Getting Around Athens at Night: Taxis, Metro and Safe Rides Home

Athens comes alive after dark. Dinner rarely starts before 9 pm, rooftop bars fill up late, and many flights and ferries leave in the small hours. Here is how to get around the city at night without stress.

The metro at night

On most nights the metro stops running around midnight and starts again early in the morning. Since September 2025, Athens has been running a 24-hour service on Saturday nights on some metro lines, with some tram and bus lines as well. It is a big help for a night out, but check the current schedule on the official STASY and OASA websites before you rely on it, especially for an early flight.

Yellow taxis after midnight

Licensed yellow taxis run all night. Between midnight and 5 am the meter switches to a higher night tariff, and the official fixed fare from the airport to the city centre is also higher at night. Use licensed taxis or a taxi app, check the meter is running, and agree the price before longer trips. In busy areas like Syntagma, Monastiraki and Gazi, the queue for a taxi late on a weekend can be long.

When a pre-booked driver makes sense

Early flights and ferries. A 5 am pickup for the airport or Piraeus is booked and confirmed the day before, so you are not looking for a taxi in the dark with your luggage.
Late arrivals. Your driver tracks your flight and waits in arrivals with a name sign, even if you land after midnight.
A night out in a group. One minivan for up to 6 people, a fixed price, and a ride back to your hotel or Airbnb when you are ready.
Dinner by the sea. A table in Vouliagmeni or Varkiza on the Athens Riviera is easy to reach by car and awkward by public transport late at night.

Our services between 23:30 and 06:30 carry a 20% night surcharge, and the price is still agreed in advance, per car. See our Athens taxi prices, or book a night airport taxi.

Night safety tips

Athens is generally safe at night, but keep an eye on phones and bags in crowded areas and on the metro.
Only get into licensed taxis or cars you booked yourself. Ignore unofficial drivers offering rides at the airport or port.
Keep your hotel’s address written down, in Greek if possible.
Check for public transport strikes the day before an early departure.

Weighing up a taxi against a private driver? Read our honest comparison, or ask us for a fixed price for your late-night or early-morning ride.

Athens Airport to Piraeus Port: Taxi, Metro or Bus?

Landing in Athens and heading straight to a ferry or cruise ship? Piraeus port is on the other side of the city from the airport, about 49 km by road. Here are your three options, and how to choose between them.

Option 1: Metro Line 3

The blue Line 3 runs from the airport to Piraeus. The trip takes about an hour, and airport trains run roughly every 36 minutes, so you may wait a while on the platform. The airport ticket costs €9. Piraeus metro station faces the central ferry gates (E6 and E7 are the closest), but the far gates and the cruise terminals are a long walk away with luggage.

Best for: light travellers with time to spare, ferries leaving from the gates near the metro.

Option 2: X96 express bus

The X96 runs between the airport and Piraeus around the clock, with tickets at about €5.50. It is the cheapest option, but expect around 90 minutes on the road, and buses can be full in summer.

Best for: budget travellers, night arrivals when the metro is not running.

Option 3: Taxi or private transfer

By car, the drive usually takes about an hour, longer at rush hour. A yellow taxi to Piraeus is not a fixed fare: the meter runs, and the price depends on time of day and traffic, plus motorway tolls.

With a pre-booked Piraeus port taxi, you know the price before you land: €95 per car for 1 to 3 people, €110 for a minivan (4 to 6) and €160 for a minibus (7 to 10), with luggage, VAT and tolls included. Your driver meets you in arrivals with a name sign, tracks your flight, and drops you at the right gate or cruise terminal, not just “the port”.

Best for: families and groups, heavy luggage, tight connections, cruise passengers.

How much time to leave

After an international flight, give yourself at least 5 hours between landing and your ferry’s departure. That covers a late flight, passport control, baggage reclaim and the drive. Piraeus is big, and ferries leave from numbered gates spread over several kilometres, so check your gate the evening before. Not sure Piraeus is even the right port? Read Rafina, Piraeus or Lavrion: which Athens ferry port to use.

Quick comparison

Option	Time	Price	Door to gate?
Metro Line 3	About 1 hour	€9 per person	No
X96 bus	About 90 minutes	About €5.50 per person	No
Yellow taxi	About 1 hour	Metered, plus tolls	Usually
Our Piraeus port taxi	About 1 hour	€95 per car, all included	Yes

Public transport prices and timetables change, so check the official OASA and STASY websites before you travel.

Want it sorted before you fly? Send us your flight and ferry details and we will confirm a fixed price.

Athens Taxi or Private Driver? An Honest Comparison

We are a private driver company, so you might expect us to say a private driver is always better. It is not. Sometimes a regular yellow taxi is the right choice. Here is an honest comparison to help you decide.

Price

For a simple ride, a yellow taxi is cheaper. From Athens airport, licensed taxis charge an official fixed fare to the city centre (inside the inner ring): €50 by day and €65 at night, following the increase published in September 2026. Fares outside that zone, and most city rides, run on the meter.

Our airport taxi to the city centre costs €85 per car for 1 to 3 people. The difference pays for the things listed below. If you are travelling light, alone, and arriving at a quiet time, a yellow taxi may simply be the better deal.

What a private driver adds

Meet and greet. Your driver waits in arrivals with your name on a sign. No queue at the taxi rank, which can be long in summer.
Your flight is monitored. If you land late, your driver is still there. We wait up to 1 hour free of charge.
A fixed price agreed in advance, per car, with luggage, VAT and tolls included. No meter, no surprises, including to Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrion ports.
The right vehicle. Black Mercedes cars, minivans for 4 to 6 people and minibuses for 7 to 10. A family with suitcases rarely fits in one yellow taxi.
Child seats are free on request.
An English-speaking local driver who can suggest where to eat, what to skip and how to beat the crowds.

When a yellow taxi makes sense

Short rides around the centre, for example from Syntagma to Kolonaki.
Solo travellers with hand luggage.
Spontaneous trips when you did not plan ahead.

Use a licensed taxi, check the meter is running on metered trips, and agree the price before you set off on longer journeys.

When a private driver is worth it

Arriving late at night, with children, or with a lot of luggage.
Groups of 4 or more, where one minivan replaces two taxis.
Catching a ferry or a cruise ship, when being on time really matters.
Sightseeing: a driver who waits while you visit, then takes you to the next stop. See our Athens taxi tours.
Hourly hire for meetings, shopping or several stops in one day.

Good to know

A 20% night surcharge applies to our services between 23:30 and 06:30. We accept all major cards except American Express. Our drivers are drivers, not licensed guides: licensed guides are optional, available upon request for an additional fee, and subject to availability.

See all our Athens taxi prices, or tell us your plans and we will reply with a fixed price for your car and driver.

Rafina, Piraeus or Lavrion? Which Athens Ferry Port to Use

Many visitors assume every ferry leaves from Piraeus. In fact Athens has three passenger ports, and picking the right one can save you an hour on the road or a missed boat. Here is how we explain it to our guests.

Piraeus: the biggest choice

Piraeus is Greece’s main port, with ferries to almost everywhere: the Cyclades (Syros, Paros, Naxos, Mykonos, Tinos, Ios, Santorini), Crete (Heraklion and Chania), the Dodecanese (Rhodes, Kos), the Saronic islands (Aegina, Poros, Hydra, Spetses) and the eastern Aegean (Chios, Lesvos, Ikaria, Samos). It has the most sailings and the best back-up options if a boat is cancelled.

One thing to know: Piraeus is huge. Ferries leave from numbered gates (E1 to E10) spread over several kilometres, and walking from one end to the other can take 30 to 45 minutes. Gate assignments change, so check your ticket or the ferry company’s app the evening before, and give your driver the gate number so you are dropped right at your ship. See our Piraeus port taxi prices.

Rafina: the shortcut to Mykonos, Tinos and Andros

Rafina is a small, friendly port on the east coast, about 16 km from Athens airport, a drive of roughly 25 to 30 minutes. It is the strongest choice for Andros, Tinos and Mykonos, with seasonal sailings on to Paros, Naxos, Ios and Santorini. Crossings to Mykonos are often shorter than from Piraeus, which is why many travellers fly in and head straight to Rafina.

The catch: Rafina has no metro, and in strong summer winds (the meltemi) its fast ferries are usually the first to be cancelled.

Lavrion: for Kea and Kythnos

Lavrion lies near Cape Sounion, about 35 km from the airport. It is the main gateway to Kea (about an hour’s crossing) and Kythnos, with some sailings to other islands depending on the season. Choose Lavrion because it has the ferry you need, not because it looks close on the map.

How to choose, in one minute

Going to Mykonos, Tinos or Andros straight from the airport? Look at Rafina first.
Going to Crete, Rhodes, Santorini, the Saronic islands or the eastern Aegean? Piraeus.
Going to Kea or Kythnos? Lavrion.
Staying in central Athens first? Piraeus is usually the easiest.

Leave enough time

After an international flight, allow at least 4 hours between landing and a ferry from Rafina, and at least 5 hours for Piraeus or Lavrion. Flights run late, luggage takes time, and ferries do not wait.

Getting to the port without stress

We drive guests to all three ports every day, from the airport, your hotel or your Airbnb. Prices are fixed and per car, with luggage, VAT and tolls included: from Athens airport it is €85 to Rafina or Lavrion and €95 to Piraeus for 1 to 3 people, with minivans and minibuses for bigger groups. See all Rafina and Lavrion port taxi details or ask us for a quote.

Piraeus Cruise Port to the Acropolis: Taxi, Metro and Timing Tips

Your ship docks in Piraeus, the Acropolis is about 10 km away, and you have one day. The good news: with a little planning, that is plenty of time to see the Parthenon, walk through Plaka and be back on board without stress. Here is what we tell our own cruise guests every week.

Which cruise terminal will you arrive at?

Piraeus has three cruise terminals, all close to each other at the southern end of the port:

Terminal A (Miaoulis), gate E11: the closest to the metro, roughly a 15-minute walk.
Terminal B (Themistocles) and Terminal C (Alkimos), gate E12: about a 30-minute walk to the metro.

If your ship ties up further out, a free port shuttle takes you to the terminal building. Your cruise line will tell you the terminal the day before; if you book a Piraeus port taxi with us, just send us your ship’s name and we will find you.

Taxi or metro to the Acropolis?

By car, the drive from the cruise terminals to the Acropolis usually takes 20 to 45 minutes, depending on traffic. A pre-booked driver waits for you at the terminal, drops you right at the entrance and picks you up again, so you never have to walk the length of the port or look for a taxi rank.

By metro, walk to Piraeus station and take Line 1 (green) to Monastiraki, about 17 minutes, then walk 10 to 15 minutes uphill to the Acropolis. Alternatively, take Line 3 (blue) to Syntagma and change to Line 2 for one stop to Akropoli. It is cheap, but with the walk from the terminal, the trip usually takes 45 to 60 minutes each way, and the metro can be crowded on busy cruise days.

How much time do you really have?

A simple rule of thumb: you can usually leave the ship about 30 minutes after docking, and you should be back at least an hour before departure. Allow about 75 minutes to get back from the Acropolis area by public transport, less with a driver. So a 10-hour call gives you around 7 useful hours in Athens; an 8-hour call, around 5.

Book your Acropolis ticket before you sail

Entry to the Acropolis is by timed slot, and the morning slots sell out first on cruise days. Book on the official ticket website before your trip and choose a slot about 90 minutes after your expected arrival time. Check the official site for opening hours and closure days, and note that on very hot summer days the site can close in the early afternoon.

A relaxed cruise day by private driver

Our Athens Acropolis sightseeing tour was designed for cruise guests: 5 hours, pickup at your ship, a stop at the Acropolis and Parthenon, then the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Panathenaic Stadium, Lycabettus Hill, the Changing of the Guard and time in Plaka, all with your own English-speaking driver in a Mercedes. The price is per car, not per person, and we bring you back to the ship with time to spare. Licensed guides are optional, available upon request for an additional fee, and subject to availability.

Quick tips

Wear comfortable shoes: the Acropolis rock is uneven and slippery marble.
Carry water and sun protection from April to October.
Check for public transport strikes on the morning you dock.
Keep your ship’s all-aboard time and the port agent’s phone number with you.

Want your cruise day planned for you? Send us your ship and date and we will reply with a fixed price for your car and driver.