How many days should you stay in Greece? Actual timetables depending on the treatment

“How many days do I need to take off work?” is almost always the second question, right after the cost. It’s more crucial than it seems: the answer determines your holiday entitlement, the cost of your stay and, often, whether you can even go ahead with the treatment. Here are the actual timetables, protocol by protocol.

Embryo transfer with egg donation: 2 to 4 days

This is the most common scenario amongst patients coming from abroad, and it is the least invasive. Endometrial preparation takes place at home, whilst you’re on medication, with monitoring scans carried out locally and sent to the clinic. You only need to travel for the transfer.

The usual procedure: arrival the day before, transfer on the day itself — a quick procedure, without anaesthesia — rest, then departure the following day. Some people prefer to stay an extra day, not for medical reasons but because flying two hours after a transfer is far from pleasant. A single trip is all that’s needed.

IVF using your own eggs: 8 to 12 days, or two short stays

In this case, the egg retrieval requires a longer stay. There are two possible arrangements.

A single stay. You arrive around the eighth or ninth day of stimulation, continue with your check-ups there, the egg retrieval takes place a few days later, followed by the embryo transfer three to five days after that. Allow eight to twelve days in total.

Two short stays. Stimulation is monitored in France; you come for three or four days for the egg retrieval, return home, then come back for two or three days for the embryo transfer — or this is deferred to a later cycle using a frozen embryo. This option requires less time off work but does require a gynaecologist in France willing to oversee your care, as well as two return flights.

Frozen embryo transfer: 2 to 3 days

The most flexible protocol. Endometrial preparation takes place at home; the date is set a few days in advance, and you come for the transfer. Many people do this over a long weekend.

Double donation or embryo donation: 2 to 4 days

The timetable is similar to that for egg donation, as you undergo neither stimulation nor egg retrieval. The timeframe relates more to the preparation of the application and the matching process than to the time spent at the clinic.

What really affects the timetable

• Ovarian response. Stimulation may be extended or shortened by two to three days. This is the main reason why you should book changeable tickets.
• The donor’s cycle, in the case of fresh donation, which can shift the timeframe.
• Notary appointments, which do not take place every day and must be coordinated with the rest of the schedule.
• Greek public holidays, particularly around Orthodox Easter, the date of which differs from Catholic Easter.
• The laboratory’s availability for certain specific procedures.

Three tips to save time and money

1. Do not book non-changeable flights until the clinic has confirmed the window. The extra cost of a flexible ticket is almost always less than the cost of a wasted ticket.
2. Allow for a buffer day at the end. It’s often not needed, but on the day you do need it, it saves the trip.
3. Stay within walking distance of the clinic. This is one of the real advantages of Thessaloniki: the city is compact and most clinics, hotels and notaries’ offices are just a few minutes’ walk from one another. A well-located hotel saves you from having to take a taxi at seven in the morning and allows you to pop back to your room to rest between appointments.

And what about the total duration of the trip?

Apart from the days spent there, allow two to four months from the first consultation to the transfer for a donor programme, and three to five months for IVF using your own eggs. This timeframe is rarely down to the Greek clinic: it depends on the time taken to gather test results, arrange appointments near you and, where applicable, process the S2 application.

This is also why starting several processes in parallel rather than one after the other really makes a difference. Submitting an S2 application at the same time as compiling the medical file, rather than afterwards, often saves a whole month.

Frequently asked questions

Source: https://fertilitegrece.com/en/blog/how-many-days-in-greece/ — Triada Baloukoudis, IVF patient coordination in Greece. General information, not medical or legal advice. Printed on

Triada Baloukoudis
Independent IVF patient coordinator in Thessaloniki, with 24 years of experience supporting patients travelling from abroad. More · Contact · Facebook