IVF Abroad from the UK and How to Plan Your Trips to Athens

How many times will I need to fly to Athens, and how much leave should I ask my manager for? If you are weighing up IVF abroad from the UK, those practical worries can loom larger than the treatment itself.

Here is the reassuring part. Much of the groundwork can be done in the UK, and for several treatment routes your time in Greece is shorter than people assume.

Below: visits and stays for each route, what stays at home, flights, where to base yourself, and aftercare.

How many trips to Athens will you need?

That depends on which treatment you are having, though the answer is usually fewer than people fear. Treat every figure here as a planning guide. Your own protocol and your response to medication shape the real dates, and your coordinator pins them down once the plan is agreed.

Fresh IVF cycle with your own eggs

Normally this means a single main visit covering stimulation, egg retrieval and transfer. Plan for a stay in Athens of usually at least 14 to 15 days; your coordinator confirms the exact dates once your plan is agreed.

Own-egg IVF where all embryos are frozen

With a freeze-all plan, the work divides into two shorter visits. Visit one covers stimulation and retrieval. Visit two, some weeks or months afterwards, is for the frozen transfer and runs to roughly 7 to 12 days. Begin preparing your womb lining in the UK and that second stay can drop to as little as 3 days, which gives you a chance to recover at home between the two.

Treatment with donor eggs

This route generally asks for the fewest days in Greece. Much depends on whether the donor eggs are fresh or frozen. Medication to ready your lining can be taken in the UK, so you mainly travel for the transfer.

• Fresh donor eggs: the ideal pattern is two visits. A short first trip of about 2 days to freeze the sperm, then a return of 2 to 3 days for the transfer.
• Frozen donor eggs: one stay of around 7 days can be enough to cover fertilisation and transfer.

Where a male partner is providing sperm, he can either be in Athens on the day the donor's eggs are retrieved or bank a frozen sample beforehand. For a step-by-step walk-through, see our guide to the egg donation process in Greece.

What can be done before you leave the UK?

A good deal of preparation happens without a passport. Typically you can:

• meet Dr Harry Karpouzis for your first consultation over video
• arrange most of your fertility tests near home and forward the results for review
• begin stimulation injections in the UK, with early scans by a local doctor and the reports or images passed on to Athens
• get your lining ready at home ahead of a frozen or donor-egg transfer.

Some steps do need you in Athens: egg retrieval, embryo transfer and, usually, the last monitoring scans before retrieval, because the team carrying out the procedure needs to see those themselves. A video call is a helpful first step, but no virtual appointment can take the place of an in-person examination.

Do UK patients need a visa for Greece?

Greece belongs to both the EU and the Schengen area. UK citizens do not usually need a visa for a short stay in Greece, but entry rules for non-EU visitors are set by the EU and can change, so check the current official guidance for your passport before you book. Travellers on other passports may need a Schengen short-stay visa, so if someone coming with you is in that position, start their application early.

New EU border arrangements are being phased in, among them biometric registration on arrival and a planned online travel authorisation (ETIAS) for visitors who do not need a visa. As details and dates can shift, check the official EU and Greek government websites before booking. The clinic cannot advise on immigration, although we are happy to supply appointment confirmations and other clinic paperwork.

If your treatment involves donated eggs or sperm, UK law still applies when you return home, for instance to how a child's parentage is registered. Our comparison of Greek and UK fertility law explains the Greek position, and a UK family lawyer can advise on the rest.

How do you book flights when dates can move?

Unpredictable dates are the most common source of anxiety, and with reason. Retrieval day is set by how your follicles develop, so it may slide by a day or two.

Direct flights run from several UK airports to Athens, with a journey of roughly 3.5 to 4 hours. Some sensible habits:

• For the stimulation trip, choose fares you can change, or hold off on the outbound booking until your coordinator gives you the likely window.
• Build in a spare day between your expected transfer and your flight home.
• Expect more certainty with frozen transfers. The lining follows a planned schedule, so frozen and donor-egg transfer dates can be fixed well ahead.

From Athens International Airport (Eleftherios Venizelos) you can reach the centre by metro, suburban train or taxi.

Can you fly safely after retrieval or transfer?

In most cases, yes. Following egg retrieval you might feel tired and bloated for a day or two, so a little rest before flying is wise. Anyone who was at risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome will get individual advice from their doctor about when to travel.

Once an embryo has been transferred, good evidence that flying harms your chances of pregnancy is lacking. Keep drinking water, get up and walk during the journey, and follow whatever clot-prevention advice you are given, particularly while on hormone treatment or if you have had a clot before.

Where should you stay in Athens?

The Pelargos IVF consultation clinic sits on Skoufa Street in Kolonaki, central Athens, while procedures are carried out at partner IVF centres. A calm, central base a few minutes away by taxi makes those early appointments much easier.

For longer stays, plenty of patients pick a serviced apartment over a hotel, so they can make their own meals, rest and keep to a routine. The centre is easy on foot and taxis can be hailed or booked by app. Because you will be sedated for retrieval, get back to your accommodation by taxi or with a driver arranged by your coordinator, rather than travelling alone by public transport.

Support from the Elixir concierge

Elixir is the Pelargos IVF concierge for patients travelling from abroad, designed to stop the logistics becoming a part-time job. The team can find suitable accommodation, organise airport collection, fit appointments around your flights and be your single contact during your stay. With every treatment booked, Elixir membership is free for a stay of up to one week, and members get discounts with partner hotels, restaurants and transport.

What to pack

On top of the usual holiday basics, it helps to bring:

• recent results, scans and summaries of any earlier treatment, on paper and on your phone
• medication you have already begun, kept in the original boxes, with a prescription or letter for customs if you are carrying injections
• a small cool bag for anything that must stay chilled
• soft, loose clothing for retrieval and transfer days
• something to help you unwind.

Coming alone or with a partner

When a partner's sperm is being used, they normally need to be in Athens on retrieval day, unless a frozen sample is already stored. Some couples spend the whole stay together, others time the partner's visit to cover just the essential days.

Many women also travel solo, because they are single or because a partner cannot get time off. If that is your situation, mention it to your coordinator early.

What happens once you are home?

Leaving Athens does not mean leaving our care. You go home with written medication instructions, usually for progesterone support, plus a date for your pregnancy blood test. That test is normally taken at a local lab about 9 to 11 days after a blastocyst transfer, and you share the result with the team. Dr Karpouzis or your coordinator then explains what comes next.

After a positive result, a first scan is usually arranged a few weeks on with your own doctor or a local clinic, and the Pelargos team remains on hand while you move into routine pregnancy care. After a negative result, we set up a video follow-up to go over the cycle and discuss the options ahead.

Budgeting for the trip

Besides treatment, allow for flights, accommodation, getting around, food and time away from work. For a rough idea, a complete own-egg cycle at Pelargos IVF including medication is typically around €3,900 to €4,700, while egg donation packages sit at roughly €5,900 to €7,300. Both are indicative and confirmed at consultation once your plan is in place, and the team can quote in GBP. Our guide to what IVF really costs in Greece for UK patients covers inclusions and extras.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I need to stay in Athens for IVF?

That varies by treatment. A fresh own-egg cycle, from stimulation through collection to transfer, usually means a minimum stay of around 14 to 15 days in Athens. Visits for a frozen transfer are shorter. With donor eggs, the stay is often just a few days around the transfer, sometimes with a first two-day visit to freeze sperm. Your coordinator sets exact dates once your plan is agreed.

Can I have my monitoring scans in the UK?

In many cases, yes. A local doctor can usually carry out the early stimulation scans and blood tests, then send the reports or images to the Pelargos team. The last scans before egg retrieval are normally performed in Athens by the team who will do the procedure, because they decide its timing.

Do UK citizens need a visa to have IVF in Greece?

Usually not for a short stay, but the rules are set by the EU and Greek authorities, not by the clinic. The EU is phasing in new border checks, including a planned online travel authorisation (ETIAS) for visitors who do not need a visa, and the details can change, so confirm current rules on official EU and Greek government sites before you book.

Is it safe to fly home after embryo transfer?

For most women, it is. Good evidence that flying after a transfer reduces the chance of pregnancy is lacking. Keep hydrated, walk about during the journey and follow any clot-prevention advice you receive, especially if you are on hormone treatment or have had a clot in the past. If your response to stimulation was high, your doctor will give you personal guidance on when to travel.

What if my egg retrieval date changes?

Because retrieval timing follows how your follicles grow, it can move by a day or two. Changeable fares and a spare day before your flight home take most of the pressure off. If your dates do shift, the Elixir concierge team can rearrange your accommodation and transfers so the rest of the trip still works.

Start with a conversation

Turning all of this into a real plan is easier with people who arrange it every week. Whenever you feel ready, book a free online consultation from home by video, and the Pelargos IVF team will help you shape both the treatment and the trip, at a pace that suits you.

Adapted for UK patients from the Pelargos IVF guide "IVF in Greece for International Patients: Travel and Logistics Guide" (https://pelargosivf.com/2026/09/30/ivf-greece-international-patients-travel/).