Athens to Corinth: How to Visit and Is it Worth it?

Are you considering travelling from Athens to Corinth? This was one of our favourite day trips from Athens, so here’s everything you need to know!

Athens in itself is an incredible city. But one of the things many don’t know is that there are even more beautiful historical sites within just an hour or two of the capital. 

The mainland in Greece is a much less-explored part of the country than the islands. In my opinion, this makes it a bit of a hidden gem. It’s a really beautiful part of the world and, if you love history, you should definitely head out here and explore. 

And one of the best places to explore within an easy distance of Athens is Corinth. This incredible place is home to many historical sites and is well worth a visit. There’s literally so much to see!

So, if you’re wondering if it’s worth travelling to Corinth, here’s everything you need to know.

✅ I highly recommend this day tour to Corinth as it was fantastic!

How to get from Athens to Corinth

There are several ways to get from Athens to Corinth. The first and most popular way to get there is via a guided tour.

This is by far the easiest way to get to Corinth as well and many different tour guides offer this trip from Athens. The tours pick you up from your hotel, drive you to Corinth, and show you around. 

The other way to get from Athens to Corinth is by driving yourself. It’s not too far, and the drive is easy once you’ve left the city centre. Driving in Athens itself is a little bit dodgy, so I don’t recommend this unless you’re a confident driver. 

There is also public transport that goes to Corinth from Athens. The KTEL line has 4 buses per day that all go to Corinth. You can check the timetable here. There is also a train, however, this drops you outside of the city, so you’ll have to get a taxi to the centre. 

In my opinion, the easiest way to get there is by a guided tour. You won’t have to worry about driving in the madness of Athens city centre, you don’t have to worry about public transport dropping you in the middle of nowhere, and you’ll have an expert guide to show you around. 

✅ I highly recommend this day tour to Corinth as it was fantastic!

Top Tip: If you choose to purchase public transport, be sure to check the return times in advance as they can be a little random.

What can you expect from an Athens to Corinth Tour?

So, if you opt for a guided tour, what can you expect? The guide will likely pick you up from your hotel in Athens in a mini-van. This will usually be fairly early, between 8am – 9am. You’ll then start your drive to Corinth along the coastline. 

The first stop will be the Corinth Canal, located about an hour west of the capital. This will only be a quick stop but is one of the reasons I loved having a guide so much. The canal doesn’t provide any information about the site.

Whereas dedicated historical sites like castles and ruins will usually have plaques to read, the canal has nothing. So, you need a guide if you want to learn anything about this spot.

After listening to our guide’s explanation of the canal and snapping lots of photographs, we hopped back in the bus and drove a further 20 minutes to our second stop of the day: Ancient Corinth.

Our second stop

The canal was pretty but this was much more interesting than the first stop. This used to be one of the most powerful city-states in ancient Greece. It was known for its strategic location connecting the Peloponnesian Peninsula with the mainland.

The location allowed Corinth to control vital land and sea routes for trading which made it quite a wealthy area. The city was also known for the wonderful Temple of Apollo and for hosting the Isthmian Games, a sporting and religious festival.

Our guide explained a lot about the history of the settlement there and took us around the site. He showed us the Temple, several other rooms and walkways then gave us free time to explore and take photographs. 

After that, he took us to the museum, which is home to loads more artefacts found within the ancient site. Once again, he gave us information about what was found, then gave us free time.

✅ I highly recommend this day tour to Corinth as it was fantastic!

Our final stop

The last stop on our trip from Athens to Corinth was Acorocorinth. Located just 5 minutes around the corner from Ancient Corinth (although, you do have to drive up a very windy mountain road), this stop was my favourite of the day trip. 

Acrocorinth is a fantastic fortress that rises above the surroundings. It’s also known as the Acropolis of Corinth. Although, it looks more like a castle than the Acropolis that you’d see in Athens or Lindos. 

The citadel was the former key defensive structure for the region. Its position, high up on the hilltop, gave it a perfect view over the surrounding landscape, including both the Saronic and Corinthian Gulfs. 

Acorocorinth was fortified and occupied for hundreds of years, through the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman times. As such, it was a pretty important structure.

During this part of the tour, our guide took us up to the top, showed us several important points within the castle, and then gave us more free time to explore. 

You can climb up to the ruins (which is slightly tiring, especially in the heat), explore the castle, and even see the remains of the famous Temple of Aphrodite that used to be housed here. 

Plus, the views from the top are pretty impressive and well worth the climb. 

After that, we hopped back in the van and drove back to spend the rest of our day in Athens.

The best Athens to Corinth Tour

We absolutely loved our day trip from Athens to Corinth. If you love historical sites in Greece, I really can’t recommend a guided tour here enough.

We booked this tour and it was the perfect day.

A guide really does make the experience better, especially with the sites as large as they are. Not only will you be able to understand a lot more about what you’re seeing, but you can also ask as many questions as you like. 

We didn’t feel rushed at all and it was the perfect amount of time to explore Corinth. Along with our day trip to Delphi, this was the best tour we’ve taken from Athens. 

✅ I highly recommend this day tour to Corinth as it was fantastic!

What is the best time to visit Corinth?

You can visit Corinth all year round. We spent 4 days in Athens in October, so this was when we travelled here. We found that it made the trip much quieter as well as cooler than peak summer. 

If you visit in the summer, prepare for more crowds. I also recommend booking your tour in advance as tickets will sell out quickly. 

Spring is also a great time to visit as the surroundings are lush and green and there are flowers in bloom on the mountains. Plus, you won’t have the huge crowds in the spring either. 

👉 If you fancy another day trip from Athens, check out our fantastic day tour to Delphi.

How long do you need to visit Corinth?

I would estimate between half a day to a full day to explore Corinth. The canal can be seen in 15-20 minutes, although longer if you have a guide to explain the history behind it. 

Then, we spent around 1.5 hours at the historical ruins and then another 1.5 hours at the fortress. If you add on the 1.5 hours of driving each way, you’re looking at 6.5 hours minimum. 

If you’re really into history, you could spend longer here. Plus, if you also want to go and explore the modern-day town of Corinth, you could also spend more time. So, it depends on what you’re into.

But I’d estimate 6.5 hours for the historical sites at a minimum. 

✅ I highly recommend this day tour to Corinth as it was fantastic!

Is visiting Corinth from Athens worth it?

Yes, a trip to Corinth from Athens is definitely worth it. This was one of the best day trips we did from Athens and we had a fantastic day. 

If you love historical sites in Greece, then this is one of the best places to visit, and you can learn so much from a guided tour. On top of that, the views are incredible, especially over the canal and from the top of the castle.

So, if you’re looking for an epic historical site to visit in Greece, I cannot recommend a day trip to Corinth enough. 

👉 Haven’t decided where to stay yet? Here are my favourite places to stay in Athens including our hotel with Acropolis views!