How to Get to Chalkidiki: Flights, Buses, Ferries and Driving

The first thing to know about getting to Chalkidiki is what is missing. There is no airport on the peninsula group, no railway line, and no scheduled ferry that brings visitors to its mainland coast. Everything runs through Thessaloniki, and from there it is a road journey of roughly an hour to the first beaches and a little over two hours to the far end of Sithonia.

That sounds like a drawback, but in practice the route is simple once you see the pieces. This guide walks through them in the order most travellers meet them: flights into Thessaloniki, the transfer onto the road, driving, the coach network, trains and the ferry question. Where timetables change from season to season, we point you to the operator for the current details.

The quick answer

• Fly to Thessaloniki "Macedonia" airport (SKG). It is the nearest airport to Chalkidiki and the one almost everyone uses.
• Then go by road. Hire a car, book a transfer or taxi, or take a KTEL coach from the dedicated Chalkidiki bus station on the east side of the city.
• Allow about one to two and a half hours from the airport, depending on whether you are heading for Nea Moudania and Kassandra or for Sithonia.
• Do not plan on a ferry or train. Neither reaches Chalkidiki's mainland.

If you are already in Thessaloniki and want help for a specific village, our guide to getting to Sarti from Thessaloniki goes into more detail for the Sithonia route, and the complete guide to Chalkidiki explains how the three peninsulas differ.

Flying in: Thessaloniki airport

Thessaloniki airport sits in Thermi, about 13 km from the city centre. It carried 7,982,798 passengers in 2025, which tells you it is a busy international gateway rather than a regional strip.

The airlines that serve it include Aegean, Air France, British Airways, easyJet, Jet2.com, Lufthansa, Olympic Air, Ryanair, Sky Express, TUI Airways, Transavia, Volotea and Wizz Air. Which carriers fly in which season, and from which cities, changes from year to year, so check the airport and the airlines for your dates.

Kavala airport, roughly 180 km away, is sometimes mentioned as an alternative, but it is much further from the peninsulas, and Thessaloniki is the far more practical choice.

From the arrivals hall to the road

Several bus lines leave from the Arrivals stop (Terminal 1, Exit 4). Check fares when you buy your ticket:

• Lines 1X and 1N run to the city centre, the railway station and the KTEL Makedonia bus station.
• Line 79 runs to the Eastern Bus Transfer Station, near IKEA.
• Lines 2X and 3X run to the metro.

A taxi stand sits between exits 3 and 4. The line that matters most for Chalkidiki is the 79, because it connects with the east side of the city, where the Chalkidiki coaches leave from.

There is no simple direct bus from the airport to the Chalkidiki coach station, so plan on the line 79 connection described below.

Driving to Chalkidiki

For most visitors, a hire car is the easiest answer, particularly for Sithonia, where beaches are spread along a long coastline (see renting a car and driving in Chalkidiki). The main road is the A24, which runs from the Efkarpia and Egnatia area via the Thessaloniki ring road towards Nea Moudania, with a terminus at Kallithea on Kassandra. Check the road operator for current toll details before you go.

The A24 can be congested on summer weekends; our guide to Sarti in July and August describes the peak season. If you have flexibility, arriving midweek or avoiding the late-afternoon return rush saves time.

Distances from the airport and the city

The figures below are approximate driving times without traffic. They assume no stops and no parking, so treat them as the best case.

You will also see Sarti rounded to 145 km from Thessaloniki and 130 km from the airport. The pattern is the same: Kassandra's first beaches are about an hour from the airport, Nikiti and the northern half of Sithonia about an hour and a half, and Sarti, Toroni and Ouranoupoli a little over two hours.

If you will be on the road with children, or after an overnight flight, we suggest breaking the drive or booking the first night in a place nearer the airport side of the region.

By coach: KTEL Chalkidikis

Chalkidiki's coaches leave from their own station, KTEL Chalkidikis, in the east of Thessaloniki, on the Thessaloniki to Moudania ring road, at the 9th km marker. This is not the same as the city's main long-distance coach station, KTEL Macedonia, which is a common mix-up.

There are two ways to reach it from the city or airport:

1. From the airport, take line 79 to the Eastern Bus Transfer Station (IKEA), then city line 36.
2. From the KTEL Macedonia station in town, take city line 45.

City bus routes change from time to time, so check the current routes in the Thessaloniki transport app before you set out.

Tickets can be bought at the station counter or online through the operator's website, ktel-chalkidikis.gr (opens in a new tab), and its e-ticket page. In autumn 2026, KTEL's online ticketing (timetables then loaded only to the end of 2026) showed three coaches a day each way between Thessaloniki and Sarti, calling at Nikiti and Neos Marmaras. The journey takes about 3 hours 25 minutes to 3 hours 50 minutes, and the full one-way fare from Thessaloniki to Sarti was EUR 22.00 (Thessaloniki to Nikiti EUR 12.70). We do not print departure times, and the summer schedule differs, so check it on the operator's site. Sithonia buses sometimes run late, and you may need to flag the coach down. Ideally book ahead in summer. Our guide to getting around Sarti without a car covers what to do once you arrive.

Journey time by bus is longer than by car. For Toroni, as a rough comparison, it is about three hours by bus against one and a half to two by car.

If you are travelling without a car, the coach is workable for the main towns, but plan extra time for the last leg to smaller villages.

By train

Chalkidiki has no railway. Thessaloniki's New Railway Station has trains to Athens, Piraeus, Patras and abroad, but nothing on to the peninsulas. Thessaloniki's metro, which opened on 30 November 2024, does not go to Chalkidiki either, though the airport lines 2X and 3X link buses to it. If you arrive by train you need to continue by coach or taxi; check rail times and fares with the rail operator.

The ferry question

This is the obvious question, and the plain answer is that no scheduled ferry brings visitors to Chalkidiki's mainland coast.

• Ferries from Thessaloniki's port go to the Northern Aegean, the Sporades, Mykonos and Syros, and Izmir. None of them go to Chalkidiki.
• The one local ferry is the short crossing from Trypiti to the island of Ammouliani, run by Ammouliani Lines. The crossing takes about 15 minutes. On a low-season day in November 2026 sailings were at 09:45, 12:05, 14:05 and 17:05, but those are only an example. Check the operator for times and fares before you plan around them. Ammouliani has 521 residents (2021 census).
• Boats from Ouranoupoli and Ormos Panagias sail along the coast of the Athos peninsula. They are cruises, not transport. Landing on Mount Athos requires a permit (a Diamonitirion) and is for male pilgrims, so the sightseeing boats that stay offshore are what most visitors use; see our guide to the Mount Athos cruise from Ormos Panagias.

So when you read that you can "take a ferry to Sithonia", it is probably describing a day cruise.

Which route for which peninsula

Kassandra (see our Kassandra guide) is the closest. Nea Moudania is under an hour from the airport and Kallithea about 70 minutes. It is the easiest peninsula for a short stay.

Sithonia is the middle finger and the longest drive. Nikiti and Neos Marmaras are on the western side, and Sarti, Vourvourou and Toroni are further along. The area is roughly 90 to 130 km from the airport, and public transport is thinner than on Kassandra, so a car makes a big difference. Our guide to Thessaloniki as a day trip from Sarti is useful if you want to see the city on a separate day.

The Athos peninsula is the eastern finger. Ouranoupoli is the gateway, about two hours from the airport by road. The monastic state itself has its own rules.

Practical checks before you travel

• Confirm your flight schedule and the airport's bus lines for your date.
• Check the KTEL Chalkidikis timetable and fares on the operator's site.
• Check tolls, if any, with the road operator.
• Book your car or transfer ahead in summer.
• If you plan to cross to Ammouliani, check the ferry times for your day.

If you decide to base yourself on the Sarti side of Sithonia, Sarti Thea Boutique Rooms is on the hill above Sarti harbour in Achlada, with free parking on site for your hire car.

Quick answers

Is there an airport in Chalkidiki? No. Thessaloniki airport in Thermi is the nearest.

Is there a train to Chalkidiki? No. Trains serve Thessaloniki's New Railway Station only.

Can I take a ferry to Chalkidiki? No scheduled ferry brings visitors to the mainland coast. The only local ferry is Trypiti to Ammouliani.

How long is the drive to Sarti? About 126 minutes from the airport without traffic.

Where do the buses leave from? The KTEL Chalkidikis station in east Thessaloniki, not the main KTEL Macedonia station.

Check before you go: the summer coach schedule, your airline's season, any tolls on the A24, and Ammouliani ferry times and fares.