Thessaloniki Airport To City

How To Get From Thessaloniki Airport (SKG) To The City

There are many great reasons to visit Greece’s second biggest city Thessaloniki, including centuries of history, plenty of sightseeing, rich culture, excellent food and drink and more. And many people who travel to the city will arrive by boarding a flight from their home country to Thessaloniki Airport.

The airport is located about 9.3 miles (or roughly 15 kilometers) from the city center, and therefore you’ll need to take some type of transportation to complete your journey.

You’ll find there are three typical options for getting from the airport to Thessaloniki: renting a car, getting a taxi or taking a bus. The three methods all have different prices and travel times, so you should be able to find a choice that works with your budget and other needs.

Below you will see an overview of the available travel selections, helping you to plan your trip from Thessaloniki Airport to the city in advance so your trip begins with a smooth start.

Renting a car

At the airport, you can rent a car from Avance, Avis Budget, Hertz Thrifty or Sixt. All four of these companies are located on the ground level of the arrivals section of the airport terminal.

This transport option can be an ideal choice if one of your top priorities is having complete flexibility with your travel plans. That’s because you will be able to drive your rental car whenever and wherever you want, so you won’t have to rely on bus timetables.

And it’s also a convenient way to travel because you’ll be able to go directly from the airport to the front door of your hotel or wherever else you are heading – unlike taking the bus from the airport, which might only drop off at stops that are very far from your ultimate destination.

Rental cars can also be preferable to those travelers that want total privacy and security, because you won’t have to share the car with any strangers. And your luggage will be securely locked in the trunk of the vehicle for the direction of your ride from the airport.

But there are some downsides with this approach, including that it’s by far the most expensive of the three options for getting to the Thessaloniki. The exact cost will vary depending on which model of car you choose to rent, and the number of days that you rent it. You’ll also be required to pay for refueling the vehicle as necessary during the time period that you have it.

The journey should take about 30 minutes to get from the airport to the city, although it can be slower at rush hour or other peak travel times and quieter when traffic levels are lower.

Getting a taxi

A cheaper alternative for a direct journey from Thessaloniki Airport to downtown is taking a Thessaloniki airport taxi. These are available outside the airport terminal – just look for the signs directing you to the taxi waiting area after you have landed, cleared security and collected your bags. If you are having any difficulties with locating the taxis then you can just ask an airport security staffer for help.

Taxis servicing the airport use meters, which means that fares are calculated based on how far you travel rather than using a flat rate between the airport and the city. You can expect a one-way trip to cost about €30 but it might be higher or lower depending on your destination.

You are not required to give your airport taxi driver a tip once the ride is over, but if you think that you received a safe, quick and fairly priced ride then you can give your driver a tip with a few Euros coins and notes. But if you believe that the taxi journey was overpriced, dangerous or otherwise problematic then you should not feel a duty to give the driver any tip.

The travel time should be similar to the 30 minutes that it takes for driving a rental car from the airport to Thessaloniki, but this time can vary depending on the amount of traffic.

A major benefit of traveling this way is that you will only have to share the taxi with the driver and any traveling companions that you might have, which can make for a more relaxing journey compared to having share a potentially crowded bus to get to the city center.

You’ll also have the knowledge that your suitcases and other belongings are safe because they will be locked in the trunk of the vehicle throughout the journey.

And the taxi will also take you directly from the airport to the entrance of your accommodation in Thessaloniki, which makes it a very convenient way to get to the city.

Taking a bus

A third way that you can get from the airport to the center of Thessaloniki is by taking a bus, which is the cheapest of the three methods, although it can have a few notable disadvantages.

There are two buses that operate from the airport, the first is the 01X that is in service during the daytime and the second is the 01N that runs at night. Therefore, even if your flight is delayed and lands late in the evening, you should still be able to get a bus into the city.

Fares are the same whether you’re taking the day or night bus, costing €2 for a one-way trip for an adult, or €1 for anyone aged 65 or older or children between the ages of 7 and 18. If you are traveling with any children who are aged 6 or younger then they don’t have to pay for the bus.

There are signs throughout the airport terminal that will guide you to the area where you can wait for and board buses, but if you can’t find them just get an airport team member to help.

Once you’re at the bus waiting area you can buy your ticket for the trip from the kiosk located next to the stop, and they accept cash along with credit or debit cards for the purchase.

Although buses run throughout the day and evening from the airport to the city, you might have a long waiting time once your flight lands and you have collected your bags. Plan ahead because you might be waiting anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour before the next bus.

This is by far the slowest way to get downtown from Thessaloniki Airport because the average travel time to the city center is about 1 hour and 10 minutes. That’s because the bus will make several stops along the route, and it can take time to let people off at each stop. If you’re looking to get to the city much faster then you might want to consider taking a taxi or rental car.

Bear in mind also that the stops along the bus route could be quite far from your final destination, so you’ll need to research the routes online in advance of your trip to determine whether you might need to still get a taxi after the bus in order to complete your trip.

Remember that seating could be limited on the bus because you’ll be sharing it with other travelers, and it may get very crowded if you’re traveling at a particularly busy time of day. This also means that there might not be a lot of space for luggage under these bus at these times, so if you’re traveling with a lot of bags this may not be the best option for your journe