Car Hire Thessaloniki Airport

Thessaloniki Airport Mini Guide

Onward travel from Thessaloniki Airport?
The airport serves the city of Thessaloniki and the holiday resorts of the Halkidiki peninsula including Chalkidiki town. The city itself has a great depth of history as well as a wealth of modern day cultural experiences. It was once the co-capital of the Byzantine Empire and before that, an important walled Roman city. Out of the city you have the fingers of the Halkidiki peninsula with beautiful sandy beaches backed by pine clad ridges. Even here you have history and culture with the mysterious Mount Athos monastery occupying one finger of the peninsula.

How do I get to Thessaloniki Airport?
It’s a major airport for South Eastern Europe and as such has dozens of flights a day from all over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Most flights are scheduled international and domestic flights with some low cost carriers operating there whilst there are a number of seasonal chartered holiday flights serving the resorts of Halkidiki and the Olympus coast. Hiring a car is straight forward, pre-booking, much like renting a car in Greece in general is always recommended to secure the best prices.

What’s the airport Like?
It’s big and modern and jam-packed with facilities. Built on three floors, arrivals is on the ground floor with departures on the first together with a shopping centre and restaurants whilst the top floor has more eating establishments and an observation deck. The airport served over 4m people last year and it’s already considering the next phase of its expansion with plans for a second terminal. The airport is ten miles from the city centre and there’s a variety of ways of getting there.

What can I expect when I arrive at Thessaloniki Airport?
It’s big as far as Greek airports go and is always bustling with activity. The arrivals hall is split into domestic and international sections but, once through customs, facilities are shared. There is an excellent information desk where all kinds of airport related questions are answered with care and courtesy. Tourist information is also available from the separate desks in the arrivals hall.

If you need to exchange cash there are three banks represented in arrivals, each with their own ATMs. Transport from the airport is well organised, regular and efficient with a shuttle bus into the centre of Thessaloniki and another that goes to Halkidiki. There are many taxis as well as a passable local bus service. If you’ve arranged car hire, the desks are found against the back wall of the arrivals hall. If needed, you’ll also find baby changing facilities, a medical centre and a pharmacy in the arrivals part of the airport.

And when I leave?
Departures are dealt with on the first floor. There are thirty check-in desks so there are rarely long queues. After check in you have the option of spending your time looking around the extensive shopping centre where you can buy items including books, leather goods, jewellery, flowers and gifts. There is only one restaurant but the food is good. Supplementing this are three snack bars/cafeterias serving light hot and cold snacks. After security you’ll find an extensive duty free selection as well as a further snack bar for last minute hunger pangs. There is Wi-Fi available but you’ll need to pay by credit card or pre-paid voucher.

Thessaloniki is the second biggest city in Greece and an important business and commercial centre. It regular hosts concerts and festivals as well as conferences such as the International Trade Fair.

Thessaloniki University is the largest in Greek and accredited as one of the top 250 in Europe. Whilst in the city you can watch some of the sports teams the city is famous for such as the PAOK basketball team or PAOK or Aris FC football clubs, both of which regularly play in European competitions.