The IVF Abroad Timeline for UK Patients: Which Weeks Happen at Home and Which in Athens
Planning IVF abroad from the UK? This week-by-week timeline shows which steps happen at home and which in Athens, so you can plan time off and travel.
If you are planning IVF abroad from the UK, the first practical worry is rarely the medicine. It is the diary: how much time off work will I need, and how long will I actually be in Athens?
Those questions have honest answers, and they depend mainly on one choice: whether your embryo is transferred fresh in the same cycle, or frozen and transferred later in a frozen embryo transfer (FET). Most patients complete an IVF cycle within four to six weeks from start to finish, but only part of that time needs you in Greece.
This guide follows an IVF cycle phase by phase, marks clearly which parts usually happen at home and which happen in Athens, and finishes with two sample timelines you can sketch your calendar around. Your own plan will be set with your doctor, so treat this as a map rather than a fixed schedule.
How long does IVF abroad take from start to finish?
From the start of stimulation to a pregnancy test, a fresh cycle runs for roughly a month, and the preparation before it adds anything from one to four weeks. A freeze-all approach splits treatment into two trips with a rest period of a month or more in between.
The table below gives the overview. Each phase is explained further down.
| Phase | How long | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation and testing | 1 to 4 weeks before | Much of it can be done at home |
| Ovarian stimulation | Usually 10 to 14 days | Discuss with your doctor (see below) |
| Trigger shot and egg retrieval | Retrieval 34 to 36 hours after the trigger | Athens |
| Embryo development | 5 to 7 days | Athens lab |
| Fresh transfer | Day 5 or 6 after retrieval | Athens |
| Pregnancy test | About 14 days after retrieval (fresh) | Ask the team how this is arranged |
Weeks before treatment: preparation and testing at home
Preparation starts one to four weeks before stimulation. The aim is to confirm your body is ready and to give your doctor what they need to personalise your protocol.
For women, this usually means a transvaginal ultrasound to look at the ovaries and the antral follicle count, along with blood tests for AMH, FSH and estradiol. Recent infectious disease screening is also needed (HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and syphilis), and some women have a hysteroscopy or saline sonogram to check the uterine cavity. For men, a semen analysis is essential, and if earlier results showed abnormalities, further tests may be requested.
This is the phase that suits UK patients best. If you are travelling to Athens from abroad, much of this testing can be done at home, and the Pelargos IVF team reviews your results remotely before you arrive. Our guide to your online fertility consultation from the UK covers which records to gather and how to share them.
Ovarian stimulation: the most intensive phase
Stimulation usually lasts 10 to 14 days. You take daily hormone injections, typically a combination of FSH and LH, so that several follicles develop at the same time.
Some women respond quickly and are ready for retrieval after 9 days, while others need up to 16. Throughout, you have monitoring appointments every two to three days, each with a transvaginal ultrasound to measure follicle growth and blood tests to check hormone levels. Your doctor adjusts the doses according to how you respond, and tells you when the lead follicles have reached the target size, typically 17 to 22mm.
Bloating, mild cramping and mood swings are common during these days. They are normal side effects of the medication and usually settle after egg retrieval.
Where does stimulation happen?
This is the phase where travel planning needs a real conversation. Because monitoring is so frequent and doses change with each result, ask your doctor at the consultation exactly when you should be in Athens and whether any early monitoring could be done closer to home. The sample timelines below show the typical total stay the clinic plans around.
The trigger shot and egg retrieval: your Athens days
When your follicles are ready, you take the trigger shot, an injection of hCG or a GnRH agonist that matures the eggs. Timing is precise: retrieval is booked exactly 34 to 36 hours later. This is the one injection you cannot miss or delay, and you will be given a specific time for it, often late at night so that retrieval can happen in the morning.
Egg retrieval is a minor surgical procedure under light sedation and takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Guided by ultrasound, the doctor passes a thin needle through the vaginal wall to collect fluid from each mature follicle. You will not feel pain during it, and most women wake up a little groggy but comfortable.
Afterwards you rest at the clinic for one to two hours before going back to your accommodation. Mild cramping and spotting are common for a day or two, and most women feel back to normal within 48 hours. On the same day, your partner gives a semen sample, or frozen sperm is thawed if that is the plan, and the embryology team prepares it for fertilisation.
Fertilisation and embryo development: waiting on the lab
From here the laboratory takes over. Depending on your situation, fertilisation is done by conventional IVF, where eggs and sperm are placed together, or by ICSI, where a single sperm is injected into each mature egg.
The morning after retrieval, the embryology team checks how many eggs fertilised and updates you, usually by phone or message. Over the following five to seven days the embryos develop in the lab, and the team watches for normal division and progress to the blastocyst stage, usually reached by day 5 or 6. Not every fertilised egg becomes a viable blastocyst. That is normal, even though it can be hard to hear.
If you have chosen PGT-A (genetic testing), a small biopsy is taken from each blastocyst and sent for analysis, with results usually taking one to two weeks.
Fresh transfer or freeze-all: the choice that shapes your travel
This is the point where the two paths split, and it matters a great deal for your planning from the UK.
Fresh transfer: one trip
If your hormone levels and uterine lining look good and you are not having genetic testing, your doctor may recommend transferring a blastocyst on day 5 or 6. In that case you stay in Athens through to transfer day, so everything from retrieval to transfer happens in one stay.
Freeze-all and FET: two trips
Many clinics now prefer to freeze all embryos, particularly after a strong response to stimulation, when PGT-A is planned, or when giving your body time to recover makes sense. The embryos are vitrified (flash-frozen) and stored, and you come back for a frozen embryo transfer cycle weeks or months later.
A frozen cycle is simpler than a fresh one. You take estrogen and progesterone to prepare the lining, with fewer monitoring appointments, and the transfer itself is quick and painless, similar to a smear test. Two trips can be easier to fit around work for some people than one longer stay, and it is worth weighing up with your doctor. Our travel guide to IVF abroad from the UK covers the practical side of getting there, with direct flights from several UK airports taking roughly 3.5 to 4 hours.
Two sample timelines to plan around
These are typical examples, not promises. Every protocol is adjusted to the individual.
Fresh transfer
| Phase | Day |
|---|---|
| Preparation and testing | 1 to 4 weeks before |
| Stimulation | Days 1 to 12 (average) |
| Trigger shot | Day 12, evening |
| Egg retrieval | Day 14 |
| Fertilisation report | Day 15 |
| Embryo development | Days 15 to 19 |
| Fresh transfer (day 5 embryo) | Day 19 |
| Pregnancy test | Day 28 to 30 |
Total time in Athens: usually a minimum of 14 to 15 days.
Frozen embryo transfer (FET)
| Phase | Duration |
|---|---|
| Stimulation cycle (first trip) | Usually at least 14 to 15 days |
| Freezing embryos | After retrieval |
| Rest period | 1 to 3 months (or longer) |
| FET cycle (second trip) | About 10 to 14 days |
| Pregnancy test | 9 to 11 days after transfer |
Total time in Athens for the FET trip: approximately 7 to 12 days.
Once you know which path is likely, it becomes much easier to estimate your budget as well as your leave. The cost calculator and our guide to IVF costs in Greece for UK patients can help with that side.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does stimulation take?
Stimulation usually lasts 10 to 14 days, though it can be anywhere from 9 to 16 days depending on how your ovaries respond. You have monitoring every two to three days, and your doctor adjusts both the medication and the timeline as needed, so it is sensible to keep a little flexibility in your travel plans around this phase.
When is the embryo transfer?
In a fresh cycle, embryos are usually transferred on day 5 or 6 after retrieval, once they have reached the blastocyst stage. In a frozen cycle, the transfer is scheduled after your uterine lining has been prepared with estrogen and progesterone, usually about 10 to 14 days into the FET cycle. Your doctor confirms the exact date.
When will I find out if I am pregnant?
You have a blood pregnancy test (beta-hCG) about 14 days after egg retrieval in a fresh cycle, or roughly 9 to 11 days after a frozen transfer. Home pregnancy tests may show a result a little earlier, but the blood test gives the definitive answer. Ask the team how your test will be arranged if you are back in the UK by then.
How long will I need to stay in Athens?
For a fresh transfer, the time in Athens is usually a minimum of 14 to 15 days. With a freeze-all approach, the first trip for stimulation and retrieval is usually at least 14 to 15 days, and the later trip for the frozen transfer is approximately 7 to 12 days. Your own plan is set at consultation.
Can I do any of the IVF preparation in the UK?
Yes. For patients travelling to Athens from abroad, much of the preparation testing can be done at home before you travel. The Pelargos IVF team reviews your results remotely before you arrive, so your time in Athens can focus on treatment.
Planning your weeks with the team
A timeline on paper can only go so far. How your ovaries respond, whether a fresh or frozen transfer suits you, and whether genetic testing is part of the plan all shift the dates, and that is something to work through with a specialist who has seen your results.
If you would like to talk through what your own calendar might look like, you can book a free online consultation with the Pelargos IVF team from home. It is a conversation, not a commitment.
Adapted for UK patients from the Pelargos IVF guide "IVF Timeline: What Happens Week by Week" (https://pelargosivf.com/2026/01/08/ivf-timeline/).