Economy class car hire at Athens Airport

Airport car rental in Athens

At Greek airports a car is handed over either at a desk in the terminal or at an off-airport office reached by shuttle from arrivals. Which one applies to your booking is written on the voucher, and the shuttle is usually what explains a lower price.

Charter flights land late here, so check the desk's opening hours, whether the supplier tracks the flight number, what an out-of-hours handover costs and how the car is returned when the office is closed.

Car rental conditions

Bring your passport or national ID and a valid driving licence. Licences issued in the EU, the EEA and the UK are accepted directly; for other countries an International Driving Permit is expected alongside the national licence, and Greek desks do check for it.

The minimum age is usually 21 with at least one year of licence held, though island suppliers often set 23 or 25. Drivers under 25 normally pay a young-driver surcharge, and the premium and minivan classes set the threshold higher again.

A deposit is standard and is blocked on the main driver's credit card at handover. Many Greek local companies accept a debit card or sell a zero-excess tariff without a hold, but that is an offer-level rule rather than a national one.

Read the exclusions before you plan a beach day. Unsurfaced tracks — which is what the last kilometre to a good Greek beach usually is — are outside the cover on most tariffs, along with tyres, glass, mirrors and the underbody.

Car brands and categories

The catalog covers the main rental categories:

• Economy
• Comfort
• SUV
• Minivan
• Premium
• Convertible
• Electric
• Hybrid

Greek fleets are built mostly around Fiat Panda, Toyota Aygo, Hyundai i10 and i20, Suzuki Swift, Nissan Micra, Citroën C3 and Volkswagen Polo and similar models, and a manual gearbox is still the default — an automatic is scarce on the islands and books out early, so confirm the transmission on the offer card.

Compare the total price together with the deposit, insurance excess, mileage policy, fuel rule, accepted payment methods and the return conditions.

Airport pickup details

Have your passport, licence, voucher and the main driver's card for the deposit ready before you reach the desk, and photograph the bodywork, glass and wheels during the joint inspection.

On the way back, allow time to refuel near the airport, hand the car over and walk from the return level to the terminal.

Economy car rental

An economy car — a Fiat Panda, a Toyota Aygo, a Hyundai i10 — is the cheapest way to cover an island and the only width that fits comfortably through a Cycladic village.

It is also the class that survives a gravel car park with the least worry; check the boot size if you are two people with large suitcases.