Athens Airport Taxi

Find information about Athens International Airport Taxis

Arriving in a new country can be a bit disorienting, especially if you’ve just hopped off a long flight. Getting in to Athens is sometimes intimidating for first time visitors, but thankfully, there’s plenty of tips and tricks to make your trip start smoothly. Most importantly, you’ll have to find your way into the city. The most recommended way to get into the city center is by taxi. There are buses and trains available, but these systems can be a little confusing if you’re not familiar with them. Plus, Athens has a well-regulated taxi system, so you can be sure to get to your final destination quickly and safely.

Taxi stands are located in designated areas outside of Arrivals, as well as outside Exit 3. You won’t be able to miss it, as there will probably be several yellow taxis waiting in a row. These are the only authorized places to call a taxi, as these drivers are specially regulated and approved to transport passengers from the airport. Don’t agree to ride with anyone who approaches you in the airport or outside the designated area, as these are most likely scammers. Once you’ve found the taxi area, look for a policeman or official, and they will direct you to an available airport taxi

You should be able to get a taxi without any wait times, but it never hurts to pre-book a taxi. Athens Airport taxi ™ offers booking ahead for rides into the city, which can be a more stress-free mode of transportation for families or larger groups. With the service, your driver can pick you up in the Arrivals area and take you to your destination. Using Athens Airport taxi ™ is a little pricier about 1 euro than just getting a taxi on the spot, but it comes with added conveniences; your driver can even bring you items like Greek SIM cards to you when you arrive. This service can also be useful in getting you back to the airport once you’ve finished your trip.

Rides from Athens airport to the city center are regulated by a fixed price, so any driver trying to charge you more would be doing so illegally. The flat rates are €38 between 5:00am and midnight, and €54 from midnight to 5:00am. Keep in mind that these rates are decided by the time that you arrive at your destination. So if you arrive at your hotel past midnight, you will be charged the higher rate. The flat rate includes all luggage and other fees. These rates don’t apply to destinations outside the city center, however. In that case, you will be charged the metered rate. When the enter the car, the driver should turn on the meter regardless of your destination, but at the end of the ride, you should still be charged the flat rate if you are dropped off in the city center.

Taxis provide a quick and simple way to get a ride to your hotel from the Athens airport. If you keep an eye out for scammers, and head to the designated taxi area, you should be able to catch a ride with no hassle whatsoever.

ATHENS AIRPORT TAXI FARES

Tips To Avoid Taxi Scams In Athens

Many tourists from around the world visit Greece’s capital city Athens to enjoy the centuries-old landmarks and get a sense of what life was like far back in history. Among the many instantly recognizable landmarks that people can visit at the Parthenon, Acropolis, Temple of the Olympian Zeus, Lycabettus Hill, and much more — ideal spots for a picture-perfect vacation.

However, one of the biggest problems that can ruin a trip anywhere is crime and being cheated out of money, and sadly Athens is among those major cities that suffer from this negative global phenomenon. In particular, tourists visiting Athens need to be prepared against a long-running and highly problematic practice of taxi drivers scamming them out of more money.

Athens does have many reputable Athens Airport taxi companies and drivers who will get you safely to and from your destination, whether it’s making an airport connection or taking you to one of the city’s almost-countless landmarks. But unfortunately there remain a number of taxi drivers who will try to get you to part with extra cash, and it’s these tricks you need to be aware of.

Check out the useful guide below to get up to date on the kinds of scams that disreputable taxi drivers are pulling in Athens, and ways that you can identify and avoid them.

• Scamming you out of extra mileage for a higher fare

Perhaps the most common trick that bad drivers use is to try and trick you into paying more for the journey by claiming extra mileage. There are several ways that drivers try to do this, and one includes the driver offering to give you a flat fare instead of turning the meter on. This usually means the driver thinks he can make more money off the quoted fare than an actual meter reading, so don’t agree to this and demand they use the meter.

Even with the meter on it’s no guarantee that the driver won’t take an unnecessarily long route to get to your destination, which will drive up the mileage and therefore make the journey more expensive. Ways to avoid falling for this scam include printing off a map of the most direct route before your journey and demanding the driver use it, or alternatively using your smartphone’s GPS feature during the journey to make sure the driver isn’t taking you out of the way.

Because the extra mileage trick is so prevalent in Athens, it’s advisable to never pay your fare in advance. Always wait to see what the meter says at the end of the trip, and only pay that cost.

• Trying to pay you back less than you deserve

Another trick that drivers sometimes use is a sleight of hand almost like a magician; when it comes time to pay they will take notes from you and give you back change that is less than you are owed — and if you challenge it they will claim you are confused by the Euro currency.

The easiest way to avoid this is to make sure that you have a lot of smaller value Euro notes in your wallet, particularly a €5 note. When it comes time to pay you should say aloud the number of each note you are handing the driver until you reach the amount that you owe them. And you should carefully count how much they give you back to avoid being underpaid.

• Only get in official licensed Athens Airport taxis

This can be a particular problem at the airport; unlicensed taxis trying to lure customers with prices that they claim are lower than the other companies. Beware that unlicensed taxis are unlikely to have insurance, so if you get in an accident you could be facing major expenses. And because they are unlicensed they are more likely to try overcharging you.

The easiest way to avoid getting in the wrong type of taxi at the airport is to follow the signs for the designated taxi waiting area. In Athens itself, most taxis can be waved down. To find an authorized taxi look for the cars that are painted yellow and use meters that are working. Never get in another vehicle in which the driver claims that they are actually a taxi.

• Taking you to another location against your will

Yet another trick that dishonest taxi drivers try to pull on unwitting tourists is to try taking you to another location other than the hotel, restaurant or venue you want to go to. Typically the drivers do this because they have some kind of financial benefit from drumming up extra business at whatever hotel or other business that they try to persuade you to visit.

These kinds of drivers can be very persuasive and try to make you think you are getting a bargain, but they are almost always simply taking you for their own financial gain and the new location will probably cost at least the same, if not more, as your original destination. So be wary of this trick and simply demand to be taken to whatever destination you first requested.

Should the driver refuse and the car doors are unlocked then you can always exit the vehicle before the journey starts, or leave when the car is stopped at a traffic light. If the driver becomes belligerent when you ask them to take you to your original location, threaten to report them and, if necessary, call the Greek emergency telephone number which is 1571.

• Dress casually to avoid becoming a noticeable target

A good general tip to remember when traveling around Athens as a tourist, and particularly for when dealing with dishonest taxi drivers, is to dress casually. Taxi scammers are on the lookout for tourists in fine clothing who they think will have lots of money and be easier to cheat. If you dress down and blend in with other tourists and locals you are less likely to be spotted as a potential target by these drivers, even if you get in their vehicle for a ride.

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