sharmaintl

I have a 6:30 AM flight from ATH to ZRH (On Swiss) coming up this week. I am at the Athens Hilton in the city. Google Maps says it is a 27 minute drive by taxi. How early do I need to be at the airport? I am assuming Swiss will allow online check-in, but I am not sure. I will not have a bag to check.

david55

I would never depend on Google to plan my drive time through Athens. While probably not that early, traffic can be a difficult.

Are you committed to the Hilton that last night.

The Sofitel, 50 yards from the Athens Airport departure hall is a great hotel and is perfect for early morning departures. ( It is a two minute walk!)

sharmaintl

I think I will do that. Sofitel it is. Thanks. ^

Either ways, how early should one arrive at the airport at Athens to get on an International flight?

david55

Athens International is a easy airport. I would say 90 minutes.....but when you check into the Sofitel ask the concierge.

pewpew

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BB10; Touch) AppleWebKit/537.35+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/10.2.1.3442 Mobile Safari/537.35+)

Honestly, I went through ATH earlier "today" (still haven't gotten home to sleep). From check in to gate (A3's 09:10 to LHR), it was maybe 10 minutes. Just make the check in cutoff and you're good, especially if you're flying within Schengen. The Schengen lounges in ATH, so far as I can tell, are pre-security, so the A3 lounge at least will give you a fast track pass for security.

Andy33

Yes, security at ATH is at the gate, or at least group of gates. All the lounges are pre-security, both on the Schengen side (B-gates) and non-Schengen (A-gates).
I've never known security take more than 15 minutes (there has to be an off-day sometimes though).
Swiss encourage on-line check-in and print-your-own-boarding pass, or boarding pass on smartphone.
There is no actual difference between a flight to Zurich and a domestic flight as far as departure procedures are concerned.

KLouis

Let an ex-Athenian and ATH veteran (up to 30 flights a year) correct some minor problems in the answers given:

- Yes, you can definitely OLCI with LX!

- Athens traffic may, indeed, be a zoo (even at this hour), but from the Hilton to the highway (Attica Road), it should take no more than 5 minutes at this time of day, and from there to the airport, another 15. Thus, Google is wrong, it is much faster! A departure from the Hilton at ~5 am would be more than enough.

- The Sofitel is a great hotel, the only "problem" is that you won't be able to enjoy their full breakfast since you'll try to extend your sleeping time. I haven't been there in ages (or, to be correct, months), so I don't know at what time they now start their "reduced" breakfast service; my guess is 5:30. Would I do it? No, I'd just check out at 5:30, walk to the A3 or LH lounge in the main airport building (<10 min. from hotel), turn left, towards the end of the B part, grab a double espresso and a croissant and walk through the security close to gate B15, then 1-5 min. to the gate (unless you leave from gate B2, in which case you'd have to go through security at that gate, ~10 min. from the two lounges).

- A3 will no longer (as of ~a month ago) tag your BC with a stickers. Thus, to use fast-track at security you have to show your gold plastic or your business class BC.

- Finally, to arrive to the airport: If you decide to use the Sofitel, take the underground from the station close to the Hilton, if you are there. The trains to the airport leave at ~ XX:02 and XX:32 from Syntagma square (two minutes away from the Hilton), and they take about 40 minutes to the airport. If you stay at the Hilton, you'd definitely have to take a cab as there should be no trains at 4:35 (which is the one you'd have to catch if there were one).

All in all, smooth, fast, and if you decide to go to the Sofitel, very good beds and an amazing shower!

david55

I concur With KLouis about the shower at the Sofitel. I once wrote about it in a FT " best" shower thread several years ago. It is by far the best hotel shower I have ever experienced.

KLouis

Well, after this, I can only suggest the OP should sleep 15 minutes shorter and add 15 minutes to his shower time.

sharmaintl

Stayed at Solitel. Loved the shower ^^

Slept 15 minutes less to get extra 15 min in the shower too

kestasx

I have a 6AM departure from Athens to Munich on Lufthansa. Staying in the city at the Athens Gate Hotel. I suppose the only option is a cab, what time should I leave the hotel and what would be the cost for the cab? Any other options would be appreciated. I looked at the Sofitel option and am considering it. Thanks all...

david55

Staying at the sofitel is worth every penny in convenience. Otherwise get to the airport at least 2 hours in advance and if I remember it is about 30 or 40 E to the airport...maybe a bit more because of the early hour.

KLouis

Athens Gate Hotel is not very convenient, as you'd have to either cross all of Athens or drive south around the mountain. At ~4 am, my guess is that either of those routes would take around 40 minutes. As for the cost, I remember that up until a few months ago, there was a flat rate, although I paid according to the meter two days ago (32 Euro including the extras/tolls). Your fare would be certainly much higher, both because of the extra distance and because of the inhuman time of departure of the LH flight.

As david4455 suggested, it'd pay to move to the Sofitel for the last night.

kestasx

Thanks all, I am going to spend the night at the Sofitel.

david55

Save plenty of time for the shower.... it is the BEST I have ever experienced in any hotel.^