How long does it take to fly to Greece from different points in Russia? We are flying to Greece - from where, where and how? How long is the flight to Greece from Kyiv?

Every person who has planned a trip to Greece wonders how long the flight will take. But, as you understand, there is no and cannot be an unambiguous and clear answer to this question. Firstly, the flight time depends on the city from which you are flying and the destination, and secondly, on whether the flight is direct or connecting.

How long does it take to fly to Greece?

A faster way to get to Greece than by plane has not yet been invented. As for the price, a bus or even a train can sometimes be cheaper, but much longer, and the level of comfort is lower. And in the case of air travel, you will spend only a few hours in the air in anticipation of an unrivaled vacation - and now your dream has already come true. And the question of how long to fly to Greece directly depends on whether you choose a direct flight or a connecting one. Flights with transfers can sometimes take even more than a day due to long waiting times between flights. Their advantage is that they are much cheaper than direct flights.

How long does it take to fly to Greece from Moscow?

Athens has been a favorite Greek resort among Russians for many years, but Rhodes, Crete, Chalkidi, Thessaloniki and other cities are also popular. Flight times from Moscow to each of them, of course, vary. For example, you can get to Thessaloniki from Moscow in just 2.5 hours, but the road to Crete, Rhodes, and Corfu will take more than 3 hours. But the longest flight is from Moscow to Athens - you will have to spend at least 4 hours in the sky. Although this is unlikely to interfere with your vacation.

The main difficulty is that flights to Athens are carried out much more often than to other cities in Greece. That is why it will be more convenient for you to fly to Athens on a regular direct Aeroflot flight, and then use domestic airlines in Greece or even take a bus to get directly to your resort.

If, having found out how long it takes to fly to Greece on a direct flight, you choose a connecting flight, keep in mind that in the best case, the flight will take you 8-10 hours. And this is subject to one transplant. But often there are 2 or even more. So you can use the services of Baltic Airlines and spend 1 hour on the Moscow-Riga flight, you will have to spend about 11 hours at the airport and about 4 more hours in the sky to get from Riga to Athens. Turkish Airlines will help you significantly reduce your waiting time at the airport (up to approximately 2 hours).

Flight from St. Petersburg

When going on vacation from the northern capital, you are unlikely to want to fly to Moscow first, so it is much more useful to know how long it is to fly to Greece from St. Petersburg. Again, if we are talking about Athens, a direct flight will take you about 3.5 hours. But connecting flights do not make any sense, since their cost is often even higher than direct flights. However, you can try to save a little money by taking a train to Moscow, and from there fly to Greece.

Flight time from other Russian cities

If you are going to fly to Greece from more remote parts of Russia, then both the duration and cost of the flight, of course, will increase in proportion to the distance. In addition, keep in mind that not all cities offer direct flights. Therefore, in this case, it will be more convenient for you to fly with a transfer from Moscow. However, below are the approximate flight times:

  • Ekaterinburg-Athens - from 7 to 9 hours, about the same from Ufa, Krasnodar and Kazan;
  • The flight from Arkhangelsk will take you about 8 hours;
  • from Perm, Chelyabinsk and Novosibirsk to Athens, fly from 9 hours;
  • about 10 hours - from Krasnoyarsk, and from Irkutsk the journey can take almost a day.
  • the minimum flight time from Russia to Greece is about 3 hours - of course, from Rostov-on-Don.

As has already become clear, there is no clear answer to the question of how long to fly to Greece: it all depends on your geographical location, the chosen resort and the financial component.

Greece is one of the most popular tourist destinations for Russians. The direct flight distance to Greece from Moscow is two thousand two hundred thirty-one kilometers. This means that the flight will have to be at least two hours and fifty-eight minutes. In this case, the average speed of the airliner must be at least eight hundred and fifty kilometers per hour.

When planning a trip, you must take into account that the duration of the flight to your destination is influenced by many factors: climatic conditions, seasonality of the route, ticket prices, availability of regular (direct), charter or connecting flights.

Greece is a Mediterranean country washed by three seas: the Aegean, Ionian and Mediterranean. It occupies not only the entire Balkan Peninsula, but also a thousand islands around. A country with a rich history, “the cradle of ancient civilization,” can delight not only with its numerous ancient monuments, such as the Parthenon Temple, the Acropolis fortress in Athens.

This state captivates beach lovers with the uniqueness of the seascape, the purity of the water, and the color of the emerald white sand. Just look at the coastal landscape of Suntory Island, where the sand is black. The resorts on the island of Kos and Crete will amaze you - they are compared to the best beaches of the Maldives.

There is also something to do for winter sports lovers. The ski resorts of Kaimaktsalan and Vasilitsa warmly welcome their tourists, delighting them with the service and quality of services. And numerous spa hotels with mountain lakes at the foot will help you relax after physical activity.

Climate and seasonality

As in other countries of Southern Europe, a dry, hot climate prevails here. There are more than three hundred sunny days a year. This means that traveling around the country is quite comfortable even in winter.

The high season in Greece is considered to be the period from May to September on the mainland in central Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki, Chalkidiki, Thessaly, Kavala). On the island part - from April to October.

Abnormal heat can occur from July to early September. The air temperature at this time of year can reach up to + 38, + 43 degrees. On the islands, the heat is more easily tolerated due to the light sea breeze. But already in September, at night the temperature here can fluctuate significantly, dropping by ten to fifteen degrees.

Summer is the height of the tourist season for Russians. During the high season, air ticket prices are significantly higher than during the off-season. But air traffic was also better developed during this period. Carriers launch many direct charter flights from Moscow to popular Greek resorts from June to September. The number of regular flights to both the Greek capital and popular island resorts has also been increased.

Airlines and airports in Greece

Air traffic is very developed on the mainland and island parts of Greece. About fifty different airports, international air terminals and private airfields are ready to receive tourists from all over the world.

The country's international airports serve airliners from more than eighty leading carrier companies. Airplanes from Moscow depart here from the following companies: Aeroflot, S 7 Airlines, Ural Airlines, Russia Airlines, Aegean Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Ellinair, Air France, Alitalia.

More than two hundred and sixty flight options are offered daily from Moscow to Greek airports: Athens International, Crete Heraklion, Crete Chania, Kos (KGS), Corfu (CFU), Thessaloniki (SKG), Rhodes (RHO), Zakynthos (ZTH), Santorini (JTR ).

The country's largest air hubs are the airports of Athens, Corfu, Heraklion, Rados and Thessaloniki. Direct flights from Moscow depart only to Athens and Thessaloniki. Charter planes also arrive on other Greek islands during the high season.

The capital's airport, Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, is quite comfortable for both arriving and transit passengers. There is everything you need here: restaurants, cafes, Duty Free shops, a travel agency, a bank branch, exchange offices, a post office, a mother and child room.

You can get to the city of Athens (27 km) by public transport: overground metro, buses, commuter trains. For those who value time and are not used to saving on travel, there are taxi services, individual transfers or car rentals. There is a very developed ferry service between the islands. But in winter, the schedule may change frequently due to bad weather.

Flight options to Greece from Moscow

Direct flights

During the high tourist season (June 2018), the air ticket booking system offers more than two hundred route options every day in the Moscow – Athens (ATH) direction. Direct ones (there are about ten) are offered by the following carriers: Aeroflot, Allinair, Aegean Airlines.

The flight to Greece will take at least three hours and twenty-five minutes. Ticket prices vary from five and a half to twelve thousand rubles. The most expensive ticket is offered for the shortest flight.

The best option may be an Aegean Airlines flight with a flight of three hours and thirty minutes. The cost of such a ticket in June 2018 is eight thousand nine hundred and forty rubles. Those who do not want to overpay and have time to wait for a connection will choose a flight with a transfer.

For example, this route can be done with Air France, spending nine hours and thirty minutes on the trip. The connecting waiting time at Paris de Gaulle Airport will be two hours and thirty minutes. The flight will cost five thousand four hundred and seventy rubles.

Flying to Thessaloniki Airport (Greece) from Moscow is a little closer. By choosing airlines from Aegean Airlines, Ellinair, Aeroflot, Utair, you can be in SKG Thessaloniki in just three hours and ten minutes. The cost of such a route as of June 2018 ranges from five thousand two hundred rubles.

The surprising thing is that if you choose a connecting flight Moscow – Thessaloniki with transfers and long waits, you will not be able to save money. Such ticket options are even more expensive, about ten thousand rubles.

At the height of the tourist season (June 2018), more than two hundred and thirty route options are offered to the favorite beach resorts of the island of Crete (Greece). By choosing a direct flight, you will spend three hours and forty minutes on the plane and will pay at least seven thousand rubles for such a trip.

Direct flights are offered by air carriers: Aegean Airlines, Ellinair, UTair, Aeroflot, Nordwind Airlines, Czech Airlines. You can get to the beaches of the island of Rhodes from Moscow using S 7 Airlines, Aegean Airlines, Royal Flight.

The flight to RHO Rhodes airport is three hours and thirty minutes, the ticket price is eleven thousand rubles (June 2018). You can save almost twice as much with Aegean Airlines if you are prepared for connecting flights with a long wait of fifteen hours on the island of Crete and seven hours and forty minutes at Athens airport.

The total flight time will be twenty-eight hours. But in fact, this route will be quite attractive for those who decide during this time to see the capital of Greece and appreciate the surroundings of Crete. Moreover, transport links in these areas are very developed.

Local airlines

Ferry service between the islands is not always a convenient form of transport for tourists. The schedule is not regular and is adjusted to suit local residents, and in winter, flights are often canceled.

The fastest and most convenient way to get to one of the Greek islands is to use local airlines. But you need to be prepared for the fact that for an air ticket (especially in high season) you will have to pay from fifty to two hundred euros.

A tourist who decides to diversify his excursion tour of Athens with a beach holiday at the famous resorts of the island of Crete can do this quite easily. With local airlines (Elinaer, Olimpic, Sky Express) you can be at HER Crete airport in fifty minutes. The price of such a ticket for May 2018 will be at least two thousand six hundred rubles.

As one of the most common tourism destinations, Greece is of interest to domestic tourists. But before asking about accommodation (hotels, their star rating, additional services), meals and excursion programs, an experienced tourist will ask: How long is the flight to Greece from Moscow? - and he will be absolutely right, because this issue is truly a priority.

Why? Firstly, all people experience flights differently: someone with cheeks burning with excitement looks out the window or reads a book in detachment. And someone is desperately sick. Secondly, parents usually take their children on vacation, and it can be difficult for a child to spend some time in a chair. However, if you choose the direction, you don’t have to worry about this. Connecting flights may take a little longer than direct flights, but in any case the flight will not be tiring.

Finding cheap flights

Direct flights from Moscow to Greece

From Zlatoglavaya you can fly directly not only to Athens (although this is the most popular destination), but also to many popular resorts. So the question is how long does it take to fly to Greece from Moscow on a direct flight? may have several different answers, as surprising as that may be. So, we will arrange direct flights as flight time increases:

  • Thessaloniki – two and a half hours;
  • Corfu, Kos, Rhodes or Crete - three hours;
  • Athens – 4 hours.

But although it takes the longest to fly to the capital of the Greek state, it is Athens Eleftherios Venizelos Airport that receives the most tourists - the city usually becomes the starting point for further travel, besides, visiting Greece and not visiting many famous ones all the way to Antarctica is almost a crime (according to authoritative statements of tourists with experience).

In addition, it is worth keeping in mind that flights directly to the islands are usually not as regular and frequent as tourists would like. For example, you can fly to Rhodes only once a week, and of all the airlines flying to Crete - and among them such giants as Olympic Airways and Aeroflot - only the latter offers a direct flight, which deprives the traveler of choice. However, there is a way out - it is not necessary to fly directly to the island; you can use connecting flights.

From Moscow to Greece with connection

And why even choose this type of travel if it is known a priori that it will take more time. Firstly, when flying directly to the islands, which is what many tourists want, travelers have options and alternatives. Secondly, there is a large group of people who have more time than money, and a flight with a transfer is an excellent opportunity to save money.

Let's start with Athens - although there are quite a lot of direct flights to them, connecting ones are also offered. For example, through Riga, you will have to spend 11 hours between flights, but the actual flight will only take five. Turkish airlines also offer their flights: fly to Istanbul and in an hour and a half you are in Greece. The connection time between flights is usually no more than two hours, so the traveler does not lose much, while saving significantly. Such a flight can also be the answer to the question of how long to fly to Greece from St. Petersburg?: calculate the flight time from the Northern capital to Istanbul and add the flight time to Greek soil.

As for the islands, the two usual transfer points if a connecting flight is chosen (and sometimes there is no alternative) are Athens and Turkey. For example, you can get to Rhodes with a transfer in Istanbul relatively quickly, spending two to three hours waiting at the airport. But there are other options - Munich or Amsterdam, and when choosing, the first person will spend time on the road equal to one standard working day, and the second even longer - 13 hours.

To fly to Crete, most also have to use connecting flights: most often planes land in the already mentioned Eleftherios Venizelos, and then fly to Heraklion. If a tourist needs to find out how long it is to fly from Yekaterinburg, another transfer is usually added - in Moscow. Without taking into account the flight time to the capital from any Russian city, the flight time to Crete by indirect flight will be at least 10 hours. However, if a tourist wants to save money, the waiting time usually does not bother him.

But you don’t have to choose regular flights - charters, if you’re lucky, will help you save two strategic reserves at once: financial and time.

It is not difficult to choose a route from Moscow to Greece; there are direct flights and with transfers, regular and charter, operated by Russian or foreign airlines.

Direct flights

How long to fly to Greece from Moscow on a direct flight depends on the airline and destination.

Direct flights from Moscow to Greece are offered by:

  • Aeroflot (to Athens, travel time - 4 hours, Heraklion (Crete) - 4.10 hours, Thessaloniki - 3-3.35 hours);
  • UTair (to Thessaloniki - 3.10 hours);
  • Aegean Airlines (to Athens - 3.15 hours, Thessaloniki -3 hours, Heraklion - 3.45 hours);
  • Ellinair (to Athens - 3.30 hours, Thessaloniki - 3.15–3.30 hours, Heraklion - 4 hours, Corfu - 3.15 hours).

The number of flights per day and their availability depend on the season - during the holiday period there are significantly more flights, and some airlines only have summer flights from Moscow to Greece in their schedule. In some directions, flights are carried out daily and even several times a day, in others - 2–3 times a week.

In addition to regular routes, there are direct charter routes, tickets for which, as a rule, can be purchased not from the airline, but from travel agencies, and only as part of a package tour. They are rarely sold separately, only when they remain unclaimed, then they are offered, sometimes several times cheaper than tickets for regular flights. But you can buy them only a few days before departure.

Having arrived in the country on a direct flight, you can get to other cities or islands by domestic airlines, by bus, ferry or rented car.

Flights with transfers

When you want to get to remote cities or islands where there are no direct flights, you have to resort to flights with transfers, which also saves money, but the flight time Moscow - Greece increases, sometimes significantly. With connecting flights you can fly to the most popular Greek islands: Crete, Corfu, Kos, Rhodes, Zakynthos, Santorini, etc.

The most common options with one transfer offer:

  • Aegean Airlines via Athens, Thessaloniki and Heraklion, travel time 5–30 hours;
  • Ural Airlines with a transfer in Yekaterinburg, 11–19 h.;
  • Air Serbia landing in Belgrade, 5.30–18 h.;
  • AirBerlin in conjunction with S7 with connections in German cities, 7–21 h;
  • Austrian with a transfer in Vienna, 7–23 h;
  • Air Baltic via Riga, 6–22 h;
  • Turkish Airlines landing in Istanbul, 9–28 h.

The choice of flights to Greece with transfers is huge; any route can be created depending on preferences and financial capabilities.

There are combined options operated by several airlines, for example, a direct flight to Greece with Aeroflot, then a domestic flight with Olympic Air or other local airlines.

There are routes with several transfers. In this case, the flight time from Moscow to Greece increases even more, sometimes reaching 32 hours or more. This, of course, takes a long time, but it allows you to buy tickets cheaper and visit several cities and even countries in one trip.

When going on vacation to Greece, tourists are interested in many organizational issues, including: how long to fly to the main resorts in Greece and whether there is a time zone difference.

This kind of information is important, and it's not just a matter of curiosity. Some people do not tolerate flying well and refuse long flights. The possibility of flights with transfers, their cost and the duration of the entire process also matter. Most often, all these questions worry parents who are going to the sea for the first time with their baby.

Despite the fact that Greece is not a very large country, in total there are more than 50 airports on its territory that are capable of receiving aircraft of any capacity and any class. But most often these are airports in the following cities:

  • Athens,
  • Rhodes,
  • Kefalonia,
  • Heraklion on Crete,
  • Thessaloniki on the island of Corfu,
  • Kekira on the island of Corfu.

Depending on the chosen point of arrival, you can count on direct flights or with transfers.

How long does it take to fly to the capital of Greece?

You can fly to Athens from Moscow or St. Petersburg by direct flight, or you can choose the option with a transfer. It will not be difficult to get to the capital of Greece from various regions of Russia.

The average flight duration from capital to capital will be 3.5 hours.

These services are offered by both foreign companies and Russian airlines. You can always choose the option with a transfer. Such flights are more complex and rarely provide positive emotions. Regardless of which company you use, the plane will land at Athens Eleftherios Venizelos Airport.

You can fly from Russia to Athens with one or two transfers. The time spent on the road can increase many times over. The flight path will change, which will require more time for the flight; the stopping time is additionally taken into account. The transfer can take from half an hour to 24 hours. All these details should definitely be taken into account when choosing a suitable flight.

Flight time to Rhodes

For those who decide to go to the islands of Greece, getting to their holiday destination will be more difficult. There are not many direct flights from Russia to Rhodes. Some of them are available only once a week, which may not coincide with your plans. Therefore, tourists are offered two more options to get to the islands.

In the first case, you can take the Moscow-Athens flight, and then get to the island by boat, bus or ferry.

The second option is to use the services of airlines that offer connections to Rhodes. Most often this is a transfer in Turkey. The stop time will be 2-3 hours.

A direct flight from Moscow to Rhodes will take 3 hours 20 minutes. But taking into account transfers, the total travel time can be significantly increased. With a transfer in Munich, the flight time is 8 hours, and if you choose a flight via Amsterdam, you can spend about 13 hours on the road.

And if you fly to Crete

The island of Crete is one of the most popular destinations, especially during the off-season, when the rest of Greece is not entirely suitable for a beach holiday. But getting to this island is not so easy. Among the companies offering such flights is Aeroflot. But since these flights are not so frequent, tickets are sold out in advance and tourists do not always have the opportunity to get on this flight. Flight time to Crete is about 4 hours.

Most tourists have to take connecting flights; these can be in a variety of destinations, but most often it is a connecting flight in Athens. Accordingly, some flights may have 2 transfers, one of which is in Athens, and the other in Russia or any other European country. The time for such a flight will be 15-18 hours, but often much longer. Even if one of the transfers takes 1-1.5 hours, the second will take longer – up to 6-10 hours.