Greek Isle Ferry Info - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**marc873** · 02-08-2007, 03:46 AM

So i have posted this question before, and got no response. So I thought I would try again. We will be island hoping in Greece in June. Santorini to Mykonos, to Naxos to Athens. There is no such thing as a Ferry schedule online until the month of and your lucky if its online then. Most suggest waiting till you get to the island. Anyway, it will be June, and I wanted to see if anyone had experience with Ferries in the month of June. Will we have a problem on a Thursday from santorini to mykonos for example? Any info would be sweet. I have gone to every online ferry company i can find, and no luck so far

**florencia9699** · 02-08-2007, 03:56 AM

Unfortunately I didn't get to go onto ANY of the Greek Islands due to a one week strike at the ports...

But I have a little suggestion, should I move this thread into the Europe forum?

**marc873** · 02-08-2007, 04:34 AM

Sure, thanks Flo.

**BigE** · 02-08-2007, 05:48 AM

Heh . . . I want to see a European labor strike someday. I have been told they are fun to watch.

**florencia9699** · 02-08-2007, 05:56 AM

He... my dad would disagree... haha... in our family he was the only one who had been to Greece, and he really wanted my Mum to see the Greek Isles... well, instead we got to see every little detail of the Peloponese. When a door closes a window opens, right?

**BigE** · 02-08-2007, 06:02 AM

I would be upset if I wanted to take wife somewhere (BTW, I don't have a wife) and a labor strike was preventing that from happening.

**marc873** · 02-08-2007, 08:20 AM

You two BETTER not Jinx me!

**Delaney** · 02-08-2007, 08:49 AM

Marc, I haven't had much time to look at it, but have you checked this website? http://www.ferries.gr/ It seems like they should have a schedule.

I have heard from friends that the ferries only run on certain days, esp. in the off season, but you should be okay if you are going in the summer. I also read somewhere that a few islands have airports and if pressed for time it might be worth the extra money. I am going to check it out, I will let you know what I find. :Cheers:

**marc873** · 02-08-2007, 08:55 AM

Thanks Delaney. I had been to that web site, and they only show timelines a month out. I also checked out the airports, but wanted to weigh both options. Keep me posted if you find out anything sweet.

augustiner05 · 02-08-2007, 12:55 PM

I was in your same boat last summer, I could find no real info about ferry times before I left. But don’t be discouraged. Once you arrive in Greece you will see ticket offices all over the place. They all have their own brochures with the days their ferries go. Most ferries only go a few days a week even in summer. But for some reason I wasn’t able to buy tickets involving a city I wasn’t in. For instance when you are going from Mykonos to Naxos you cannot purchases tickets from Naxos to Athens. At least I couldn’t.
Most people I met in Greece including me got stranded for at least a few days. It took me a week to get from Crete to Santorini because of “weather”. The Ferries fill up quick that time of year so book the moment you know your next destination. Also it was my experience that when the ferry does leave it is never on time so plan accordingly. Oh and I heard its hard to get from one group of islands like The Cyclades to another group like The Ionian Islands. But I am pretty sure you are staying in The Cyclades.
Flying is a good option if you are trying to save time I flew from Athens to Crete in an hour instead of a 15 hour {I think?} ferry. I booked my flight at the airport a day before the flight. I would do it once instead of your longest ferry ride.
Ear plug are priceless on overnight ferries.
Hope this helped a little, sandy

**Delaney** · 02-08-2007, 02:04 PM

Great info. Augustiner. I am going to Greece in May and was looking for the same information. It's good to know about being stranded and flying. It sounds like it might be easier to only hit a couple islands... I don't know.

**marc873** · 02-08-2007, 03:06 PM

Ok, after reading this and some heavy researching, I went ahead and bought my air tick from Naxos to Athens. 80. U.S. with taxes each for a 30 min. flight versus a 6 hour unconfirmed ferry. Feeling good. I think I am also going to fly from Santorini to Mykonos, catch a ferry from Mykonos to Naxos and then continue flying from there. Thanks for the input Sandy, you helped me make some decisions.

Delaney - So excited to see you are going to Greece as well. Whats your internerary? I've done so much research so far, maybe we could help each other

**Esterina** · 02-09-2007, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marc873

So i have posted this question before, and got no response. So I thought I would try again. (...)
I wanted to see if anyone had experience with Ferries in the month of June. Will we have a problem on a Thursday from santorini to mykonos for example? Any info would be sweet. I have gone to every online ferry company i can find, and no luck so far

I'm afraid you are the first tpunk to experience the Greek Islands in June.

I hate it when we can't give answers!

Will you share with us your stories and tips after ?

**marc873** · 02-09-2007, 09:03 AM

You know I will. I have a ton of info now, but I would rather go through the experience before posting what I know. But I definately will

**Delaney** · 02-09-2007, 09:14 AM

Marc, Greece is the country I have researched the least so far

My work is really slow though, so I am going to get on it today.

We are taking a ferry from Italy to Corfu via Eurail. We probably won't stay in Corfu long (Maybe 1 night, maybe none depending on transportation). Then I want to go to Santorini and another undecided island. We only have about a week there so we'll be island hopping by plane as well.

Any advice on which islands to see?

Oh, and we'll be there at the end of May, so I will just miss you guys. Although I could give you some tips, etc once I am there... PM me your email!

**marc873** · 02-09-2007, 09:30 AM

So we are currently rethinking the flow from Island to island. We were supposed to go from Santorini to Mykonos then to Naxos, but now considering dropping Mykonos (it is quite a distance from Santorini) and adding Ios instead. Ios is on the way from Santorini to Naxos.

So the thought is that, Mykonos was going to be the throwdown island due to its party reputation, but it is also insanely expensive. We discovered that Ios is supposed to have the same kinda party mentality, just at a younger cheaper attitude. Discovered that Ios has the according to Lonely Planet, the 6th best hostel on the planet. The Francescan (sp). So thats a plus.

As for our reasons for Santorini, Those are obvious and need no mention. We will be there for 6 days.

Naxos is supposed to be a VERRRRY relaxed isle. One of the things I am most interested in seeing is "Apollos Door" There is a tiny island on the coast of Naxos that has Apollos Temple on it. The interesting part is that the door is the only part of the temple remaining. And if you stand in the door and make a wish you will have all of Apollos and the universe's energy behind it. Sounds so mystical. Attaching a pic of that Door

Lets see, so for now, I can think of no more.

**marc873** · 02-09-2007, 10:14 AM

OK its official, I cancelled our reservations on Mykonos and booked at Francesca's on Ios. The price was over 200 $ cheaper, and the connections to Ios from Santorini and to Naxos are dailey with no worries. More cocktails for us

**Delaney** · 02-09-2007, 11:43 AM

Thanks for the info! I am getting so excited and our trip is still 2 months out!

**Delaney** · 02-09-2007, 11:51 AM

Marc what airline are you using?

**marc873** · 02-09-2007, 11:55 AM

I am currently flying Swiss air from Amsterdam to Athens, then connecting with Aegian airlines to Santorini. I am using Olympic airlines for my flight from Naxos back to Athens. Aegean and Olympic are going to be about it for flights around the islands. There sites are easy to use too.

I haven't bought my tick from the states yet. I've got just over 4 weeks before I will buy it. Its all in the timing on that one