Piraeus is one of the most popular Mediterranean ports receiving dozens of cruise ships all year round. Piraeus can be called “the gate to the capital of Greece”, Athens. Piraeus cruise terminal is located approximately 13 kilometers from the center of Athens, and if you do not order the transfer provided by the cruise line it won't be easy to find out how to get to Athens using public transport. I have completely come this way and am glad to provide you with step-by-step guidance on how to get from Piraeus to Athens on your own.
Piraeus Metro
The good news is that there is a direct line connecting Piraeus and the center of Athens and even the airport. The travel time to the center of the city is just 17 minutes whereas it will take about an hour to get to the airport. Thus, if you manage to get from your cruise ship to the metro station you further won’t face anything complicated. All you have to do is just take your seat, enjoy your trip, and in some 20 minutes, you will reach the place of your destination.
The main challenge is how to leave the vast Piraeus terminal and find the metro station that you need. This is what our further instructions will be devoted to.
Two metro stations are recommended to cruise travelers:
- Piraeus (Πειραιάς) is the second to last station of the blue line
- Dimotiko Theatro (ΔΗΜΟΤΙΚΟ ΘΕΑΤΡΟ) is the final station of the blue line
Keep in mind these names as you will meet them in this article later.
Piraeus Cruise Terminals
As I have already mentioned, the Piraeus cruise port is vast and consists of three cruise terminals, A, B, and C. They are located far enough from each other. To find out where exactly your cruise ship will be docked you can look through your cruise documentation. If there is no such information, you should contact your cruise agent to get to know.
If he can not help you as well, I recommend that you find the necessary cruise ship in the Cruise Ships section in the menu on our website. You can see the current location of each of the vessels. As a rule, itineraries and ports of call are repeated. If, for instance, your cruise ship enters the port on Thursdays, you should check the page where the information concerning this ship can be found that day to see on the map where exactly it is docked in Piraeus.
Map of Piraeus Passenger Terminals
So, let us look at the cruise terminals map:
How to Get from the Terminal A to the Metro
Terminal A is the closest to the city center and the metro. You can walk to the nearest metro station on foot from it.
Variant 1: On foot to Dimotiko Theatro (ΔΗΜΟΤΙΚΟ ΘΕΑΤΡΟ) metro station. It will take you about half an hour as the distance is less than 2 kilometers. You should just use
Google Maps to make a route.
Variant 2: To get to Piraeus (Πειραιάς) metro station by bus. You need to take buses No. 843 or 859. The travel time is approximately 10 minutes whereas the buses run every 10 minutes. The information on how to buy tickets can be found below in this article.
How to Get to the Metro from Terminals B and C
I decided to aggregate them into one section as they are located not far from each other in reality so the sequence of actions will be roughly the same. Terminal B will serve as an example because my cruise ship docked there.
I don’t recommend going on foot from these terminals to the metro. It is theoretically possible, of course, but in reality, it takes a lot of time and effort. After all, you have to explore Athens!
That is why it will be better to get to Piraeus (Πειραιάς) metro station by bus using routes 843 and 859. Anyway, you will have to go on foot to the bus station through the territory of the port. Terminal B is located a little bit farther, whereas terminal C is located a little bit closer. The picture below demonstrates the direction of travel from Terminal B.
You can see the station of the bus X80, which runs directly to Athens but I did not use it. If you can ask me why I’ll tell you about it later.
You have to cover a distance of about 500-700 meters to reach the exit of the port (approximately 10 minutes). The pedestrian area is very well equipped. We will pass by Terminal C.
This is what the exit from the port looks like. You should pay attention to the ticket vending machine! You will have to buy a bus ticket here. The same ticket can be used when traveling by metro. I will tell you in more detail below what ticket to choose and what its price is
This is what the ticket vending machine itself looks like (from the port entrance):
Having bought tickets you will have to walk just 200 meters more along the Akti Miaouli(Ακτή Μιαούλη) street to get to the bus station.
You need to wait for buses No.843 and 859. It will take 10 minutes to get to the Piraeus(ΣΤ.ΜΕΤΡΟ ΠΕΙΡΑΙΑΣ) metro station. Buses run every 10-15 minutes. The entrance to the metro can be found right next to the bus stop.
How to Get from Piraeus to Athens by Metro
Well, we found ourselves in the metro. You can get both to the center of Athens and the airport from the Piraeus and Dimotiko stations without changing lines. It is the same line. Thus, you should take a subway train that runs to the Airport.
If you need to go to the center of Athens, I recommend that you get off at the Monastiraki(ΜΟΝΑΣΤΗΡΑΚΙ) stop. It is the very center of the city. You can easily reach the Acropolis of Athens and other sights from here.
How to Get from the Athens Airport to Piraeus Cruise Port
Indeed, everything that I have described above, works in reverse as well. If you need to get from the airport to the cruise terminal, you have to get to the metro having chosen the line in the direction to ΔΗΜΟΤΙΚΟ ΘΕΑΤΡΟ, and follow the second to last Piraeus (Πειραιάς) stop. You can take a taxi from here or go by bus 843 or 859 to reach the terminal (as it was described above).
How to Buy Bus or Metro Tickets
Due to the single ticket (bus + metro) which is valid for 90 minutes, we can get to the center of Athens having paid just
1.20 euros! For more detailed information concerning the tickets please consult the following
website.
90 minutes is enough for the one-way trip. As I have already mentioned above, the bus trip from the farthest Terminal B to the metro station takes some 10 minutes, whereas the trip to the center of Athens by metro lasts another 17 minutes. In general, the whole way from the cruise terminal to the Monastiraki station in the center of Athens can hardly take more than one hour. And yet, on your way back to the cruise ship I strongly recommend that you reserve more time.
Using the pictures below I will demonstrate what items on the menu you should choose in the tickets vending machine to buy the 90-minute single ticket that will cost 1.20 euros.
The cost of the one-way trip to/from the Athens Airport is equal to 9 euros. Such a trip requires buying the other ticket type (Athens&Airport).
Direct Bus X80 to the Athens Center
There is also a bus running directly from Terminals B and A to the center of Athens. Its cost amounts to 4.10 euros. The bus station where it stops has been even caught by the camera and can be seen in one of the pictures above. You can ask me why I’m writing about this bus route last.
The thing is, it was not available at all when I was on my cruise! I don’t have any idea why. Perhaps, it was because I was on a cruise in the low season (in November). Perhaps, this route was canceled during the pandemic time. The fact is that it was impossible to use it.
In addition, even when this bus route was available passengers’ reviews left much to be desired. It runs slowly (as compared to the metro), whereas queues for boarding the bus are large.
Showing 1 Comments
Ikelmay
August 11, 2023
hi, is there a bus ticket machine at the exit of Terminal A? If we wanted to take a bus from there to the Metro, would we have to walk back to the Piraeus bus stop? Many thanks.