Permit to enter Mt Athos-diamonitirion
Submitted by Athos on May 23, 2024 - 9:57pm
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A practical guide for pilgrims · Updated November 2026
To visit Mount Athos you need a diamonitirion (Διαμονητήριον), the personal permit allowing you to enter and stay on the Holy Mountain. You must also arrange somewhere to sleep and reserve your boat ticket. These are three separate arrangements: permission to enter, monastery hospitality and transport.
A normal pilgrimage with a general permit lasts four days and three nights. For example, if you enter on Monday, you normally leave on Thursday. The dates and conditions printed on your permit govern your visit.
1. Decide how you will arrange your visit
If you want to visit several monasteries: begin with the Pilgrims’ Bureau in Thessaloniki to reserve a general permit. Once your entry date is accepted, contact each monastery where you wish to spend a night. The permit does not reserve a bed.
If a particular monastery, skete or cell has invited you: ask your host whether it will arrange a special permit for you or whether you must reserve a general permit yourself. A special permit is connected to the inviting establishment. Agree the length of your stay with the host, and obtain approval before arranging overnight stays elsewhere.
Do not make a second permit application without checking what your host has already arranged.
2. Contact the Pilgrims’ Bureau and reserve your date
Begin planning several months before your intended visit, particularly for Easter, major feasts and popular travel dates. Foreign and non-Orthodox applicants should enquire early because places are limited.
| Contact | Details |
|---|---|
| Greek applicants | +30 2310 252575 |
| Foreign applicants | +30 2310 252578 |
| athosreservation@gmail.com | |
| Thessaloniki office | 109 Egnatia Street, Thessaloniki, Greece |
Have the following ready:
- Your full name as it appears on your passport or identity card.
- Your date of birth, nationality, and passport or identity-card details.
- Your religion or denomination.
- Your proposed entry date and an alternative date.
- Your intended departure port: Ouranoupoli or Ierissos.
Send a passport copy if the Bureau requests it. Ask when reservations open for your entry date and when you must reconfirm. Booking periods differ in published guidance; establish the applicable date during your first enquiry rather than waiting until the final weeks. A request is not a confirmed reservation: obtain the Bureau’s acceptance of your date.
3. Arrange a bed for every night
Contact the guestmaster (archontaris) at each monastery, skete or cell where you wish to stay. Give your name, the number of men travelling and the night requested. Wait for acceptance before treating that night as booked.
For a three-night pilgrimage, write down the host and contact details for each night. Monastery hospitality is traditionally free; donations are welcome. A diamonitirion does not entitle you to arrive without an accommodation arrangement.
If your host is arranging an invitation, make sure it has sent the necessary information to the Pilgrims’ Office. Invitation submissions are due by 12 noon on the day before arrival; arrange this well beforehand. Groups should normally contain no more than five pilgrims unless an exception has been approved.
4. Reserve your boat
From Ouranoupoli: boats serve the western side of Mount Athos and Dafni, the principal port. Choose a service suitable for your first monastery.
From Ierissos: services serve the eastern side. Tell the Pilgrims’ Bureau that you intend to enter from Ierissos so it can arrange permit collection there. There is no permanent permit office at that port.
Book the boat separately from the permit. Check the departure time and service shortly before travelling: weather can cause cancellations. Agioreitikes Grammes provides current routes and booking information. If you are travelling a long distance to the port, staying nearby the previous night makes morning collection and boarding easier.
5. Collect your diamonitirion on entry day
For departure from Ouranoupoli, go personally to the Pilgrims’ Office with the original passport or identity card used for your reservation. Pay the fee, collect your permit and check the details before boarding. Allow sufficient time for the office queue and your boat’s boarding deadline.
Ouranoupoli Pilgrims’ Office: +30 23770 71421 or +30 23770 71422.
| Office | Monday–Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thessaloniki: reservations | 09:00–14:00 | 10:00–12:00 | Closed |
| Ouranoupoli: collection | 05:30–13:00 | 06:00–13:00 | 08:00–13:00 |
If your boat leaves early, or you will travel on a Sunday or public holiday, telephone beforehand to arrange collection in time.
What does the permit cost?
| Applicant | Permit charge |
|---|---|
| Orthodox pilgrim | €25 |
| Non-Orthodox pilgrim | Published charges are €30–€35; bring €35 and establish the exact fee when reserving |
| Eligible concession categories: pupils, students, conscripts, disabled pilgrims and parents with three children | €10, with supporting documents |
| Parents with four or more children | Exemption, with supporting documents |
Bring cash. Your boat ticket and travel expenses are additional. If claiming a reduced fee or exemption, ask which documents you must present.
Who can enter?
Only men may enter Mount Athos under the avaton. Boys require the appropriate accompanying adult and consent arrangements. If travelling with a son or a school group, settle these requirements with the Bureau before booking travel. Clergy must also arrange the required Patriarchal permission (Evlogia).
Entry limits and monastery invitations
General permits are limited; the customary published daily allocations are 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox visitors. Monastery invitations are also regulated. Since June 2025, each monastery has a monthly limit of 300 foreign pilgrims, with exemptions for Greeks and Cypriots, Serbs at Hilandar, Bulgarians at Zographou, and Russians and Ukrainians at St Panteleimon. These exemptions concern the numerical limit; a permit and accepted hospitality are still required.
Separate monthly invitation limits apply to cenobitic sketes (200), the central churches of other sketes (50), and cells and kalyves (20). For the pilgrim, the practical point is simple: secure acceptance from your host and do not assume that another establishment can receive you without prior agreement.
Before you leave home
- Have your permit reservation, each overnight stay and your boat booking confirmed.
- Carry your original identification, cash and any concession documents.
- Keep the telephone numbers of your hosts and boat operator with you.
- Wear modest clothing and long trousers. Ask permission before photographing people or monastery interiors; video recording is prohibited in the published pilgrimage rules.
- If you cancel or change your dates, notify the Bureau, your hosts and the boat operator.
Your first call: +30 2310 252578 for foreign applicants, or +30 2310 252575 for Greek applicants. Explain when you wish to enter and whether a monastery is arranging an invitation for you.
Further information
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