Access to Patras via Athens International Airport

Athens International Airport is the suggested airport, situated approximately 240 km east of Patras. Visitors arriving in Athens can reach Patras by train, bus, or car.

By Train & Bus:

We recommend taking the train service as the fastest and most convenient option, providing the timetabling matches your flight arrival time. There are 9 services to Patras daily, between 06:05 and 19:05.

Train service from Athens Airport to Patras requires two easy changes (at Ano Liosia and Kiato), and includes a coach service for the last leg of the journey (Kiato-Patras). From the Airport, you will switch trains at Ano Liosia Station for the service to Kiato. The train is simply on the other side of the same platform and will either already be there waiting, or will arrive in a few minutes after you hop off. At Kiato, you will get off the train and hop on the coach that will be waiting right outside the train station. The trip duration is around 3h30m.

Train schedules are available at the official Greek Railways website: https://www.hellenictrain.gr/en.

The ticket costs 20€ for a single trip and 40€ for a return ticket.

By Bus:

Another option, particularly if your flight arrival does not align very well with the train service, is the intercity KTEL bus service. From Athens Airport, take the X93 bus to Kifissos Bus Terminal in Athens, which takes about 1 hour at a cost of 5.50€. From Kifissos, you can catch a direct KTEL bus to Patras. The bus journey usually lasts 2.5 to 3 hours. KTEL buses are comfortable, reliable, and operate around 20 itineraries per day, between 05:30 and 22:00.

You can check schedules and make online reservations at the official website: https://www.ktelachaias.gr/en/homepage-en/.

The ticket costs 22.60€ for a single trip and 38€ for a return ticket.

Conference Shuttle Coach to and from the Airport:

We plan to offer a shuttle service to facilitate travel between the Airport and Patras for conference participants, depending adequate demand and the grouping of flight arrival times. You will be able to indicate your interest in the registration website, which will be available soon. More information on this service will be available here once we have it.

By Car:

Travel from Athens to Patras via the Athens–Patras motorway. Multiple car rental options are available at the airport. The journey time is approximately 2.5 hours.

Access to Patras via other Airports

During the summer period (May-October) there are many international flights to airports close to Patras.

Patras airport is Araxos airport (GPA), which is located approximately 35 minutes away from the city center via coach and is mostly connected to Central Europe.

An alternative is Zakynthos Airport (ZTH), located about 2.5 hours from Patras by coach from Zakynthos city, including a ferry crossing. It is connected to many European destinations via low-cost flights.

Access to Patras by Ferry

Patras is connected to Italy through the ports of Bari (~17 hours), Ancona (~24 hours), and Venice (~33 hours) by cruise ferries with cabin facilities. Information and itineraries can be found on the ferry providers' webpages: Superfast Ferries and ANEK Lines.

Greece follows the Schengen Agreement provision and the subsequent acquis concerning short term visa issues stays up to three (3) months in the Schengen area. Holders of regular passports from the rest of the world need a visa in order to visit Greece (and the Schengen area).

A visa is not required for many non-EU countries representing EICS authors. Click this link for more information about the countries requiring or not requiring a Visa.

Visa Support Letter

Please contact the Greek Embassy or Consulate in your Country to see if you need a visa to travel to Greece.

For visa support letters, refer all requests to supportletters@acm.org. Please allow up to 10 business days to receive a letter. All requests are handled in the order they are received. The information below should be included with the request:

• Your name as it appears on your passport.
• Your current postal mailing address.
• The name of the conference you are registering for. Only accepted authors may request a visa support letter prior to registering for the conference.
• Your registration confirmation number.
• If you have any papers accepted for the conference, please provide the title and indicate whether you are the "sole author" or a "co-author".
• Authors may indicate their paper title. If no paper, speakers can provide the title of their presentation.

ACM does not provide letters for transport of vendor or presenter equipment. ACM suggests shipping the materials insured to the conference facility.

Patras offers a wide range of accommodation choices to suit every budget, both in the city center, or near the university at the city’s beachfronts. Hotel accommodation prices range between 60€ (3-star) to 100€ (4-star) and 150€ (5-star) per night. Apartment (AirBnB-style) accommodation is also plentiful.

Indicative city center hotels and prices are shown in the table below:

Location	Hotel	Category	Total (4 nights)
City center	Mediteranee	★★★	204.00€
City center	Galaxy	★★★	180.00€
City center	Moxy	★★★	346.00€
City center	Castello City	★★★	300.00€
City center	Byzantino Hotel	★★★★	380.00€
City center	My Way	★★★★	386.00€
City center	Maison Grecque	★★★★	340.00€
Rio	Airotel Achaia Beach	★★★★	612.00€
City center	The Bold Type	★★★★★	680.00€