Visit Athens GuideThe Cheapest Way from Athens Airport, and When It Stops Being Cheapest
Last reviewed 2026-09-01
The cheapest way from Athens airport is the X95 bus at €5.50, and for a solo traveller with time it is genuinely the answer. For two people it stops being obvious, for four it is clearly wrong, and after midnight the whole calculation changes because the taxi flat fare goes up by €15. This post works it out properly by group size, hour and length of stay. Every fare is from the airport's own pages and the OASA product list, read in Q3 2026; the wider picture is on from the airport and the Athens city guide homepage.
Quick answer The answer by group size, in one line each
Alone: the X95 bus at €5.50, or the metro at €9 if you value forty minutes. Two people: the metro at €18. Three: it is close, and luggage decides. Four: the taxi at €40, which is cheaper than four metro tickets.
Key takeaways
- The arithmetic is the point of this post, and it turns over between three and four people.
- Staying three nights or more? The ticket that changes everything is €20 and includes both airport rides.
- After midnight the taxi is €55 and the charge is set by arrival time — the midnight rule costs people €15 they did not expect.
- The bus is always the cheapest ticket and often the worst journey: what €3.50 buys is honest about it.
- None of this applies if you are heading straight to a ferry — the Piraeus exception has that case.
The arithmetic, by group size
One-way fares from aia.gr and oasa.gr, read on 1 September 2026. The taxi is a single flat fare for the car, not per person, which is what makes the table turn over.
| Travellers | X95 bus | Metro | Taxi (day) | Cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €5.50 | €9 | €40 | The bus, unless you value the hour |
| 2 | €11 | €18 | €40 | The metro |
| 3 | €16.50 | €27 | €40 | Metro on price; taxi if you have three cases |
| 4 | €22 | €36 | €40 | The taxi, for €4 and door to door |
| 2, after midnight | €11 | Metro not running | €55 | The bus, or €27.50 each in a taxi |
Read the fourth row twice. Four people on the metro is €36 in tickets plus a walk at each end with luggage; a taxi is €40 for the car, door to door, with the cases in the boot. That is €4 for a materially better journey, and it is the single most common piece of Athens arithmetic that visitors get wrong in the expensive direction.
The ticket that changes the answer
If you are staying three nights or more, stop comparing single fares.
€20 for three days and both airport rides
OASA sells a three-day tourist ticket at €20 that covers metro, bus, trolley and tram inside the city and includes two airport metro journeys. The airport return on its own is €16. So the three days of city travel cost €4, which is less than one day ticket.
When it wins
Any trip of three nights or more where you arrive and leave by metro. For two people that is €40 total against €32 for two airport returns alone — €8 for six days of unlimited city travel between you.
When it does not
A two-night trip, or a trip where you take a taxi one way. Then buy singles or use a contactless card and stop thinking about it — the historic centre is a walk and you will use the metro three or four times. Getting around has the full fare table.
The midnight rule
Fifteen euro that nobody budgets for.
What the airport publishes
The flat fare is €40 from the airport to the city-centre inner ring between 05:00 and midnight, and €55 between midnight and 05:00. Then this sentence: "The charge is determined by the time of arrival at the destination."
What that means
Not the time you got in the car. A 23:45 pickup that reaches your hotel at 00:10 is a €55 ride, and the driver quoting it is correct. If you land at eleven at night, budget €55 rather than arguing at one in the morning about a rule that is published on the airport's own site.
The alternative after midnight
The metro does not run all night. The X95 bus does, at €5.50, and takes you to Syntagma — from where most central hotels are a short walk or a €5 to €10 metered taxi. For two people that is about €15 against €55, at the cost of an hour and a half you probably do not want after a flight.
What €3.50 less actually buys
The bus is the cheapest ticket. Here is what it costs you instead.
Time
The X95 to Syntagma is timetabled at around an hour and can be ninety minutes in traffic; the metro is about forty. On arrival, after a flight, with luggage, that difference is worth more than €3.50 to most people. On departure with time to spare it is worth nothing at all — which is why the bus is a better idea going out than coming in.
Comfort
It is a city bus with luggage racks, not an airport coach. Standing with a case at rush hour is a real possibility. It runs twenty-four hours, which is its genuine advantage and the reason it is the right answer for a 02:00 landing.
The other three lines
X96 goes to Piraeus, X93 to the Kifissos and Liossion intercity coach stations and X97 to Elliniko metro, at the same €5.50. If your destination is one of those, the bus is not a compromise — it is the direct route.
So which one
If you are alone and not in a hurry
the X95 bus at €5.50. It is the cheapest ticket and it runs round the clock.
If there are two of you
the metro at €9 each. Forty minutes, no traffic, and it is still €22 less than a taxi.
If there are four of you
the taxi at €40 for the car. It is cheaper than four metro tickets and it is door to door.
If you are staying three nights or more
the €20 three-day tourist ticket, which includes both airport metro rides. The ticket that changes the answer has the arithmetic.
If you land after midnight
the X95 bus, or accept €55 in a taxi. The metro is not running. The midnight rule explains the fare.
If you are going straight to a ferry
Line 3 all the way to Piraeus, or the X96 bus. The Piraeus exception has the detail.
The Piraeus exception
If your first destination is a boat, the arithmetic is different.
Line 3 runs all the way
Metro Line 3 goes from the airport terminal through the centre and on to Piraeus "Dimotiko Theatro" without a change, for €9. That is the simplest way to reach a ferry on arrival, and it takes about seventy minutes.
Or the X96
The express bus to Piraeus runs twenty-four hours for €5.50 and takes about ninety minutes. For an early sailing after a night flight it is often the only thing moving.
And the thing to check first
Which gate. The coastal quays run for kilometres and the walk from the metro to the far end can be twenty-five minutes with luggage — the Piraeus page explains why the gate number matters more than the departure time.
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Airport cost questions
What is the cheapest way from Athens airport to the city?
The X95 express bus at €5.50 a person, running twenty-four hours. For two or more people the metro at €9 each is faster for a modest premium, and for four the taxi is actually cheaper. The arithmetic has the table.
Is the metro or the bus better from Athens airport?
The metro, for about €3.50 more and roughly half the time. The bus wins when the metro is not running, when your destination is Piraeus or a coach station, or when you are travelling alone and unhurried.
How much is a taxi from Athens airport?
€40 to the city-centre inner ring between 05:00 and midnight and €55 between midnight and 05:00 — a regulated flat fare for the car, not per person, with all surcharges included. The midnight rule explains how the time is decided.
Is the three-day transport ticket worth it?
For three nights or more, yes: €20 including two airport metro rides, when the airport return alone is €16. The ticket that changes the answer has it.
Does the metro run all night from the airport?
No. The X95 bus does, at €5.50. After midnight your choices are the bus or a €55 taxi.
Can I pay with a card?
Contactless bank cards work at metro gates and taxis take cards. For the bus, buy or load a ticket before boarding — getting around covers the payment methods.