Travel to Athens from Kefalonia runs by plane, by bus with a ferry crossing, or by car on the same ferry. Find more trip ideas on Greece Tours.
The guide below compares each way to reach Athens from Kefalonia and lists what to book once you arrive.
How do you travel to Athens from Kefalonia?
Three routes cover the trip to Athens from Kefalonia: a flight, a coach and a car on the ferry. The flight is the shortest, at about 45 minutes in the air. The coach and the car both cross the sea first and finish on the mainland by road.
The flight is the quickest way to reach Athens from Kefalonia. A guide to the airport puts the Athens flight time at about 45 minutes. The Thinking Traveller, a villa company, also calls the Athens hop a 45-minute domestic flight.
The coach to Athens from Kefalonia starts in the island’s towns. Wikipedia says KTEL, the Greek bus cooperative, runs services from Lixouri, Poros and Argostoli to the mainland. Wildlife Sense, a conservation group on the island, adds that the coach links up with the right ferry.
The car route starts at the port of Poros in the south of Kefalonia. Wikipedia lists Poros with ferry routes to Kyllini on the mainland. The road towards the capital begins after the crossing.
How does the flight to Athens from Kefalonia work?
Aegean Airlines and Sky Express both fly from Kefalonia airport to Athens, and the flight lasts about 45 minutes. The check-in and baggage rules below come from Sky Express, which publishes its terms online.
Wikipedia lists Aegean Airlines and Sky Express with Athens flights from Kefalonia airport. Aegean’s own route page pairs Athens (ATH) with Kefalonia (EFL). Olympic Air, a regional airline owned by Aegean, also appears in the airport’s list of airlines.
For the flight to Athens from Kefalonia, Sky Express opens online check-in 48 hours before departure. Online check-in closes 3 hours before. Sky Express recommends arriving at the airport at least 2 hours early. The desk at Greek airports closes 40 minutes before departure.
A passenger with no bag to drop goes straight to the gate at least 20 minutes before departure. A passenger who needs special assistance reaches the desk 90 minutes before departure.
For the trip to Athens from Kefalonia, Sky Express allows one cabin bag in economy. It weighs up to 8 kg and measures 55 x 40 x 23 cm. A personal item of 40 x 30 x 15 cm goes under the front seat.
When the overhead bins are full, the cabin bag goes into the hold at the gate at no extra cost. Checked bags must not exceed 156 cm in length plus width plus height.
Checked baggage depends on the fare. The SKY joy+ and SKY basic fares include one 15 kg checked bag. The SKY enjoy fare includes 23 kg. The SKY offer and SKY joy fares include no checked bag.
Which airport do you leave from on Kefalonia?
You leave from Kefalonia Airport “Anna Pollatou”, code EFL, the only airport on the island. It lies in the southwest, 8 km from the capital Argostoli. In the latest yearly figure on Wikipedia, 872,536 passengers used it.
A joint venture of Fraport AG and the Copelouzos Group operates the airport. Wikipedia says the operator built a new terminal with new check-in desks and security lanes. Fraport Greece’s plan lists check-in counters rising from 7 to 12. It adds security lanes from 2 to 4 and departure gates from 3 to 6.
The airport’s official site publishes terminal hours for each weekday, with a separate list of exceptions. It adds that hours can extend on set dates to fit single flights. Check the date of your flight before you plan the ride to the terminal.
Ground handling for the trip to Athens from Kefalonia splits by airline. The airport’s airline pages name Goldair Handling for Aegean Airlines and Skyserv for Sky Express. Each page links to that airline’s web check-in.
A traveller on the way to Athens from Kefalonia lands at Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”, code ATH. It sits near Spata, about 20 km east of central Athens and 30 km by road. Aegean Airlines has its main base there, and Sky Express runs an operating base there.
The main terminal handles all intra-Schengen flights. Its Hall B handles domestic services, and the building has separate levels for arrivals and departures. Wikipedia adds that Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air keep their head offices on the airport property.
How does the bus to Athens from Kefalonia work?
A KTEL coach runs the route to Athens from Kefalonia on every day of the year. It leaves from a bus station on the island and crosses to the mainland by ferry. It then travels through Kyllini and Patras and over the Corinth Canal bridge into the capital.
Wikipedia names three island towns that send KTEL buses to the mainland. The bus to Athens from Kefalonia starts from whichever of them sits closest to your hotel:
- Argostoli: the new bus station stands between the Koutavos Lagoon and the De-Bosset Bridge, and it runs a KTEL service to Athens.
- Poros: a long-distance bus route runs to Athens, and the ferry from Kyllini docks here.
- Lixouri: the KTEL station has routes to Patras and Athens through the port of Sami.
The go-ferry.com guide sends travellers to ktelkefalonias.gr for timetables from the ports of Poros and Sami. Read the departure times for your trip to Athens from Kefalonia there before you buy anything.
Wildlife Sense, a research group on Kefalonia, describes the Athens to Kefalonia run as one linked bus and ferry trip. Its page puts the whole journey, ferry included, at around 7 hours.
The same page says passengers leave the bus during the crossing. They can eat at the ferry cafe or rest in the lounge. When the ferry docks, the bus drives off and waits just outside the ship.
On the run from Athens, a bus ticket bought at the Kifisou station includes the ferry fare, says Wildlife Sense. An online bus ticket leaves the ferry ticket to buy at the port. Ask the KTEL desk how your ticket to Athens from Kefalonia handles the ferry.
Which ferry links Kefalonia with the mainland?
Levante Ferries runs the crossing from Poros on Kefalonia to Kyllini on the Peloponnese. The sailing covers 25 nautical miles and takes about 1 hour 30 minutes. The Poros coach to Athens runs via Kyllini, so this crossing opens the way to Athens from Kefalonia.
Direct Ferries counts about 23 weekly sailings from Poros to Kyllini and lists no overnight ferries. It says timetables change with the season and on public holidays. Cabins are available on the Levante Ferries boats.
The go-ferry.com guide counts 3 to 5 daily ferries between Poros and Kyllini in summer. It counts 2 to 4 in winter. Direct Ferries lists Poros departures at 5:45 am, 7:30 am, 10:00 am, 2:15 pm and 6:45 pm. Each runs on set days.
Wikipedia calls the Poros service a regular year-round ferry. It also says the buses between Poros and Argostoli run infrequently. Plan the road leg to Poros before you pick a sailing for your journey to Athens from Kefalonia.
Sami is a second mainland link on the way to Athens from Kefalonia. Wikipedia calls it a major port with links to Patras and Ithaca, and go-ferry.com counts 1 daily departure to Patras. A taxi from Sami to Poros takes about 30 minutes, says Wildlife Sense.
Lixouri has a small port too. Wikipedia says a summer service runs from there to Patras and Kyllini, another sea route for the trip.
Wikipedia calls Kyllini a port town on the Ionian Sea coast, with a dismantled railway line that once ended there. A wait before a sailing fits a short visit. Kyllini tours list the day trips that start from the port.
Where does the bus arrive in Athens?
The coach ends at the KTEL Kifissos bus station, at Kifisou Avenue 100 in Peristeri. Wikipedia names Kifissos the busiest intercity station of the capital and its largest bus terminal. Only KTEL buses use it.
Wikipedia counts 63 ticket offices inside, plus cafeterias, kiosks and public toilets. The station serves about 12 million passengers a year. Anyone who reaches Athens from Kefalonia by coach steps off in this terminal.
The Kifissos destination table lists Kyllini under KTEL Ilias. It also lists Zakynthos under KTEL Zakynthou, reached via Kyllini by boat. Wikipedia lists routes from the station to the Peloponnese, Epirus, Macedonia and the Ionian Islands.
Four OASA city buses link the terminal with the rest of Athens:
- Bus 051 runs to Metaxourgeio metro station on Line 2 and to Omonoia Square, where Lines 1 and 2 meet.
- Bus 052 runs to Elaionas metro station on Line 3.
- Bus 420 runs to the port of Piraeus.
- Bus X93 runs to Athens International Airport.
Go-ferry.com says the 051 to Kifissos leaves from Zinonos and Menandrou streets near Omonoia Square. It runs every 20 minutes, from 5 am to midnight.
For a trip to Athens from Kefalonia that ends at the airport, the X93 runs around the clock. Go-ferry.com says it leaves about every 30 minutes and the ride takes about one hour.
Can you drive to Athens from Kefalonia?
Yes. Driving to Athens from Kefalonia takes a car ferry to Kyllini, then a toll motorway east. Levante Ferries runs the car crossing from Poros port, and the motorway ends at the capital.
The trip has one sea crossing and one long road leg. Poros, on the southeast coast, has a regular year-round ferry link to Kyllini. Ferryhopper lists a fare for two adults with one car on that route.
Book the car together with the tickets. Ferryhopper’s booking step asks you to specify passengers, vehicles, cabin preferences and pets. Ferryscanner states that vehicle fares depend on the vehicle type, the ferry company and the season. For an unaccompanied vehicle, it asks you to contact its support team.
The kefalonia.gr guide warns that car spaces on the mainland routes fill up in July and August. It advises booking them well in advance. Reserve the car space first, then plan the day to Athens from Kefalonia around that sailing.
A rental car needs the rental office’s consent. Dolphin Hellas, a Greek rental firm, states that clients need the agency’s written authorisation before a ferry. It adds that no insurance covers the car on board. Ask for that consent before any trip to Athens from Kefalonia.
Hertz Greece sets the same condition. Its terms allow ferry transport only with prior written approval and only if the renter accepts the Ferry Boat Cover. Otherwise, the renter is liable for all damage to the car during its transfer.
One-way hire to Athens from Kefalonia is a separate question. National’s Greek rental terms state that one-way rentals between mainland Greece and the Greek islands are not permitted. Under that rule, a car rented on Kefalonia cannot end its hire in Athens.
The same terms add that a one-way rental must be requested at the time of booking. Hertz allows one-way hire between its own locations, after written authorisation and a special charge agreement.
Which roads lead to Athens after the ferry?
The A8, also called Olympia Odos, is the main road once you land. This toll motorway runs east from Patras through Corinth to Eleusis, where the Attiki Odos ring road begins.
The Olympia Odos is the main road for the drive to Athens from Kefalonia. Wikipedia says the system starts at Eleusis in the Athens area. It follows the Gulf of Corinth to the Rio-Antirrio bridge and Patras. The Patras to Pyrgos section is open now, so the A8 reaches Pyrgos too.
Two sources quote the road length from Kyllini. The kefalonia.gr guide puts the port about 280 km from central Athens. It adds roughly 2.5 hours via the E65 motorway and the Korinthos junction. Rome2Rio gives 255.8 km and about 3 hours.
Wikipedia places Patras 215 km from Athens by road. It calls the link a closed motorway with a 130 km/h speed limit. Wikipedia states that the upgrade cut the transit time to 1 hour and 45 minutes.
The Rio-Antirrio bridge links the mainland shore with the Peloponnese by road. It is 2,380 metres long and has two vehicle lanes per direction plus an emergency lane. The A5 crosses it and meets the A8 at an interchange near Patras.
The A8 route to Athens from Kefalonia crosses the Isthmus of Corinth, where the Corinth Canal cuts the land. A railway line, a road and a motorway cross the canal at a height of about 45 metres. Two submersible bridges at its ends give two more road crossings.
On the A8 to Athens from Kefalonia, five toll stations stand at Rio, Elaionas, Zevgolateio, the Isthmus and Eleusis. Service areas stand at Aigio, Akrata, Kiato, the Isthmus, Megara and Nea Peramos.
At Eleusis the Attiki Odos, or A6, takes over. It joins Eleusis with Athens International Airport and forms the northern ring road of Athens, 48 km long. Drivers pay the toll on entry. The fare is the same for any length and depends on the vehicle category.
How do you plan a day of travel to Athens from Kefalonia?
Count back from the ferry you book. Ferryscanner lists Poros departures from 05:45 to 18:45 and no night sailings. A day of travel to Athens from Kefalonia has four legs. They are the port drive, the gate wait, the crossing and the motorway.
The day starts on the island. Poros lies about 40 km southeast of Argostoli, and the kefalonia.gr guide gives about 50 minutes for that drive. Poros is 28 km southeast of Sami.
Ferryhopper’s Poros page advises a 45-minute margin before departure. The port also serves other island routes and can be busy in summer. Ferryscanner asks for 60 minutes at the boarding gate. Ferryhopper’s general guide also says one hour and adds that boarding a vehicle takes time.
Use the longer figure when you plan the morning for Athens from Kefalonia. For the 05:45 sailing, 60 minutes at the gate means arriving at 04:45. The 50-minute drive from Argostoli then means leaving around 03:55.
Ferryhopper says Levante Ferries normally lets you carry luggage items up to 50 kg free of charge. Bags go in the designated luggage areas, or you keep them beside you. Its guide adds that valuables do not belong in the shared storage space.
Confirm the ferry name and destination with the crew before you board. A ferry company can run more than one vessel under its brand. Keep the ticket QR code ready, printed or on the phone. Save maps and documents before you leave for Athens from Kefalonia, since mobile data and signal can drop mid-sea.
After Kyllini, plan the motorway leg at 2.5 hours by the kefalonia.gr figure or 3 hours by the Rome2Rio figure. That leg sets your arrival in Athens from Kefalonia. The six service areas on the A8 give you places to stop.
Drivers reaching Athens from Kefalonia face city traffic. British government travel advice calls it busy, fast and chaotic in larger cities. The same advice tells drivers to keep valuables out of sight and lock the vehicle at all times. It also says to park in a well-lit area.
Travellers who start in Athens can read how to get to Kefalonia for the same trip in reverse.
What can you book in Athens after the trip from Kefalonia?
Athens lists five wine tastings on GetYourGuide for anyone who has come to Athens from Kefalonia. One pours six Kefalonia wines. Two carry the Acropolis in their titles. One sits on a high balcony, and one pours rare Greek grapes.
Travellers who reach Athens from Kefalonia by air land at Athens International Airport. A railway station stands beside the terminal, joined to it by an elevated walkway. Metro line 3 and the Proastiakos suburban railway both run from that station.
Line 3 runs from the airport through Syntagma. The through service to the airport leaves once every 36 minutes.
Passengers who flew to Athens from Kefalonia can also take the X95 express bus to Syntagma Square. In the city, its stop is on Othonos Street, on the south side of the square. One guide puts the ride at around 40 minutes. The X95 needs its own ticket.
The Acropolis wine tasting with cheese and olives is a small semi-private session. Its listing adds a virtual tour. It lasts 1 to 1.5 hours, and a private option is available. Booking needs at least 2 hours of notice.
The sommelier session with city views runs 2 hours on a spacious high-floor balcony. It serves signature bites with a professional wine expert. The listing marks it wheelchair accessible and asks for at least 10 hours of notice.
Another sommelier tasting sits under the Acropolis. A Greek sommelier pours wine from regional wineries and serves Greek tapas. The session lasts 1.5 hours, and the listing asks for at least 4 hours of notice.
The fourth tasting is the quickest. Certified sommeliers present five of the rarest Greek grape varieties, as limited-production wines, in the heart of Athens. It runs 40 minutes for a small group and needs only 20 minutes of notice.
Anyone in Athens from Kefalonia who wants more than these four sessions can turn to our Athens wine tasting page. It covers Greek grapes and the wine bars of the city.
Where can you taste Kefalonia wine in Athens?
The island’s wine reaches Athens from Kefalonia in one GetYourGuide tour. The tour is Athens: Tasting of 6 Wines from Kefalonia with Food Pairing. The listing says you taste six wines from Haritatos Vineyard, each with a food match.
The listing promises flavour shifts as each wine meets its food match. It also says you learn about wars and love stories concealed in your glass.
The listing labels the tasting a private group and marks it wheelchair accessible. It shows the duration as 1 day.
Haritatos Vineyard sits in Kladata on Kefalonia. A travel.gr article says the vineyard took its current form in eighteen sixty-three. The estate grows the indigenous Moschato, Vostylidi and Mavrodafni varieties and farms them organically. On the island itself, the vineyard opens to the public for wine tasting every day, upon arrangement.
Robola is a white Greek grape grown primarily on Kefalonia. Wikipedia shows it widely grown in the south eastern parts of the island. The vine ripens early and can give high-acid wines.
The grape grows in limestone soils. Wines from Robola tend to be dry and medium bodied, with a distinct lemon note. A wine writer cited by Wikipedia adds that Robola wines can have a flinty character.
Wikipedia’s article on Greek wine places Robola in the mountainous vineyards of Kefalonia. It describes a smoky mineral and lemony character, and it pairs the grape with seafood.
Robola was once thought to match the Ribolla grape of Friuli in northeast Italy. Venetian merchants who traded with Kefalonia in the thirteenth century were said to have carried it there. DNA profiling in the twenty-first century cast doubt on that theory. The Vitis International Variety Catalogue now lists Robola as a separate variety.
Wikipedia’s article on the island lists wine and raisins among the oldest products Kefalonia exported. Both stayed important until the twentieth century.
What do travellers ask about the trip to Athens from Kefalonia?
Travellers ask about pets, small children, night landings, delays and booking the Kefalonia tasting. Aegean Airlines, Wikipedia, a bus guide and the tour listing supply the answers below, and each answer names its source.
Start the trip to Athens from Kefalonia with a booked ride to the airport. Our Kefalonia airport transfers page covers that first leg.
Can you take a pet on the flight to Athens from Kefalonia?
On Aegean Airlines, each passenger can bring one cat or dog into the cabin. The pet and its carrier together weigh up to 8 kilos, and the carrier fits under the seat in front. A heavier pet travels in the hold. A passenger with an infant cannot bring a pet into the cabin.
What are the rules for babies and children on the flight to Athens from Kefalonia?
Aegean Airlines calls a child an infant if the child is under two for the whole journey. An infant travels on a parent’s lap. Child seats need their own seat and suit passengers up to 12 years old. Children under 5 cannot fly as unaccompanied minors.
What if you land in Athens from Kefalonia at night?
Trains leave the airport station every 36 minutes from 06:10 to 23:34. After that, the X95 bus runs 24 hours a day, according to a transport guide. Taxis wait at the taxi area at exit 3 of the arrivals level.
What happens if the flight is delayed or cancelled?
The EU flight compensation rule, Regulation 261, covers flights from the EU, such as a flight to Athens from Kefalonia. It applies whatever the airline’s home country. Airlines pay a lump sum if a flight is cancelled on short notice or arrives more than three hours late.
Can you book the Kefalonia tasting for the day you arrive in Athens from Kefalonia?
The listing for the six-wine tasting says you must book at least 10 hours in advance. It also carries a free cancellation label.