🛫 Two Linked Wings — Schengen + Non-Schengen

Layout: the original terminal handles a mix of carriers; the new wing handles most peak-summer leisure traffic. Both share airside via skyway bridges and a central retail/food court.

EES booths: in the non-Schengen border zone — chiefly used for UK Ryanair/easyJet, Israeli (El Al, Israir, Arkia), Türkiye (Pegasus), and Egypt routes.

📍 Mikra — The Airport District

Mikra is a coastal-suburban area on the Thermaic Gulf, between the airport and the city. Residential streets, car-park complexes, the Greek Air Force’s 113 Combat Wing alongside the civil terminal.

Bus 78 stop: directly outside arrivals, signposted in Greek and English. The terminus on the city end is KTEL Makedonia (main intercity bus station) via the Nea Krini coast.

EES — Fully Operational Since 10 April 2026

Non-EU passport holders are biometrically registered on first entry: four fingerprints and a facial image. UK Ryanair morning waves and Israeli arrivals are SKG’s queue stress points; peak waits 30-40 min during the peak summer rollout adjustment.

ETIAS — Coming Q4 2026

€7 pre-travel authorisation for visa-exempt non-EU nationals launches in autumn 2026. Apply on the official EU travel portal once it goes live; verify the exact date before travel.

Euro — Cards Are King

Greece adopted the euro on 1 January 2002 (Eurozone founder). ATMs at SKG arrivals; avoid the bureau-de-change (Onexchange) at the front of arrivals — markup 6-9% versus the bank rate. Cards work everywhere central; small kafenia and souvlaki stalls in Ano Poli still prefer €5 and €10 notes.

⭐ Bus 78 / 78N — The Default Airport Bus

• Bus 78 runs direct from SKG to KTEL Makedonia (main intercity bus station) via Thessaloniki’s New Railway Station and the central seafront in 60-70 minutes.
• Daytime frequency every 40 minutes, ~06:00-23:00.
• Bus 78N (night) covers ~23:30-05:30 hourly — same route. Combined 78/78N service is 24/7.
• Single ticket €2.00, buy from on-board vending machine (exact change required), the OASTH/Thess app, or kiosks landside.
• Stop directly outside arrivals; the bus is the standard, OASTH-operated city service.

🚇 Thessaloniki Metro (City) — Line 1 Live, Line 2 Imminent

Line 1 opened 30 November 2024 after 18 years of construction. 13 stations along the New Railway Station — Mikra spine, including stops at Venizelou (with an in-station archaeological museum displaying Byzantine finds from the dig), Agia Sofia, Sintrivani (also with archaeological display).

• Line 1: central spine through downtown, the canonical move once you arrive at a metro-served city stop.
• Line 2 (the Kalamaria branch): 25 Martiou to Mikra, due February 2026. Verify against the Attiko Metro / Thessaloniki Metro current schedule — Greek transport openings have a tradition of slippage.
• No direct SKG metro yet: Mikra terminus is one stop short of the airport; the airport extension is a future phase, not in active construction.
• Bus 78 remains the airport link for 2026.

🚆 Onward Rail from New Railway Station

TrainOSE / Hellenic Train (Italian-owned since 2017) runs intercity from Thessaloniki to Athens and the Balkans. Buy via SNCF Connect or hellenictrain.gr.

• Athens (Larissa Station): 4-5h on IC9 inter-city, €25-45.
• Sofia (Bulgaria): 6-7h via the cross-border BDŽ, €25-40.
• Skopje (North Macedonia): overnight via the connecting line, €30-50.
• Larissa / Volos: 1h-2h, €10-20.

🚕 Bolt / FreeNow / Taxi

• Bolt — dominant ride-hail in Thessaloniki. Pickup at the dedicated zone outside arrivals. €20-35 to central Thessaloniki, 20-30 min off-peak.
• FreeNow — second player, tied into the metered yellow taxi fleet for the upfront price.
• Metered yellow taxi — the standard Thessaloniki airport-to-centre fare is around €25 day, €30 night/weekend (zone tariff, posted at the rank). Always confirm the meter is on Tariff 1 (day) vs Tariff 2 (night/holiday).
• Greek taxi regulation is strict; ignore any approach inside the terminal — the rank is the legitimate option.

🛋️ Goldair Handling — ~€30 Walk-in

Location: airside, just after the security checkpoint, on the right.

Hours: daily 05:00 – 22:00.

Access: Priority Pass, LoungeKey, Diners Club, walk-in ~€30 (verify at the door).

What’s inside: Greek-leaning buffet (feta, olives, tyropita, koulouri Thessaloniki sesame ring, fresh fruit), open bar with Vergina beer, Mythos, and Naoussa Xinomavro by the glass, espresso, runway view.

🛋️ Skyserv + The Lounge — The Other PP Options

Skyserv Lounge — airside in T2, accepts Priority Pass. Smaller footprint than Goldair, faster turnover.

The Lounge Thessaloniki — the newest opening, airside in T2 (the rebuilt wing). Accepts Priority Pass, LoungeKey, and LoungePass. Cleaner design than the older options.

Aegean Business Lounge — for Aegean Business Class, Star Alliance Gold (Lufthansa, Swiss, Turkish, Air Canada, United, etc.), and Aegean Miles+Bonus Gold/Star Plus on intra-Schengen routes. Does NOT accept Priority Pass.

Hand-stretched phyllo filo pie with sweet semolina custard (bougatsa me krema) or savoury feta. The signature Thessaloniki breakfast, eaten standing with a coffee. Bantis at Panagia Faneromeni has run continuously since 1969; Bougatsa Giannis on Mitropoleos and Serres Bougatsa at Modiano are the other central anchors. €2-4 per portion. The airport stalls do a passable version at €4-6.

Pork gyros in a pita with tomato, onion, tzatziki, and Thessaloniki-style mustard rather than Athenian sweet sauce, €3-5 on the street. Derlikatessen on Vasilissis Olgas, O Bakaliarakias in Ladadika and Cinque Cucina Italiana’s gyros bar are the recognised takes. Don’t order Athenian-style pita with chips inside; Thessaloniki gyros runs leaner.

Tsipouro is the northern-Greek pomace brandy — Macedonian and Thessalian variants run unflavoured (vs the Cretan raki). Served in 200 ml flasks with a rotating roster of small mezedhes — sardines, lakerda (cured bonito), aubergine spread, taramasalata. The Ladadika district near the port is the tsipouradhiko quarter; Diagonios, To Fakiolato and Mavri Thalassa are central reference points. €8-15 per flask + 4-6 mezedhes.

Northern Greek wine’s defining grape is Xinomavro — the “Greek Nebbiolo”, dry, structured, ageing well. PDO Naoussa is the canonical appellation, with PDO Amyntaio its higher-altitude sibling. Boutaris, Kir-Yianni, Thymiopoulos, Foundi, Tatsis are the credible Naoussa estate names. €5-9 a glass in a city wine bar; €12-30 a bottle at the SKG duty-free.

🍷 Naoussa Xinomavro

€12-30 per bottle. Kir-Yianni Ramnista, Boutaris Grand Reserve, Thymiopoulos Atma, Foundi Naoussa Reserve. Avoid the supermarket-shelf entry Naoussas; the duty-free has the estate-tier producers. Pair with grilled lamb.

🥃 Tsipouro / Tsikoudia

€15-30 per bottle. The northern Greek pomace brandy. Tsililis (Thessalian), Idoniko (Macedonian) and Vasdavanos are the credible commercial labels. Unflavoured (vs the aniseed-flavoured Cretan raki); 40-45% ABV.

🫒 Olive Oil & Halkidiki Olives

€10-25. PDO Chalkidikis green olives are the big stuffing olive from the local Chalkidiki peninsula. SKG stocks Sakellaropoulos, Eleones, and Mythocia olive oils — the airport oil shelf has improved markedly since the Fraport rebuild.

🍯 Mastic Liqueur & Mountain Tea

€8-25. Mastiha of Chios — the resin liqueur, distinctive and only available in Greece. Plus Macedonian mountain tea (tsai tou vounou, sideritis) for €4-8 a packet. Both keep well, both make better gifts than airport chocolate.

The 34-metre White Tower on the eastern waterfront is the city’s defining landmark. Built around 1450 by the Ottomans on a Byzantine foundation, it served as a garrison and, in the 19th century, a prison — the “Red Tower” (Kanli Kule) of executions, whitewashed in 1890 after Greek annexation and rebranded. Now a Museum of Thessaloniki’s History on six floors, with a rooftop terrace. €6-8 adult (verify against lpth.gr); 10-15 min walk east from Aristotelous Square along the seafront.

The Rotunda of Galerius is Thessaloniki’s oldest standing building, commissioned around AD 306 by Emperor Galerius as part of his palace complex — built later as a Christian church (4th c.), then an Ottoman mosque (1590-1912, the minaret still stands, unique in mainland Greece), and now a UNESCO-listed Greek Orthodox church and monument. The neighbouring Arch of Galerius (Kamara) (AD 298-299) is the original Roman triumphal arch on the Via Egnatia route. Both free entry, central, 12 min walk uphill from the White Tower.

Ano Poli (the Upper Town) is the labyrinthine Ottoman-era residential quarter on the hillside above the modern centre — the only Thessaloniki neighbourhood that survived the 1917 Great Fire that destroyed two-thirds of the city. Late Byzantine churches, Ottoman houses, the long surviving section of the Byzantine city walls with the Trigonio Tower at the summit. The single best Thessaloniki sunset spot, 25-min walk uphill from Aristotelous (or bus 23/22).

Thessaloniki finally got a metro on 30 November 2024, 18 years after construction began — the long delay caused by extensive archaeological finds at every station shaft. The signature feature is the in-station archaeological museum displays: Venizelou station preserves a 76-metre Byzantine main street with shops in situ; Sintrivani station opens with archaeological exhibits. Single fare €0.90; line 2 to Mikra opens Feb 2026 (verify schedule).

EU/EEA visitors: Roam Like At Home covers Greece — do nothing.
UK/US/non-EU visitors: Cosmote, Vodafone Greece, Nova (formerly Wind) sell prepaid tourist SIMs at SKG landside arrivals. €15-30 for 5-30 GB. Photo-ID registration required. eSIM via Holafly, Airalo or Saily cheaper for most.
5G: default across Thessaloniki and the airport.

With 4+ hours airside-to-airside, the move is the waterfront. Bus 78 to the central seafront (60 min, €2) or Bolt (€20-25, 25 min) — walk the waterfront promenade past the Umbrellas sculpture and the new Metro to the White Tower. Lunch bougatsa at Bantis (Panagia Faneromeni, 1969) on the way back. Round trip via bus ~2h + 1h 30m in the city — tight. With 6+ hours: add the Rotunda + Arch of Galerius and Ano Poli for the city panorama. Allow 50-60 min for return security and EES queue.