Andros is the Cycladic island closest to Athens, a green, mountainous place of hiking trails, stone villages and long beaches that many Athenians treat as a weekend escape. When it is time to go back, most people assume the ferry goes to Piraeus, the main port of Athens. For Andros, it usually does not: the island's boats run from Gavrio to Rafina, a smaller port on the east coast of Attica.
Our older route data lists a seasonal Blue Star Ferries sailing from Andros to Piraeus between April and October, with a crossing of about 3 hours and fares from €30. We could not confirm it. When we checked on 24 September 2026, Ferryhopper's page for the Piraeus and Andros pair showed no schedules or fares in either direction, so treat a direct Piraeus boat as the exception. Search your date in the booking box: if a sailing is on sale, the booking page is the authority on times and prices.
The Rafina route, by contrast, runs every day of the year and is short: our route data calls Rafina the closest mainland port, about an hour away on the quicker boats. Rafina is east of Athens and much closer to the airport than Piraeus, which makes it the better landing point if you are flying home.
Where you are going in Athens decides whether the port matters. For the airport or the eastern suburbs, Rafina is ideal. For Piraeus itself, for example to catch another ferry to the southern Cyclades, allow time to cross Athens by taxi or public transport, or consider island-hopping south from Andros instead.
