Athens to Santorini... Help!!

FionaS

Hi there,

Does anyone have any advice on the cheapest/ fastest was to get from the port in Athens to Santorini?

Are there direct ferries or do they all stop along the way?

I'm flying in at 9.30pm on July 3rd and am really hoping that I can get away with not having to pay for a hotel in Athens that night.

Any advice welcome!

starfish12

Try this website;

http://www.greeka.com/greece/greece-ferries.htm

it allows you check all of the ferry co's and times.

otherwise olympic and aegean airlines fly....however in my experience a flight getting in that late normally means a night spent in athens...

baaaa

There are less boats at night but they still go and you might get lucky,check the timetables.
In theory you could get any boat and kip on it coz they're nearly all headed towards santorini anyway but this could leave you on a route with many stops before you actually reach santorini.A bad thing if you're stuck for time.
I'd hope to get lucky or if there is a boat very early in the morning(like 6/7) then you can also dodge a hotel.

Tordelback

Can't help any more with the ferry times than those above, but do note that the ferries go from the new port of Piraeus, not from Athens itself - the excellent metro will take you there from the airport, but factor in the travel times on that too - it's a minimum of an hour, not just the much-touted 30 minutes into Athens itself. Piraeus is definitely not somewhere you want to be stuck all night if you can avoid it.

g0g

Was trying to do the same last year. We arrived towards middle of July I think it was. It's pretty hit and miss with the ferries. That week there were overnight ferries running, but only every second night! If I remember correctly the ferry websites were very good but only get updated about 2 weeks in advance at a time. By now the day you're looking at should be online! The only thing I'd say is it's not complete end of the world if stuck in Athens for a night. You'll be well-rested for a decent night out the following night, and if you do overnight ferry you might be half-wrecked when you get there!

Tordelback

I know where the OP is coming from though - accommodation in Athens is pricey, and frequently rubbish. It's well worth it if you're planning to spend time looking around amazing Athens (which you really should, but taht's a different thread), not so good if you're just going to move on in the morning €100 lighter.

If the ferry times to Santorini don't work out, I have a suggestion:

Find a slow boat (plenty of stops, 5/6 hours or even more, should go every night) to one of the main hub islands, Naxos for example, arrive early in the morning and just get a fast ferry (a Dolphin hydrofoil or similar, about 1.5 hrs) on to Santorini. You'd be there bright and early, and dodge the night's accommodation.

'Course if I were you I wouldn't be rushing through Athens or the Aegean in the middle of the night - Santorini's great, but so's the journey there!

RubyK

I could be wrong, but isn't the port of Piraeus a good 1 hours journey from the airport? If this is correct, it might be worth factoring in to your plan. By the time you get your bags, got through passport control, it might be easier all round, to get a morning ferry on the 4th?

RubyK

Anek Lines seem to operate the latest ferry sailings, but looking at the below link, they don't operate late on Saturdays

http://www.danae.gr/ferries-greece.asp?reqDepPort_Text=ATHENS%2C+Town%2C+GREECE&reqDepPort_Id=75&reqArrPort_Text=SANTORINI%2C+Island%2C+KYKLADES&reqArrPort_Id=3125&reqDate=03%2F07%2F2010&reqDepDateRange=1&reqPassengers=1&reqVehicles=0&reqCompanyID=0&reqRetDate=&reqRoundTrip=no&sbmForm=Search&int=0

You won't get a direct sailing, there will be stops along the way, but these only last about 10/15 mins. The slow ferry will take you nearly 8 hours and the fast one 4 1/2 - 5 hours.

Also, have a look at www.airticket.gr for domestic flights - sometimes they have very good deals on return flights. 45 mins and you will be there.