is in a short while.

This 3 day metro pass will cost you €20 and will give you the below benefits:

• Bus or metro transfer from the airport to the city centre of Athens (there are four different buses and four different end destinations from the airport by bus which I’ll come to later)
• Unlimited travel on all buses, trains, trams and even underground the underground metro.
• Return to the airport using the bus or the metro

All this lasts from the date and time you purchase your ticket, until midnight three days later. So, if you purchase the 3 day metro pass at 7PM on a Tuesday, this will expire on Friday at midnight, so you get over 72 hours worth of unlimited travelling.

If you feel that you’ll be moving around a lot and going from place to place, I would highly recommend it. From the airport to the centre of Athens, it usually costs €5.50 by bus and €10 for the metro. A return to the airport would be the same. So, if you were just to buy separate tickets for the metro or bus, it would cost €11 (by bus) and €20 (by metro). For the metro, it is a no brainer as to why the 3 day metro pass for €20 is worth it. However, for the bus, if you add €9 extra, you can use the metro, tram, buses and underground metro on an unlimited basis for three full days. With a single ticket/single trip costing €1.20, you will definitely get your moneys worth by spending that extra €9.

The bus covers a very large area whilst the metro, tram and underground metro is limited, but still covers a fairly large area.

Getting From The Airport To Your Hotel/Accommodation

For this, you have four options.

1. Bus
2. Metro
3. Pre-arranged transfers (online or via your hotel)
4. Taxi

I’m going to skip the part about taxis and pre-arranged transfers as it’s not the focus of this article.

Let’s focus on the bus and the metro

Metro

This one is simple. The metro will take you from the airport to a place called Syntagma Square and from there you will have to take another metro or taxi to get to your destination. You can also get a bus or tram to your end destination.

Bus

There are four buses that leave from the airport:

X95 – Athens Airport To Syntagma Square

This is a great place to head to as it acts as the main hub for transportation in Athens. Syntagma Square is the main city centre for Athens and is also the place which has many ancient monuments within walking distance, such as, the Acropolis and the Parthenon, the Acropolis museum, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Roman Market and more. It will take you just over an hour from the airport to Syntagma Square.

To view the timetable for the X95 bus, click here.

X96 – Athens Airport To Piraeus

This bus will take you to the Piraeus Port of Athens. It is the place to head to if you plan to take a ferry to one of the Greek Islands such as Santorini, Mykonos, Paros, Kos, Crete or Rhodes. The entire trip from the airport to the Piraeus Port will take you about 90 minutes. It’s a pretty nice drive along the coast of Athens.

To view the timetable for the X96 bus, click here.

X93 – Athens Airport To Kifisou Avenue

The X93 will take you from the airport to the Athens intercity bus station. The trip will take you about 65 minutes. This bus route is the only way to reach the intercity bus station besides taxi and it departs every 40 minutes.

To view the timetable for the X93 bus, click here.

X97 – Athens Airport To Elliniko

The X97 bus will take you from the airport to the Elliniko metro station. This is also one of the main transport hubs for getting around Athens.

To view the timetable for the X97 bus, click here.

Lastly, where should you buy tickets from?

After exiting the airport, turn right and walk down a little until you see this bus ticket stand below. From here you can purchase the 3 day metro pass and also a one way bus or metro ticket for any bus.

Below is what you’ll get if you purchase the 3 day metro pass (I think the ticket looks the same for a one way ticket also).

Lastly, remember to keep your tickets safe as they are simply small pieces of papers. Be careful, keep your tickets safe, and enjoy Athens!

Header Image Credit – https://www.welcomepickups.com/athens/airport-to-city/