Should you visit Athens at the beginning or end of your Greece trip? Although most first-time itineraries place Athens first, I usually recommend saving the city until the end—especially when the rest of the holiday involves Greek island hopping.
Spend any time looking at Greece itineraries online and you will notice a familiar pattern: two or three nights in Athens, followed by Santorini, Mykonos, Crete or another Greek island.
It seems like the obvious order. You land in Athens, so you explore Athens before continuing your journey.
However, after numerous trips through Athens and the Greek islands, I increasingly believe that this is the wrong order for many visitors. When the transport connections work, I prefer to continue directly to the islands and save Athens for the final two or three nights.
Doing so can create a simpler itinerary, avoid attempting demanding sightseeing when you are tired or jet-lagged and turn a sensible buffer before your flight home into a worthwhile part of the holiday.
It will not be the best option for every trip. Your arrival time, ferry schedule, flight bookings and first destination all need to be considered. But I would always investigate an Athens-last itinerary before automatically putting the city at the beginning.
Athens first or last? My recommendation
For most itineraries combining Athens with one or more Greek islands, I recommend:
| Consider Athens at the beginning when… | Consider Athens at the end when… |
| You arrive too late to travel onwards | You can make a comfortable same-day domestic connection |
| Your ferry leaves the following morning | Your first island has an airport |
| Athens is the main purpose of the trip | You need to return to Athens before flying home |
| You want time to recover before travelling again | You are likely to be jet-lagged on arrival |
| You are touring mainland Greece next | You want a cleaner island-hopping route |
The point is not that Athens must always come last. It is that travellers should not automatically put it first simply because their international flight lands there.
Why I usually save Athens until the end
A final stay in Athens protects your journey home
The strongest reason for putting Athens last is that you may need to return to the mainland before your international flight anyway.
Travelling from a Greek island to Athens on the same day as a separately booked flight home introduces avoidable risk. Ferries can be affected by high winds, while both ferry and air travel may be disrupted by technical problems or staff strikes. Government travel advice warns that strikes in Greece are sometimes announced at short notice and can affect ferries, flights, trains, buses and roads.
Unless I have a protected through-ticket or a reliable direct flight home from the island, I normally plan to be back in the Athens area at least one night before an international departure.
Once you include that safety buffer, saving your Athens sightseeing until the end becomes a logical choice.
Imagine booking two nights in Athens at the start, followed by ten nights on the islands. If you also return to Athens the day before flying home, you may need another hotel night at the end. You have now travelled into Athens twice, checked into two mainland hotels and used one of those nights mainly as a transport buffer.
Putting all three Athens nights at the end can turn that otherwise unproductive final stopover into a proper city break. You return from the islands with plenty of time before your flight home, check into one Athens hotel and complete your sightseeing without another ferry or domestic flight hanging over you.
There are exceptions. If your domestic and international flights are issued together on a protected ticket, or you have a direct international flight from your final island, returning to Athens a day early may be unnecessary. However, for separately arranged island-hopping itineraries, I think an overnight buffer is usually worthwhile.
You can fly directly from Athens to your first island
Athens Airport is a major hub for domestic travel, with flights to many Greek islands. Depending on the season and current schedule, it may be possible to connect directly to destinations such as Crete, Rhodes, Kos, Corfu, Samos, Ikaria, Naxos, Paros, Milos, Mykonos and Santorini.
This can make the airport an efficient gateway rather than somewhere you need to leave immediately.
Instead of travelling from Athens Airport into the city, checking into a hotel, sightseeing for several days and then travelling back to the airport, you can complete both flights on your arrival day and begin the holiday on an island.
This works particularly well when the international and domestic flights form part of the same protected booking.
Athens International Airport explains that its published minimum connecting times apply only when the flights are included in one reservation and any checked baggage is transferred to the final destination. They do not apply when passengers have arranged their own connection or must collect baggage in Athens.
When your flights are booked separately, you may need to:
- Pass through passport control
- Collect your checked luggage
- Clear customs
- Check in again for the domestic flight
- Pass through airport security again
- Reach a different departure gate or terminal area
You also carry the financial risk if the international flight is delayed and you miss the second booking.
Personally, I would want at least three hours between separately booked flights at Athens Airport, and potentially longer during busy periods or when travelling with checked luggage. Even with a generous margin, the connection remains at your own risk, so you should check the terms of both bookings carefully.
You avoid sightseeing while exhausted or jet-lagged
Jet lag is an obvious consideration for visitors travelling from North America, Australia or other long-haul destinations. However, even a relatively short European journey can leave you tired.
An early start, airport queues, flight delays, baggage collection and the journey into central Athens can consume much of your arrival day. In summer, you may then be stepping out into temperatures considerably higher than those you left at home.
Athens is also not an especially restful sightseeing destination. Visiting its principal attractions can involve:
- Early starts to avoid the worst crowds and midday heat
- A considerable amount of walking
- Steep or uneven ground
- Queues at popular archaeological sites
- Busy streets and public transport
- Enough concentration to appreciate museums and historic locations
If you describe the first two nights of your trip as “two nights in Athens”, you may only have one genuinely useful sightseeing day. The first evening can easily disappear through travel, hotel check-in and tiredness.
The Acropolis, Ancient Agora and surrounding neighbourhoods are much more enjoyable when you have the energy to walk and enough focus to take everything in.
By the end of the holiday, you should be adjusted to the local time zone, more familiar with the Greek climate and generally more comfortable travelling around the country.
It can create a simpler overall itinerary
Putting Athens first can sometimes create unnecessary duplication, particularly when you are flying to your first island and later returning to the capital.
A conventional Athens-first route might involve:
- Travelling from Athens Airport to a central hotel.
- Returning to the airport or travelling to a mainland port.
- Visiting the islands.
- Returning to Athens before the flight home.
- Checking into another hotel.
- Travelling to the airport again.
An Athens-last route can be cleaner:
- Connect directly from Athens Airport to the first island.
- Travel between the islands.
- Return to Athens.
- Complete one central Athens stay.
- Travel to the airport for the flight home.
The exact saving depends on your route, and you may still need several transfers. However, placing Athens at the end can reduce hotel changes and avoid making the journey between the airport and central Athens twice.
This matters more than it may appear when planning the trip from home. Repacking luggage, checking out, storing bags and waiting for rooms to become available all take time and energy. Reducing one hotel change can make the itinerary feel noticeably less fragmented.
Athens can feel like a memorable finale
There is also an experiential argument for visiting Athens last.
Many visitors imagine getting the hectic city portion out of the way first and then ‘recovering’ on an island. That is understandable, but I think the opposite order can work equally well.
Starting on an island allows the holiday to begin with swimming, waterfront meals, villages and a slower pace. Athens then provides a deliberate change of atmosphere at the end: archaeological sites, museums, busy neighbourhoods, restaurants, shopping and rooftop views of the Acropolis.
Rather than treating Athens as an obstacle between the airport and the islands, you can plan it as a distinct final stage of the trip.
By then, you are also likely to feel more comfortable with Greek food, transport, opening hours and everyday customs. Athens may still feel busy and chaotic, but it is less likely to feel completely unfamiliar.
A final evening eating in Plaka, Monastiraki, Psyrri or another central neighbourhood can also feel like a more memorable conclusion than an anonymous airport hotel.
Shopping is easier at the end
This is a smaller benefit, but leaving Athens until last can make souvenir shopping more convenient.
Anything you buy in the city does not then need to be carried onto domestic flights, ferries or several different islands. Athens also gives you one final opportunity to find gifts, food products or any practical items you forgot earlier in the trip.
I would not arrange an entire itinerary around shopping, but it is a useful secondary advantage.
Example Greece itineraries with Athens last
Athens and the Cyclades
A ten-night itinerary might look like this:
- Nights 1–3: Santorini
- Nights 4–6: Naxos
- Nights 7–8: Paros
- Nights 9–10: Athens
- Day 11: Fly home
On arrival day, you would connect from your international flight at Athens Airport to Santorini. You could then travel between Santorini, Naxos and Paros by ferry before returning to Athens for the final two nights.
The last island journey takes place well before the international departure, and the two nights in Athens provide one full sightseeing day plus parts of the arrival and departure days.
Depending on flight times, I might prefer three nights in Athens for a first visit, but this demonstrates how the basic order can work.
Athens and Crete
The same principle can be even easier when visiting Crete:
- Arrive at Athens Airport.
- Connect to Chania or Heraklion.
- Spend seven or eight nights exploring Crete.
- Fly back to Athens.
- Finish with two or three nights in the capital.
- Fly home.
Crete has enough to justify a substantial holiday on its own, while the flight back to Athens creates a natural point at which to begin the city portion of the trip.
You can find more example itineraries at the end of my Ultimate Island Hopping Guide.
What if your first island does not have an airport?
The decision becomes less straightforward when your first island is only accessible by ferry.
In that situation, you need to consider:
- The scheduled arrival time of your international flight.
- Whether you need to pass through passport control.
- Whether you have checked luggage.
- Which port serves your island.
- How long it will take to reach that port.
- How much contingency you have for delays.
- The ferry’s check-in and boarding requirements.
- Whether another ferry operates later that day.
Athens Airport has public transport connections to central Athens and Piraeus, along with regional bus links towards Rafina and Lavrio. The appropriate port depends on the island and ferry company.
I would be cautious about booking a ferry from Piraeus less than three hours after the scheduled arrival of an international flight, and I would personally prefer a larger margin where possible.
Three hours should not be treated as a guaranteed safe connection. A delayed flight, passport-control queues, slow baggage delivery or heavy traffic can quickly use up that time. Your airline and ferry bookings will normally be independent, so the ferry company is unlikely to protect you if your flight arrives late.
If a comfortable same-day connection exists, I would still consider travelling directly to the island and saving Athens until the end.
When it does not, there are three main options.
1. Stay near the port for one night
Book a convenient hotel near Piraeus, Rafina or Lavrio, have a relaxed evening and take an early ferry the following morning.
This avoids attempting major sightseeing while tired and lets you keep the main Athens stay at the end. However, it does add another hotel change.
2. Visit Athens at the beginning
Stay in central Athens for two or three nights and complete the city sightseeing before travelling to the port.
This may be the most efficient option when the ferry schedule already forces you to remain on the mainland and you would otherwise need a one-night stop with little purpose.
3. Split your Athens stay
Spend one night on the mainland after arriving, continue to the islands the next morning and return for the main Athens stay at the end.
This can be a useful compromise. One unavoidable arrival night does not mean all your Athens sightseeing must take place at the beginning.
There is no universal right answer here. I would compare the available ferry times, the location of the departure port and the cost of adding another hotel stay before deciding.
When is it better to visit Athens first?
Despite my preference for Athens last, there are several situations in which visiting it first is more practical.
Your flight arrives too late to continue travelling
If you land in the evening and there are no suitable domestic flights or ferries, staying on the mainland is unavoidable.
You could still spend only one night near the airport or port, but if you want to visit Athens during the trip, completing the city stay at this point may reduce the total number of hotel changes.
You are continuing into mainland Greece
Athens often makes more sense at the beginning when your next destinations are places such as Delphi, Meteora, Nafplio or the Peloponnese.
In this type of itinerary, Athens forms part of the mainland portion of the trip rather than simply acting as a gateway to the islands.
Athens is the main focus of the holiday
Someone spending four or five nights in Athens and adding one short island stay is planning a very different holiday from someone island hopping for two weeks.
When Athens is the main destination, putting it first may provide a more natural introduction to the trip.
You can fly home directly from your final island
Seasonal international flights operate from several Greek islands. If you can fly directly home from your final destination, there may be no need to return to Athens at all.
In that situation, visiting Athens at the start could be the only logical option.
You prefer to recover before travelling again
Not everyone wants to step off a long-haul flight and immediately board another aircraft.
Even with a safe connection, you may prefer a hotel, shower and proper night’s sleep before continuing. An itinerary needs to suit your personal tolerance for travel as well as being efficient on paper.
Should you split your Athens stay?
Splitting Athens between the start and end can work, but it is not usually my preferred option.
For example, you might spend one night in Athens after a late arrival, travel to the islands the following morning and return for two nights before flying home.
This provides flexibility and ensures you are back on the mainland before your international flight. However, it also means checking into two Athens hotels or returning to the same one twice.
A split stay is most useful when:
- Your arrival time prevents you from continuing to an island.
- You are taking an early ferry the following morning.
- You have a longer trip and do not mind another hotel change.
- You want a brief introduction to Athens before exploring it properly later.
When transport schedules allow, I would usually rather complete the full Athens stay in one block.
How many nights should you spend in Athens?
How many nights should you spend in Athens? The right amount of time depends on your interest in archaeology, museums, neighbourhood exploration and possible day trips. It is also important to distinguish between nights and full sightseeing days.
One night
One night is mainly a transport buffer. Depending on arrival and departure times, you may only have an evening meal or a few hours to walk around the centre.
Two nights
Two nights normally provide one full sightseeing day. That may be enough to see the Acropolis, explore some of the surrounding historic centre and visit one or two additional sites. However, it can feel rushed for a first visit.
Three nights
Three nights usually provide two full days and are my preferred starting point for many first-time visitors.
This gives you more flexibility to visit the main archaeological sites, include a museum and explore several central neighbourhoods without forcing everything into one exhausting day.
Four nights or more
Four nights allow for a slower city break, additional museums, less central neighbourhoods or a day trip beyond Athens.
The right balance depends on how important Athens is to you and how much of the holiday you want to spend on the islands.
A quick test: Does an Athens-last itinerary work for you?
Before booking, ask yourself the following questions:
- Can I reach my first island comfortably on my arrival day?
- Is the domestic connection part of the same protected booking?
- Will I need to collect and recheck my luggage in Athens?
- Have I left enough time for passport control, security and delays?
- Does my first destination require a flight or a transfer to a port?
- Will I need to return to Athens before flying home anyway?
- Would putting Athens last reduce hotel changes or duplicate journeys?
- Can I fly directly home from my final island instead?
- Am I comfortable continuing to travel after my international flight?
- Do seasonal flight and ferry schedules support the route?
Do not force Athens to the end if it creates a stressful connection. The aim is to simplify the trip, not introduce a new risk simply to follow a particular itinerary pattern.
My verdict: Athens is usually better at the end
For many trips combining Athens with the Greek islands, saving the capital until the end creates a smoother and more enjoyable itinerary.
It may allow you to connect directly from Athens Airport to your first island, avoids attempting major sightseeing while tired and turns a sensible pre-flight buffer into a worthwhile city stay.
It can also reduce unnecessary transfers and allow Athens to feel like a proper finale rather than an obstacle you need to clear before the “real” holiday begins.
This approach will not suit every route. Late arrivals, ferry schedules, separately booked flights and direct international departures from the islands can all make Athens first a better choice.
However, I would always investigate the Athens-last option before automatically booking two or three nights in the city at the beginning.
Frequently Asked Questions
For many itineraries combining Athens with the Greek islands, visiting Athens at the end is more practical. It can allow you to connect directly to an island after landing and provides a valuable buffer before your international flight home. Athens first may be better when you arrive too late to travel onwards or are continuing into mainland Greece.
Flying directly to an island can work well when there is a comfortable domestic connection, particularly when both flights are included in one protected booking. Be more cautious with separately booked tickets because you may need to collect luggage and the second airline may not assist if your first flight is delayed.
I would personally want at least three hours and potentially longer when travelling with checked luggage or during busy periods. No fixed margin removes the risk from separately booked flights, so consider the consequences if your international arrival is delayed.
It is possible when your flight arrives early enough and there is a comfortably timed ferry. You need to allow for passport control, luggage collection and the journey to Piraeus, Rafina or Lavrio. Avoid a tight connection because your flight and ferry bookings will not normally protect one another.
Usually, yes, when travelling from an island on a separate ferry or domestic-flight booking. Weather, strikes and operational problems can disrupt transport, so an overnight buffer reduces the risk of missing an international flight.
Two nights usually provide one full sightseeing day, while three nights provide two full days and a more comfortable first visit. Four or more nights are suitable if you want to explore more deeply or include a day trip.
Many islands have domestic flights from Athens, while others require a transfer to Piraeus, Rafina or Lavrio for a ferry. Greece has an extensive domestic air network, but routes and frequency vary by season.
Central Athens makes sense when you have at least one or two nights and want to spend the time sightseeing. An airport hotel may be more practical when you arrive late and have a very early departure the following morning.
It can be, particularly if you arrive too late to travel onwards. However, splitting the stay also creates an extra hotel change and journey into central Athens.
