kikiv

My 24 year old daughter and a friend are landing in Athens at 8:30 AM they will have 5 hours before another friend's flight arrives then another 5-6 hours before they catch a flight to Santorini. Can any one suggest what they can do/see in that time frame? Is it feasible for them to leave their bags in a locker at the airport and use the 5 hours to see anything worthwhile. Never having been to Athens I have no idea how close the airport is to areas worth visiting or how long it would take to get there i.e. traffic.
They will have one full day in Athens on the return so they would not be expecting to see any major site on the layover.

greg

The Athens airport is in the middle of nowhere. If they take metro into Athens, there is no traffic impact on travel times. Do they have to wait for the third friend at airport? If the third friend is an experienced traveler with cellphone, is it possible to coordinate meeting in Athens near a metro station while giving the earlier 2 more time to explore the city? (Don't do this at Syntagma sq stop if there is a protest going on...)
Examine activities and open hours for both outbound and inbound visits. While they MIGHT think they can visit major sites on return leg, they may be closed on that day and they might have to hit that place on the inbound leg.
Also the open hours/days change often. I was in Athens in March and much info about hours turned out to be obsolete by the time I got there.

kikiv

Greg, thank you for your suggestions about the hours for major sites.
Can you give me an idea of how long the metro ride is into a central part of Athens?

brotherleelove2004

Pacific Travel has a "Left Luggage" facility at the far end of the Arrivals Hall near Door #1.

The Blue Line Airport Metro will take them into Athens to the Monastiraki Metro Station in 45 minutes. From there they can walk through the Plaka and have breakfast, or explore the Parthenon and the other ruins at the bottom of the Acropolis, or see the New Acropolis Museum (nice place for a meal too), or any combination of the above.

Keep in mind that by the time they collect their bags and take them to Pacific Travel, then make their way into Athens there will only be a couple of hours left before they have to head back to the airport if it's their intention to meet their friend when they arrive.

nyctraveler212

I would suggest wandering around the Plaka for a few hours. Hiking up to the Parthenon might be a bit too much and museums might be better left for a day when they are fresher (I assume they will have flown overnight without much sleep). There are small interesting sites in the Plaka area and lots of cafes and places to sit when jetlag strikes.

Heimdall

It takes about 45 minutes each way on the metro between the airport and Monastiraki Square in central Athens. Waiting for the train could add another 10-20 minutes. With the full 10 hours your daughter and her friend could e.g. walk around Plaka, have lunch, and maybe visit the Acropolis Museum.

With only 5-6 hours before the flight to Santorini the other friend won't have much time to see anything, considering they will all have to be back at the airport at least an hour before the flight to Santorini. If the first two wait for the third friend at the airport they won't have much time to do anything either.


The Aegean and Olympic check-in counters are open all day, so they should be able to check in and drop off their bags before going into Athens. If not, there is a baggage check service offered by Pacific Travel, which is located just outside the exit from Arrivals.

If I were the third friend I would encourage the other two to make the most of their day and not wait for me at the airport. Perhaps they could return to the airport a couple hours early and all have a meal or drinks together in Sofitel or one of the airport restaurants.

Heimdall

BTW, Greg was in Athens when the museums and sites were still on winter hours. ;-)

kikiv

Wow, thank you all for your recommendations, most helpful!