slothis · English

Sleeping at Athens Airport: A Rough Night

2017-01-25 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

After a layover in Moscow, I finally arrived in Athens.

A currency exchange office inside the Athens airport terminal with many people waiting in a long line.
Athens!!

I had arrived in Greece, a country with no direct flights from Korea. The currency changed from Russian Rubles to Euros (though I did use Euros in Tallinn, too), and the language changed as well. The Russian I had picked up just to survive is completely useless now. I guess this is both the charm and the stress of traveling.

I made it to Athens, but I couldn't go outside yet. I had to wait for my girlfriend, who was arriving the next day. It felt like a waste of money to book a hotel for just one night, and since I landed at night, I couldn't really wander around anyway. So, even before I left, I braced myself to sleep at the Athens airport. I figured it would be fine since I had a sleeping bag and the airport is the safest place to be. That decision quickly left my body completely wrecked.

First off, the Wi-Fi connection is strong. Since I didn't get a roaming plan and rely 100% on my electronic devices, there's almost nothing I can do without Wi-Fi. Thankfully, the airport has free Wi-Fi (and you don't even need SMS verification), so passing the time was easy. It disconnects if you use it for a long time, but you just have to wait 10 to 15 minutes and reconnect.

A smartphone screenshot showing the Athens airport free Wi-Fi connection screen.
Free Wi-Fi in Athens

Despite that, the hardest part was the chairs. Unlike Incheon Airport, every single chair here has metal armrests, making it impossible to stretch your legs out and lie down. There is exactly one chair without armrests, and it's like the Holy Grail from Indiana Jones or a legendary Pokémon—everyone is after it. There's also one other chair missing just a single armrest, which is another absolute hotspot everyone targets.

You might ask, why not just sleep on the floor? Well, the moment you roll out a sleeping bag and try to fall into a deep sleep, a police officer appears out of nowhere, taps you to wake up, and then disappears. There are actually quite a few people trying to sleep at the Athens airport because the buses stop running early and the nearby hotels are incredibly expensive. If that's the case, they should at least let us sleep comfortably on the floor. I don't know why they have to be so mean about it.

Oh, and it's surprisingly cold inside. Even considering it's June, it's freezing. I don't know if it's because of the AC or just because it's night, but it's cold enough to give you facial paralysis.

People resting on chairs in an airport corridor with a poster about flight cancellations on the wall.
The legendary rare item: a chair with no armrests. You could get some sweet dreams sleeping there.
Travelers resting on blue chairs in an airport waiting area.
The next rare item: a chair missing one armrest. Someone claimed it with a bag. Of course, that bag will soon be tossed to the floor so someone else can lie down.
An American Airlines plane connected to a boarding bridge and mountains in the distance seen through an airport window.
The sun is up...
People sitting at tables in front of a bright counter with multiple screens.
There's a sports betting shop sitting right out in the open at the airport. I haven't even looked around yet, but I'm a bit worried about this country.

Expenses

Total Expenses 500RUB

Total Trip Expenses 525,936 KRW + 47,999RUB + $312.26 + €92.07