How To: Travel Edition

Around Greece there are a few options to travel around the country. You can walk for the most part but if you’ve grown a bit lazy and tired of walking everywhere, like me most of the time after three and a half months, here’s some options and how to’s.

The metro is an efficient method of transportation and doesn't create a hole in your wallet! Heading from my dorm, it’s about a two mile walk to the metro. And if you think that’s far, find yourself a taxi for about 5 Euros to the metro. Or just buy yourself a bike or car at this point.

At first, the metro can be a bit confusing in some areas, but it’s easy to get the hang of! Walk up to the machine to purchase your ticket with Euro or credit card. For about 2.70 Euro you can head into downtown Athens. Don't forget to hold onto your ticket so you can swipe yourself in and out of the station. If you happen to “misplace” your ticket (wink, wink), for the most part you can walk closely behind another person as they’re swiping their ticket to get out before the machine operated doors close. A quick, loud “beep beep” alarm will go off in the station repeatedly, but will stop by the time you leave. And no one pays attention to it since many people misplace their tickets. But, if there’s law enforcement watching, mainly just in downtown Athens, then… Good Luck Charlie.

You can also take the metro to the ferry port or the airport which is about 10 Euro. But if you’re traveling with a few friends to or from the airport, it may be easier and perhaps even cheaper to just split a taxi with your friends for around 7 Euro each.

The ferry is easy but also a bit tricky at times. You can purchase your ticket online, head to one of the two ports near Agia Paraskevi, where my dorm and University are, and pick up your ticket before you head onto your ferry. Be careful of your purchase options! You must have a special student card, depending on your school, to get you the student discount, or else they WILL call you out on the loud speaker, for everyone to hear and you’ll have to pay the difference. You can try and fight this payment, but you will lose.

Depending on your location, you can opt to take the overnight ferry, which I’ve done twice. Or you can take a ferry during the day. The overnight ferry’s have options like buying a room or buying the ticket that guarantees you a seat, or even the cheaper ticket which does not guarantee you a seat. That option is similar to a Hunger Games event. I’ve seen many people camping out in the hallways, which is definitely a fire hazard. While it was effective to buy a room and book the overnight ferry, honestly it wasn’t worth it. It was cramped, rocky, and uncomfortable altogether. Maybe try not to take a ferry that’s duration is super long. Or do it once to give yourself the experience!

Another option is to take taxis. These rides can be deceiving. Many taxi drivers take advantage of tourists and jack the price up with or without your knowledge. The price usually goes up 5 or 10 cents every 15 seconds or so. May not seem like a lot, but it racks up the bill. Taxi drivers also miss exits and turns frequently to take longer to get to your destination, which obviously jacks up the price again.

An option is to schedule a taxi beforehand or if you’ve taken a taxi with a nice taxi driver, you can ask for their card so you can call them to schedule more trips! Another idea to keep in mind is to download the app Taxi Beat, which gives you an estimated price to your location, so you know what price to expect. Beat is basically like Uber but since Uber isn’t allowed in Greece, they use Taxi Beat to give taxi drivers more service.

Trying to book a flight to a different location? Before abroad, a few friends who previously went abroad shared some tips with me. Google flights or simply Ryan Air is an option. Or, my personal favorite and go to, Skyscanner. This website weaves through all flights and airlines to find the cheapest flights. So, before you spend an absurd amount on a flight to say, Morocco, check Skyscanner regularly!

I hope these transportation options can help people save money and explore different options to get you to be more cultured!

One of the ferry ports.

Heading onto the plane with RyanAir.

A collection of tickets (plane and metro).