OverIt

Hi there,

We are traveling from Naxos to Athens (Piraeus or Rafina) on Sept 2 and need to take an 8 AM flight out of Athens on Sept 3 (Sunday).

We were thinking to stay at a place near the airport, but its seems like it will cost a lot to get from Piraeus to the hotel (50 euros) and then from the hotel to the airport (20 euros). Last year, the metro was messed up when we tried to get from Piraeus to Athens central (I think we ended up taking cab).

Would it be better to stay by Piraeus and just get up at 5 AM or whatever to head to the airport?

Any suggestions on a middle ground? Somewhere between Piraeus and the airport?

Looking forward to your advice.

neckervd

The metro runs again this year, but starts to run at 5.30am only, way too late for your flight.
The train might work: Piraeus dp 4.45 - Airport ar 5.58. But there is a much better solution:
Go by FB Ekaterini from Naxos (dp 15.30) to Rafina (ar 21.30), sleep in Hotel Avra, a few steps from the boat's pier, and reach the airport the following morning by free hotel shuttle.
Departure every hr from 3am onwards, journey time 20 min..

Elizabeth_S

Last month we stayed at hotel Avra in Rafina before our morning departure from the airport. It was quite reasonable (114E). That included a really generous breakfast buffet and free airport shuttle. We had a room facing the sea and there were a lot of cute restaurants around the ferry terminal. Highly recommended.

ETA I should have read the other answer but at least now you have two in agreement about Hotel Avra!

Heimdall

I’ve stayed at Hotel Avra a couple of times before early morning ferry departures. It’s a nice hotel, and the free shuttle to the airport the next morning makes it a good choice if you have a ferry from Naxos to Rafina.

Were I to take a ferry to Piraeus and have a next morning 8am flight I would stay at the airport Sofitel. I’ve done that a couple of times myself as well, and love the idea of walking across the street to the terminal and be at the check-in counter in 5 minutes. That extra hour or two of sleep is golden, and to me worth the higher prices.

MichGuy

We had a hard time finding a hotel in Priaeus that suited us when we were using ferries. So, when we finished our trip on Santorini, we flew back to Athens and spent the night near the airport before our flight home. We stayed in the Holiday Inn Athens Airport. It's right on the bus line that runs from the bus plaza in Athens out to the airport and only one stop from the airport. Sorry but I can't remember the bus line number. We rode the bus back into Athens for dinner and then to the airport in the morning for our flight. Cost just a few Euros. You should be able to get a train from Piraeus to Athens (45 minutes) and then the bus to the airport hotel (30 minutes). I recommend doing something like that rather than trying to go from Piraeus to the airport in the morning.

MichGuy

We had a hard time finding a hotel in Priaeus that suited us when we were using ferries. So, when we finished our trip on Santorini, we flew back to Athens and spent the night near the airport before our flight home. We stayed in the Holiday Inn Athens Airport. It's right on the bus line that runs from the bus plaza in Athens out to the airport and only one stop from the airport. Sorry but I can't remember the bus line number. We rode the bus back into Athens for dinner and then to the airport in the morning for our flight. Cost just a few Euros. You should be able to get a train from Piraeus to Athens (45 minutes) and then the bus to the airport hotel (30 minutes). I recommend doing something like that rather than trying to go from Piraeus to the airport in the morning.

neckervd

There's nothing easier than to find a good hotel at Piraeus:
Port Square Hotel, Loudovikou Street 6; just in front of the metro station and a few steps from the railway station, the taxi stand and the public shuttles to the different boat piers.

OverIt

Thanks for the suggestions!

I looked at Avra, and it looks delightful, but its 214 euro for us (we are a family of four) the ferry choices to Rafina are less than ideal. Either take an expensive fast ferry and arrive around 3 PM or take the slow one and arrive at 9:30 PM. By the time we get off, it will be 10, 10:30, and then we have to get up at 5-6 AM to go to the airport. So we wouldn't really get to have to breakfast. The free shuttle might make up for it though! But 214 euro is a lot for a crash pad. It seems like the best option for s,

I'll look at Port Square Hotel, but I don't remember the metro station being all that atmospheric. If I recall correctly, the airport is quite far from Piraeus, so we'll have to get up much earlier.

The Sofitel Athens is 400 euros for a family of four, which is too much for us.

OverIt

It seems like the Naxos-Rafina Fast Ferry at around 11 AM will be only 212 euros for the four of us. Not too bad. It looks like that option + Hotel Avra is going to be the winning one.

OverIt

Yikes - Hotel Avra might be a good choice but I tried to make a reservation with them this morning using their booking site "reservations.com," and they charged me $300 for a room (220 + 60 in taxes and fees + $20 "booking charge"_and say it's nonrefundable!!! I called them and they said I can cancel the room but I will not get my money back unless they can get the hotel to agree to let me cancel. I called them one minute after I made a booking for September! I understand why they want to make the reservations nonrefundable but they should make it more obvious!

I went back and read the fine, fine, fine print in "terms and conditions," and yes, those are the conditions, but they should say somewhere upfront that you will be charged the full amount and it's nonrefundable (booking.com does this). Now I have to wait 7-10 business days for this to get sorted (eye roll).

I'm wondering if it just makes more sense to take a fast ferry into Athens and stay somewhere central, enjoy the evening (we love Athens) and then just take a taxi to the airport in the AM. . . .

OverIt

Before you tell me I should have booked directly with the hotel, please know that I did that. They use a site "reservations.com" in which they show you the base price (220 euros) then when you put in your credit card to reserve, come back with the total amount and say it's nonrefundable.

Going forward, I am using booking.com!!!

BethHar

We are booked at Avra for night between Crete and flying out of Athens. We booked through booking.com for $315.00 for two rooms end of June, booked about a month ago.

Elizabeth_S

I just checked their website booking and it doesn't seem to go through reservations.com --- although the link just above Hotel Avra in the Google search is to reservations.com. Also the Hotel Avra charges are much lower (I did a couple of fake booking requests) and don't include those fees you mention. Also the non-cancellable rate is very clearly displayed.

Hopefully reservations.com will let you cancel and you can rebook on the Hotel Avra website.

I had a similar thing happen earlier this year when I was desperately trying to book an airport hotel in Vienna (I was at the airport as my flight was canceled due to weather). I mistook reservations.com for the hotel's booking site and paid the premium. Ugh.