Athens, Greece

Country guide · Southern Europe

Greece

23 places across 8 regions, how to get there, the entry rules for your passport, and day-by-day plans priced in your currency.

Athens
  • Trip from ₹1,78,993 per person · 5 days from Delhi in Nov, visa included, for two at mid-range ·
  • Visa before you fly on an Indian passport, up to 90 days · ₹11,590 fee (other passports below)
  • Best May–Jun, Sep–Oct · month by month
Plan 5 days in Greece

Classic routes

Flying in

Flights from India

  • Athens (ATH) · from 8 Indian cities, from ₹20,000 one way

Entry rules

Visa needed before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹11,590

Apply for a Schengen short-stay (type C) visa at a VFS Global Greece centre in India, 4-8 weeks before you fly, and at least 6 weeks ahead for June to September (no earlier than 6 months). Apply to Greece if it is your only or longest stay in Schengen. The fee is €90 (about ₹9,600; €45 for children 6-11) plus the VFS service charge, and it is not refunded if the visa is refused.

Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.

🏛️ Athens & the Saronic Islands

The capital and its ancient heart, the Acropolis, with the Ancient Agora, the Acropolis Museum and Plaka, the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, and the Saronic islands a short boat ride from Piraeus: car-free Hydra, Aegina and Poros. Athens airport is Greece's gateway from India, and the ferries to every island group leave from Piraeus and Rafina.

⛪ Delphi & Meteora

The mainland loop north of Athens: the oracle of Apollo at Delphi on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, and the monasteries of Meteora on their sandstone pillars above Kalambaka. Coaches and trains run from Athens; a hire car or a tour joins the two in one trip.

🗼 Thessaloniki, Halkidiki & Zagori

Northern Greece: Thessaloniki's Byzantine churches, seafront and food, the beaches of the Halkidiki peninsulas with Mount Athos at their tip, and in Epirus the stone villages and arched bridges of Zagori above the Vikos Gorge, near lakeside Ioannina. Thessaloniki's airport and the Athens train are the way in.

🫒 The Ionian Islands

The green islands of the west coast: Venetian Corfu, Zakynthos with Navagio and its turtles, and mountainous Kefalonia with Myrtos beach and the Melissani cave. Flights from Athens and Europe, and ferries from Igoumenitsa and Kyllini on the mainland; Corfu has overnight ferries to Bari in Italy.

🏰 The Peloponnese

The great peninsula south-west of Athens: Nafplio's Venetian harbour town with Mycenae and the theatre of Epidaurus close by, Ancient Olympia where the Games began, and the Byzantine rock town of Monemvasia. Motorways from Athens and few trains: a hire car is the easy way round.

🌅 The Cyclades

The white-and-blue islands of the central Aegean: Santorini's caldera, Mykonos and Delos, big, green Naxos, Paros, the ferry crossroads, and Milos' moon-white rocks and sea caves. Ferries from Piraeus and Rafina and short flights from Athens; the fast boats run from about April to October, and the meltemi wind can stop them in July and August.

🐂 Crete

Greece's largest island: Minoan Knossos and Heraklion's museum, Chania's Venetian harbour with the Samaria Gorge and the beaches of Balos and Elafonissi, and the Gulf of Mirabello with Agios Nikolaos, Elounda's resorts and Spinalonga. Flights from Athens in under an hour, overnight ferries from Piraeus; a hire car is the way round.

🛡️ Rhodes & Kos

The Dodecanese, off the Turkish coast: Rhodes' medieval Old Town of the Knights and Lindos' acropolis, and Kos with the Asklepieion and its beaches. Flights from Athens in about an hour, long ferries from Piraeus, and boats across to Marmaris and Bodrum in Türkiye.

Plan 5 days in Greece

Opens the planner with the usual places in Greece picked: change them, the dates or your city there.