Piraeus port: finding your gate and getting there from the airport or Athens

The short answer

Piraeus is Greece's biggest ferry port and it is spread along the waterfront for kilometres, from gate E1 at one end to E12 at the other. Your gate is printed on your ticket, but it often changes, so arrive early and check at the port. Ferry companies often send notice when a gate, a departure time or even the ferry's name changes. The metro station sits in the middle, by gates E5 and E6, and a free shuttle bus runs to the far gates. From Athens airport, give yourself well over an hour by any route.

Which gate for which islands

Gates are allocated by destination. These are the usual ones, but the port moves boats around when it is busy, so your ticket and the boards have the final word.

The free shuttle bus, and why it matters

The Piraeus Port Authority runs a free shuttle inside the port for ferry passengers. It leaves from the main entrance near gate E5, opposite the metro station.

If your ferry leaves from E6 or E7, you can walk from the station in a few minutes. If it leaves from E1, E2 or E3, you are a long way from the station, so use the shuttle and allow extra time for it. Walking from one end of the port to the other can take up to an hour.

From Athens airport to Piraeus

There are five ways, and the right one depends on the time of day and how much luggage you have.

Our honest view: for a morning ferry after a night flight, or with children and big suitcases, a pre booked transfer to your gate takes the guesswork out. For one traveller with a backpack and time to spare, the metro is fine. The X96 is the fallback when nothing else is running.

From central Athens to Piraeus

Piraeus is about 10 km from Syntagma.

Metro line 1 (green): ends at Piraeus station, opposite the port. Change at Monastiraki or Omonia if you are coming from elsewhere.

Metro line 3 (blue): now runs through Syntagma and Monastiraki to Piraeus too.

Taxi: around half an hour without traffic, much longer in the morning rush.

Either metro line drops you by gates E5 and E6. If your gate is E1 to E3, you still need the shuttle.

Coming back into Piraeus

Ferries arriving in the evening often land together, so the taxi rank, the shuttle and the metro all fill at once. If you have a flight to catch, or you are arriving late with luggage, arrange the transfer before you sail.

Three things that catch people out

Going to the right port but the wrong gate. A walk from E6 to E1 is not a stroll with suitcases. Check the gate on the morning of travel.

Assuming the metro station is next to your boat. It is next to some boats. For Crete, Rhodes and the North Aegean it is not.

Leaving it tight. Greek ferries close boarding on time. For how early to arrive and how to handle luggage on board, read our guide to choosing between Piraeus and Rafina.

How we help

Tell us where you are hopping and we sort every crossing: the right ferry and class for how you like to travel, vehicle spaces booked in time, and buffers built in so the connections hold together. See our Greek ferry bookings.

For the road to the port, our private transfers pick up at Athens airport, central Athens and Piraeus and drop off at Piraeus, Rafina or Lavrio. Your driver meets you on arrival and tracks your flight or ferry. Landing at the airport first? Our guide to Athens airport taxis, Uber and the metro covers the rest.