In this blog post we show you how to exit from Athens when you start a motorcycle tour in Greece, and how to return as you finish your tour, in the most efficient and easy way, using MotoGreece’s base as a starting/finishing point.
The recommended approach is tested and optimized operationaly over years. It will allow you to avoid any issues of dealing with congestion in the capital city.
Exiting Athens
The “Ymittos Ring Road”
Ymittos ring road (“Y1”) is a modern motorway that bypasses part of the eastern capital and intersects with “Attiki Odos” (“6 / E94”), the other major ring motorway. These two roads will allow you to reach easy 3 major exit points, from where you can continue you trip towards any direction: to the south (to Peloponnese for example), or to the central or northern Greece. Gettin on the Ring road requires paying a road toll. Current cost (as of January 2026) is 1.40 euros.
The distance from our base to the ramp that will bring you on to the Ymittos road is 4.2 kilometers ( 2.6 miles) and the average time it takes to get there is 8 minutes on a motorcycle. Once you get on the ring road, you should follow the green signs that read “ELEFSINA“.
Note: you are not going to Elefsina! But that is the general direction you have to follow.
In the following screen capture from google maps, point A is our location. Point B is the exit ramp that will get you on Ymittos ring road.
From that point, the arrow shows the general direction of travel on the motorway, that will bring you on the next 3 exit points, that we discuss next.
To see the Google Map showing the route click this link:
To central Greece via highway
Point with Exit “8” is where you should exit the ring road if you want to ride towards central or northern Greece via highway (“E75”). You will be travelling to direction of “Lamia” via toll roads. The following image shows what you are looking for:
To central Greece via country roads, no tolls.
Next point in the direction of travel is exit number “1”. Take that and follow road “E962” if you want to travel towards central or northern Greece by following country roads from as early in you trip as possible without paying any further tolls.
You are looking for signs showing exit and direction to “Thiva” as shown in the image below:
To the Peloponnese
The next and final point shown on the map is where you continue south towards the Peloponnese region. When you reach that point you have 2 options:
- continue as you are, via tolls, on the motorway “E94” all the way to Korinthos (also spelled Korinth, or Corinth).
- Or exit to a local road of “Nea Peramos”, and ride without passing tolls until you reach Korinthos. See the next image illustrating the exit lane to the right to avoid the toll station:
With these instructions you can leave behind the traffic congestion of Athens and not loose time.
Returning back to Athens
The optimal way to return back to Athens includes following the exact steps outlined in the previous section, in reverse order.
About the Author
This guide was written by John Kapelakis, co-founder of MotoGreece.
Last update and check: January 2026.