Janak626

Our flight from ATH leaves at 8 am. and we are traveling with 3 teenage children. Please recommend a "budget"hotel close to the airport so we canget there with minimum hassle for an early morning departure. thank you for your assistance.

Heimdall

Simple answer: there are none. The Sofitel is right at the airport, but expensive. You can get a deal by going to their website and making a nonrefundable reservation: http://www.sofitel.com/sofitel/session/gb/none.html. The other nearby hotel is Holiday Inn, a little cheaper, but still expensive. Other than that, it's going into Athens and making an early morning start, I'm afraid.

Janak626

thanks, Heimdall. that is what I thought. since our flight is at 8 am, and we have to be at the airport 2 hours before that, it makes sense to me to book near a metro stop so we can take it to the airport. So, do you know at what time the earliest trains....or buses...leave ATH for the airport???? How long does it take? My last question is where to stay in ATH that is "budget" or "hostel" that is close to one of those stops? thank you

Heimdall

I'll leave those questions for someone else to answer. I usually fly to and from the islands the same day as my UK flights, eliminating the need to go into Athens at all.

Last year I spent one night at the Sofitel under similar circumstances to yours. With three teenagers you would need two rooms, so I can understand why you are looking for something more reasonable.

hotnphoenix

I just returned from Athens and had a similar problem with a 7 Am flight to Zurich. Metro started at various times depending on station but typically around 5:30 AM. Cost was 6 Euro between airport and central Athens. Another cost saving option is the bus X95 that leaves from Syntagmata (spelling) square for 3.20 euro, runs 24 hours and leaves approximately every 20 minutes. Time on bus from Athens to airport is about 1 hour and drops off right in front of terminal.

TexasAggie

We stayed at the Sofitel when we had a 7am flight on SwissAir to Zurich. It was expensive but we were able to get a rate of 187.62€ per night including breakfast through Uli at Dolphin-Hellas. It looks like double rooms between July 1 and August 31 go down to 174,64€ but I know that is still high since you'd need two rooms (I'm assuming they would work with you on fitting the 3 kids into one room).

Sorry

repete

The 95 bus is convenient and reliable from Syntagma, but there's also a Holiday Inn about 10-15 minutes from the airport.

Janak626

thank you everyone. booked at the Cecil as it has been well reviewed here and says its close to the airport bus station.

Eleni

The Cecil is close to the Monastiraki Metro station which goes directly to the airport. The trains from Monastiraki to the airport run every 30 minutes on the hour and on the half hour, and it takes about 30 minutes to get to the airport. The first train of the day is, I believe, 5:30 am. (You can check out the schedules at www.ametro.gr) As someone noted, the tickets are 6 Euros each way per person, but you can also buy a ticket for two people for 10 Euros.

The airport bus, however, is not so close to the Cecil. You will need to catch the airport bus at Syntagma Square. With baggage, it is quite a walk from the Cecil to Syntagma. I'd say 12-15 blocks, depending on how you count them. If you look at this map,
http://www.athensguide.com/map/athens.htm
the Cecil is on Athinas street, roughly where it says Psyrri on the map in big letters. As you can see, Monastiraki is quite close to there. To get to Syntagma for the airport bus you will need to walk up Ermou Street to approximately where the map references the Monument of the Unknown Soldier (just a little above and to the left of where it says the National Gardens in big letters). My point is that walking from the Cecil to Syntagma for the bus would not fall into my definition of "minimum hassle."

Eleni

I should have looked at the metro schedule before i answered. According to the posted schedule, the first train from Monastiraki to the airport leaves at 5:51 am, which would mean arriving at the airport metro station around 6:20. It takes about 10 minutes to get off the metro and to the check-in desk, so this would mean you would be at the airport only 1 1/2 hours ahead of your flight, which would be cutting things kind of close.

My solution to this perennial Athens problem is to take a taxi. I have the hotel arrange it. For two of us it usually costs 20-25 Euros for a taxi arranged by the hotel. Depending on how much luggage you have, the four of you may be able to fit in one taxi and, if so, this may be the best solution for your airport transportation problem.

pbing

We just returned from Greece with our teenage daughter. We also arrived in Athens and left the next morning for Santorini. The Sofitel only allows two in a room and the price is realy too high to rent muliple rooms. We stayed in the Avra Hotel in Rafina. We took a taxi there for about 25 euros and bus back for about 2 euros each I think. The room had a king bed and single and it cost about 160 euros. It is a fishing port pretty queit with ferries that come and go. A beach is right there and places to walk around and sit on a nice porch. Good to place to recover from jet lag. It was the best deal we found and we were glad we stayed there.