Athens Airport: Navigation, Transfers & Services

Most travelers begin their journey to Ikaria with a flight to Athens. To ensure your transfer goes smoothly, here are the most important tips for getting from the airport to the ferry.

Athens International Airport is modern, easy to navigate, and well-organized. Luggage storage, currency exchange, and bus and metro connections to the city or the port are easy to find. If you land late or need to continue your journey early, it’s worth staying overnight near the airport. That way, you can start your trip to Ikaria feeling relaxed.

👉 Here you’ll find all the tips for Athens Airport

👉 The best hotels near Athens Airport

Stopover in Athens: Always worth it!

Athens is a cool global metropolis. It’s definitely worth a visit! There’s so much to discover: culture, cuisine, and a lively atmosphere make the city a highlight.

👉 Get to the center quickly by bus or metro

👉 My hotel recommendations for Athens

👉 Tips for your stopover in Athens

Transfer to the Port of Piraeus

From the airport, there is a direct express bus (X 96) that goes all the way to Piraeus. Travel time is about 1 hour, provided you don’t get stuck in rush-hour traffic. I always allow at least 2 hours, since the bus only leaves the airport every 30 minutes.

You can also take the metro to Piraeus, but it’s a bit more expensive, and you’ll have to transfer at Syntagma with all your luggage. The upside: no risk of traffic jams. For even more convenience, take a yellow taxi from the airport.

Ships traveling to and from Ikaria usually dock at Gate E1. (Subject to change!) There’s a small shuttle bus running between the Piraeus metro station and the gate. There’s also a taxi stand right by the ship if you want to head into town or to your hotel upon arrival from Ikaria.

A boat trip to Ikaria has its own unique charm: the arrival of the large ferries, the apparent chaos of loading and unloading—and yet everything runs like clockwork.

Once you arrive in Evdilos (north) or Agios Kyrikos (south), you’ll be greeted by a peaceful harbor and that distinctive Ikaria scent.

The crossing from Piraeus takes about 7–9 hours.

In the summer and on holidays, you should book early—especially if you’re traveling with a car or in a cabin—and board the ferry on time.

👉 Check Ferryhopper for current schedules and tickets

In summer there are various inexpensive charter planes that fly directly to Samos. From there it’s only a three-hour ferry ride to Ikaria.

For more information about timetables and ticket costs: Hellenic Seaways

If the weather is good, a smaller ship also sails: timetable Panagia Theotokou from Karlovassi Samos via Fournoi to Agios Kyrikos. If you want to stay overnight nearby, I recommend the Evon’s Rooms in Faros.

On Samos the plane arrives outside Pythagorion. At Pythagorion airport you can now take the more expensive taxi (€20, I think) or the bus (€2!!). The bus stops at the airport a little to the right of the taxi rank.

Depending on the time, you could look at Pythagorion, have a leisurely meal at the small harbor, stroll around and then take the bus from Pythagorion to Vathi or Karlovassi. The bus ride is very Greek, very scenic and doesn’t take that long.

The bus stops in Samosstadt (Vathi) at a very nice kafenion, with bus information, lots of students leaving from there and delicious yogurt with fruit. In Vathi there is a beautiful little church right above the ferry port and a shady park behind the bus stop. (Info from my dear friend Kirsten). You can find out what else is worth doing in Samos in this travel guide.

If you want to enjoy a few days in Samos

Then I recommend the cozy Hotel Remezzo in Pythagotion. This selection of travel guides about Samos on Amazon offers you good reading and you can also get a good map for your trips.

You could also combine a week’s hiking holiday in Samos with your Ikaria holiday.

Dodekanissos Seaway sails Agios Kyrikos from May to September! This makes island hopping child’s play. You can now fly to Samos or Kos and from there come over to us on the super-fast speedboat! Suddenly, years of insurmountable distances have become very close! :-) I have written down ideas and tips here.

I also find traveling via Mykonos an interesting option. Most charter airlines fly to the island from a variety of destinations. For a cheap flight, it’s best to consult the flight search engine Momondo. With one click you can see which flight is the cheapest, the fastest or the best combination of both on which day.