how to travel to syros

How to travel to Syros island, from Athens or Mykonos? Because Omilo organizes Greek Language and Culture courses on the island of Syros during the summer months, this is a question many Omilo students are asking us frequently.
First of all, if you looking for a 1- or 2-week course during summer, then click below and check out the dates and availability

For all the details and course dates of  the 1-week courses, click here

For all the details and course dates of the 2-week courses, click here

Second, here below you find details, tips and useful information on how most students travel from their country to the course location on Syros island.

Flying to Greece

Although some participants travel to Greece by car, mostly from Switzerland, France, and Italy, 90 percent of all Omilo participants, travel to Greece by Airplane.

For traveling to Greece, and questions related to covid,  please read the official updates from Greece at: https://travel.gov.gr/

Although there are many ways to reach Greece, we try to explain to you the easiest way, in our opinion…

From most countries, it is possible to find DIRECT FLIGHTS to ATHENS or MYKONOS island  (between May and September)

Below we give you more information on;

  1. How to travel from Athens airport to Syros  
    1.a. by plane
    1.b. by boat
    1. c. How to travel from Athens airport to Piraeus
    1.d. How to travel from Athens airport to Athens centre (if you need an extra hotel overnight)
    1.e. arriving in Piraeus Harbor + Map
  2. How to travel from Mykonos airport to Syros
  3. How to travel from Syros harbor (Hermoupolis) to the village of Azolimnos (Omilo course location) ?

1. How to travel from Athens Airport to Syros

if you fly to Athens international airport, then here below the travel info.

From Athens, you can reach Syros:

By plane: Athens-Syros
by boat : Piraeus – Syros     (4 hours or 2 hours highspeed)

1.a. By plane

You can contact a travel agency to book you a flight from Athens to Syros or book it online.
The airline serving the Athens-Syros route is: skyexpress.gr.

The trip takes just 30 minutes.
You will arrive in Syros domestic airport, and from there you can take a taxi to the village of Azolimnos, where your course takes place.

It is only a 15-minute drive and will cost between 12 and 20 euro.
Note: Syros does not have an international airport, but only a domestic airport. This means you can only book a flight to Syros, from another Greek airport.
(Athens, Thessaloniki, Santorini…)

1.b. By boat from Piraeus

If you fly to Athens Airport, (or travel from Athens centre, if you take an extra overnight in Athens) it is easy to take the metro to Piraeus harbor (blue metro line), and take a boat to Syros from there.

The boats to Syros arrive in the harbor of Ermoupolis. From there it is a 15 minutes drive by bus to Azolimnos. (read below “how to travel from Hermoupolis harbor to Azolimnos village)

You can check timetables and boats for the dates of your choice, as well as book your online ferry tickets at this easy website and tool.


FERRYSCANNER – Click below – INDICATE IF YOU WANT A ONE WAY TICKET OR RETURN TICKET, AND THEN SEARCH FOR YOUR DESIRED DATE
If you take a boat from Athens, Piraeus;

Search for;  from: Piraeus, GR  to : Syros, GR

 

(Note: we are not responsible if the information on that website is not correct, or schedules change last moment, but from our experience, the websites is very reliable)

A normal boat trip from Piraeus to Syros takes around 4 hours.

A highspeed boat trip from Piraues to Syros takes around 2 hours (tickets are more expensive)

 

1.c. How to travel from Athens Airport to Piraeus harbor?

Located 27km northeast of Athens (next to the village of Spata), the Athens International Airport, is accessible via Attiki Odos, a six-lane motorway constituting the Athens City Ring Road. Public transport is provided by metro as well as express airport bus connections with Athens center and the port of Piraeus on a 24 h basis.

 By Express Bus from the Airport

Express Bus Line X96 connects the Airport with Piraeus harbor.

A ticket for one of the above buses costs 10 Euro. The buses depart from the arrivals level, right outside the Schengen area, between doors 4-5. The bus leaves about every 25 minutes and the trip to Piraeus takes about 60 to 90 minutes.(depending on traffic)

 by Taxi

You always have the option to take a taxi from the airport to the harbor (or your hotel).
The taxi queue is right outside the arrival level of the airport next to door 3. A trip by taxi to Piraeus harbor will cost you between 40 and 50 Euro.
(after midnight the taxi price can be more expensive, around 60-70 euro).

However, you will not save so much time with a taxi.
It is easy to take a bus or metro, and it saves you a lot of money.

 by Metro

You can take the metro from the airport, AIRPORT- AG. MARINA  (blue line) and you get off in the MONASTERAKI station. (45 min.)
(this is the best option in case you stay one overnight in Athens, close to the Monasteraki metro station in centre Athens)
In Monasteraki metro station you then take the green metro line, from MONASTERAKI till PIRAEUS. (30 min.) The ticket (valid for the entire trip) costs 9 Euro.

 

NEW Since November 2022!! The fastest way

The Blue line opened extra metro stations, and it now possible to travel directly from the airport to Piraeus, with the blue metro line.

 

The metro map of Athens is pretty easy. Nevertheless, it is good to know which line you have to take to get to a certain station. Here below the map of the Athens Metro line.

 

athens metro map 2023

athens metro map

 

 

1.d.How to travel from the Airport to Athens center

In case you are arriving late in Athens airport and you can not take a boat to Syros on the same day, then you can book an overnight in a Athens hotel, and enjoy your evening in the capital of Greece. You can then travel the next morning to Piraeus harbor, as explained here above.
There are several bus itineraries dedicated to carrying passengers to and from the airport.

For the center of Athens, the most convenient buses are :

Bus Line X94 connects the Airport with the Ethniki Amina Metro Station . From there you can take the metro to any direction.

Bus Line X95 connects the Airport with Syntagma Square, which will take you in about 60  minutes to its end stop on the south side of Syntagma Square.  From there you can take again the metro to any direction, or walk to your hotels in Plaka or Kolonaki area.

Metro : You can also take the Metro (see above).
If you want to travel from Athens centre till Piraeus the next day, the easiest way is by Metro (green line 1).

Taxi: see above

2. Arriving in Piraeus harbor – where to find your boat?

Piraeus is the harbor and TERMINAL metro or express bus station. When you get off you will see the boats in front of you.
It is announced on boards which boats are leaving from which terminal. Sometimes your boat departs from the terminal/gate opposite the metro station.
The metro station is located between terminal 7 and 5. (see on map below)

However, sometimes, you might have to walk 15 minutes in the harbor to the free harbor bus (departing every 10 minutes and leaving approximately where you see terminal E5 on the map below). The bus is free and brings you to all the different terminals.
Be on time in the harbor and please check from which gate your boat departs. It is usually mentioned on your ticket and very important to know.

For Syros, boats usually depart from Terminal/Gates E7, E9, E1 or E2. (depending on their final destination of the boat)
NOTE: the final destination of the boats is NEVER Syros since boats always continue to more islands after Syros.

If your boat departs from E1 or E2, then you need at least an extra 45 minutes to reach your boat,  from the metro station Piraeus.

The High-speed boats sometimes also leave from E11. There is no bus available to go to that side of the harbor.
Form the metro station, you need to calculate a 20 minutes walk.

piraeus map

piraeus map

 

3. How to travel from Mykonos Airport to Syros island

if you fly to Mykonos international airport, then here below the travel info.
From many countries, it is possible to book a direct flight to the island of Mykonos.

From the airport you need to reach the NEW PORT of MYKONOS,  which you can do by taking a bus, or taxi.

(there is also a old PORT but only used now for smaller boats)

A taxi costs about 25 euro and takes more or less 20-30 minutes.

From Mykonos, you can reach Syros:
by boat : Mykonos-Syros (1 hour)

The boats arrive in the harbor of Ermoupolis. From there it is a 15 minutes drive by bus to Azolimnos. (read below “how to travel from Hermoupolis harbor to Azolimnos village)

You can check timetables and boats FROM MYKONOS, for the dates of your choice, as well as book your online ferry tickets at this easy website and tool.

 

FERRYSCANNER – Click below – INDICATE IF YOU WANT A ONE WAY TICKET OR RETURN TICKET, AND THEN SEARCH FOR YOUR DESIRED DATE

If you take a boat from Mykonos;

Search for ;   from: Mykonos, GRto: Syros, GR

 

4.  How to travel from Syros harbor (Hermoupolis)
to the village of Azolimnos (Omilo course location) ?

By taxi

taxi’s are waiting exactly there where the boats arrive. A taxi from the harbor to your hotel will cost around 10-12 Euro. The trip takes 15 minutes.
If you cannot find a taxi, you can call one : Tel.  22810-84100 (radio taxi). Just tell the taxi driver AZOLIMNOS and your hotel name. He will probably know. Otherwise, you can give the tel.number of your hotel, so he can contact them.

By bus

buses are waiting there where the boats arrive, left of the Grigoris coffee/sandwich bar and petrol station.

You CAN take the bus to “AZOLIMNOS”.

Ask the bus drivers which bus goes to Azolimnos since many buses go to different villages.  You pay for the ticket on the bus (2 EURO)

After 15 minutes the bus arrives in the village of Azolimnos. There are different stops on the road, but you wait till you have the stop exactly at the sea (beach) and taverns.  When you face the sea, walk another 100 meters to your left, following the normal coastal road. After 100 meters you will see the Echo Pension. When you look a bit higher than the Echo Pension, you will see the buildings of AEGEO Pension and OASIS Pension (they have their names on top of the building). The Galaksi is on the right of Oasis (if you stand with your back towards the sea). 

 

azolimnos

azolimnos

 

You arrived in the village of Azolimnos ! Take a look below to get a better idea…the Omilo team is looking forward to meeting you…

 

 

5.  Looking for accommodation on Syros island,
or close to the course location in Azolimnos? 

Then click below for more info and tips  

https://omilo.com/accommodation-syros-island/

 

6. Arriving in Athens, but not feeling confident to travel by yourself in Athens with public transport?

Then pre-book your transfer from Athens airport.

We selected a trustworthy and convenient 5-star airport taxi company for your airport transfer based on student’s experiences and user reviews Welcome Pickups offers a great experience and safety to its travellers.

– Local Greek-English-speaking drivers

– Flat, pre-paid fee

– Flight monitoring for delays

– 24/7 Customer support