# Getaway to Marathon: a Night on the Bay, Between the Tumulus, Rhamnous and the Nea Makri Tavernas

Fly to Athens and half an hour by car: the museum and tumulus of the battle, Rhamnous above the sea, the afternoon at Schinias, fish in Nea Makri and a night facing the harbour.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/marathon/itineraries/one-night-tumulus-and-rhamnous · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Marathon

Marathon is usually seen on a quick excursion from Athens. With one night it changes: you see the ruins without watching the clock, eat fish at leisure on the Nea Makri coast and wake up with the sea in front of you. And since the bay is half an hour from the airport, it is a good first or last night of a trip to Greece: you do not need to enter Athens.

## How do you get there from Spain?

By air to Athens: there are direct flights from Madrid and Barcelona. At the airport you hire a car: it is about 22 km to Nea Makri, about 25 minutes according to the hotel. The Marathon sites are 4 to 15 km apart, so a car is what works.

Without a car you can reach Nea Makri on the KTEL bus or OASA line 314, but then it will be hard to move between the museum, the tumulus and Rhamnous. If you do not drive, count on taxis.

## Where to sleep?

AccommodationAreaWho it suits

Marathon Beach ResortNea Makri, next to the harbourA beach hotel with a saltwater pool and family suites

NLH Mati SeafrontMati, on the seaRooms with a balcony over the Aegean, the closest to the airport

Ballos ApartmentsNea Makri, on the promenadeFamily apartments with a kitchen and terrace

## And with another night?

Stay another night and head down the coast to Cape Sounion, with the Temple of Poseidon at sunset, or go up to Athens and give a day to the Acropolis: you have everything in Athens.

## El plan

### Saturday · 10:00 · Arrival in Athens and car
From the airport, half an hour to the Marathon coast.

### Saturday · 11:00 · The museum, at Vrana
The battle trophy, Herodes Atticus and the Egyptian statues from Brexiza. €5.

### Saturday · 12:30 · The tumulus of the Athenians
Nine metres of earth over the fallen of 490 BC. €5; closes at 15:30.

### Saturday · 14:00 · Lunch at Argo
Fish from the counter grilled, at the end of the Nea Makri promenade.

### Saturday · 17:00 · Hotel and beach
Leave your bag, swim on the beach in front or in the pool.

### Saturday · 21:00 · Dinner on the promenade
At Trata, the Bellos family's fish taverna since 1981, or in the hotel taverna.

### Sunday · 08:30 · Rhamnous
First thing, in the cool: the temples of Nemesis and Themis and the path of tombs down to the sea. €5.

### Sunday · 11:00 · Schinias
A swim under the pines, in the bay where the Persian fleet anchored, and coffee at Moraitis Beach.

### Sunday · 14:00 · Return via the lake dam
The Pentelic marble dam, on the way to the airport or Athens.

## Consejos

### Never on a Tuesday
The museum, tumulus and Rhamnous are closed.

### Ruins in the morning
Everything closes at 15:30; leave the beach for the afternoon.

### Book Saturday's lunch
The Nea Makri coast fills with Athenians at the weekend.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How long does it take from Athens airport to Marathon?
About 25 minutes by car to Nea Makri.

### Are there direct flights from Spain?
Yes, from Madrid and from Barcelona.

### How much do tickets cost?
€5 each site: museum, tumulus and Rhamnous.

### Where to sleep?
In Nea Makri or Mati, on the coast, a few minutes from the sites.

## Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Marathon Beach Resort**: A beach hotel with a harbour in front
Marathon Beach Resort is on the shore at Nea Makri, the coastal village just south of the Marathon plain. It was a well-known summer hotel in the seventies, eighties and nineties, and it has recently been renovated. It is three wings of white three-storey buildings around a garden with palm trees and bougainvillea, with the pool in the middle. In front you have the sandy beach and, next door, the Nea Makri marina, with its promenade of cafés and tavernas.
For the Marathon excursion it is a comfortable base: the Athenians' tumulus, the Vrana museum and Schinias beach are less than a quarter of an hour by car. According to the hotel, Athens airport is 22 km away, about 25 minutes, and the port of Rafina, from where boats leave for the Cyclades and Euboea, 8 km. Central Athens is about 40 km away.
The rooms
There are 74 rooms with a view of the sea, the garden or the pool, in seven types. The doubles are 18 m²; the superior doubles and those with a side or front sea view, 23 m². The junior suite is for three people (36 m²) and the family suite for four (41 m²): a bedroom with a double bed or two beds and a second area with a sofa bed for two, a large bathroom with a bath or two bathrooms with showers, and a balcony over the pool and garden. All have air conditioning, wifi, minibar, safe and balcony; a cot and extra bed can be requested.
Pool, meals and services
The main pool is saltwater, in a 300 m² area, with a small children's pool beside it. Breakfast is a buffet from 7:30 to 10:00, and you can ask for takeaway breakfast boxes if you leave early. The Greek taverna opens daily from 12:00 to 00:00, the pool bar from 10:00 to 22:00 and the Surf Club, by the sea, from 9:00 to 23:30. There is a 24-hour reception, free private parking, laundry and room service. The hotel arranges transfers, excursions and car or motorbike hire if you ask. Pets are admitted with prior approval.
You can arrive by car, by taxi or on the KTEL bus and OASA line 314, which pass through Nea Makri; the metro goes as far as Pallini.
- **NLH Mati Seafront**: A hotel on the rocks of Mati
Mati is a coastal village with coves among reddish rocks and a little harbour with cafés, between Rafina and Nea Makri, about ten minutes by car south of the Marathon plain. NLH Mati Seafront occupies a renovated building right on the shore, with the pool at the water's edge and a direct way down to the beach. It belongs to the Greek NLH chain, which has three other hotels in central Athens.
It works as a coastal base for seeing Marathon and Rhamnous in the morning and swimming in the afternoon, or for the last night before a flight: the airport is about 20 minutes away, according to the hotel.
The rooms
There are 82 rooms, all with a balcony, in several categories. The classic rooms look onto the mountain (22 m²); the superior onto the courtyard or sideways to the sea; the deluxe sideways or facing the sea, and the panoramic facing it. For families there are four-bed suites: the classic with a mountain view (32 to 39 m²), the superior and the deluxe with a side sea view, and a two-bedroom family suite (31 to 40 m²). All have a bathroom with a hairdryer, desk, 32-inch television, laptop safe, small fridge and free wifi.
Pool, breakfast and bar
The pool is outdoor, freshwater, with direct access to the beach below. It is 1.40 m deep at most, and there is no lifeguard or children's pool: children swim with an adult beside them, and the hours depend on the season and the weather. Breakfast is an American buffet from 7:00 to 10:00 on weekdays and until 10:30 at weekends, in the ground-floor restaurant, with a terrace. You can book with breakfast or half board, and there is a gluten-free or allergy menu if you ask. The lobby bar opens from 9:00 to 24:00, with a large patio over the sea. There is a gym, beauty centre, 24-hour reception, luggage storage and a transfer service to the port and airport for a supplement.
- **Ballos Apartments**: An apartment on the Nea Makri promenade
Ballos Apartments is a family business that opened some thirty years ago, when Nea Makri was still a small summer village. It is at the start of Poseidonos Avenue, the coast road, a few steps from the beach and the centre, where you have supermarkets, banks, pharmacies and tavernas. It is the option if you want your own kitchen and a bit more space than a hotel, for several nights with children or to explore the area without hurry.
From here the Marathon plain begins a couple of kilometres away: the tumulus, the museum and Schinias beach are a few minutes by car. The family say on their website that they organise excursions to the battle sites for their guests; ask them when you book.
The apartments
Each apartment is for two to four people and has a bedroom, a living room, kitchen, bathroom, hallway and a spacious terrace. There is air conditioning in the bedroom and the living room, and television. Some face the sea, towards the Gulf of Euboea, and others Mount Penteli, the source of the Parthenon's white marble. There are also ground-floor apartments, more convenient if you have a pushchair or an older person with you. Judging by the photos, they are simple flats with no design pretensions.
What is worth asking
The website does not publish check-in and check-out times, whether there is parking or whether the apartments open all year. The only rates it shows are from 2023, so do not take them as a guide: write to the email or call beforehand. It also says nothing about pets.

## Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Marathon Beach Resort**: A beach hotel with a harbour in front
Marathon Beach Resort is on the shore at Nea Makri, the coastal village just south of the Marathon plain. It was a well-known summer hotel in the seventies, eighties and nineties, and it has recently been renovated. It is three wings of white three-storey buildings around a garden with palm trees and bougainvillea, with the pool in the middle. In front you have the sandy beach and, next door, the Nea Makri marina, with its promenade of cafés and tavernas.
For the Marathon excursion it is a comfortable base: the Athenians' tumulus, the Vrana museum and Schinias beach are less than a quarter of an hour by car. According to the hotel, Athens airport is 22 km away, about 25 minutes, and the port of Rafina, from where boats leave for the Cyclades and Euboea, 8 km. Central Athens is about 40 km away.
The rooms
There are 74 rooms with a view of the sea, the garden or the pool, in seven types. The doubles are 18 m²; the superior doubles and those with a side or front sea view, 23 m². The junior suite is for three people (36 m²) and the family suite for four (41 m²): a bedroom with a double bed or two beds and a second area with a sofa bed for two, a large bathroom with a bath or two bathrooms with showers, and a balcony over the pool and garden. All have air conditioning, wifi, minibar, safe and balcony; a cot and extra bed can be requested.
Pool, meals and services
The main pool is saltwater, in a 300 m² area, with a small children's pool beside it. Breakfast is a buffet from 7:30 to 10:00, and you can ask for takeaway breakfast boxes if you leave early. The Greek taverna opens daily from 12:00 to 00:00, the pool bar from 10:00 to 22:00 and the Surf Club, by the sea, from 9:00 to 23:30. There is a 24-hour reception, free private parking, laundry and room service. The hotel arranges transfers, excursions and car or motorbike hire if you ask. Pets are admitted with prior approval.
You can arrive by car, by taxi or on the KTEL bus and OASA line 314, which pass through Nea Makri; the metro goes as far as Pallini.
- **NLH Mati Seafront**: A hotel on the rocks of Mati
Mati is a coastal village with coves among reddish rocks and a little harbour with cafés, between Rafina and Nea Makri, about ten minutes by car south of the Marathon plain. NLH Mati Seafront occupies a renovated building right on the shore, with the pool at the water's edge and a direct way down to the beach. It belongs to the Greek NLH chain, which has three other hotels in central Athens.
It works as a coastal base for seeing Marathon and Rhamnous in the morning and swimming in the afternoon, or for the last night before a flight: the airport is about 20 minutes away, according to the hotel.
The rooms
There are 82 rooms, all with a balcony, in several categories. The classic rooms look onto the mountain (22 m²); the superior onto the courtyard or sideways to the sea; the deluxe sideways or facing the sea, and the panoramic facing it. For families there are four-bed suites: the classic with a mountain view (32 to 39 m²), the superior and the deluxe with a side sea view, and a two-bedroom family suite (31 to 40 m²). All have a bathroom with a hairdryer, desk, 32-inch television, laptop safe, small fridge and free wifi.
Pool, breakfast and bar
The pool is outdoor, freshwater, with direct access to the beach below. It is 1.40 m deep at most, and there is no lifeguard or children's pool: children swim with an adult beside them, and the hours depend on the season and the weather. Breakfast is an American buffet from 7:00 to 10:00 on weekdays and until 10:30 at weekends, in the ground-floor restaurant, with a terrace. You can book with breakfast or half board, and there is a gluten-free or allergy menu if you ask. The lobby bar opens from 9:00 to 24:00, with a large patio over the sea. There is a gym, beauty centre, 24-hour reception, luggage storage and a transfer service to the port and airport for a supplement.
- **Ballos Apartments**: An apartment on the Nea Makri promenade
Ballos Apartments is a family business that opened some thirty years ago, when Nea Makri was still a small summer village. It is at the start of Poseidonos Avenue, the coast road, a few steps from the beach and the centre, where you have supermarkets, banks, pharmacies and tavernas. It is the option if you want your own kitchen and a bit more space than a hotel, for several nights with children or to explore the area without hurry.
From here the Marathon plain begins a couple of kilometres away: the tumulus, the museum and Schinias beach are a few minutes by car. The family say on their website that they organise excursions to the battle sites for their guests; ask them when you book.
The apartments
Each apartment is for two to four people and has a bedroom, a living room, kitchen, bathroom, hallway and a spacious terrace. There is air conditioning in the bedroom and the living room, and television. Some face the sea, towards the Gulf of Euboea, and others Mount Penteli, the source of the Parthenon's white marble. There are also ground-floor apartments, more convenient if you have a pushchair or an older person with you. Judging by the photos, they are simple flats with no design pretensions.
What is worth asking
The website does not publish check-in and check-out times, whether there is parking or whether the apartments open all year. The only rates it shows are from 2023, so do not take them as a guide: write to the email or call beforehand. It also says nothing about pets.