Rafina Port: Which Islands Sail From It, and How to Get There From Athens Airport

Ferries from Rafina port: which islands, which companies

Rafina serves the northern and central Cyclades. Two companies run it all year: Golden Star Ferries, with the conventional Andros Queen and Super Ferry and the Super Express catamaran, and Fast Ferries, whose conventional ships stop at Andros, Tinos and Mykonos. SeaJets adds fast catamarans in summer. Most boats run as a chain, Andros then Tinos then Mykonos, and some carry on to Paros and Naxos.

Rafina to Andros and Tinos

These are Rafina's own islands. Andros is only reachable by ferry from Rafina, not from Piraeus, and the fast boat takes a little over an hour to Gavrio. Tinos is the next stop, under two hours away, and with Andros it is the easiest island weekend from Athens airport: land in the morning, sail at lunchtime.

Rafina port to Mykonos

The busiest line from the port. The fast catamarans take 2 h 10 to 2 h 30, the conventional ships four and a half hours with stops at Andros and Tinos. In July and August there are several departures a day, the first ones early in the morning. Our Athens to Mykonos ferry guide compares this crossing with the Piraeus one, boat by boat.

Rafina to Paros, Naxos, Ios and Santorini

Paros and Naxos are served mainly from spring to autumn, often as the end of the Mykonos run, which makes them slower from Rafina than the direct boats from Piraeus. Santorini and Ios are summer extensions of the same line, at 5 h 30 or more. For these islands Piraeus usually has more sailings: see the Athens to Paros ferry and the Athens to Naxos ferry before you pick a port.

Seasonal lines and Marmari on Evia

In summer a few long sailings leave Rafina for Ikaria, Samos and Crete, some only once a week, so check the day before building a plan on them. All year, small ferries cross to Marmari on Evia in about an hour, which is the quickest way to the south of the island.

Athens airport to Rafina port: KTEL bus and taxi

Here Rafina wins easily. The airport and the port are on the same side of Attica, 25 to 40 minutes apart by road, while Piraeus is on the far side of Athens. Landing in the morning and sailing to Tinos or Mykonos the same afternoon is realistic from Rafina, and a gamble from Piraeus. Everything about the airport itself is in our Athens airport guide.

KTEL bus from Athens airport to Rafina

The orange KTEL Attikis bus stops on the arrivals level, between exits 2 and 3, opposite the Sofitel. The fare is about €4, paid to the driver, and the ride takes 30 to 50 minutes. The catch is the frequency: one bus every hour or two, from about 4:30 to about 22:30, with gaps in the morning and fewer buses at weekends and in winter. The timetable is not built around the ferries.

KTEL's own website was offline when we checked in October 2026 and the timetables circulating online disagree, some listing fifteen departures a day and others nine. Call KTEL Attikis on +30 210 880 8080 the day before, or ask at the information desk in arrivals, and keep a taxi as plan B if the gap before your boat is under two hours.

Taxi from Athens airport to Rafina: price and time

Count on roughly €40 to €55 by day and more between midnight and 5:00, for 25 to 40 minutes. The airport's fixed taxi fares only cover the city center: there is no official flat fare to Rafina, whatever some websites say. Ask the price at the rank before the luggage goes in, or book through an app such as FreeNow or Uber, which send licensed taxis and show the estimate up front. With three or four people it costs barely more than the bus fares together.

Rafina port to Athens airport

The same KTEL line runs back from the bus stop at the top of the port, with the same gaps. Coming off an island to catch a flight, leave at least three hours between the scheduled arrival and your departure: boats come in late in August, and in a strong meltemi they are cancelled outright. Taxis wait at the rank by the terminal when a ferry docks, but the queue gets long when a full boat empties.

Athens to Rafina port from the city center

Rafina has no metro and no train. From the center it is a bus or a road trip of about an hour, which is why people staying in Plaka or Syntagma often find Piraeus easier.

KTEL bus from Athens to Rafina

KTEL Attikis buses for Rafina start near Pedion tou Areos park, on Mavromateon Street, about ten minutes' walk from Victoria metro (line 1). They then run out along Mesogeion Avenue, stopping near the line 3 metro stations Ambelokipi, Ethniki Amyna and Nomismatokopio, which is the easier place to board if you are coming from Syntagma. The fare is about €2.40 to €3.20 and the ride takes about an hour, more at rush hour. Buses run from around 5:45 to about 22:30. The first one of the day reaches Rafina in time for the early boats around 7:00 to 7:30, with little margin.

Taxi from central Athens to Rafina

On the meter, roughly €40 to €70 depending on the time of day, and 45 minutes to an hour from Syntagma. For an early-morning sailing it is often the only way to arrive with time to spare, so book it the evening before.

Rafina port to Athens

The return bus leaves from the KTEL stop above the port and drops passengers along Mesogeion Avenue before finishing at Pedion tou Areos. Get off at Ethniki Amyna or Nomismatokopio and switch to metro line 3 for Syntagma and Monastiraki.

Rafina or Piraeus: which Athens port to choose

Often the island decides for you: Andros only sails from Rafina, Crete and the Dodecanese only from Piraeus. When both ports serve your island, which is the case for Mykonos, Tinos, Paros and Naxos, the choice comes down to where you start.

• Choose Rafina if you are coming straight from the airport, going to Andros, Tinos or Mykonos, staying on the east coast or driving, or want the shortest fast crossing.
• Choose Piraeus if you are staying in central Athens without a car, since the metro stops opposite the Cyclades gates, or going to Santorini, Naxos or Crete, where it has far more sailings and the big Blue Star ships that ride out the wind better.

One more point against Rafina in high summer: it is a crowded little harbor. The seamen's union counted about five berths for eleven ferries in 2026, and its 24-hour strike on 3 July cancelled every sailing to Mykonos, Tinos, Andros and Paros. Strikes are announced a few days ahead in the Greek press, so check the news before a tight connection. The Piraeus side, with its gate map, is in our Piraeus port guide.

Rafina port map and services: tickets, ATM, parking

Unlike Piraeus, Rafina is one harbor you can see from end to end. The town sits on the hill, the bus stop and the taxi rank are at the top of the port, and the ferries tie up along the quay a short walk below. There are no numbered gates: the departure boards and the staff at the ramps tell you which boat is which, and when several leave within minutes of each other in summer, check the ship's name on your ticket, not just the island.

Ferry tickets and check-in at Rafina

Golden Star and Fast Ferries both offer online check-in, and an e-ticket on your phone is enough to board. If you need a paper ticket, the travel agencies are grouped around Kamares, about 250 m from the quay. Arrive 45 minutes before departure on foot, an hour in August or with a car.

ATM, luggage storage, food and parking

There is no ATM in the terminal: the banks are in town, about five minutes uphill. We found no left-luggage service, so plan to keep your bags with you. Cafés overlook the quay, fish tavernas line the harbor road, and there is a Sklavenitis and a Lidl nearby for supplies before a long crossing. Parking near the port is free part of the year and paid in summer, and some side streets are residents only.

Hotels in Rafina for an early ferry

If your flight lands in the evening and your boat leaves at 7:00, sleep in Rafina rather than in Athens. The town has a handful of small hotels within walking distance of the quay, and it puts you five minutes from the boat instead of an hour. The same logic works on the way back with an early flight, and the hotels in Rafina are all within a short walk of the quay or the main square. If you would rather spend the evening in the city, our guide to where to stay in Athens covers the neighborhoods close to the bus.

Things to do in Rafina while you wait

Enough for a few hours, not a day. Walk up to the church of Agios Nikolaos, on the cliff above the harbor, for the view across to Evia and the boats coming in. The tavernas along the port serve grilled fish straight off the local boats, and Marikes beach, just south of town, is the closest swim.

Every other crossing from Athens, port by port, is in the guide to Greek ferries.

Top photo: Rafina harbor by frang947, CC BY 3.0. Ferries at the quay by Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0. Waterfront by Abocanto, CC0. All via Wikimedia Commons.