Buses in Athens

See also... Athens Tram Athens Metro Athens Buses Athens Taxi Athens Airport Piraeus Port Greece Train Greece Buses

Ok, there are different routes and destinations visited on a daily basis by the buses of Athens but the bus isn’t my favorite mean of transportation since there is so much traffic on the streets of Athens that you usually have to start earlier if you want to reach your destination on time. The good thing is that choosing the bus you will have the opportunity to take a quick look at the city from the bus windows which is not the case with the metro which is quicker but underground. The truth is that you won’t probably use the bus at all unless you want to go somewhere that the train or metro doesn’t which is a bit difficult since they both a very wide coverage of the city.

Bus Tickets

You can enter a bus with the same ticket you used in metro (within 90minutes of its validation). This is because since 2009 Athens public transport means have an integrated ticket that costs 1,00 Euro (reduced fare for elders, minors and students is 0,50 Euros). Once you are on the bus you should validate your ticket by asserting it into one of the orange-colored machines used for that purpose(unless you have validated in another means of transport); the ticket will be punched and dated. Keep the ticket until you step off the bus, since it's not uncommon to have a ticket-control. There is also the 24-hour ticket sold for 3 Euros with a validity of unlimited travelling by all public transport modes (buses, trolleys, trains of Athens and metro).

Orange Buses

Apart from these buses that you will see in abundance on the streets of Athens and suburbs there are also other buses, usually orange, which will take you to the outskirts of Attiki which is like a countryside with many people having their summer houses there. The areas reached by these buses are Marathonas, Oropos, Sounio, Lavrio and Rafina, all beautiful places by the sea. From Lavrio and Rafina you will find ferries sailing to the islands. The orange buses leave from Pedion tou Areos, a square on Alexandras avenue and tickets are sold either on the bus or in booths at the bus station and they don't need to be validated. Prices vary according to destination and their bus stops are usually orange with the initials KTEL on their signs (KTEL is the bus company in Greece).

Express Buses - Buses to and from the airport

athens buses - kostas my friend working as bus driver

The express buses follow the same routes as the usual buses but they make fewer stops so they reach their destination quicker. Be careful to take the right bus, meaning the one making a stop to the location you want. The buses leaving from the airport to different destinations are also express buses.

All buses depart from the arrivals level of the main terminal between doors 4 and 5 while four bus routes connect the airport to central Athens and the port of Piraeus.

Bus Schedule from the Airport

Express Bus X93 (24-hour service)

It will take you from the airport to Kifisos Intercity/Coach Bus Station from where buses to Peloponnese, Epirus and Macedonia depart.

Time: Buses leave every 30 to 45 minutes and the duration of the whole route is 60 to 70 minutes.

Express Bus X95 (24-hour service)

It leaves every 10-20 minutes from Syntagma Square in the city centre and it reaches the airport after 60-85 minutes.

Express Bus X96 (24-hour service)

You can catch it every 20 minutes from 5:00 to 23:59 and every 40 minutes from midnight till 4:9 am from Piraeus. Estimated time to reach terminal is 90 minutes.

Express Bus X97

You will take it from the metro station of Dafni (red line 2). Estimated time of arrival to the airport is 70 minutes.

Airport Bus Ticket price: €3.20 one way.

Reduced Fare Bus Ticket for Airport: €1.60

Retail Outlets: inside the bus or at metro ticket offices

Transportation from marina zea to Athens Airport

Many people keep asking me if there is a way to reach the airport from Piraeus and more specifically from marina zea. The bus that you can take from Piraeus to reach the airport of Athens, Eleftherios Venizelos, is X96 which is an express bus.

Trolley Buses and Ticket Prices

The difference between buses and trolleys is that there aren't trolley lines for the whole Athens as is the case with bus lines and the difference in color! The trolleys are yellow and purple and you can use them with an itegrated ticket of 1 Euro or 0,50 Euros for elders, minors and students. Tickets can be purchased at special booths and kiosks near the bus stops while they have to be validated as in buses. The trolley buses' stations are usually yellow.

The trolley is a really old mean of transportation used by many people every day. These cars are connected with an electric cable to a wire system which is set on the streets at a specific height and all the trolleys move in the same axis using electricity as their fuel.