How To Get From Athens to Mykonos

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Written By: Pavlos

You basically have 2 ways to get from Athens to Mykonos: by ferry or by plane. I am explaining below where you can find the timetables for the Mykonos ferries and what flights you can take from Athens.

Honestly, the absolute Best Way to get from Athens to Mykonos is by taking a 45 mins flight from Athens Airport (El. Venizelos airport).

The ferry from Athens to Mykonos takes around from 2.5 hrs to 4 hrs (depending on which ferry boat you take) and it’s also not a bad option. 

GOOD TO KNOW: The ferries to Mykonos that depart from Rafina Port (Google Maps) in Athens are much faster and there are more available ferries during the day to Mykonos than from Piraeus port.

  • Direct Ferries is the largest and most safe website in Greece to book your ferry tickets from Athens to Mykonos (and other greek islands) but you can also use it just for checking timetables and prices between Athens and all greek islands
  • Expedia has all the available options for flights from Athens to Mykonos (JMK is Mykonos’s airport code) with all possible airlines (Aegean, Ryanair, Volotea, TUI, Olympic etc)

READ ALSO: 
Athens to Santorini (ferries, flights and schedules)
Santorini to Mykonos (ferries, flights and schedules)
Best Greek Islands Near Athens

ON THIS PAGE:

Keep reading…

VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW

  • You basically have 2 options of getting from Athens to Mykonos: by ferry or by plane.

  • Best way To get From Athens to Mykonos: By Plane (45mins) especially if you are visiting Mykonos for 2-3 days only because it’s simply faster; the ferry is still worth looking though as it’s roughly 3 hrs from Rafina port and it is not taking as long as the ferry to Santorini for example

  • Athens has 2 ports with ferries to Mykonos: Piraeus (or Pireas – PIR) and Rafina (RAF). Piraeus is the largest port with more ferry options in general but Rafina is closer to the Athens Airport (El.Venizelos) and it has more available ferries for Mykonos; you should choose Rafina port if you decide to take the ferry to Mykonos

  • Between April-October there are more than 4 ferries a day from Athens to Mykonos (from Piraeus port) and 9 ferries a day from Athens to Mykonos (from Rafina port) ; there are far less ferry options in the winter (November-March) 

  • How long is the ferry ride from Athens to Mykonos: it varies from 2hrs (fast-Seajet Ferry) to 4 hrs (slow-Blue Star Ferry) 

  • How much does it cost to take a ferry from Athens to Mykonos: the slowest ferry (Blue Star) costs 40 euros and the fast ferry (Seajet Ferries) can cost up to 80 euros

  • You can book your ferry online but you always have to get the ticket printout from the ferry kiosk in Piraeus/Rafina port or any other greek travel agency (it’s the greek law) – AKTINA TRAVEL AGENCY is in Athens Airport

  • Best Way to go from Athens Airport to Athens main port (Piraeus) to take any ferry is by taking the Athens Airport Bus X96 (X96 Bus Route – X96 Bus runs every 20-30 mins) – X96 Bus ticket costs 6 euros (adult) and 3 euros (kids) or buy an ATH.ENA Card

  • Best Way to go from Athens Airport to Rafina Port is by taking another bus (called KTEL) that runs every 1 hr from the Airport.

  • Direct International Flights from Athens to Mykonos: only from major european cities and only between April-OctoberSantorini’s Airport Code: JMK

Ok, so let’s see all the available options:

1. Athens to Mykonos by plane

Flying to Mykonos (45mins on the air) is the best thing you can do (especially if you are only visiting Mykonos for 2-3 days)

Taking a flight to Mykonos is the fastest and usually the most expensive option.

But it’s really worth it in my opinion as you won’t be wasting time on the ferries (yes, the ferry is still pretty quick to be honest and you can be in Mykonos in under 3 hrs if you take the fast ferry) but still the plane will be faster and more convenient overall.

The best and cheapest website to book or search for flights from Athens to Mykonos is Expedia as it has all the available options (including the low-cost european airlines like Ryanair).

Aegean Air is the best greek airline that can take you to Mykonos. This is an Aegean plane on Mykonos aiport.

A few useful info to have in mind when booking your flight to Mykonos:

  • Mykonos’ Aiport website
  • Athens Airport Code is : ATH  (Athens)
  • Santorini’s Airport Code is: JMK
  • Every plane that lands on Mykonos, takes off after 40 minutes to fly back to Athens.
  • The exact times of the flights change and they are not the same throughout the year, so make sure you get the right times from Expedia as it will give you all the available flights immediately.
  • There are more flights from Athens to Mykonos between April – October (high season)
  • If you book your tickets well in advance (6 months) you could probably find some very good deals with return tickets.
  • The cost of the flight from Athens to Mykonos may come up to 200 euros (return) during the high season (April-October) 

The airlines that fly from Athens to Santorini in 2019 (April-October) are:

PROs OF FLYING FROM ATHENS TO MYKONOS:

  • So much faster than the ferry (30-40 mins on the air)…you can literally save half a day and spend it on Mykonos instead

  • If you have just landed at the Athens airport you can just wait there till your connection flight to Mykonos departs (Athens Airport is not very big but leave at least 2 hrs between the 2 flights otherwise it is going to be very risky and tight)

CONs OF FLYING FROM ATHENS TO MYKONOS:

  • It can be much more expensive

  • The flight times to Mykonos may not be convenient and you might have to spend some boring hours at the Athens airport

  • You don’t get to see any other Greek islands ( you can at least get a glimpse of them by taking the ferry which is like a mini cruise in a way…see below)

The airlines that usually fly directly to Mykonos from major European cities (April-October) are:

ARRIVING AT AND DEPARTING FROM MYKONOS AIRPORT:

Mykonos’ aiport is better and bigger than Santorini’s but it can feel chaotic during the hot summer season…

Mykonos’ airport is small (but better and bigger than Santorini airport) and it can become very crowded during the high season (especially in July and August). There are plenty of car rental options at the Mykonos airport but it is always wise to book well in advance.

The best website to rent a car for Mykonos and greek islands is Rentalcars.com .

Waiting for your luggage at Mykonos aiport is not too bad

There are also many taxis waiting for you at the airport along with the Mykonos local bus.

There are taxis and local buses outside of Mykonos airport

A taxi from the Airport to Mykonos Town would cost you 30 euros and in general to all other directions shouldn’t charge you more than 40 euros (the furthest beaches are Fokos and Lia beach).

2. Athens to Mykonos by ferry 

There is a slow and a quick ferry from Athens to Mykonos

Going to Mykonos by ferry is the second option you have and it can be a very good choice if you don’t like flying or you don’t want to pay the extra money for the flight, 

A few important things to know about the ferries from Athens to Mykonos:

  • You have 2 ports to chose for your departure from Athens to Mykonos: Piraeus port or Rafina port. Rafina port has more ferries to Mykonos (but less for Santorini where Piraeus has more available ferries every day)
  • The slow ferry from Athens (Rafina) to Mykonos takes approx. 4 hours to arrive (Blue Star Ferries) – check timetables here
  • The quick ferry from Athens (Rafina to Mykonos) takes 2.5 hours to arrive (Seajets, Golden Star Ferries) – check timetables here
  • Slow Ferry ticket to Mykonos costs ~40 euros (depending on the seat you chose)
  • Fast Ferry ticket to Mykonos costs ~70-80 euros (depending on the seat you chose)

FERRY OPTIONS FROM ATHENS TO MYKONOS

Before deciding which ferry to take (and also to check timetables and prices for all ferries) you should head over to Direct Ferries and simply put your desirable dates.

You basically have the following options for ferry boats from Athens to Santorini:

Let’s see all the available options in more detail:

BLUE STAR FERRIES:

Blue Star Ferries are the largest but slowest ferries from Athens to Mykonos and they only depart from Piraeus port twice a day during the high season

Bluestar Ferries are the biggest you can take to go to Mykonos and are the most stable but also the slowest (4 hours to arrive)

No matter how bumpy or windy it is, you won’t feel much with these ones.

The Blue Star Ferries from Athens to Mykonos, visit other islands before they arrive at Mykonos which can give you a very good glimpse of some other greek islands too (Syros, Paros , Naxos, Ios).

You don’t get to see much but it’s nice to feel like you are on a small cruise!

The best way to check for the available Blue Star Ferry times schedule is to visit the Direct Ferries website.

They run all 365 days per year and there are basically 2 ferries per day from Piraeus port to Mykonos: one in the early morning and one in the afternoon.

Check the exact timetables on Direct Ferries .

Where can you book Blue Star ferry tickets from Athens to Mykonos?

You don’t really have to book the ferry tickets in advance or online. There is no need for that because they rarely sell out. But…you can always book them online (just to be sure) on the Direct Ferries website (even if you don’t book them there, you can always check the timetables of the ferries on the dates you want to travel)

BE CAREFUL THOUGH:

According to the greek law the tickets have to be printed out only by certified travel agencies or the Ferry companies , so even if you book it online you have to visit a travel agent or the kiosk at the ferry port to take the print outs anyways (not a big deal..everyone is doing that anyways).

How much the Blue Star Ferry ticket cost?

The cheapest ticket for the Blue Star ferry costs 40 euros (no reserved seat)  but it’s highly advisable to get an airport style seat which will cost you 50 euros per person. A cabin is not really required (it’s just 4 hours) and you can go outside while the ferry is sailing.

BUT FOR THE LATEST PRICES ALWAYS CHECK THE  Direct Ferries WEBSITE.

SEAJET FERRIES:

Seajet Ferries are smaller and faster to take you to Mykonos but they are also more expensive and they are closed (you cannot go outside – they are like an airplane inside)

Seajet Ferries are less stable and that is because they are faster to take you to Santorini.

On average there are 4 Seajets Ferries on a daily basis from Rafina to Mykonos and 1 from Piraeus port during the high season and they take about 2.5 hours to take you to Mykonos.

You don’t have the option to go outside if you board the Seajet Ferries as they are closed-type ferry boats (like a catamaran).

Also, bear in mind that these are most highly to get cancelled depending on the weather conditions (very unlikely from June-September but it’s always a possibility).

Check the exact timetables on Direct Ferries .

Where can you book Seajet ferry tickets from Athens to Mykonos?

These tickets do sell out as there is a limited number of seats on these ferries. The best thing you can do is to book them online in advance on Direct Ferries website.

You would still have to get the printout from the ferry kiosk outside of the ferry before departing (so make sure you arrive there early enough).

How much the Seajet Ferry ticket cost?

The cheapest ticket for the Seajet Ferry cost about 40 euros but depending on the time and the ferry you choose the ticket might cost you up to 60 euros (one way) There are no cabins on these ferries.

BUT FOR THE LATEST PRICES ALWAYS CHECK THE  Direct Ferries WEBSITE.

HOW TO GET FROM ATHENS AIRPORT TO PIRAEUS PORT

X96 is the Athens bus that will take you from Athens Airport to Piraeus ferry port

The easiest and cheapest option to get to Athens ferry port called Piraeus is by taking the bus X96 that stops just outside of the Athens airport.

X96 bus takes between 50 mins to 80 mins (depending on the traffic) to go to the Athens ferry port (Piraeus) and the X96 bus route to Piraeus ferry port is the following:

This is how to get from the Athens Aiport Exit to the X96 and X95 bus stops just outside of the airport:

Mykonos Ferries depart from E7 Port Gate so you have to stop at the bus station : STATION ISAP (which is also a metro station).

Or in greek : ΣΤΑΘΜΟΣ ΗΣΑΠ

In case you feel lost you can just ask the bus driver (they always speak english if you speak with a very clear accent like an italian mafioso in a away…:) )

But in reality you will find some brand new GPS screens showing you where you actually are:

There are GPS screens showing you where you are on the X96 Athens bus

The X96 bus runs 24/7 and there is a bus every 30 mins roughly (in Greece time runs in a very strange way…so never expect something to be on time…that’s just a small tip from greeks…you’d better get used to that unfortunately).

But there is a X96 bus every 20-30 minutes, so there will be one for you too!

There are screens outside of the Athens Airport that will tell you when is the next X95 or X96 Athens bus (roughly every 20-30mins)

Click here to see all the stops of X96 Bus (from Athens Airport to Piraeus Ferry port to Santorini) and the timetables

For the X96 bus, you have to buy tickets from a kiosk which is just outside of the bus stop (and also just outside of the airport, just follow the “Bus” signs in the airport).

For adults the Athens bus ticket (called “ATH.ENA) costs 6 euros and for kids (under 6) it costs 3 euros.

The Athens Bus Ticket for X96 Bus (and X95 bus that goes to the center of Athens – Syntagma Square)
Validate your tickets once inside the X96 bus and you can actually use the same ticket for 90 mins

You can also take a taxi from the Athens airport to the Piraeus Ferry port which costs 50-60 euros but it’s really not recommended because it doesn’t worth it in my opinion…

The X96 bus is pretty fast and it costs only 6 euros!

Also, BE CAREFUL:

Sometimes the X96 Athens Airport Buses say: “AEROLIMENAS-PEIRAIAS”

Don’t get confused. 

This is a greek version of saying: “Airport – Pireaus” , so it’s the same really…

HOW TO GET FROM ATHENS AIRPORT TO RAFINA PORT

The KTEL bus that will take you from Athens Aiport to Rafina port – they depart from a different bus stop than X96 and they usually have orange and white colour

The easiest and cheapest way to get from Athens aiport to Rafina port is by taking a KTEL bus (and you must go to Rafina port becasue this is faster and easier for a ferry to Mykonos than going to Piraeus)

These are different buses than the blue ones (like X96 or X95) and the bus stop is just across the street (see picture above).

You buy the ticket on the bus from the driver and it costs around 3 euros (there might be a slight difference every year).

The timetables for the bus Athens Aiport to Rafina are on the following table (roughly a bus every 2-3 hours):

The Rafina port bus runs every 1.5 hour from the Athens Airport.

HOW TO GET FROM ATHENS AIRPORT TO CENTRAL ATHENS

X95 is the bus that will take you from Athens Aiport to Syntagma Square (central Athens) but you also have the option of taking the metro

To go from Athens Airport to Syntagma Square (the most central point in Athens) you have to take either the metro from the airport (it’s actually overground for some stations and then it goes underground) or the bus X95 which will take you to Syntagma Square within 30-40 mins.

The X95 bus stop is next to the X96 bus stop and the tickets are exactly the same and are sold from the same kiosk.

This is Bus X95 route (from Athens airport to Syntagma square – central Athens):

You can also take the metro line 3 to get to Syntagma Square from the Athens Airport.

Check on this link the timetables for Athens metro lines

These are the timetables of Athens Metro Line 3:

Athens metro timetables Syntagma Square to Athens (it stops at other stations too…)
Athens metro timetables Airport to Syntagma square (it stops at other stations too…)

CONCLUSION

You basically have 2 options to get from Athens to Mykonos: by plane or by a ferry.

My honest recommendation is to take the ferry only if it’s your first time in Greece and only if you are going to spend more than 5 days in Mykonos A smart idea is also to mix the 2 options and get the ferry to go to Mykonos (preferably the fast Seajet ferry from Rafina) and then get a flight back to Athens.

For me, the best way to check timetables and even book my ferry tickets online has been Direct Ferries the last years and I highly recommend it to everyone looking to get a ferry to Mykonos or other Greek islands.

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5 thoughts on “How To Get From Athens to Mykonos”

    • That’s definitely another option that I am planning to include in this guide but to be honest this direct line Airport-Pireaus port has just been introduced last year and there is only 1 train per hour. On the other hand, there is basically a direct bus to Pireaus every 20 minutes or so and it will probably take you faster to the port. Also, there is a long walk to the metro-train station from the airport-exit whereas the buses are just outside. I think overall it is a much better option.

      Reply

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