Returning rental car in Athens

Old May 12th, 2011, 09:31 AM
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Returning rental car in Athens

I just read the post on driving in Greece and am now reconsidering our plan to return a rental car. We will ferry from Paros to Piraeus and pick up a car at the port to drive to Nafplio for 4 nights before a stay in Athens. Economy Car Rentals gave an option of returning the car at our Athens hotel (Athens Gate).

The unpleasant descriptions of Athens traffic on the other thread have me thinking we should drop the car outside of Athens and taxi to our hotel.

Can anyone suggest a location (easy to drive to) where we can return the car? Thanks.
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Old May 12th, 2011, 11:06 AM
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Coming from Nafplio it shouldn't be difficult to drive to the Athens Gate hotel, which has a very central location and is very easy to find !! If you want i could give you some simple directions, you would only drive through 3-4 main boulevards of Athens....
As an alternative i would suggest driving to the Athens Airport, dropping off the car there, and taking the metro to Syntagma square ( blue line), changing there to the red line and getting off at the Acropolis station. From there it is only a short walk to the hotel.
Ticket is 8 Euro per person, or if you are 2 persons there is a special ticket at the price of 14euros.
Alternatively you could take a taxi from the airport, there is a flat rate of 35 euros .
Think about it, and if you want i can give you the simple instructions to the Athens Gate hotel. It would be ideal if you would be returning to Athens on a Sunday, when traffic is minimal in the centre.....
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Old May 12th, 2011, 11:37 AM
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clausar, thank you!! We will be arriving in Athens on a Friday afternoon. Do you think parking around the hotel will be a problem?

If it is not too much trouble, we would really appreciate your instructions.
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Old May 12th, 2011, 12:14 PM
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Parking around the hotel is almost impossible....
You will be on Syngrou Avenue, one of the most central avenues of the city... i am sure it will be possible to park the car infront of the hotel untill the rental company comes to pick it up.....which should be on same day you are returning it...
you will be coming from Nafplio, driving on the highway direction Athens. Simply follow the signs to the Athens Airport, which will take you to another highway, Attiki Odos, which goes straight to the airport.
Take exit number 11, Kifisias Avenue, this is the main avenue of Athens connecting the North of the city with center.
You are in Athens now, all you need is drive straight ahead...for 14 - 15km, depending on traffic it can take up to 40 minutes... name of street is Kifissias Avenue.
You will stay on that street and drive till you see the Panathenaic Stadium on your left ( where the 1896 Olympics took place).After the stadium take the first road to the right
( Vasilisis Olgas Avenue) and drive till the end ( even though it is called avenue it is 300 - 400 meters long).
At the end of the street turn to the left, voila, you are on Syngrou Avenue your hotel is only200 meters away, you can park directly infront of the hotel....)
As i told you it is very very easy to find... you are staying always on the same one street for 15 km... ( Kifisias Avenue)
Just don't be irritated by the fact that the street changes name 2 times, till you reach the Panathenaic Stadium....
First it is called Kifisias Avenue, then Vasilisis Sofias ( Queen Sofia) and finally Vasileos Konstantinou ( King Konstantin)... apart from that it is always the same Avenue...
I also called the hotel and got confirmed that you can leave the car for 1-2 hours infront of the building, till rental company picks it up, they also have a garage, if you leave the car overnight the charge will be 15 Euros.....
Hope i didn't confuse you, and that you will find Athens gate easily....
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Old May 12th, 2011, 12:58 PM
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This is wonderful information....not at all confusing and really helped us decide to stay with our original plan and drive to the hotel. It seems easier than taking a metro with our bags and certainly cheaper than taxi from the airport.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. We really appreciate it!!
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Old May 12th, 2011, 01:04 PM
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Probably no one would be confused by this but me, but just to make me feel better, I will say that IIRC on the way into Athens the exit for the airport (off the highway onto attiki odos) is signed only by the universal sign for an airport/airplane (not by its name).
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Old May 12th, 2011, 01:07 PM
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Thanks, Doh, I need all the help I can get!
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Old May 13th, 2011, 01:49 PM
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Judy,
Thanks for asking this question. We'll be staying in Athens Gate as well in September and you've asked one of the questions I've had over driving into Athens vs. airport.
Paule
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Old May 13th, 2011, 05:34 PM
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Paule, we're leaving next week, returning early June. I'll let you know how the drive went!! Thanks to clausar, I think we can do it.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2011, 08:23 AM
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Just a quick update. We found the hotel, thanks to clausar, without problem. Only issue was terror of motorbikes driven by unhelmeted drivers driving between car lanes while chatting on cell phones. We really did not want to kill any Greeks on the way. Will now find hotel bar to toast our survival!
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Old Jun 3rd, 2011, 09:11 AM
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oh Judy no worries.. they have survived greek women driving.... nothing worse could ever happen to them...lol
glad you found the hotel easily !!!!
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Old Jun 3rd, 2011, 10:53 AM
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Good to know that it was easy finding your way into Athens, notwithstanding a few driving challenges! Can't wait to hear more!
Paule
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Old Jun 4th, 2011, 06:57 AM
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Will post when home....wifi here comes and goes!
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Old Sep 9th, 2011, 01:53 PM
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Clausar, will these directions work from Delphi? We will be staying at the Athens Gate as well, and I rented from budget rental which is right next door. Would you update the directions for Delphi to Athens? Your help is much appreciated!

Many thanks!
Paule
(6 days till take off!)
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Old Sep 9th, 2011, 02:24 PM
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Coming from the Highway Lamia-Athens ( A1 or E 75) just follow the sign to the Airport via the Attiki Odos Highway. Instructions from there are exactly the same, you take the exit number 11, will find your self on a ring, take the first exit to the right, rest is as i already described.
The Athens Gate is very easy to find.....
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