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Athens · Greece

Car hire and driving in Athens

Driving distances to the cities around, the rules that change at the border, and where to compare rental prices.

OverviewFlightsHotelsTrainsBusesCar rentalToursCruises

In Greece traffic drives on the right. Picking up at ATH means 20 km (12 mi) into the centre before the trip starts. The emergency number is http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1061257 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648793 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648841.

Drives from Athens

Car rental from Athens: distances and estimated journey times
RouteCountryDistanceEstimated time
Athens to PátraGreece177 km (110 mi)about 2 h 42 min
Athens to LárisaGreece215 km (134 mi)about 3 h 17 min
Athens to ÇiğliTurkey297 km (185 mi)about 4 h 32 min
Athens to KonakTurkey298 km (185 mi)about 4 h 33 min
Athens to KarşıyakaTurkey300 km (187 mi)about 4 h 35 min
Athens to KarabağlarTurkey301 km (187 mi)about 4 h 35 min
Athens to İzmirTurkey302 km (188 mi)about 4 h 36 min
Athens to ThessaloníkiGreece303 km (188 mi)about 4 h 37 min
Athens to BornovaTurkey312 km (194 mi)about 4 h 45 min
Athens to IrákleionGreece321 km (200 mi)about 4 h 54 min
Athens to ManisaTurkey330 km (205 mi)about 5 h 2 min
Athens to ÇanakkaleTurkey335 km (208 mi)about 5 h 6 min
Athens to IstanbulTurkey560 km (348 mi)about 8 h 33 min
Athens to AnkaraTurkey818 km (508 mi)about 12 h 28 min
Athens to BursaTurkey522 km (324 mi)about 7 h 57 min
Athens to KyivUkraine1,487 km (924 mi)about 22 h 41 min
Athens to RomeItaly1,049 km (652 mi)about 16 h
Athens to GaziantepTurkey1,208 km (750 mi)about 18 h 25 min
Athens to BucharestRomania744 km (462 mi)about 11 h 21 min
Athens to DiyarbakırTurkey1,444 km (897 mi)about 22 h 1 min

Distances are straight-line; road and rail routes run about 15–25% longer. Times are estimates from distance and typical speeds, not timetables.

Where to compare car hire

ExpediaCar hire from the major suppliers, and the one to look at if the flight or hotel is already booked there. Part of Expedia Group.Check car hire on Expedia (opens www.expedia.com in a new tab)
DiscoverCarsCompares local and international suppliers. Read the counter reviews before you pick.Check rental cars on DiscoverCars (opens www.discovercars.com in a new tab)
Auto EuropeA broker specialising in Europe, often with clearer all-in pricing for US renters.Get European rates on Auto Europe (opens www.autoeurope.com in a new tab)
Rentalcars.comBooking.com's car arm, with wide airport coverage worldwide.Compare suppliers on Rentalcars.com (opens www.rentalcars.com in a new tab)
Every link above leaves this site.

We take no bookings for these providers and hold no reservation with them. The provider you choose handles payment, confirmation, changes and refunds. How that works.

Common questions

Which side of the road do they drive on in Athens?

The right, as everywhere in Greece.

How are the journey times on this page worked out?

From straight-line distance and typical speeds for each mode, so they are estimates for planning, not timetables. Road and rail routes run 15–25% longer than the straight line.

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.