Athens to Corinth Travel: Day Trip Guide on How To Go

Greek Island Bucket List is an Amazon Associate and participant in other affiliate programmes. I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see my disclaimer for more information.

---

If you’re heading to Corinth, you’re probably interested in visiting Ancient Corinth, Acrocorinth and the iconic Corinth Canal.

The easiest way to get around these sites (and more) is through an organised tour, private transfers or driving yourself.

However, I’ll also show you the options if you plan to use public transport instead.

Organised Tour

The simplest way to visit Corinth from the capital is by joining one of the group or private tours that run from Athens. Most usually include a tour guide to show you around the impressive archaeological site as well as a short stop at the Corinth Canal viewpoint. 

Entrance fees are normally included, but check the details.

Choosing Your Provider

I like using Airbnb Experiences and GetYourGuide for tours and activities. You can see the review scores from other people who’ve already been to help make a good decision.

You can read about the GetYourGuide app here, along with other apps I recommend for Greece.

Private Transfer or Tour

If you take this option, you’re usually paying for a driver to take you to a particular place or selection of places. They don’t include a licensed tour guide to show you round the sites.

But you normally have a very knowledgeable driver who can impart a lot of information about the venues you’re visiting while you’re travelling.

Choosing a Transfer Company

Again, I use sites like GetYourGuide to find options. But George’s Yellow Taxis comes highly recommended, too. You can see the details of their Corinth day trip tour here.

Drive from Athens to Corinth

If you’re not joining a group or private tour or being transferred directly, then driving is the easiest way to get around the area.

It takes about an hour and ten minutes from the city centre, depending on traffic. It’s about the same from Athens Airport. I wouldn’t recommend setting off from the most central parts of Athens. If you’re driving, it’s better to be in the suburbs with a car.

By the way, if it’s your first time driving in Greece, then have a look at this post about driving in the country for the first time. And this one about renting a car in the country.

Using the Toll Roads

The E94 road between Athens and Corinth is a good motorway/highway. There are several tolls along the way which keeps the roads and services maintained.

At the toll booths, you can pay with cash or card; you just need to go to the relevant booth. Check the LED displays above them.

The ones with a man on it are the staffed ones that take cash and card. Some tolls have automated booths for cash and card (you don’t get receipts), and they have an LED display of coins and cards.

The other booths with the radar symbols are for people with prepaid tags. So avoid those unless you happen to have a tag.

I always forget the exact details, but you’ll need to pay three to four tolls on this route. With the cost usually being about 2.20 euro or less.

Services Along the Route

Although it’s not a long journey, you still might want to stop at services. In addition to basic toilets in laybys (which are usually stocked with paper, soap and hot and cold water) there’s a motorway service station too.

Layby with loos on the road to Corinth

The services have a burger restaurant and a cafe, mini market, toilets and a petrol/gas station. Usually there’s a dog that lives in the car park, so say hello and maybe give it a bit of something relevant to eat.

More Details About the Road

I wrote about this road and the services in more detail in the post about getting to Nafplio from Athens. For your journey to Corinth, you’ll follow the same route. So if you want more info you can have a look at that.

Public Bus from Athens to The Modern City

There are frequent KTEL buses from Athens to Corinth city centre. This is the cheapest way of travelling between Athens and Corinth.

It’s not unpleasant. The buses have air conditioning (or heating if you’re coming in the winter), and they’re clean because there’s no food or drink allowed. However, they can get quite busy.

According to the timetable from November 2023, the first bus leaves Kiffisos Station in Athens at 7am during the week and the last leaves at 9.10pm. The last bus from Corinth back to Athens during the week is at 9.30pm.

Arriving in Corinth

The bus terminates just at the edge of the city centre at the bus stop marked here on Google Maps. There is a small waiting room and cafe but there are no taxis. See below for how to move on to the historical site.

Getting the Public Bus to Corinth Canal

The buses from Athens to Corinth stop at the Corinth Canal viewpoint (for the village of so it’s easy to get to.

It’s nice to get off the bus and take some photos. When you’re done, there are places to have food and drinks while you wait for the next bus to take you into Corinth.

You’ll need to get two tickets for the bus, so in Athens, only get one to the Isthmus. You’ll get a second one from the bus conductor when you get the next bus to Corinth town.

Note that buses to Nafplio also stop here. So if the times suit you better or you miss a bus you could look at their timetables.

The canal cuts through from the Aegean Sea to the Ionian Sea. Most modern cruise ships can’t fit through the canal, so it’s mainly for tourists now.

Bus or Taxi from The Modern city to the Ancient City

Once the bus from Athens drops you in Corinth, you’ll need to choose how to get to the archaeological site and museum. You can take the bus, a taxi, or prebooked transfer.

Bus

The stop for buses going to Ancient Corinth is about a 15-minute walk from where the Athens bus arrives. It’s marked here on Google Maps.

It’s a pleasant walk along proper pavements/sidewalks. You’ll walk along to the statue of Pegasus and then up the pedestrian Ethniki Antistaseos with its historic buildings and cafes.

As an indication, in November 2023, the timetabled weekday buses from Corinth were at 7am, 8.30am, 11am, 2pm 5pm and 9pm. Return buses departed 30 minutes after these times with the last one being at 5.30pm.

On Saturdays, the buses followed the same pattern and left modern Corinth at 8.30am, 11am and 2pm. No buses on Sunday.

I assume that in the summer there are much more frequent services. You can get timetables from the offices at either of the bus stations I linked to above.

Taxi

There’s a large taxi station just before you get to the bus stop for Ancient Corinth (see above). It’s under 15 minute’s walk away, where the pedestrian street meets the big road. You can’t miss the burgundy cars lined up.

In terms of coming back, there are usually a couple of taxis around the shops at Ancient Corinth to get back. I’ve seen them there even in the off-season.

Pre-Booked Transfer

If you’re travelling to Corinth by bus, but you’re not on a budget, then consider a pre-booked transfer. The car could meet you at the bus stop when you arrive from Athens. And then take you around the three main sites you’ve probably come to see.

Korinthos Taxi Transfers, for example, can be pre-booked and will take you around everywhere, with waiting time included. Using a tour/transfer like this means you don’t have to walk all the way up to Acrocorinth or worry about whether you’ll be able to get a taxi back.

From the new town they’ll take you on a four-hour tour for under 100 euro to:

• the canal viewpoint with 30 minutes waiting time (optional stop, cost can be removed)
• Akrokorinth with 60 minutes waiting time
• Ancient Corinth site and museum with 90 minutes waiting time

before returning you to modern Corinth.

They also have a shorter tour option if you’re staying over in Corinth and find accommodation in the Ancient Corinth area.

Tours are flexible, and you can add on extra waiting time and stops to create your own itinerary. Let them know what you want, and they’ll give you a quote.

Getting to Acrocorinth

If you want to go from Ancient Corinth to Acrocorinth, you have two options since there’s no public transport.

1. a steep four-kilometre hike from the ancient site. I haven’t done it, but I imagine it’s quite rewarding (assuming you’re fit enough.)
2. taxi/transfer – arrange to pay for waiting time or agree on a collection time for the taxi to come back.

Why I Wouldn’t Go to Corinth By Train

I don’t recommend travelling by train for the following reasons. However, you can look into this and decide for yourself. If you’re happy to use the service then travel details are below.

Safety

There was an awful train crash in Greece in February 2023. The incident unveiled a litany of failings that I don’t believe have been entirely rectified yet.

The passenger train that crashed was an intercity train, and your option from Athens to Corinth is the frequent and cheap suburban train. Although they are different, both are run by the same company.

I personally don’t feel comfortable using the Greek train system yet. (Metro is different, and I’m okay with that.)

Convenience

The train station is a bit out in the middle of nowhere. It’s not close to either the new town or the ancient sites.

If you’re getting collected by a private transfer then you’ll be ok. And there are also usually taxis waiting outside. Expect to pay around 12 euro to get from there to Ancient Corinth.

Timetable and Ticket Information

Trains leave Larissa Station (Athens Central Station) for Corinth hourly throughout the day from very early in the morning. (They actually come via Athens from Piraeus, if that’s useful to know.)

The cost is 8.60 euro one-way and 13.60 euro return. The journey time is between 1 hour 5 minutes and 1 hour 15 minutes.

You can buy tickets at the station or online via the Hellenic Train website (in English). At the top, choose Athens for the departing station and Korinthos for the arrival station.

What to Do in Corinth

Corinth is easy to explore from Athens. The canal, Ancient Corinth and Acrocorinth are the most popular things to see and do, but there’s plenty more to fill your time.

I have a whole post about the top things to do in the area, so definitely check it out.

Pegasus statue in Corinth town

Discover More of the Greek Mainland From Corinth

From Corinth, you can conveniently reach and visit several other places of interest. Places to look into are:

• Nafplio town
• Mycenae archaeological site
• Epidaurus Ancient Theatre
• The Sunken City
• Argos town
• Ancient Nemea

You could choose a tour that combines some of these places with some of the main spots in Corinth.