Rafina Port Guide: Ferries and Transfers From Athens Airport

By DiChatz

The most common mistake with Rafina port is booking a ferry that leaves too soon after your flight lands. A late arrival, a slow baggage belt or a 60-minute gap in the bus timetable then costs you the boat, and the next sailing on the line may be the following morning. Leave at least two hours between landing and sailing, three if you plan to take the bus, and book a taxi or transfer when the gap is tight.

Rafina sits about 20 km by road east of Athens International Airport, 25 to 30 minutes by car outside July and August traffic. The KTEL bus takes about 40 minutes and costs a few euros, a metered taxi runs about €40 to €45 by day, and a pre-booked transfer costs around €45 by day and €55 at night. From the port, ferries sail all year to Andros, Tinos and Mykonos, in summer to Paros and other Cyclades, and across to Marmari on Evia. For those islands, coming straight from the airport, Rafina beats Piraeus.

Where is Rafina port and which islands does it serve?

Rafina is a working harbour town on the east coast of Attica, facing the Aegean. The port is small and easy to read: a single quay below the town, ticket agencies along the road down to it, and cafés on the square above. The harbourmaster limits it to four ships tied up at once, which is why departures are spread through the day and ships turn around fast.

The core line runs Rafina to Andros, Tinos and Mykonos. Out of season there are one or two departures a day; in summer up to three or more, with some boats continuing to Paros, Naxos and further south. The other regular route crosses the gulf to Marmari in southern Evia, used mostly by locals with cars.

• Andros: the closest Cycladic island to Athens, about an hour on a fast boat, popular for weekends and hiking.
• Tinos: pilgrimage island with the Church of Panagia Evangelistria above the port, and a strong food scene.
• Mykonos: the busiest destination on the line in summer.
• Paros and Naxos: summer extensions, mostly on fast boats.

How do you get from Athens airport to Rafina port?

There are three realistic ways: the KTEL bus, a metered taxi, or a transfer booked in advance. The bus is cheapest, the taxi is quickest when the rank is moving, and the transfer is the safe choice for tight connections, families and late-night landings.

KTEL bus

Yes, there is a direct public bus, whatever some transfer sites claim. The stop is roughly 200 m from the arrivals hall, between Exits 2 and 3, signposted KTEL. Buses run through the day, roughly every 30 to 60 minutes, with a long gap overnight. The fare is about €4, paid on board, and the last stop is inside the port, a short walk from the ships. Check the current timetable on the KTEL Attikis website before relying on a specific bus. If one has just left, a taxi will usually get you there before the next.

Taxi

The taxi rank is outside Exit 3. Ignore claims of a flat-rate taxi to Rafina: the airport’s fixed fares only cover central Athens, so this ride goes on the meter. Expect roughly €38 to €45 in the daytime and €53 to €55 between midnight and 5am, when the night tariff applies, plus a small charge per large bag. The route uses the Attiki Odos and the coast road, and summer Fridays and Sundays can add 15 minutes or more.

Pre-booked transfer

A transfer fixes the price before you land and puts a driver in arrivals holding your name. If your flight is delayed, the driver tracks it instead of leaving, which matters when the ferry sails two hours after touchdown. Expect around €45 by day and €55 at night for a standard car, with vans for groups and luggage.

Book a Welcome Pickups transfer from Athens airport to Rafina port

Option	Journey time	Cost	Best for
KTEL Attikis bus	About 40 minutes	About €4	Budget travellers with three hours or more before the ferry
Metered taxi (Exit 3 rank)	25 to 30 minutes	€38 to €45 day, about €55 night	Daytime arrivals when the rank is moving
Welcome Pickups private transfer	25 to 30 minutes	About €45 day, €55 night	Tight connections, night arrivals, families and groups

Verdict: with three hours or more before sailing, the bus is fine. With two hours or less, or landing after dark, book the transfer; for a couple, the extra cost over a taxi is small and you skip the rank. If you are heading into the city instead, see the Athens airport to city centre transfer guide.

How do you get to Rafina from central Athens?

KTEL Attikis buses to Rafina leave from Mavromateon Street beside Pedion tou Areos park, a few minutes’ walk from Victoria metro station. The ride takes about an hour and costs around €2.40 to €3. A taxi from Syntagma or Plaka costs more than from the airport because the distance is longer, and in the morning rush it can take close to an hour.

Staying in the centre before an early ferry? Pick a hotel near the metro so the morning is simple; the budget hotels in Plaka work well. Arriving in the morning with an afternoon ferry, you can drop your bags in the centre and see the city before heading east.

Find Radical Storage luggage lockers in central Athens

Which ferries sail from Rafina, and how much do they cost?

Four operators matter. Fast Ferries runs conventional ships (Theologos P, Fast Ferries Andros, Ekaterini P) on the Andros, Tinos and Mykonos line all year. Golden Star Ferries runs the same corridor with faster ships. SeaJets also sails the line. Olympian Ferries and smaller operators handle Marmari.

Competition on the line has pushed prices down, and fares now sit close together across operators. Typical one-way economy fares:

Route from Rafina	Crossing time	Golden Star	SeaJets	Other operators
Marmari (Evia)	About 1h	–	–	From €9
Andros	1h to 2h	About €19 to €22	€22	From €19
Tinos	Between Andros and Mykonos	€30	€30	Similar
Mykonos	2h10 to 4h30	€33	€33	€30 to €38

A car under 3.7 m to Andros costs about €42 on top of the passenger fare. Naxos is roughly 3h40 away on a fast boat and Santorini about 6h45 in summer, so for those islands Piraeus usually has more sailings. The easiest way to see every operator’s times and fares on one screen is Ferryscanner, which sells tickets for all of them.

Compare Rafina ferries to Andros, Tinos and Mykonos on Ferryscanner

Best for speed: Golden Star or SeaJets. Best for comfort, cars and rough seas: the conventional Fast Ferries ships, slower but far steadier.

Summer and winter schedules

From November to late May, the line drops to one or two sailings a day, the catamarans sail less, and the Paros extension stops. Summer, roughly mid-June to mid-September, brings up to three daily departures and the boats that continue to Paros. Winter schedules are often confirmed late, so check the timetable before booking flights around a winter crossing rather than assuming summer frequency in March.

Rafina or Piraeus: which port should you use?

Use Rafina for Andros, Tinos and Mykonos, especially straight from the airport. It is closer, the crossings to those islands are shorter, and the port is small enough that you cannot get lost. Use Piraeus for the western and southern Cyclades, the Saronic islands, Crete and the Dodecanese, and if you are staying in central Athens with no reason to go east.

For Paros, Naxos and Santorini both ports work in summer, and the choice comes down to timetables and where you sleep the night before. The full comparison sits in the guide to Athens to the Greek islands by ferry.

What happens during a strike or a gale?

Greek seamen’s union strikes usually last 24 or 48 hours and are announced a few days ahead. Most ships stay tied up, but some operators reroute, sometimes to Lavrio, the port south of the airport that normally serves Kea and Kythnos. Lavrio is about 40 minutes from the airport by taxi and has its own KTEL bus from Athens. If your ferry is affected, the operator texts or emails the new arrangements, so make sure your booking has a phone number that works in Greece.

Wind is the bigger risk. Rafina faces the open Aegean, and when the meltemi blows hard in July and August, or gales arrive in autumn and winter, the harbourmaster can ban departures. Catamarans are cancelled first; the large conventional ships often still sail. The Marmari crossing can stay suspended after the Cyclades routes reopen, so check before driving to the port. Two habits help: book the conventional ferry on a windy forecast, and avoid flying home on the same day you sail back from the islands.

Travel insurance that covers missed connections and extra nights caused by cancellations is worth having for any island trip with a tight return.

Get EKTA travel insurance before your ferry trip

How early should you get to Rafina port, and how much time do you need for a flight?

Be at the quay 30 minutes before departure, earlier with a car or on a summer weekend. Ships load fast and the ramp closes on time. Most online tickets are e-tickets on your phone, but keep a screenshot in case signal is weak at the port.

Going home, allow at least three hours between your ferry’s scheduled arrival and your flight. Is three hours enough? Usually, for a daytime boat on a calm day: about 30 minutes to the airport, plus check-in and security. Ferries arrive late more often than early, especially in wind, so if your flight leaves early next morning after an evening ferry, sleep near the airport.

Driving yourself? There is no free parking on the quay. The municipal car park is about a three-minute walk from the ships, and the streets around the port fill up fast in summer.

Where should you stay near Rafina port?

Most people do not need to sleep near Rafina at all. You need a bed nearby only for a very early ferry, a late return from the islands, or a flight that does not line up with the boats.

📸 PHOTO HERE, seafront hotel on the Rafina harbour front at dusk
Save file as: rafina-harbour-hotels-near-ferry.jpg  ·  Alt text: Hotel on the Rafina waterfront overlooking the ferry quay at dusk
Caption (name beneath): A harbour-front room in Rafina means a short walk to the morning boat

• Rafina harbour: best for the first ferry of the day. You walk to the ship and skip the morning taxi.
• The airport: best when a late flight lands or an early flight leaves, with Rafina 25 minutes away by car.
• The Marathon coast, north of Rafina: where Athenians go for a night by the sea. Schinias beach and the quieter coast around Marathon are 15 to 20 minutes from the port, so this suits travellers with a rental car who want a swim before or after the islands.

Hotel	Area	Price	Best for
Sofitel Athens Airport	Opposite the terminal	€€€	Late landings and early flights home
Avra Hotel	Rafina harbour front	€€	The first ferry of the morning, on foot

Verdict: pick the harbour for a dawn sailing, the airport hotel for a flight that does not match the ferries, and the Marathon coast if you have a car and an evening to spare.

Where can you eat while you wait?

The square above the port is lined with cafés, and the fish tavernas on the slope overlooking the harbour are where Athenians drive out for grilled fish and a long Sunday lunch. Order fish by weight and ask the price per kilo before it goes on the grill.

Down on the quay, kiosks and bakeries sell water, coffee and spanakopita for the crossing. Onboard cafés cost more and the queues get long on summer sailings, so buy before you board.

The real question with Rafina is how much risk you want between your plane and your boat. My rule is two hours between landing and sailing if you have booked a car, three if you are counting on the bus. Less than that is a bet on the baggage belt and the timetable. The bus saves you around forty euros, but a gap in the buses can cost you the ferry, and a missed ferry costs far more than a taxi. If the wind forecast looks bad, I would take the big conventional ship over the catamaran, slower but steady, and I would never fly home on the same day I sail back from the islands.

Quick checklist for Rafina port

• Leave at least two hours between landing and sailing, three if you plan to take the bus.
• Check the current KTEL timetable, not an old PDF, before relying on a bus.
• Take the taxi on the meter; there is no flat fare to Rafina.
• On a windy forecast, book the conventional ferry, not the catamaran.
• Be at the quay 30 minutes before departure.
• Leave three hours between the ferry’s arrival and your flight home.
• Keep your e-ticket saved offline in case the port signal drops.

A local data plan saves you when an operator texts a delay or moves a sailing to Lavrio.

Get an Airalo eSIM for Greece before you fly

Frequently asked questions

Is there a bus from Athens airport to Rafina port?

Yes. KTEL Attikis runs a direct bus from the stop between Exits 2 and 3 at arrivals to the quay at Rafina. It takes about 40 minutes and costs about €4, paid on board. Buses run through the day with gaps of 30 to 60 minutes, so allow three hours between landing and sailing if you rely on it.

How far is Rafina from Athens airport?

About 20 km by road. A taxi or transfer takes 25 to 30 minutes outside peak summer traffic and costs roughly €40 to €45 by day, more at night. The bus takes about 40 minutes.

Is Rafina or Piraeus better for Mykonos?

From the airport, Rafina. It is closer to the terminal and the crossing to Mykonos is shorter, a little over two hours on a fast boat. From central Athens or for islands beyond Mykonos, Piraeus has more sailings.

How early should I be at Rafina port?

Thirty minutes before departure for foot passengers, earlier with a car or on a summer weekend. Ships load quickly and the ramp closes on time.

Can I get from Rafina port to Athens city centre?

Yes. KTEL buses run between the port and Mavromateon Street beside Pedion tou Areos park, near Victoria metro, in about an hour for around €3. A taxi takes 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.